Green Lane, Pennsylvania is home to Bill Worley and his mostly unrestored Lemon Twist '70 AAR 'Cuda. It's one of 1,120 four-speed equipped AAR 'Cudas and has only 13,556 miles on the odometer. With Bill's penchant for drag racing his Mopars, you might assume the miles were tallied a quarter-mile at a time. That's only partly true. Sure, Bill loves to bang gears at Maple Grove and Englishtown, but he does it responsibly.

That's another way of saying the 'Cuda's numbers-matching, thick-web 340 T/A block, wide-port heads, and special offset rocker arms are safely tucked away. In their place, a 372-inch stroker Six Barrel fills the engine bay. Built in 1996, before the advent of today's readily available extra-displacement rotating kits, Bill makes monkeys out of nay-sayers who claim cast-iron 360 cranks are only good for scrap metal. Did we mention he runs regular 11.7s at 115 in his eye-searing survivor?

"Bill makes monkeys out of nay-sayers who claim cast-iron 360 cranks are only good for scrap metal."

Before 1971, the only way to significantly boost the displacement of a 340 (which has a 4.04-inch bore and the same 3.31-inch stroke as the 273- and 318-cube engines) was to lay out big bucks for a spray-welded and offset-ground crank, or start from scratch with a chunk of billet. But in 1971, Chrysler unwittingly came to the rescue with an engine originally intended for use in big Polara family sedans, Newport station wagons, and Dodge pickup trucks.

Realizing the need for a mid-sized yet light-weight V8 to fill the gap between the 318 small-block and 383 big-block, engineers took another look at the LA engine. By adding a little over a quarter-inch of stroke (0.27 inches to be exact), 3.58 inches of vertical piston travel resulted. Coupled to a 4.00-inch bore, the new people-mover V8 came in at 360 cubes. A nod to the new 360's strict utilitarian nature is seen in the fact that all engines built through the 1973 model year inhaled through a single two-barrel carburetor and exhaled through a single muffler and tail pipe. Yeah, it was that kind of engine.

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In keeping with the austere nature of the 360 program, Chrysler saved a few bucks by specifying cast iron instead of forged steel. To ensure reliability with this more elastic material, Chrysler enlarged the main journal diameters from 2.50 to 2.81 inches. This increased the overlap between the crank and rod journals and crutched whatever strength shortfall the material switch might have incurred. Unfortunately, the enlarged main journals also nixed the ready adaptability of the cast 360 crank in previous 273, 318, and 340 blocks. Or did it?

Within months of its introduction, hot rodders found that the 360 crank was indeed meaty enough to survive having its main journals turned down 0.30 inch. Sharing the same 6.123-inch tall rods with all other LA engines and with a common block deck height, these turned-down 360 cranks began showing up in 340 blocks with final displacements starting at 370 inches. Tom "Father of the 426 Hemi" Hoover even had a 371-cube LA mill in his '69 'Cuda notch back street fighter by 1972. Clearly the cast-iron material didn't scare him.

All this crankshaft juggling is a bit ironic when we remember that Bill's AAR 'Cuda and its Dodge Challenger T/A stablemate (one of which Bill also owns) were built to homologate the LA engine for SCCA Trans Am road race competition. In that realm, race-legal engines had to be de-stroked to 5 liters (305 inches) for eligibility. Thanks to direct factory backing, Chrysler contracted Keith Black to whip up the needed cranks out ofyou guessed itbillet steel.

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But on the street, cubes are king and that's where the saga of this low-mileage AAR began. Going way back to 1970, the car's original owner, Erwin Stover, found himself at Landsdale Chrysler-Plymouth in search of a new muscle car. Aged 17 at the time, the lot was filled with Road Runners, 'Cudas, and even the all-new 340 Duster. To assure a sale, Erwin's mother tagged along in case the salesmen got the wrong idea and tried to broom him off as a dreamer. In the end, Erwin's decision came down to a 440-4 Superbird with a 4-speed, or this AAR 'Cuda.

"Erwin's mother tagged along in case the salesmen got the wrong idea and tried to broom him off as a dreamer."

