1964 Plymouth Belvedere

For sixteen years, beginning in 1954, the Belvedere was part of the Plymouth lineup, however, its history dates even further back, beginning in 1951 when it served as a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line. It replaced the Cranbrook in 1954 as the top-of-the-line trim and became a full model line with a complete range of body styles including a sedan, convertible, and station wagon. It became intermediate-sized in 1965 and was replaced following the 1970 model year by the Satellite.

1964 was the final year of the full-size Belvedere and the last of the styling introduced in 1962. The previous generation of styling (from 1960 to 1961) used a 118-inch wheelbase and unit-body construction, while the cars of 1962 through 1964 Belvedere had more compact 116-inch wheelbase dimensions.

The 1964 Plymouth Fury was positioned above the Savoy and below the Fury, offered both six and eight-cylinder engine options, and wore new 'slant-back' rooflines. They had full-length bodyside molding with a hook shape at the front end, wore Belvedere signature script behind the front wheel openings and on the right-hand side of the deck lid hatch panel, and was devoid of Plymouth letters on the rear edge of the trunk. Body styles included a two- and four-door sedan, a hardtop coupe, and a six- or nine-passenger station wagon.

The standard engine was the 225 cubic-inch six-cylinder unit with overhead valves, solid valve lifters, a Carter one-barrel carburetor, four-main bearings, 8.2:1 compression, and delivered 145 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. The 318 cubic-inch V8 had overhead valves, solid valve lifters, five main bearings, a Carter two-barrel carburetor, 9.0:1 compression, and produced 230 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. A three-speed manual was standard and an automatic and four-speed manual Hurst floor shift transmission was optional. The three-speed TorqueFlite unit had push-button controls and was available with V-8 engines. It was a lighter-weight unit than the previous unit and its transmission tunnel hump was smaller.

Additional engine options included a 383 CID 'Commando' V8 with 265 horsepower and 305 hp with a two-barrel setup, and 330 hp with a four-barrel configuration. The 'Street Wedge' V8 with a 426 cubic-inch displacement and four-barrel carb delivered 365 hp. The 'Super Stock' 'Max wedge Stage III' 426 CID produced 415 hp or 425 hp depending on setup, and the 'Super Commando' 426 CID 'Hemi' produced 425 horsepower. The 'Super Stock' was a racing-only option while the street-tuned 426 'Street Wedge' produced an advertised 365 horsepower. The 'Super Commando' 426 CID Hemi V8 was released in early February of 1964, for competition purposes and priced at around $1,800. With 11.0:1 compression the engine offered 415 horsepower and 425 hp for the 12.5:1 high-compression version.

Within the entire Chrysler family, a total of 6,359 examples were built with the 426 CID engine for 1964, including 271 'Race Hemis.'

Many of the potent powerplants were designed for competition or homologation purposes, intended to go fast and win. Plymouth's sales had declined during the early 1960s due to lackluster styling. The tail finned Savoy, Belvedere, Fury, and Suburban models of 1960 were well received by the buying public, but by 1962, the newly introduced down-sized models were outclassed by larger Ford and Chevrolet models. Only Plymouth's compact Valiant, with its strong slant six engine, was well-received, spawning the introduction of the Barracuda in mid-1964. Plymouth sales began to rebound as its foundation of racing successes and performance pedigree continued to grow.

The Chrysler Corporation was an early entrant in the 'Pony Car Wars' during the 1960s, with their new A-body platform car competing against the Ford Falcon. Dearborn continued its assault with the introduction of the Mustang, a car that quickly and significantly outsold the Barracuda. This new class of American muscle quickly became established and resulted in increased popularity and competition on all fronts.

Plymouth updated its styling for 1964, with a beveled edge roof feature on sedans while hardtops wore a new cantilevered type of roof pillar with larger pillars at the top than at the bottom. In the front was a full-width grille that 'vee'd' to the horizontal plane and incorporated an insert with six stacks of short blades. The large front bumper housed the parking lights, and in the back, the look was further refined and only a slight hint of a dorsal fin remained.

The Chrysler Corporation's pursuit of performance was relentless, including the 1955 Chrysler 300 Series powered by a 331.1 cubic-inch Hemi engine utilizing a full race camshaft, two four-barrel carburetors, and developing 300 horsepower. Chrysler's premier competition mill of the early 1960s was the Max Wedge engine, particularly in the 426 cubic-inch Stage II configuration, introduced in 1963, and delivering 425 horsepower. 1963 was also the year a new development program began with sights set on winning at Daytona, further improving upon the Wedge design and refining the old Hemi-head engines of the 1950s.

