The Fastest Plymouth Ever Built Could Still Decimate A C8 Corvette
Plymouth is an American car brand that younger enthusiasts might have forgotten about by now. But back in the heyday of the muscle car, it was a serious brand with serious performance credentials. The car we’re about to talk about is one that definitely helped that reputation.
In The Golden Age Of The American Automotive Industry, Everyone Was Fighting For Dominance In A Horsepower War
When you look at the history of American cars, it’s easy to see why the mid-late 1960s and the early 1970s are considered to be a golden period. The muscle cars that came out of this time could get absolutely crazy. Everyone was buying into the horsepower wars, pushing their cars up to previously unheard-of levels of power.
Plymouth Made Some Crazy Muscle Cars During This Golden Age
Out of all those mental muscle cars, perhaps some of the coolest of the crazy came from Plymouth. Everyone knows about the monstrous Hemi ‘Cuda, and the Superbird aero car. But there was also the AAR ‘Cuda, which showed that you could have fantastic muscle car performance even with a small-block engine. Perhaps the craziest of Plymouth’s golden age muscle cars, though, is one of the ones that’s the least known. It’s a super-powered muscle car that predates the Hemi ‘Cuda. It’s also a ’60s performance car that can, surprisingly, still hold its own.
The 1968 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda BO29 Super Stock Is One Of The Rarest Plymouths Ever… And One Of The Fastest!
|
Engine |
Transmission |
Drivetrain |
Power |
Torque |
|
426 cubic inch V8 |
4-speed manual, 3-speed automatic |
Rear-wheel drive |
425 bhp (factory rating) |
490 lb-ft (factory rating) |
The 1968 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda BO29 Super Stock doesn’t seem to get as much attention as other Hemi-powered muscle cars. That’s puzzling in some ways, as it’s an absolute performance beast! It was officially rated at 425 brake horsepower (it is believed that it could produce quite a bit more than this), with all that power coming from the legendary 426 cubic inch Hemi V8. The exhaust system was beefed up too, and so was the rear axle, rear suspension and brakes. This included front disc brakes, something that was still a rarity in 1968. The 4-speed manual transmission was given a heavy-duty 10 1/2″ clutch and flywheel, helping it to handle that massive power.
The installation of the Hemi and other high-performance parts wasn’t the only thing that was done to make it as powerful and as fast as possible, either. It was also put on a crash diet, shedding weight down to around 3,000–3,100 pounds. This was done through stripping the interior down to its bare bones, replacing some of the body panels (including the hood) with fiberglass versions of those parts, fitting doors made of thinner steel, and replacing the side glass with Chemcor synthetic glass. “Simplify, and add lightness” has always been a popular way to make cars go faster, and Plymouth seemed to agree with that when it came to the BO29.
It Was A Collaboration Between Plymouth And Hurst
Collaborations between automakers and high-performance tuners to create super-powerful special models are something that has been commonplace for decades. The BO29 is yet another example of that. Its development was the result of a joint venture between Plymouth and Hurst. Chrysler would partially assemble A-Body frames at their factories, before shipping those frames to Hurst. Hurst would then install all the modifications needed to turn the car into a drag strip beast.
It Was A Homologation Special For NHRA Super Stock Drag Racing
Why would a car this powerful be developed by Plymouth and Hurst? The answer lies in the NHRA’s Super Stock class of drag racing. This class of drag racing only permitted production cars, with a minimum production requirement of 50 units. This meant that automakers took full advantage of how they could make limited-run homologation specials. These typically lasted a single model year of production or were produced to order in extremely limited numbers.
It’s Faster Over The 1/4 Mile Than A C8 Corvette
All of these NHRA Super Stock homologation specials are fast. But, the Plymouth Hemi Barracuda BO29 is speedy even for them. It’s so fast, in fact, that its performance transcends era. It’s not only the fastest car over the quarter-mile from the 1960s, but it can actually beat modern machinery in a drag race too! In period, these cars managed to record times of 10.2–10.8 seconds in NHRA-sanctioned 1/4 mile runs. For comparison, a current-generation Chevrolet Corvette Stingray takes 11.2 seconds to cover the same distance.
Other Golden Age Muscle Car Specials That Could Absolutely Demolish The Quarter-Mile
Of course, the BO29 is far from the only drag strip demon that came as a result of the NHRA Super Stock regulations. Pretty much every major American car brand was all-in on creating fire-breathing muscle car specials. There were also some entrepreneurial dealers who took advantage of an unadvertised order system to quietly order big-block muscle cars directly from the factory.
Dodge Hemi Dart L023 Super Stock
The Dodge Hemi Dart L023 Super Stock is, in many ways, the twin of the BO29. It’s based on the same A-body platform, it’s got the same 426 cubic inch Hemi V8, and it’s even got the same rear axle. But, it’s not as fast. NHRA-documented times typically recorded around 10.4–10.5 seconds. While that’s impressive, and faster than the current Corvette Stingray, its Plymouth sibling still has a bit of an edge.
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
The original Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 wasn’t the result of a factory program. It was actually the creation of entrepreneurial Chevy dealer Fred Gibb. He worked out he could use the COPO fleet order system to custom-order Camaro SSs with a 427 cubic inch V8 engine. This typically wasn’t allowed under internal General Motors policy—the Camaro wasn’t a full-sized car, and therefore big-block engines weren’t supposed to be allowed. But, if you used the COPO system, you could completely bypass that under the pretense of it being a custom order.
How fast was the Camaro ZL1 in a straight line? It typically ran 1/4 mile times of around 13.16 seconds. But with better tires and a bit of prep, these cars have been known to drop into the 12 or even 11-second range.
Chevrolet Corvette L88
There once was a time when you could get proper big-block engines in a Corvette. One of those big-block variants was the L88. This absolute monster is estimated to produce as much as 550 hp in the real world (as opposed to a factory-rated 430 hp). Thanks to that, it had factory-estimated 1/4 mile times of between 13.56–13.8 seconds. Much like the Camaro ZL1, it’s definitely capable of better times if it’s properly prepped.
Yenko Camaro L72
Another dealer-built special, the Yenko Camaro L72 was the brainchild of Don Yenko. Another Chevrolet dealer, he used the COPO system just like Fred Gibb did to shove a big-block V8 into the Camaro SS. This car was known to be able to run 1/4 mile times in the 13-second range in street trim, with times going down a bit more with proper preparation.
Sources: Chevrolet, Dodge, MotorTrend, Plymouth, Yenko
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