Pete Wiseman’s Sox and Martin tribute Barracuda

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 12:09 pm

Great read Pete. Please (when you have finished here) do a write up on the 440 six pack Superbird.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Jan 28, 09 12:19 pm

Woody wrote:Great read Pete. Please (when you have finished here) do a write up on the 440 six pack Superbird.

Thanks

What's wrong with the Petty Blue bird ?

Scooby · Post by **Scooby** » Wed Jan 28, 09 1:40 pm

Great post Pete, I often wondered how you got into where you are now ( although I did think Blue ) was some where, lurking in the back ground.!!!
Keep posting, anymore pics.
Rich.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 2:05 pm

Pete wrote::

What's wrong with the Petty Blue bird ?

What ever you wanna call it is fine with me. I would just love to hear more about the resto. Alex has talked about it but not in great detail.

Ivor · Post by **Ivor** » Wed Jan 28, 09 3:07 pm

Great stuff Pete and may I say what a splendid back axle!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 4:25 pm

RobTwin wrote:Good write up Pete Long time coming

Must say tho, I like the 'original' (to you) paint scheme

Hey Pete, that would of looked the B............ in that blue. Must say Pete you do go the long way round, you should of gone B/B or Hemi from the start.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 6:14 pm

Nice one Pete, here's my first sighting of it back at my first Nats in 2002, back in the days when I would spend £50 on a camera and £4,000 on a car...nowadays I spend £50 on a car and £4,000 on a camera

And Rich, you have actually rubbed bumpers with this awesome A body!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 6:21 pm

Now thats what I'm talking about....................

AllKiller · Post by **AllKiller** » Wed Jan 28, 09 6:56 pm

Unleash more Pete

cool read

db · Post by db » Wed Jan 28, 09 7:24 pm

Pete wrote:This dictated the width of the rear axle. Yes, I know that’s the wrong way around but there is an element of pragmatism and practicality when building a car and “2 welds in the hand was worth more than an 8 ¾” axle casing in the bush” so to speak.

My favoured order of things too- my car had tubs, i had to fill 'em so the axle had to make room for the wheels

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Jan 28, 09 7:37 pm

Slick wrote: [.... Must say Pete you do go the long way round, you should of gone B/B or Hemi from the start.

Slick, I guess that's the whole point of the article.

When I got into Mopars all I did was polish and preen them. I had never been on a track and had no idea what "fast" was and what it felt like to go fast.

From my starting point "12's" WAS fast. Not many street cars ran "10's" and it cost a LOT of money and needed LOTS of exotic stuff.
I would NEVER have dreamed back then of owning a Hemi motor.

Not only have my targets changed over the years (I have sold a LOT of nice cars to fund it - stupidly) but also the supply of parts is totally different from a few years ago.

This is not just a car, it is a journey (with great mates)

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Jan 28, 09 7:38 pm

Great Dave McB! I have never seen those pictures before!

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Jan 28, 09 7:39 pm

Ivor wrote:Great stuff Pete and may I say what a splendid back axle!

Don't spoil the surprises!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 28, 09 7:54 pm

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Jan 28, 09 8:11 pm

After the 2003 Nats, when all focus was on getting the Tor Red six pack ‘Bird up and running (boy, what a fight THAT was….), things calmed down a bit and my attention turned to the colour scheme for the Barracuda. I was pretty undecided on the colours or indeed the whole look of the car – this had never been part of the master plan.

However, having spent a couple of days with Carl Levine at the NEC Classic and Sports car show; some ideas had started to form. To combat the boredom and the inane questions from the punters “I bet that does not do much to the gallon, mate”; or “If you leave it running at the petrol station can the pump catch up with it”; and my personal favourite was always “My dad had a ’70 ‘cuda just like that one, but it was a four door version”; we started kicking around a few options.

Carl was into “Old School” and I was rapidly learning. At the time he had a Plymouth Belvedere which he had been restoring and it was nearly ready for paint. It started looking like a nostalgia car was on the cards.

Given the make, and the fact that mine was a 4 speed, there was only really one outcome possible; Sox & Martin. That legendary combination of Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin, who ruled the roost right up until the arrival of the Lencos.

The good news being that whilst S&M were synonymous with Barracuda fastbacks, they had raced everything from Belvederes and ‘Cudas to Dusters and indeed Superbirds. Carls car fitted the bill as well. And what a bill. The S&M colours are so distinctive as they kept the “brand” of red, white, and blue and unique lettering throughout most of their racing partnership. “Sox & Martin” it was.

Together we hatched our plans and whether we would be able to debut the cars together. However, the reality was that Carl was well ahead of me, and got his car out first to great plaudits and magazine coverage. Rats! I would just have to wait for my revenge on the strip…..