The Superbird's outrageous nose cone and rear stabilizer struck the teen's fancy, but so did the sleek AAR-specific fiberglass hood with its NACA-inspired scoop and blacked-out paint treatment. Current owner Bill tells us Erwin told him: "the 'Cuda just felt quicker." And so the deal was made, with mom's name on the title to speed processing. Erwin brought his prize home and added a set of 1-7/8 Hooker headers—the same ones under the car today. Over the next two years, Erwin used the 'Cuda for daily transportation as well as the occasional drag race. Cams and jet changes came and went as the TA block endured countless 6,500-rpm power shifts.

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Then it happened. In 1972, with somewhere around 10,000 miles on the odometer Erwin missed a shift. With the engine unloaded and under full throttle, critical crank speed was reached and a rod snapped. The block was damaged but not destroyed. Frustrated, the teen-aged owner parked the car until repairs could be made. The sleep lasted for over two decades, all of it indoors, safe from Pennsylvania's harsh winters and humid summers.

Fast forward to 1996 and Erwin, still in possession of his unmolested—but broken—AAR strikes up a conversation with Bill Worley at a car show. Bill's ownership of a similarly original '70 Challenger T/A is the main topic. Along with a '67 GTX, Bill is a hardcore Mopar enthusiast, and not a money-obsessed "flipper." Erwin sees this and offers his AAR for the modest sum of $7,000. Remember, this was 1996 and even though the muscle car market "crashed" in 1990, $7k for an un-restored AAR 'Cuda was something of a steal. But Erwin knew Bill would be an ideal care taker and the transaction was finalized.

"Erwin knew Bill would be an ideal care taker and the transaction was finalized."

Right away, Bill took the wounded AAR block to his machine shop and was pleased to learn the broken rod only cracked a cylinder wall. After the installation of a sleeve, the original engine was rebuilt and installed in the 'Cuda so Bill could begin driving—and racing it—once again. Initial runs with the 340 Six Barrel delivered 12.20s with a solid cam and only partial poring done to the TA heads. Then one day at Englishtown Bill noticed the car began slowing down two-tenths per run. Knowing it was more than a change in the weather, Bill wisely loaded the 'Cuda and headed for home. The cam had lost two lobes.

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Knowing he was still intent on racing the 'Cuda, Bill decided to remove the original engine and build a stronger replacement. Bill says, "It got to the point where I felt like I was playing with fire to race the original block and heads." Thus the 360-ized 340 stroker Six Barrel in the car since 1996.

These days Bill drives the 'Cuda only a few hundred street miles each summer but he still enjoys running it at events like the Mopar Atlantic Nationals and the Maple Grove Mega Mopar race series. A typical quarter-mile jaunt goes like this: Bill drives around the water box to keep the front tires as dry as possible. Then with the car aimed straight into the groove, he backs the soft compound American Racers into the water. With the four-speed in Second, he activates the Hurst Line-Loc and gets the tires spinning to about 4,500 rpm on the tach to build heat. One or two dry-hops are performed to eliminate any lingering water.

After staging, Bill holds the tach at 3,000 rpm, then simultaneously releases the clutch and floors the gas pedal when the last amber goes out. Upshifts are made at between 6,000 and 6,500 rpm with the 4.10 gears and 28-inch tall tires complimenting the 6,000-rpm crank speed at the finish line. About that four speed transmission: though manual-transmission—equipped AAR 'Cudas (and Challenger T/As) got special A833 gearboxes with 2.47 First gear ratios (followed by 1.77, 1.34, and 1.1), Bill keeps his under the work bench for safe keeping.

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Truth be told, he'd probably use it if not for the fact the generic Chrysler A833 four-speed V8 transmission has better gear ratios for drag racing with a small-block. First gear is a steeper 2.66:1, which helps torque multiplication off the line for a quicker 60-foot time. From there, the generic A833's 1.91, 1.39, and 1.1 ratios are spaced about as well as those in the 340 Six Barrel-spec unit. Happily, these 2.66 low-gear transmissions are the most common of all Mopar four-speed units and are not to be confused with the A833 boxes used behind Slant Sixes and two-barrel small-block V8s. Those have a super-low 3.09 First that sounds like a great idea until the 1.92:1 Second gear ratio splats the driver's face against the windshield. The First/Second gear ratio spread is just too high to maintain peak engine rpm on the strip.