Chrysler engineers Tom Hoover and Don Moore fitted a standard RB block (initially of cast iron) with new 'Hemi' heads and 12.5:1 compression to an aluminum short-ram intake manifold. Four vehicles powered by the new Hemi V-8 were driven by Richard Petty, Jimmy Pardue, and Paul Goldsmith to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 1964 Daytona 500. NASCAR was quick to sideline the engine until homologation (of several thousand Street Hemis) could be manufactured and sold. As a result, the MoPars all sat out the season, while Chrysler factories began churning out Hemis for the public to satisfy the sanctioneers.

The Max Wedge Lightweight cars, built by the factory with aluminum front end sheet metal and stripped interiors, are considered a 'Transitional car,' before the availability of the new Race Hemi in April 1964. Between nine and fifteen such cars were produced, all with varying features.

1964 Plymouth Belvedere

The Belvedere was priced approximately $200 higher than its Savoy sibling and about $100 less than the Fury. The two-door sedan had a factory base price of $2,360 (approximately $100 more with the standard V8) and the four-door sedan at $2,415. The hardtop coupe was priced at $2,445 and the six-passenger wagon at $2,830. Both the six- and nine-passenger wagons came standard with a V8 while the other body styles were standard with the Six. The most popular body style was the sedan with 57,307 examples built, followed by 16,334 of the hardtop coupe, and 5,364 of the two-door sedan. The six-passenger wagon was more popular than the nine-passenger version, with 10,317 sales compared to 4,207 of the nine.

Standard equipment an oil filter, electric wipers, small hubcaps, tubeless Blackwall tires, turn signals, glovebox lock, cigar lighter, armrests, and front foam seat cushions. The nine-passenger wagon had a power tailgate window. Plymouths were advertised as being capable of going 32,000 miles between chassis lubes.

Plymouth significantly reworked its model lineup for 1965, with the Belvedere expanded from being an intermediate trim designation to representing the entire intermediate model. The compact line was comprised of various Valiants (V-100, V-200, Valiant Signet, and Barracuda), the intermediate was the Belvedere (Belvedere I, Belvedere II, and Belvedere Satellite) and the full-size Plymouths were the Fury ('base,' Fury II, Fury III, and Sport Fury).

by Dan Vaughan

An American automobile, the Plymouth Belvedere was produced by Plymouth from 1951 through 1970. Unveiled on March 31, 1951, the 1951 Belvedere was first showcased as a two-door pillarless hardtop. The Belvedere was Plymouth's first vehicle of this design and was built to combat Chevrolet's Bel Air. The Bel Air had been introduced in 1950 and was a great success as the first two-door hardtop in the low-priced American market.

Not a separate model, the '51 Belvedere was the top-trim Cranbrook and built on that vehicle's 118.5-inch wheelbase that gave the two-door Belvedere very complementary proportions. The Belvedere featured the flathead 6-cylinder engine with a displacement of 217.8 in³ (3.6 L), with a compression ratio of 7.00:1 and had an output of 97 hp. During its release year, the Plymouth Belvedere sold at $2,114.

For its second year on the market, the Cranbrook Belvedere remained basically unchanged except for the alteration in the color scheme to further distinguish the top-level Belvedere from the other Plymouths. Referred to as the 'saddleback' treatment, the two-toning color scheme now flowed from the roof over the beltline onto the trunk. Saddle Bronze over Suede, Black over Mint Green, and Gray over Blue were the two-tone color schemes available.

On the 1952 Belvedere overdrive was offered as an optional equipment feature. The engine made three revolutions for each rear wheel revolution in overdrive and against four without overdrive. The 1951 engine carried over completely. The price though did jump an additional $100. From 1951 until 1952 the total count of Belvedere's was strong at 51,266 units, a better record than a quarter of Chevy Bel Air and Ford Victoria production for the same period. The Oriflow shock absorber with 'sea-leg' mounting became well known for its contribution to Plymouth's level, comfortable ride.

Through the 1953 model year, the Belvedere remained a part of the Cranbrook series, though all Plymouth models underwent a complete redesign for that year. A shorter 114-wheelbase was one of the major updates for the Belvedere along with a one-piece windshield, flush rear fenders, and a lower hood line. Plymouths received the Hy-Drive semi-automatic transmission in April of 1953. Chevrolet had introduced the fully automatic Powerglide transmission in 1950, and Plymouth was attempting to catch up. The engine only received a slight increase to the compression ratio to 7.10:1, which yielded a gross horsepower rating of 100, basically a carryover from the year before. Unfortunately for this year, the demand was much lower, and even with the lowered price of $2,132, only 35,185 units were sold for the 1953 model year.

