As the bossman of his own project management and design business, and a marketing guru in the performance parts industry, Chris has been close to many high-end car builds and exposed to the latest trends and componentry. So, when he has the time to craft his own rides, it’s a safe bet that they’ll raise the bar high and keep it there.

First published in the October 2024 issue of Street Machine

“I feel like my shed is the car version of Noah’s Ark,” Chris says. “There seems to be two of everything – two hot rods; two Mustangs; two Willys coupes; two Camaros; these two black Mopars – everything comes in pairs.”

That’s not a bad problem to have when you have an eye for detail and a passion for V8s. And as far as the latter goes, Chris loves his blown and injected Hemis, so the 1968 Dodge Charger and 1970 Plymouth Barracuda you see here might seem tame in comparison to some of his other builds, as they ‘only’ run naturally aspirated Chrysler mills. But make no mistake: both these cars have the skills to pay the bills, with Chris drawing plenty of inspiration from The Fast and the Furious film franchise. After all, when it comes to tough-looking cars, Dom Toretto’s wheelstanding, blown Hemi-powered 1970 Charger in the original movie is hard to beat.

Chris began his Charger project with a ’69 R/T, but the amount of bodywork it needed would have blown out the build by years and cubic dollars, so he found a nice, tidy, original ’68 to build instead. Fate still had other plans, however, which led him to option three: “I was on the verge of cutting into the tidy ’68 when I heard that this black ’68 was up for grabs,” he explains. “It had been a love project for its previous owner, with a lot of the work already completed, but he was moving overseas and had to sell the car; it just needed to be reassembled and properly finished off.”

Apart from the bodywork already being finished, the greatest appeal of the car for Chris was that it had been refinished in black, which, as evidenced by most of his previous builds, is a shade he tends to favour. “The bodywork on this thing is arrow straight, and the paintwork is stunning,” he says. “It was the result I wanted without having to invest the time, dollars and likely resultant brain damage to try and achieve it myself. The fact it won best bodywork at a recent high-end car show is testament to the work of Terry at Kairouz Kustoms – even more so given the paint and panel is nearly a decade old.”

Lift that massive hood and you’re met with one of Mopar’s finest in the form of a Chrysler big-block. Based around a factory 440ci casting, the mill’s capacity has been stretched to a very ample 540ci using trusted componentry from 440 Source in the States, with just about the longest stroke you can run within a factory iron block before camshaft clearance becomes an issue. The internal specs are otherwise a bit of a mystery, including a cam that Chris simply describes as “angry all the time”. External goodies include an 850 Holley on an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, ICE ignition, and a twin three-inch, X-pipe exhaust system.

A Hughes-built 727 Torqueflite and Strange 31-spline nine-inch sort the driveline, with the latter using 3.7:1 gears and a Truetrac centre.

Underneath, the original torsion bar and leaf-spring assemblies have been replaced with a complete bolt-in QA1 independent cradle for the front and a Ridetech StrongArm four-bar set-up at the rear. Air Ride ShockWave airbags sort the dampening and ride height all ’round, while a power steering rack juiced by a Holden Astra electric pump help counteract any sideways motion when slipping the rear tyres. The rear tubs were stretched inwards to the rail to accommodate meaty 345/25 rubber, which, along with the 245/35 front treads, are wrapped around HRE HX101 rims.

As for the ’70 ’Cuda, dubbed ‘Venom’, Chris bought it as a tough streeter from Western Australia, wearing era-correct lime green paint and already stuffed full of Hemi power. It really just needed a change of wheels – or so Chris initially thought.

Now, we’ve heard of some wild-and-woolly catalysts for a full nut-and-bolt rebuild in our time, but the event that sparked Chris giving the ’Cuda the full treatment takes the cake: “It had a transmission issue – yep, that’s all it took!” he laughs. “I absolutely love Letty’s ’Cuda that appears in Fast & Furious 7 and figured it was now or never to build the dream.”

With that build goal in place, the ’Cuda was duly stripped and the panelwork made dead-straight by Sebastian Desisto and Shane Powell, before being lathered in PPG Jet Black by Roni Tarabay.

The ’Cuda’s undercarriage now sports a healthy refinement on the standard torsion-bar and semi-elliptical designs, with Hotchkis suspension components on all four corners. Stopping power has been upgraded to SSBC front discs and improved rear drum assemblies, all activated by a Wilwood master cylinder with Hydroboost assistance. The factory power steering set-up was retained – a necessity due to the hulking great Hemi powerplant that now lives up front.

The 528-cube Mopar Performance crate engine was freshened up by Chris’s good friend John Agazzi, retaining the original internals by Mother Mopar. A matching Mopar Performance intake and 850 Holley sort the top end, while the heavy-breathing monster donk bursts into life via an ICE ignition system.

Power is sent rearwards via the once-troublesome 727 Torqueflite, now expertly rebuilt by Al’s Race Glides. A beefy Dana 60 diff sporting 3.0:1 gears and 35-spline axles rounds out the driveline. Rolling stock comprises Rushforth Rated X rims in 19×8 front and 20×10 rear sizes.

With this perfect Mopar pairing finished (for now) and being enjoyed, only time will tell what Chris has in store next. “I think I’ve got a bit of a problem; I wasn’t joking about my love for blown and injected Hemis!” he laughs. “There’s one sitting here ready to find its way into the Charger, but I do already like the car the way it sits. The bottom line, however, is this: if you’re going to spend lots of time and money on a project and it doesn’t give you the horn when you open the garage door, there’s no point. I’ll leave that to be the deciding factor.”

THANKS
Michael; Daniel and Beau; John Agazzi; Mick; Alex Makdessi; Sebastian Desisto; John and Dan Kuiper; Darryl and Aaron; Pete; Paul and Tim; Gary Smith.

CHRIS
1970 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA

CHRIS
1968 DODGE CHARGER