Trying hard to talk myself out of this...

[rahock]

my 1968 roadrunner had a 3.23 rear end. it was standard equipment for that year. something lower might have been fun but it was hard enough keeping back tires on it already.

I had a 69 Super Bee that was pretty much the same car. It used to top end in the neighborhood of 145. The speedometer was a little shakey at that speed , but I did verify a 143 once with a guy I was racing who had an aftermarket spedo that was recently calibrated, so I know it wasn't far off. Distributor was recurved, carburetor  jetted at Ramchargers, trans had a Hemi torque converter and I had headers, but insides were all stock. It ran like stink and yeah, rear tires didn't last too long .
Rick

[nofi]

my car had almost the same mods as your, but i added an edlebrock aluminum hi rise and holly 780 double pumper to the mix. i later put the stock carter afb back on because it ran better.  

my friend had a 69 super bee six pack. it came with a 4:10 posi rear end. i had to race this guy and of course lost. but only by a car length. if only i had that 4:10 gear...

[Denis]

My first '66 Dodge Polara 2 door hardtop was a one owner car with a 383 4v and a Torqueflite. It was a big car and geared for the highway and because of that it was difficult to get it to smoke the tires. However, once it was rolling it was awesome. It pulled at 90mph just like it pulled from 25mph. I only had it up over 100mph once, I think, but it was still going strong. That is one of the cars I wish I still had.

It had a Carter on it and once I rebuilt it mileage went from 14mpg at 55 to 19, pretty credible!

[lowend1]

A friend of mine has owned this '66 Coronet 500 since the mid 1980s. 426 Hemi, 4-speed 3.55 gears (IIRC) with about 30k miles - a survivor. He bought it from a partially disabled guy who could no longer shift a manual trans. It was stored in a barn, hooked to a tow truck so that he could get the car out if there was a fire. We used to go out cruising on Sundays (back when he actually drove the car). On a clear Rt 80, going from 60-120 in the blink of an eye was an experience in itself, but hauling it back to earth with manual steering and 4-wheel manual drum brakes was downright terrifying. He would have both feet on the brake pedal - the whole car shook.

[dadagoboi]

I went to grade school with Dan Dvorak.  Here's 2 of his hemis going at it back in the day.


He's still the go to guy for Mopar mods, shop's about 10 miles from where I live.
http://www.dvorakmachine.com/

[lowend1]

I went to grade school with Dan Dvorak.  Here's 2 of his hemis going at it back in the day.


He's still the go to guy for Mopar mods, shop's about 10 miles from where I live.
http://www.dvorakmachine.com/

Just curious - Are those Hemis or Max Wedge cars? I'm assuming they are factory-built. The Plymouth is a '62 and the Dodge is a '63 - the race Hemi didn't some out until '64. I know Dan was selling cars a few years back to help defray medical bills - at least one was a Max Wedge. Wondering if the Dodge in the  pic is that car. Up here in NJ we have Jerry Stein, who built & raced the "Teacher's Pet" Max Wedge cars, and coincidentally is selling off some of his stuff due to health issues/bills as well.

[dadagoboi]

Just curious - Are those Hemis or Max Wedge cars? I'm assuming they are factory-built. The Plymouth is a '62 and the Dodge is a '63 - the race Hemi didn't some out until '64. I know Dan was selling cars a few years back to help defray medical bills - at least one was a Max Wedge. Wondering if the Dodge in the  pic is that car. Up here in NJ we have Jerry Stein, who built & raced the "Teacher's Pet" Max Wedge cars, and coincidentally is selling off some of his stuff due to health issues/bills as well.

You're right, they're Max Wedges.  Dan had a leg amputated around 5 years ago.

[Denis]

That Coronet is sweet; your buddy is lucky to have it. It didn't help those cars that the tires back then were skinny little bias plys.

I'd love to have a Max Wedge!
But then, so would everyone else...

[lowend1]

That Coronet is sweet; your buddy is lucky to have it. It didn't help those cars that the tires back then were skinny little bias plys.\

When he got the car he had to replace the tires and rehab the brakes for safety reasons.
The insurance company has told him that replacement value on the car is somewhere north of $200k. It creeps a little further north every year. Needless to say, it stays hidden away most of the time these days.
And THAT is why we buy rusty old cop cars

[rahock]

Rehabing the brakes is a good idea. There was plenty of go fast in those cars, but braking was real weak . Tires and brakes of that era were so freakin' bad it was crazy to drive over 80. If you hit the brakes hard two or three times within  in a few minutes, you had somewhere between little and zero stopping power .
Rick

[Denis]

Not to mention that cars before the 1967 model year and a single reservoir master cylinder. If one front brake hose sprung a leak you were SOL on all four corners. Happened to me once and boy, you get creative REAL quick!

[Pilgrim]

Not to mention that cars before the 1967 model year and a single reservoir master cylinder. If one front brake hose sprung a leak you were SOL on all four corners. Happened to me once and boy, you get creative REAL quick!

That's one reason a certain device used to be called an "emergency brake"...until (I'm sure) someone's lawyer decided that the term exposed the company to legal jeopardy and changed it to "parking brake".

[Denis]

I used the hell out of my emergency brake that night!

[lowend1]

That's one reason a certain device used to be called an "emergency brake"...until (I'm sure) someone's lawyer decided that the term exposed the company to legal jeopardy and changed it to "parking brake".

I think the terms have been used concurrently and interchangeably for years. My kids call it the "E-Brake - primarily because of video games, but the term is catching on in the mainstream as well.
I one had to drive a "straight job" box truck to haul my band's gear when the regular guy was not available. I forgot to release the "parking brake", which, unbeknownst to me, was a mechanical driveshaft brake. After a mile or so, I started to see smoke and flames coming up through opening in the floor for the handle.

[Pilgrim]

Yup.  On my dad's 1953 Ford pickup that brake was a clamp around the driveshaft as well.  Pretty stout.