This book chronicles Mopar’s participation in this "era
of excessive force," using original factory technical materials and period
photography of both prototype and production vehicles. Everything from mini (273-340) to maxi (383-413-426-440) Wedge and Hemi cars are featured as they originally looked and performed when brand new.
I was editor of Hi-Performance CARS magazine, and editorial director of the Magnum
Automotive Group during Dodge and Plymouth’s golden performance years. I had the good fortune to be at the
right place at the right time, which afforded me access to the hottest cars,
racers, factory engineers, and all the people directly involved with racing and
performance programs. We created
this nostalgic Mopar tribute by working with original factory documents, notes
taken at press previews, and during road testing and interviews with engineers
and racers. Photos were shot at
racetracks, Chrysler’s Chelsea Proving Grounds, and on the street. The interviews and road tests
were originally conducted for use in Hi-Performance CARS as well as other Magnum publications like SPEED
and SUPERCAR, SUPER/STOCK & FX, and SUPERCAR test annuals.
In addition to period photography of production cars, this book showcases rare pre-production vehicles. Check out the ’65 Dodge 426 Hemi Coronet Hardtop--announced but never produced; the Street Hemi didn’t make it into production until the 1966 model year! I also made a number of trips from my home in the suburbs to my office in New York City in a two-door ’65 Coronet 426 Hemi sedan prototype. It had been raced by David Pearson and Scott Harvey in the Trans-Canada Rally and then shipped to me for street testing.
I had the opportunity to test-drive Mopar exotica at the Chrysler Proving Grounds and on the streets of New York City. For a week in 1964, I borrowed a clone of the Ramchargers’ lightweight Candy-Matic Dodge, powered by a radical Stage III 426 Wedge--and I had a ball at local street racing haunts! I’ve also experienced riding shotgun (sitting on a makeshift seat) with Al Eckstrand in the legendary altered-wheelbase, Hilborn-injected Golden Commandos’ Hemi Plymouth on Chelsea’s drag strip. I discovered how less could be more after making some runs in the Golden Commandos’ Goldfish Barracuda that won F/Stock at the 1965 NHRA Nationals. Those really were the good old days!
It’s all captured here along with the straight scoop on high-performance engine development and Chrysler Engineering drag test reports on 340, 383, 426, and 440 cubic-inch Plymouths. And we’ve got everything you’ve always wanted to know about the aerodynamics of the Charger Daytona and Superbird “winged warriors.”
Vintage Mopar supercars and ponycars are historically significant automobiles that represent Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth’s finest hours and the "golden years" of high-performance motoring in America. Enjoy this look back at the way things were.