Bill tells us he is occasionally accosted by folks who reprimand him for racing his amazingly preserved survivor. He says, "one guy even called me an a-hole." We know better. The relatively modest drag strip launch rpm isn't going to split any spot welds, and after all, the born-with TA engine goodies are safely stashed away. But that doesn't mean the car hasn't been subjected to a near-death experience, and accounts for the one bit of body repair work present on the right front fender of the car.

"Bill tells us he is occasionally accosted by folks who reprimand him for racing his amazingly preserved survivor."

It happened in the fall of 1970. Original owner Erwin Stover was driving along Pennsylvania's Route 309, a busy four-lane road when an oncoming motorist began to veer directly into the path of the shiny new 'Cuda. Erwin told Bill he had plenty of time to soak in the impending collision and decide how to respond. As the wayward motorist got ever closer, the teen's choice came down to staying the course and absorbing a full frontal impact with combined speed in excess of 80 mph, or, intentionally drive the 'Cuda onto the right shoulder where a metal street sign lurked. Choosing the latter explains why the inner surface of the passenger-side front fender shows evidence of metal work, body filler, and paint repair. Had the youngster panicked, there's a strong chance the lad and this pristine AAR 'Cuda might not be here today.

Bill's philosophy on the topic of driving—and racing—vintage muscle cars comes down to being responsible and being ready to make repairs to restore broken bits back to new condition. That's something we can all get behind.

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FAST FACTS

1970 Plymouth AAR 'Cuda

Bill Worley

Green Lane, PA

ENGINE

Type: 372ci Chrysler LA series small-block

4.070-inch x 3.58-inch

Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Block: 1970 340 cast iron with lifter galley oil restrictors

Rotating assembly: reworked cast 360 crank, polished 340 rods, 0.070 oversize Wiseco forged pistons

Cylinder heads: owner ported 340X heads with Ferrea 11/32 stem 2.02-/ 1.60-inch stainless valves, Crower steel retainers and double valve springs

Camshaft:COMP solid roller, 244/244 degrees at 0.050-inch lift, .575/.575-inch lift

Valvetrain:COMP solid roller lifters, Harland Sharp 1.5:1 roller rockers

Induction: blueprinted stock Holley 2300s in factory Six Pack with #65 metering plates (outboard carbs) and #70 jets (center), light diaphragm springs

Intake manifold:gasket-matched Edelbrock/Chrysler Six bbl., original to car

Fuel system: high-volume mechanical pump, stock 5/16-inch fuel lines and filter

Oiling: Melling HV wet sump, reworked stock pan (7 qts. ), extended pickup

Exhaust: 1972-vintage Hooker 1-7/8 headers, custom 3-inch full-length dual exhaust, Flowmaster mufflers, stock 'Cuda tips

Ignition: stock Chrysler aluminum electronic distributor with quick-advance spring and bushing kit, MP chrome box, 7mm silicone wires

Cooling: stock 26-inch wide 'Cuda radiator with three-row core, AC water pump

Output: 450 hp at 6,000 rpm, never been on a dyno

Built by: Bill Worley (car owner), machine work by Automotive Machine, Inc., Schwenksville, PA

DRIVETRAIN

Transmission: 1970 Chrysler A833 4-speed (2.66, 1.91, 1.39, 1.00 ratios) with Liberty Pro Shift gears

Clutch:

Shifter: factory Hurst Pistol Grip

Rearend: stock 8.75 with 4.10 clutch-type Sure Grip, custom aluminum driveshaft

CHASSIS

Chassis: stock Plymouth E-Body, 108-inch wheelbase

Front suspension: stock AAR 'Cuda with Hemi-spec 0.92-inch dia. torsion bars with .94-inch dia. front sway bar and HD shocks

Rear suspension:Stock AAR 'Cuda torque-biased leaf springs, HD shocks, adjustable pinion snubber set -inch from floor

Steering:stock manual steering

Brakes:standard AAR 'Cuda power-assisted 10.7-inch front discs and 11x2.5-inch rear drums

Car built by: largely unrestored, built at Dodge Main, Hamtramck, MI



Wheels:

Tires:Laramie P205/75R15 (front), American Racer DOT L60-15 (rear) set at 13psi (Bill still has the original 15x7 Rallye Wheels, though the OE E60-15/G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas tires are long gone)