Right-hand drive, 800hp 'Cuda from Schwartz Performance

Mopar's designers and engineers never seem to be afraid of taking risks. It's true now, and it was definitely the case in the '60s and '70s. Dodge and Plymouth showrooms in the muscle car heyday were filled with cars sporting loud paint, cartoon emblems, and cartoonishly large Hemi engines. They were perfect.

It was with that spirit of building something unique that Schwarts Performance tackled this one-off 1970 'Cuda. A customer from India tapped Schwartz Performance to bring Plymouth's brash pony car into the modern era. That meant it should have eye-catching paint, a comfortable cabin, road-hugging suspension, a raucous Hemi V8, and right-hand-drive. Schwartz Performance has plenty of experience in delivering on all but one of those requests, and that was the fabrication and engineering know-how to deliver on that final critical element.

See all 27 photos

Anyone who's spent time in in the front seats of an E-Body will notice that the entire drivetrain and trans tunnel are shifted towards the passenger side, or what we in North America know as the passenger side, to help with fitting the driver's pedals as well as steering clearance down past the exhaust manifolds. Because the car's owner lives in India where left-hand drive is a no-go, Schwartz fabricated new floorboards, trans tunnel, and steering that moved everything to the left to make room to move the steering to the right and also house the pedals.

See all 27 photos Whopping 345/30R19 Michelin Pilot Sports are mounted to three-piece Foose Nitrous wheels in back.

Schwartz used their G-Machine Chassis, a full-length steel chassis that integrates into the 'Cuda's leafspring pocket, rear passenger floor, rear subframe, and core support using many of the body's strong points, plus a few reinforcement plates that are welded into the factory body shell. The 'Cuda's exterior body shell is left intact and gains the rigidity of a full-frame car, plus it's a huge leap forward from the '60s Mopar suspension. For example, the leaf springs and torsion bars are gone. Instead, the Ford 9-inch rear axle uses a triangulated four-link with spherical rod ends while the front uses proprietary steel spindles, upper A-arms, and lower arms with strut bars. Both ends of the car use RideTech triple-adjustable coilovers. In order to accommodate the right-hand drive switch, Schwartz relocated the motor mounts and used a new steering rack that also called for different mounts, but otherwise it's the same chassis that they build for any other 'Cuda.

See all 27 photos Murray Pfaff designed the custom interior, which was brought to reality with hand-formed sheetmetal panels that were then padded and upholstered. Recaro seats were wrapped in matching leather. They feature cooling vents that route air through the perforated leather.

See all 27 photos While many of the interior panels were shaped out of sheetmetal, the dash is aluminum. Dakota Digital VHX gauges and a pushbutton starter are housed in a custom instrument panel that invokes classic GT cars. The console shifter is linked to a strengthened GM 4L80E transmission.

There was no debate when it came time to select a powerplant. The modernized pony car needed a late-model engine that would provide abundant power while maintaining drivability, so Schwartz called on Arrington Performance to supply a 426ci Gen III Hemi. Due to their torque capacity and performance, Schwartz used a GM 4L80E transmission to withstand the 800 hp from the supercharged Hemi. Even though the Gen III Hemi isn't as large as the legendary Gen II 426, they're still plenty wide, and stainless steel headers had to be custom-built by Schwartz Performance to accommodate the new steering shaft routing. The long-tube headers are ceramic coated and dump immediately into high-flow catalytic converters, then the exhaust is routed through custom-bent stainless pipes.

See all 27 photos New inner fenders were fabricated to highlight the Arrington Performance 426ci Gen III Hemi that's topped by Arrington's Eaton supercharger. As per the owner's request, there's no engine cover to get in the way of admiring the 800hp mill.

See all 27 photos The front wheels use 255/35R19 Pilot Sports and 14-inch Baer rotors with six-piston monoblock calipers.

See all 27 photos Schwartz Performance used their full-length G-Machine Chassis that uses a front suspension of their own design, including the hollow, splined sway bar. Jeff Schwartz told us that he prefers to use a steel spindle with an adjustable bearing in muscle car applications like this.

See all 27 photos Many of the interior trim pieces were custom built from aluminum, including the speaker covers on the rear package tray and these door pulls.

When we last saw the 'Cuda, it was all wrapped up and making the rounds at some car shows stateside. Schwartz Performance owner Jeff Schwartz even put the car through its paces a bit at the Car Craft Summer Nationals. Before long it will be shipped across the Pacific to its new home where hopefully it will be an ambassador of American horsepower.