ll good things come in time, such as this 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite belonging to Mike and Judy Duford. The Dufords have owned this once-untouched Mopar since 1973 and, in fact, Mike dated Judy in this very ride. Over time Mike wanted to have a unique hot rod and in doing so his path crossed with Randy Weaver of Weaver Customs (WC) in West Jordan, Utah. The Dufords are no strangers to cutting-edge Mopars, as one only has to think back to the 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda nicknamed “TorC.” The Putty Gray with black trim ’Cuda looked like an extremely well-done vintage muscle car but the real “soul” of this ride came from the 6.7L twin-turbo Cummins diesel that rested underneath the hood and produced some 1,500 rear-wheel horsepower. Now that’s a muscle car! But that was then and this is now and the 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite is the latest from both the Dufords and WC.

A Little Background

The Plymouth Satellite was introduced in 1965 as the top trim model of Plymouth’s “B” platform Belvedere line. The 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite is the second-generation (1968-1970) model equipped with six engine options (318 being standard in 1968) ranging from the 273 V-8 to the very stout 440 accompanied by three transmission options. The Sport Satellite featured the same blacked-out grille as seen on the Road Runner while the regular Satellite had the traditional Belvedere grille.

More About Today

In today’s factory muscle car “wars” there’s no questioning the potency of the Dodge Hellcat supercharged engine with its 700-plus horsepower, thus making it the perfect addition to any of the ’60s-’70s Mopar vintage muscle rides. Such is the case for Mike’s 1970 Plymouth Sport Satellite with a modern Hellcat 6.2L supercharged V-8 that’s now making upwards of 900 hp (and 850 lb-ft of torque) thanks to a little massaging through larger injectors, modified fuel pump, air cleaner, SPAL electric fan, and a custom 3-inch exhaust run through Flowmaster mufflers. All of this power is bolted to a TREMEC Magnum T56 six-speed with a McLeod flywheel, dual disc clutch, and a WC machined shifter. Interestingly, as large as the engine compartments were on the muscle car–era Mopars, the hand-fabricated hood shows off a full-length dome and a stylized relief cut into the hood acknowledging the required room for the supercharger to fit within the engine room limitations. Added to the hood are also two honeycomb mesh panels that serve as hot air vents releasing underhood temps. A tip of the cap goes to the old-school hood pins that retain the hood during its runs up and down the highways and byways leading to and from rodding events. The Sport Satellite is no stranger to events or awards, having taken home Best of Show at Hot August Nights, Outstanding Handbuilt Custom at the Salt Lake City ISCA Show, and one of Utah’s Top 10 awards also at the SLC ISCA Show in 2020.