Pro Touring 1972 Plymouth Barracuda with a 550-Horsepower Gen III Hemi

Man and machine can’t possibly be related, or can they? Travis Higgins and his homebuilt, 550hp ’Cuda are as tight as tight can be.

Back in July of 1972, a certain white-on-white 1972 Plymouth Barracuda rolled off the assembly line. A week later, Travis Higgins was born. Although they wouldn't cross paths for another 14 years, the pair has been inseparable ever since. Like any healthy relationship, it's all about give and take. Travis gives his E-Body endless TLC by busting his knuckles and his piggybank. The 'Cuda gives back massively gratifying lateral and longitudinal g-loads in return, courtesy of a 550hp Gen III Hemi, RMS underpinnings, and Wilwood six-piston clamps. While modern science says it's impossible for man and machine to share DNA, enough blood and grease have been exchanged between Travis and his 'Cuda through the decades to seal their fate as blood brothers for life.
Although Travis didn't get to wrench on cars until his early teenage years, his innate mechanical aptitude helped him score his 'Cuda on the cheap. In 1986, his sister bought a 340-powered '72 'Cuda off of a used car lot, and Travis had the good fortune of riding around in it all the time. Unfortunately for his sister, the good times didn't last long, as the 'Cuda broke two years later. For Travis, however, the circumstances provided the perfect opportunity to pounce. "None of her mechanic friends was able to fix the car, so I used my college fund money to buy it from her for $2,500 when I was 15 years old. There was no Internet back then, so I checked out an ancient copy of a Chilton's manual from the public library and taught myself to work on the car, eventually figuring out that the timing chain had broken on it," Travis reminisces. "I told her I was doing her a favor by buying a non-running car. To this day, she's very jealous of how the car has turned out, and she hasn't let me forget about it. I admit that it was a pretty sly move for a 15-year-old."

With a slick ride heeding the commands of his right foot, Travis was eager to fly the Mopar banner. "I've always liked Mopars because they're different. One of my buddies in high school had a Nova, and another buddy had a Mustang, so I thought it would be cool if we could represent the Big Three among the three of us," he says. Brand loyalty aside, as the money came in from summer jobs and birthday gifts, Travis kept piling on the mods. Out came the stock junk and in went an aftermarket intake manifold, headers, carburetor, shift kit, torque converter, and exhaust system. He drove the car in bolt-on trim all through high school and college, and decided to spice things up a bit with a fresh coat of paint. "The A/C never worked on this car, but I still drove it in the 110-degree Tucson summer heat. From the factory, it came with white paint and a white interior, which was pretty common for desert cars from that era. That's good for battling the heat, but it looked too plain. During college, I painted the car lime green in my driveway with the help of a buddy."
After the turn of the millennium, Travis retired the 'Cuda from daily driving duties and it didn't get much use. That allowed Travis to focus on all the little things that had been neglected over the years. "I was swapping out the factory automatic for a five-speed manual in 2004 when I started remembering everything wrong with the car. There was rust in the floorboard due to a leaky windshield, and the passenger-side quarter-panel had some shoddy collision repair work done to it in the past," he recalls. Just as resourceful and determined in his 30s as he was in his teens, Travis tackled the sheetmetal work himself. "All the videos and pictures that are up on the Internet these days made it much easier to learn than by reading a manual or a book. I first taught myself how to weld by buying a 110-volt welder, and practicing on junk sheetmetal. Then I progressed to replacing the quarter-panel and floorpan, and smoothing out the firewall. As I started doing the rest of the bodywork, I realized that it was going to take forever to finish it due to my inexperience. That's when I decided to take the car to Todd Pike for the final body and paintwork."
Just as the fresh coat of BASF Limelight green paint was drying, Chrysler unveiled the new 6.1L Gen III Hemi. Travis saw it as an omen, ordered one up, and swapped it into the 'Cuda in no time. Unfortunately, the euphoria was short-lived. "I put way too much ignition timing in the tune and cracked a piston. Pieces of the pistons got stuck in the combustion chamber and scuffed up the cylinder head," Travis explains. "I figured that if I'm going to pay for the machine work to fix the block and piston, I might as well build a stroker motor. I sent the motor to Inertia Motorsports (www.inertiamotorsports.com) to have them stroke it out to 426 ci."

