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1965 Plymouth Belvedere AWB

In June of 1963, Plymouth announced the development of the 426 cubic-inch 'Super Stock' or 'Max Wedge Stage II' V8 engine intended primarily for supervised drag racing and stock car racing. Two versions of the Super Stock Wedge engine were available by special order, delivering either 415 or 425 horsepower. Cars equipped with this engine placed first and second in the United States Auto Club (USAC) competition. Chrysler equipped the 426 CID Wedge engines in approximately 2,130 of its vehicles in 1963.

The 'Super Stock' Max Wedge Stage III 426 CID (426-R) V8 engine continued as a $500 option in 1964, intended solely for racing purposes. Along with the 415 or 425 hp options, a street-tuned 426-S version with 365 advertised horsepower became available. The 'Super Commando' 426 CID Hemi V8 was introduced around February 9th of 1964, again for competition purposes, and priced at $1,800. With 11.0:1 compression, the engine offered 415 horsepower or 425 hp with the 12.5:1 high-compression version.

In 1964, a total of 6,359 examples of the 426 CID engine were placed into Dodge and Plymouth products. Of these, 271 were 'Race Hemis.' 360 examples were built the following year, installed in Plymouths and Dodges. A combined total of 6,929 Plymouth and Dodge products were fitted with the 426 CID V8 in 1965.

Ford raised the competition bar further in 1965, with the Mustang and Comet bodies being equipped with the single overhead camshaft, 427 cubic-inch motor for use in the Factory Experimental Class. Jim Thornton, a Chrysler chassis engineer, worked on keeping the Mopar products competitive. The racing regulations for the Super Stock class dictated that the major of the components be shared with the road-going products. The A/FX class, however, was less restricted.

Proper weight distribution, primitive tire technology, and a heavy and powerful engine were among the challenges Mopar engineers worked to resolve. Fiberglass and aluminum were used for body panels, Plexiglass replaced the door window glass, and the windshield received Lexan. An aluminum cylinder head and a magnesium cross-ram intake manifold helped reduce some of the weight of the engine. More was still needed, so Chrysler's Race Group decided to relocate as much of the car's mass to the rear by moving the wheelbase as far forward as possible. The front wheels were moved forward by 10-inches and the rear axle by 15-inches, shortening the overall wheelbase to 110-inches, a decrease of over five percent. These changes resulted in approximately fifty-six percent of the mass over the rear tires.

Five Plymouth Belvederes and five Dodge Coronets received these conversions. Their steel bodies were acid dipped and then sent to Amblewagon in Detroit for the wheelbase conversion.

More problems arose as the altered cars toed the line, as NHRA officials quickly instigated new regulations that restricted wheelbase alterations to two percent versus stock for the A/FX class. Although unable to compete in the class they were designed to compete in, they found success racing in the AHRA Factory Experimental class, piloted by drivers such as Dave Stickler, Bud Faubel, and Roger Lindamood completing the quarter-mile in the low ten seconds. These times continued to fall during the season, especially with the addition of the Hilborn fuel injection system in mid-1965.

The altered wheelbase Mopars of the mid-1960s gave birth to the 'Funny Car' term, quickly duplicated by privateers and factory teams alike.


by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2020

Related Reading : Plymouth Belvedere History

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 Plymouths first vehicle of this design and was built to combat Chevrolets Bel Air. The Bel Air had been introduced in 1950 and was a great success as the first two-door hardtop in the....
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