Happy Independence Day everyone! Today, it's about cars.

Obsessive (Adj.) thinking about something too much. I guess I’ve known that I have obsessive tendencies for some time now. In certain ways, that’s not a bad thing, as it tends to make me good at completing tasks, I chase something down until it’s ‘done’. Of course, there are other times when it just gets in the way, sometimes I miss the big picture as I relentlessly pursue some silly little thing. Overall, I deal pretty well with it these days, as I guess my filter has gotten better at recognizing what to let go and what to pursue.

Which brings me to the latest obsession, owning a Barracuda. As much as I love our ’65 glassback Valiant/Cuda, I’ve always wanted one of the ’70-’74 “E body” Cudas, the last, big ones that Plymouth made before the muscle car era went on a 30 year hiatus. Never did buy one back then, although I could have (why I ever bought that ’74 Mustang 2 is still a mystery to me…), and in the  years since, the prices for the original E body Cudas have skyrocketed. But, I still wanted one…or a new Cuda, which was being teased by Chrysler pretty regularly over the past two or three years. In fact, Ralph Gilles, who is one of the main product planners for Chrysler was widely quoted a couple of years ago as saying “There WILL be a Barracuda”, although with Chrysler/Daimler having closed the Plymouth division, nobody could say what it would be. A Chrysler ‘Cuda? An SRT ‘Cuda? Nobody knew, but I was hopeful. Knowing that I would be looking for a new ride around the time the ‘Cuda was expected, I kept my fingers crossed and hoped.

Fast forward to late last summer. Chrylser reversed itself, and after many months of speculation that a ‘Cuda would be a) based on the Challenger, or b) a completely new rear wheel drive car based on a Dodge/Lancia platform, it was decided not to do a ‘Cuda. Seems too many people couldn’t buy into a ‘Cuda that was not a Plymouth, and evidently the name had a lack of cache’ among Joe Average car buyer (although enthusiasts still wanted one). So with Chrysler killing the idea, I bought the next best thing, my Challenger R/T. But I knew that I really, really wanted a ‘Cuda.

Enter “Mr. Norm”. Norm Krause had been the owner of Grand Spaulding Dodge back in the 1960’s when muscle cars really started to take off. His dealership was one of the real innovators in building fast cars, and I believe he was the first dealer to stuff a 426 Hemi engine into the little Dodge Dart, creating one of the wildest, fastest cars you could buy. Through the years, Norm’s dealership did lots of modifications to stock Chrysler rides, many of which were eventually incorporated into the production models, and even sponsored a drag race team for a few years. Eventually the dealership closed, and Mr. Norm seemed to disappear. And then, here came the internet. And all the guys who longed for modifications to their rides. And Mr. Norm was there, again, just like he was back in the 60’s, with products that helped transform stock production cars into something special.

Only this time, the products that caught my eye weren’t performance enhancements, although those are available. What I spotted were the two “Cuda Conversion” kits on his website, the “GSS King Cuda”, and the “GSS Racer” packages. Both include a ‘Cuda front grille, a ‘Cuda tail panel, fender and tail emblems, side graphics (stripes or emblems), disc brake covers, floor mats, embroidered head rests, etc. And, the front grille and rear tail panel are dead ringers for a ’71 Cuda!

Well, you can probably guess the rest of the story, and hopefully the photos I’ve teased along the way have let you know, yeah, the obsessive part of me won out. The Challenger is now a “Mr. Norm’s GSS Racer Edition ‘Cuda”!