Rock “Rocky” Del Franco was a 16-year-old on a mission. The Bronx, New York, native already owned a cool van to do his daily driving, but wild-eyed Rocky now had his sights set on a much bigger prize: a big-block ’69 Barracuda sitting lifeless at his brother’s friend’s house. To the young burgeoning Mopar fanatic, things just didn’t get any better than an A-Body built with a big Wedge and a four-speed between the buckets.
The car had been a local street bruiser, sold new locally at McKenzie Motors to the dealership owner’s son. The original possessor had plans for the potent little A-Body Fish from the start. He quickly thrashed a set of fenderwell headers into the Barracuda, and then took the 383ci-powered ride straight to the street. The car was the ultimate sleeper, sporting a flat hood, dog-dish caps, and a skin of low-impact T5 Bronze Fire metallic paint. Creeping up on unsuspecting Brand X victims was this Mopar’s specialty, and it certainly succeeded at the job.
After a few years, the car was sold off, and interestingly enough Rocky’s brother Tom bought the choice Barracuda. The Mopar ride now had a spot in the family driveway, and it was the first time the young gun got the opportunity to lay his eyes on it. He was only 8 years old at the time, but he remembers vividly how the A-Body took to the local streets. Unfortunately, the feisty Mopar didn’t stick around long; after installing a set of Cragars on it, Tom drove the car for just two years before selling it off to a friend.
Under the new owner’s possession, the now worn Barracuda supposedly stopped running after just a few weeks. So the owner did what a lot of people did back then; he parked the car on the side of his house while deciding its future fate. The car soon got blocked in by the stacks of his winter’s supply of wood for the fireplace. It was now barely visible from the road, and it was there where the Barracuda inconspicuously sat idle for years. That’s where eagle-eyed Rocky spotted the car.
Rocky’s Road
Rocky just knew deep down inside that he needed to make this Mopar his own. Knowing the car had not moved in years, he figured it’d need some work to get it running. So he approached the owner about the car, and found out he was willing to sell the Barracuda for $800. The youngster made him a deal. “I told him if the car would crank over, I would give him the $800; if it didn’t, I’d give him $500,” says Rocky. After a few tries the car wouldn’t crank, and Rocky got his dream ride for a measly five Benjamins. The only obstacle in his way now was moving all the logs to free his new prize.
But the adventure wasn’t over there — not by a long shot. Now he needed to somehow get his new ride back to his house, a Bronx-sized half-mile away. Being a man on a budget, the youngster got crafty. “I decided to flat-tow the car home with my van, with a rope,” says Rocky. It was certainly not the safest way to move a car on the busy streets of the Bronx, but it was worth a shot. It didn’t take long for the crafty kid to get pulled over by the local cops. “I explained to the officer that I just bought the car, it didn’t run and I was towing it home a few blocks away. He was so impressed that a 16-year-old kid owned two cars and knew how to flat tow, that he let me go, and, of course, with the warning to go straight home with the unregistered, uninsured Barracuda on a rope,” explains Rocky.
Once home, Rocky dug into his new ride. He soon found out that the 383 was seized solid. He decided to call a few friends over for help, a cast and crew that were all into Mopar Muscle. From that day on, this group of guys would call themselves the “Bronx Mopars.” They were a pack of local kids who were brought together by the Pentastar and lovers of all things Chrysler.
The crew pulled the motor and set it aside. A healthy 383 engine was sourced from a Charger and installed in the needy A-Body. Now the car was a running machine. From the start, the Barracuda was Rocky’s second ride, as he already had a “daily driver” to do the dirty work with. He treated the car well and knew that this ride was a keeper, and for good reason. It was built the way any A-Body fanatic would’ve wanted it from the factory.
The car is an original H-code Formula S coupe, one of just 53 four-speeds built that year. Its 383ci Wedge motor pushes out a healthy 330 hp in stock dress, straight from the factory. The gears are rowed by the vaunted A833 transmission, and it feeds a 3.91 geared 8 ¾ rear out back. The original owner opted for the vinyl roof and kept the rest of the car on the down low — no scoops, no stripes, and plain painted steel wheels. Disc brakes sit up front for mucho stopping power, and a deluxe interior adorns the cockpit. It was a sleeper for sure, and newly minted titleholder Rocky loved the way it looked and performed.
Rebirth
Over the years, cars came and went, and the Barracuda was always treated with care. Then, a big decision was made; Rocky came to the conclusion that the car needed to be returned to all of its original glory. “In the late 80s, I took the car apart with the intent of restoring it properly … then life happened,” admits Rocky. The car sat in a rented garage for almost a decade. But Rocky didn’t sit idle. “I was collecting NOS parts, and amassed a good collection of things I would need to restore the Barracuda correctly,” he says. Rocky also had a ’71 Road Runner (and still does), so he had something to keep him occupied.
In 1998, he was ready to take on the full restoration. He prepared his parts and bought a Roto-jig to help out. “I had the car media-blasted and brought the car back to fellow Bronx Mopar member John Quinn’s garage. The two life-long friends now lived next door to each other, with their garages nearly butting right up to each others.
The restoration commenced on the A-Body. While the unibody structure received needed metalwork, Rocky sourced a set of NOS fenders in Ontario, Canada. Luckily, the seller offered to bring them over the border and meet them on the New York side, avoiding crating and customs. His good friend Pete drove the six hours to the border on the stipulation he was fed well and paid for gas. “It was an adventure I’ll never forget,” says Rocky.