After boring the block out to 4.080 inches, Inertia Motorsports matched it up with a Molnar 4.080-inch steel crank and rods, and forged 10.75:1 CP pistons. Inertia also ported the factory cylinder head castings, which were matched with a stock intake manifold and a FAST throttle body. With a custom Crower 231/240-at-.050 cam tickling the valves and a FAST XFI system managing the fuel and spark delivery, the late-model Hemi kicks out a very respectable 550 hp. Those ponies are then dispatched through a Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual transmission and a Chrysler 8.75-inch rearend.
Taking care of the horsepower side of the equation was the easy part. Considering how much technology had progressed from the days of cruising the 'Cuda in high school, Travis wanted the latest incarnation of the car to reflect modern advancements in ride and handling, however, suspension components weren't that easy to find. "I wanted to build a car that could do everything, something I could drive to the dragstrip, autocross, and road course. A lot of guys are just into drag racing or autocrossing, but I enjoy doing it all," Travis says. "There weren't many suspension options for Mopars back when I was building this car, so when RMS came out with a K-member and front suspension system for E-Bodies, I snatched it up. When RideTech came out with a four-link system, I bought it right away, too.
More specifically, the chassis upgrades include an RMS AlterKtion K-member, control arms, spindles, steering rack, and front sway bar. Out back, the factory leaf springs have been replaced with a RideTech four-link system, and RideTech coilovers suspend each corner of the car as well. Stopping duties come courtesy of Wilwood six-piston calipers that clamp down on 13-inch rotors, and 18-inch NewGen Lite wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich rubber provide the stick. As a man who spent 20-plus years living with the quirks of the stock 'Cuda chassis, Travis is thrilled with how the new cutting-edge hardware performs. "Suspension and tire technology has come so far since I was in college. The ride quality and handling with the new suspension is a tremendous improvement over stock," he reports.

 

After a grueling 10-year restoration, Travis and the 'Cuda took their maiden road trip together to the 2014 Moparty at the Strip event, where it turned countless laps on the autocross and knocked down a traction-limited 12.89 at 114 mph down the dragstrip. Once again, just like in the '80s and '90s, man and machine are one. "In the past two weeks, I've done a track day at Inde Motorsports Ranch, averaged 22 mpg on the way to Las Vegas, run it on the autocross and dragstrip, driven the car back home to Tucson, and logged 1,000 miles," Travis says. "The car is far from perfect because I built it to be functional, not a show car. I love driving it both on and off the track. I don't plan on selling the car, and I have no plans to build another car, either."
So the unique 26-year-long bond between man and machine endures, and Travis says the car is far from complete. He has plans on bolting up some drag and road race slicks in the future, and he has intentions of sprucing up the interior a bit as well. It sounds like Travis and the 'Cuda will continue exchanging blood and grease for decades to come. That's what being blood brothers is all about.

Fast Facts

1972 Plymouth Barracuda
Car owner: Travis Higgins, Tucson, AZ

Mopar Power

Engine Type: Chrysler 426ci Gen III Hemi small-block
Block: factory Chrysler bored to 4.080 inches
Oiling: Melling oil pump, Charlie's pan
Rotating assembly: Molnar 4.080-inch steel crankshaft and rods; CP 10.75:1 forged pistons
Cylinder heads: factory 6.1L factory castings ported by Inertia Motorsports
Camshaft: Crower custom 231/240-at-.050 hydraulic flat-tappet cam; .560/.560-inch lift
Valvetrain: stock
Induction: factory intake manifold; FAST throttle body
Ignition: stock
Engine management: FAST XFI
Exhaust: TTI 1.75-inch headers, dual 3-inch MagnaFlow mufflers
Cooling: stock water pump, Griffin radiator, Lincoln Mark VIII electric fan
Built by: Inertia Motorsports (Pflugerville, TX)
Transmission: Tremec TKO600 five-speed trans, McLeod twin-disc clutch, Hurst shifter
Rear axle: Chrysler 8.75-inch rearend with 33-spline axles, 3.73:1 gears, and Detroit Truetrac differential

Sure Grip

Front suspension: RMS AlterKtion K-member, control arms, spindles, steering rack, and sway bar; RideTech coilovers
Rear suspension: RideTech four-link and coilovers
Brakes: Wilwood 13-inch discs with six-piston calipers, front; Dr. Diff 11.7-inch discs and single-piston calipers, rear
Wheels: NewGen Lite 18x9.5, front; 18x12, rear
Tires: BFGoodrich 275/35R18, front; 335/35R18, rear

  Even though the ’Cuda boasts a modern Tremec TKO600 five-speed, the custom pistol-grip shifter adds some old-school flair. Travis had it custom-built from real flamed maple, then grafted it on to a Hurst handle.