HemiCuda Aruzza Built 600 HP Tremec 5 Speed Pro Touring

We've sold (and actually built a few, too) a ton of Hemi 'Cuda tribute cars not real Hemi 'Cudas, but exact replicas for folks who can't exactly afford the six-figure price tag. But I have to say that this '71 'Cuda might be the first Hemi 'Cuda resto-mod we've had, and it's awfully potent. Not stock, and never intended to be confused for a real Hemi 'Cuda like a tribute might be, this one was built to drive and drive HARD.

This is where I would ordinarily give you the fender tag information on the car, but because this car is so heavily modified from stock (plus the tag isn't there anymore), what's the point? Instead let's talk about what this car is today, not what it was when it was built. It's powered by a fire-breathing 536 horsepower Hemi built by John Arruzza, backed by a 5-speed Tremec by Keisler, and has giant vented disc brakes at each corner compliments of Baer. If you're a true performance fan, that's surely more interesting to you than a fender tag with codes for a 318, tinted glass, and an AM radio, right?

This car showed up a few weeks ago as a fully finished piece with just a handful of miles that was already 100% ready to rock. But instead of simply taking photos and putting it out on the floor, we decided this brute deserved to go to the next level and sent it into the RK Motors Charlotte shop for some additional upgrades. When it came out, it was this B5 blue killer. The 2-stage paint was buffed to an incredible shine, and you can see that the panels are very straight just by looking at the pictures. The HEMI billboards from Phoenix Graphix are straight and blemish-free, and all the argent silver pieces on the car have been freshly painted the correct shade and texture. This is one sharp-looking 'Cuda!

The white vinyl top is new, too, and looks excellent. There's a lot of fresh chrome everywhere, the gill inserts on the front fenders are new, and someone spent a lot of time polishing the stainless on this car. The glass is in excellent condition with new weather stripping and felts, and the lenses and other plastic items look factory fresh.

OK, enough cosmetics, let's talk about performance and horsepower. The engine is a 426 cubic inch Hemi built by John Arruzza. If you don't know Johns work, you just don't know Hemis, he's built over 600 Hemi engines in his career, and still builds each one himself instead of farming it out or letting some underling do it. Hell, he's built Hemis for Richard Petty! The one in this car is complete with a dyno sheet showing 536 horsepower at 6200 RPM and 471 pounds of torque at 4500 RPM, considerably stronger than any stock Hemi ever was, and you know it was built right. It's topped by a pair of dual quads under an authentic Shaker hood for that authentic Hemi look and sound. Exhaust is handled by a set of gigantic long-tube headers dumping into a 3-inch true dual exhaust system that sounds like an angry God is chasing you. Up front there are new March serpentine belt drives for the accessories, plus billet mounts for the power steering pump and PowerMaster chrome alternator. A set of polished Hemi valve covers provide some dress-up, and the entire thing is painted the correct shade of vintage Hemi Orange. An MSD ignition system lights the fires, including a Blaster coil in the stock location. For the right look, the original 26-inch radiator was retained, and a new red cap battery was installed just last week.

Translating this power into motion is a Keisler/Tremec 5-speed manual transmission conversion. We've done a lot of these and they're an incredible upgrade for these cars, providing the best of both worlds with eyeball-flattening acceleration and relaxed cruising, even considering the relatively tall 3.73 gears in the Strange Dana 60 out back. And as someone who has used Tremec 5-speeds in a lot of my own hardware, they are some sweet-shifting transmissions that can take a ton of abuse. This 'Cuda also features a hydraulic clutch upgrade for improved clutch feel and reliability. The suspension on this car is stock with upgrades like new shocks from QA1 (you know, the high quality billet aluminum adjustable models), heavy duty springs, and fat sway bars front and back. And those brakes I mentioned are from Baer, with 13 inch rotors up front and 12s out back, all clamped by PBR calipers, giving this big bruiser more than enough stopping power to match that Hemi.

If you're sharp, you've also noticed the trick billet wheels that were designed to look a lot like the original Rallye wheels. To clear those massive brakes, these are 17-inches in diameter and are considerably lighter than the originals, too. The rubber is sizable: 235/45/17 front and 275/50/17 rear Falken S/T Z01 high-performance tires.

Climb inside and you'll discover more of RK Motor's outstanding work. The seats are fresh buckets with new covers all around for a like-new driving environment. The dashboard is also new, and is stuffed with original style Rallye gauges with trick white faces for a unique twist on the original look. The Tremec is stirred by an original pistol-grip shifter, now topped with a correct 5-speed shift pattern. You've probably also noticed that the cars ubiquitous R11 Music Master AM radio has been replaced by a high-tech Alpine head unit that feeds speakers scattered throughout the car for a vastly improved listening experience with that 5-speed's overdrive gear, it's actually possible to enjoy the sounds of this high-quality stereo while you drive. The seat belts are so new that they are still wrapped in plastic, and front floor mats with blue 'Cuda logos embroidered on their faces keep the fresh carpet sets clean. The trunk has a new mat and a matching alloy wheel and tire stock spare just wouldn't clear those big brakes, so why take chances out on the road?

We also have a ton of receipts on this car. Want to know more about the brakes? We have the receipts, the packing list, and all the instruction instructions. Same with the transmission, the accessory drive, the ignition system, and the clutch. We also have receipts for most of the other components that went into the build, so you know every component as well as the builder does. That's called buying with confidence.

So if real Hemi 'Cudas are just out of your price range, and a clone is, well, just too ordinary, take a good, long look at this 'Cuda. This one took the rule book and threw it out the window and instead focuses on building a car that is a party to drive and incredibly potent on the street. With a few smart upgrades like the Tremec 5-speed and a high-end stereo system, it's a very capable high-speed cruiser that can devour vast stretches of interstate. With those big brakes, killer shocks, and modern rolling stock, it can go around corners with the best of them, too. Best of all, it's wrapped in a very stock-appearing package, so only the sharpest of viewers will know what is cooking under the 'Cudas sleek sheet metal skin. Is that your kind of fun? If it is, this is your kind of car. Call today.