Re: 426 Hemi question

[Herb <zephyr9900@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Under the hood, the widest array yet of Plymouth engines was available. It
was a long way from the time just ten years earlier when you could have any
engine you wanted as long as it was a flathead six! Base engine (other than
Valiant) was the 225 Slant Six, already in its fifth season of proving
itself a tireless performer. Another workhorse, the famed 318, was the base
V8. It was followed by the B-block engines: 361, 383, and new for this year,
a "street" 426 wedge. The latter had made a great name for itself on the
drag strips in 1963 as an out-and- out racing engine, setting eight NHRA
records. Now it could be had in a state detuned just enough to drive on the
streets, but not enough for anyone else to beat. For the drag racer, two
more 426 wedge engines were available. Fed by dual four barrel carbs on a
short cross ram manifold and relieved by newly designed "snakepit" Tri-Y
cast iron headers, one of these Stage III Max Wedges produced 415 horsepower
with a compression ratio of 11:1, the other put out a full 425 hp with a 12
5: 1 compression ratio. The latter option included hood scoop equipped
aluminum front sheetmetal that knocked off 150 pounds from the car's weight.
But that's not all! One more engine would find its way under Plymouth's 1964
hood, an engine that would become a legend. The Hemi!

http://www.allpar.com/history/plymouth/1964.html


Most of you know there were hardtop Race Hemi cars built but you almost
never see any articles on these cars. The reason for that is there are only
a handful of them still in existence today. Myself, I have only physically
seen three-first hand. Two 1964 Plymouth Belvedere hardtops and one 1964
Dodge 440 hardtop. One Plymouth was an automatic and the other two were four
speed cars. That raises the question as to just how many hardtop Race Hemis
were actually built? Previously these production numbers were unavailable,
but with the new Max Wedge and Race Hemi books from Darrell Davis the word
is out. Below are the totals for Dodge and Plymouth from Darrell's book. To
find out the details of each car regarding body color, interior trim and
color plus basic options including transmission get yourself a copy of
Darrell's books. It's interesting to note there were no Race Hemi hardtops
built in 1965. 
1964 Race Hemi Hardtop Production: 
Dodge 440 Hardtop - 
22 automatic transmission
13 manual transmission
----------------------------------
35 total production 
Plymouth Belvedere Hardtop -

18 automatic transmission
17 manual transmission
----------------------------------
35 total production

That comes to just 70 of these cars being built. I have been asked if they
made that many then why don't you ever see or hear about hardtop Race Hemis?
My guess is that most of them ended up on the tracks of NASCAR and you know
what happened to most of them. CRASH, BOOM BAMM!! 
Just a guess ... 
http://racehemi.maxwedge.com/topics/hardtops.php
FYI
Herb 
 
1963 Fury 2D/HT 6.1
1963 Sport Fury Convertible 361
1970 Challenger RT 440
1999 Durango SLT 5.9
2006 300-C Heritage 5.7
2008 SRT-8 Magnum 6.1
St. Louis, MO


-------Original Message-------
 
From: mikelj@xxxxxxx
Date: 2/9/2009 12:38:55 PM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: 426 Hemi question
 
 
 
I have always wondered, what year was th first one that you could check a
box on a new car order form at the dealer and get the new 426 Hemi in a
Dodge?  Was it 1965 or 1966?
Mike in New Mexico
 
 
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