Day 1
6/6/08
Totally Auto
Feasterville, Pa

Here we go, all set for yet another MoPoweredTour. The Tour within the Tour just for our Mopar Brethren. Easily considered the best time you can have on four wheels, the MoPoweredTour is testament to just what these cars are all about. Fun, sun and headin' down the highway looking for adventure!

We began work on the Tours LEAD vehicle just about 4 and a half month's ago at Totally Auto and she's finally complete. Found at Carlisle by Totally Auto owner Dave Ferro's Daughter, CaraMia this 'little 67 A-body never saw what was coming. Purchase price was 8800.00 What that got us was a REALLY rust free 67 Barracuda 273 automatic with air that blew cold for a day. Actually, mechanically the car was sound and the little bugger drove us all the way home on the tank of gas that was in it when we got it! But we, had other ideas.

Since being on the road day in and day out means actually being in you car day after day, we've completely rethought what an interior needs to be. This young pup has among its creature comforts a Classic Auto Air hvac system, power windows, power locks, DVD, 6-disc changer, Touch-Screen GPS Navigation, Gear Vendor Overdrive, Power Steering/Power Locks, tilt-wheel, remote locking, a moon-roof, a killer alarm and sound system, rear-view camera, all in a full-custom WHITE LEATHER cockpit! The dash has been extensively reworked to hold an array of Mopar Performance backlit gauges and all the gizmos. Team Totally Auto really shined on the all-metal dash. Look close, then look again, several A-body dashes were spliced together and reshaped, for a look that's all-new yet pays tribute to the original.

In the end and with time against us, we beat the odds and actually had the car done a few weeks early! Then I set out to start breaking stuff. First, the TCI convertor puked its aluminum contents into the transmission. An overnight trans rebuild and a second overnighted TCI convertor took care of that problem, or so we thought. TCI convertor number two turned out to be worse then the first and it blew our front pump apart! The Guys at Dynamic Transmission in Newark Delaware saved the day with yet another overnight rebuild of the trans one of their quality convertors.

Back on the road all seemed good again! Until that is the fuel injection acted up! We played around with that for a couple of weeks and then the guys at XV bailed us out by overnighting a 4-bbl intake and MSD controller. The very same day the package arrived, we were on the road and running smooth once again! Well at least for the time being, but more on that later!

The Ryan family got the MoPowered Wagon rolling in time thanks to many a late night on Mike's (Dad) part! Then we went ahead and dressed it up to match the Lead Vehicle Pro-B'Cuda and coined it the CHASE VEHICLE! If you find either of these cars on the Tour, you'll know you found the heart of the MoPowered Tour. For sure you'll be reading about this one's many other surprises as the week rolls on!

With gas prices what they are and adding in the fact that it's hard for all of us to miss so much work, we decided to truck the cars to the Tours starting point, Little Rock Arkansas. I wanted my car to go in the truck first because there is more chance of damage on the first car in.

Simply put, the further you drive into that steel beam tunnel, the more chance of hitting one of those rails. I figured since everybody trusted me with their cars, I'd risk mine first. Dig the tag number?
The first thing you may notice wrong with this picture is simple.... I'm NOT driving.

I REALLY WANT TO THANK JOE AT OMEGA FOR SCRATCHING THE CRAP OUTA MY JUST DONE RIDE! Oh well, if there is truth to the saying that bad things come in three's, B'Cuda got hers before we even hit the road! The other cars, I drove up, no further damage occurred!

SPECIAL THANKS GO OUT TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED! Jon and Scott @ Mopar Performance Rob Wolf @ MCG Bill Reilly @ RMS Bob @ Fine Lines Carl, Timmy, Dan, Joe and Barbara @ Totally Auto Steve who did all the Powder Coating Sean @ Dynamic Transmissions Bill DeFalco, Louie, Newt + Mike John @ XV Motorsports The fine folks @ TTI, Gear Vendor's, Kicker Audio, Classic Auto Air, Magnum HP, and Year One for all their support! Mostly my family, my kids who helped wash and wax the thing each time we destroyed it and for putting up with me the past few weeks!! Even Evan at Mopar Performance who no longer wishes to accept my calls. Enjoy the ride!

Last night, I filled the trunk with paint and supplies. Guess I'll be making some body/paint repairs in the hotel parking lot in Arkansas! CYA then!

Now? I'm headin' out on a plane, south to Arkansas.
I'll leave you with this..........

PRO-B'Cuda's dash... at night!
See 'Ya on the road!
Dave Ferro