Back in the Bronx, things were going well. Rocky had a crew of good friends helping out with every aspect of the build. John Quinn handled most of the bodywork, with Rocky himself helping out with the tedious sanding. “We sprayed the car right in the garage, with a makeshift booth made out of plastic sheets,” says Rocky. Local young guns and future Bronx Mopar members Dan Lyon and Nick Hooks lent a hand during the course of the restoration.
One interesting part of the rebuild was working with the glass. After taking all the windows, cranks, and tracks out to have the vent window frames chromed, the crew hit a wall. When it came time to put it all together, they couldn’t figure out how to reassemble them. “Then Rich Parisi, another local kid, locked himself in the garage one night, only to surprise us with all the cranks, tracks, and windows installed and working by morning. To this day, I still have no idea how he did it,” laughs Rocky.
To repair the fenderwells, which had been cut for those big headers, Rocky found NOS pieces to repair the mangled set. But they needed help with the major welding. The job was done to perfection by his good friend Paul Kaufman. Mr. G’s restored the dash cluster, and the shifter was sent out and rebuilt by Hurst. The vinyl roof, glass, and headliner were done by a local guy who did all the work in-house. Seatbelts were courtesy of his friend Joe’s Dart, and Rocky’s wife, Chrissy, scrubbed them until they looked brand new. And that wasn’t her only job here. “Many of the parts were NOS and not repop, so she polished all the chrome and stainless steel parts that needed it,” admits Rocky. The owner rebuilt the front grille himself using all NOS parts.
When it came down to the powertrain, Rocky didn’t skimp. “The original engine was rebuilt to stock factory specs by local builder Tommy Gramazio,” he says. Concours Creations rebuilt the original carburetor. Those hard-to-find stock manifolds were restored and then reinstalled, as the owner wanted the engine bay to have that OEM look. No more headers here! The crew rebuilt the 8 ¾ rear in the garage, and the transmission was gone through thoroughly. Next, a new gas tank and stainless fuel lines were added to the mix. King Queen Mufflers put on the new stock exhaust system, which installed without the slightest hitch. A more modern electronic ignition was snuck in to make the car more reliable.
A few months before completion, Rocky’s mom died. As he stepped away to spend time with family, his friends kept working on the car. There was a mad rush to make it to Chryslers at Carlisle, just weeks away. Once back on track, John Quinn made a shakedown run in the Barracuda. “It feels like I’m driving a brand-new car,” he says. The Formula S was finished the Friday of the event. The next morning they were on the road to Carlisle. “The only thing that was not installed was the radio. After scouring the swap meet, we found a radio. We rigged it with a strategically placed T-shirt not visible to the judges. We ended up winning First Place in our class,” says Rocky.
All the hard work has definitely paid off for Rocky and the Bronx Mopar crew. Even after 18 years of flogging, the car looked it was restored yesterday — a testament to the hard work and dedication put into this well-done restoration. And it’s certainly no trailer queen. “In all of its years, it’s only been trailered twice; that first show at Carlisle because it was so new and the Mopar Nationals the next month, where it took Second Place,” says Rocky. The reason why he got Second Place: “The First Place Barracuda had its seatbelts restored … mine were used and from a Dart! I didn’t know about proper seatbelt restoration,” admits the owner.
“I had a lot of help restoring this car, and thanks go out to all the friends who have had a hand in bringing this beautiful Barracuda back to life,” says Rocky. A special shout-out goes to his wife, Chrissy, who made sure all the crew was properly nourished during the endeavor and for her help in the garage as well. Turns out she loves the cars almost as much as he does. “After 20 years of marriage we both love driving fast and doing lots of burnouts,” admits Rocky.
As for the future, Rocky will keep on doing the same. He regularly takes the Barracuda out and will drive it two or three hours to a car show without hesitation. Even with the 3.91 gears and no air conditioning, it’s not a problem — even on the highway in the dead of summer. The car is now part of the family, as his boys Dominick (15) and Rock Jr. (17) have been enjoying the car since they could ride in a car seat. “I taught Rock Jr. how to drive stick in this car,” say Rocky. Dominick gets his permit this summer, so there’ll be a new young gun behind the steering wheel soon. “Their mission is to drive every car I own. They are now calling dibs on who gets it in the inheritance,” says Rocky. That’s a long way away in the future for sure.
Fast Facts
ENGINE
TYPE: 383ci RB Wedge
BORE x STROKE: 4.25 x 3.38 inches
BLOCK: stock OEM
ROTATING ASSEMBLY: stock
CYLINDER HEADS: stock 906 heads
COMPRESSION: 10.0:1
CAMSHAFT: stock
VALVE TRAIN: stock
INDUCTION: stock intake with OEM carter AVS
OILING SYSTEM: stock
EXHAUST: stock manifolds with stock exhaust
IGNITION: Mopar electronic ignition
COOLING: stock radiator
FUEL: stock mechanical pump
OUTPUT: 330 hp
ENGINE BUILT BY: Tommy Gramazio
DRIVETRAIN
TRANSMISSION: stock A833
SHIFTER: Hurst
STEERING: stock manual
FRONT BRAKES: stock disc
REAR BRAKES: stock 11-in drum
REAR: 8 ¾-inch with 3.91 gears
INTERIOR
SEATS: stock vinyl buckets
INSTRUMENTS: Rallye gauges
WIRING: stock
WHEELS & TIRES
WHEELS: 14-inch stock steel wheels
TIRES: 205/70/15 (front) and 215/70/15 (rear) Coker Redline
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