The whole idea behind Pro Street muscle car extends beyond going fast. Pro Street is as much about grabbing attention as it is winning races — maybe more so.

The ’72 Barracuda reverted to a single headlight per side in the grille.

Let’s face it: How many Pro Street muscle cars do you see go down a drag strip? Pro Street cars have the Pro Stocker/Pro Mod look, and to the average owner, that is more than enough.

Perhaps that is why the Pro Street look is still popular today, 50 years since the movement began.

Mark Hall has been into cars since he was 10 years old. He knew one day he’d have a Pro Street car to call his own. The ’72 Plymouth Barracuda you see here is everything he ever wanted.

In 2000, armed with a pocketful of cash, he ventured to a Super Chevy Show. He hoped to find a project to make his own and he didn’t care what it was. He went home empty-handed.

Nothing piqued his interest. Undeterred, he jumped on the Internet that same day and came across a long-expired ad for the car you see here. With nothing to lose, he contacted the owner, who was up in Mansfield, Ohio, and still had the E-body. It was powered by a supercharged 340 and that was a good start.

“It’s always been my dream car since I was a kid, but I love Chevys, Fords — I love them all,” Mark said. “This just happened to fall in my lap.”

Nothing quite gets the attention of a blown, all-aluminum Gen-II Hemi bursting through your hood. This is what a Pro Street muscle car is all about.

Not there’s anything wrong with a blown A-motor, but Mark knew that supercharged 340 was just a good place to start. He had Steve Barker build an all-aluminum Gen-II Hemi (stock stroke, bored .030-over). This Elephant is not for the faint of heart. Lift on the hydraulic roller cam is .750-inch.

He topped the long-block with a 6-71 BDS supercharger and two Holley 750 cfm blower carburetors.

The prodigious pachyderm is backed by a 727 TorqueFlite with a Cheetah manual valve body shifter and Hughes torque converter. The 8 ¾-inch rear was narrowed and fitted with 4.56 gears.

Back-Half Beauty

The late Jeff Donkin did the paint and chassis, including the three-link rear suspension. The color is called Purple Rhapsody and it is out of the Dupont Hot Hues catalog. The Billboard stripes were painted on in a contracting silver/grey with purple Hemi callouts.

“The color is my favorite part,” noted Mark. I love the color.”

Giant Mickey Thompson tires fill out the wheel tubs.

Some Mopar trivia: The stylist who designed the Billboards was sick of designing stripes for Chrysler’s muscle cars. He figured he would design something so unappealing, they’d transfer him to another part of the styling department.

Instead, his bosses went crazy and thought he was a genius and the Billboards became a production option.

“It’s always been my goal and my love to have a blown Hemi ’Cuda Pro Street car,” said Mark. “Tubbed has always been my dream.”

This is one Pro Street muscle car dream that has come true.