For 1954, the Belvedere replaced the Cranbrook as the top-line offering. Buyers could now choose a convertible, two-door station wagon, a four-door sedan, or two-door hardtop (now called the Sport Coupe) as the Belvedere was now a separate model rather than just a two-door hardtop. The body design stayed basically the same only receiving slight styling updates, while for the first time, small chrome tailfins appeared on the rear fenders. A fully automatic transmission was finally offered by Plymouth in March of 1954, the Chrysler Corp's well-regarded PowerFlite 2-speed. The engine was also new, borrowed from the Dodge Division, a larger standard engine, a 230.2in³ six-cylinder with power now rated at 110 hp. Unfortunately, Belvedere production slipped to just 32,492 for the 1954 year.

For the 1955 model year, all Plymouths received a major overhaul that included Belvedere returning as the top-of-the-line model. 1955 was the first year of Chrysler Stylist Virgil Exner's 'Forward Look.'

The following year Plymouth style finally began evolving from those of the 1955 years look. Achieving what no other car manufacturer in the world was doing, Plymouth featured more dramatic rear tailfin treatments along with the addition of the first pushbutton transmission used in American cars. The Fury joined the Belvedere lineup in early 1956 as a special edition high-performance model.

'Suddenly, It's 1960!' was the trademark slogan on the banner ad promoting Plymouth in 1957. Introducing a design that was so revolutionary, a new 318in³ V8 with dual four-barrel carburetors was available on all Plymouth models. The Fury was once again included on the Belvedere lineup and the 318in³ V8 engine was the standard engine on this model as well.

For 1958 the Belvedere returned as a top-level trim model, while the styling of the newest model was sleek and refined. New quad lights were features, along with 'Golden Commando', a big block 350in³ V8 with dual four-barrel carburetors.

In 1959 the Belvedere lost its place as the middle-priced model, and the Plymouth Fury was expanded to become the top model for Plymouth in 1959.

Introduced as Plymouth's 'gentlemen's' hot rod, the Belvedere GTX was introduced in 1967. There have been many performance Plymouths over the years, but it was until 1967 that Plymouth offered one model with all of the necessary performance enhancements as standard, the Belvedere GTX. The GTX offered stylish performance for the very discriminating buyer. Remaining as Plymouth's mid-priced full-size model through 1964, the Belvedere name was applied to Plymouth's new 'mid-size' model. The higher-trimmed Satellite, the muscle car GTX, and the budget muscle car Road Runner where the Belvedere-based models in the lineup. The Belvedere name lasted throughout 1970 before all mid-sized models took the Satellite name.

The GTX was based on Plymouth's stylish two-door Belvedere hardtop and convertible though it received a unique grille and tail panel, simulated hood schools, and 'pit stop' chrome gas cap. Optional features included twin racing stripes. The GTX featured standard six-leaf rear springs, heavy-duty socks, ball joints, and torsion bars. Another optional feature was disc brakes. The interior of the GTX was considered to be completely luxurious with bucket seats, plenty of brightwork, and embossed vinyl.

Inside the GTX was the impressive 440 CID V8 engine that was rated at 375 bhp standard. Typically this engine was reserved for Chrysler's big cars but was tuned for more high-rpm performance with a revised camshaft and valve train along with free-flowing intake and exhaust systems. One could choose to add the MOPAR's 426 Hemi that was rated at 425 bhp as an optional feature. During its release, only 720 buyers purchased the Hemi at its cost of an additional $546. The Hemi was truly dominant on the drag strip though the 440 could maintain the Hemi's speed up to 70 mph. MOPAR's three-speed automatic transmission was the standard transmission, while a four-speed manual was optional and included a larger ring gear, double-breaker distributor, free-wheeling fan, and an oil-pan windage tray.

For those looking for even more power and performance, Plymouth offered an R023 version of the Hemi GTX. This model was called the 'Super Stock' version and was not marketed by Plymouth. The R023 didn't have hubcaps, radio, body insulation, heater, or even carpet pad and sealers. The R023 kept the same 426 Hemi engine, hand modified for performance that was rated at the same 425 as the normal Hemi. Only 55 R023 models were ever produced, making it quite rare today.

The GTX was moved upscale in 1968 when the Plymouth Road Runner joined the lineup. Both models shared the same redesigned Belvedere platform. The GTX received different non-functional hood vents, revised taillights, and a new grille. The GTX was available as either a two-door hardtop or convertible, while the Road Runner was only available as a pillared coupe. The GTX came with the 440 V8 as a standard feature while both models carried the impressive 426 Hemi as the only engine option.

by Jessican Donaldson