1964 Dodge max wedge

[Crizila]

This is the car I raced in 1968/69 in AHRA Midwest division.  Car ran Formula 1  B stock automatic and held the record in that class at  11.61 115.38.  Speed was later uped to 117mph.

[Hmann68]

Wow that's a fine build! Looks like nice detailing under the hood! Must've been fun having your foot to the floor in that car. I was born in 69, so I envy you for living thru that era. Grew up a couple miles from the Oswego strip and went a lot but was young and the older fellas around here still talk about those days. 

[bigdrag1]

love it!!

[gtx6970]

Cool build.

 

Mind if I ask...where the headers are from?

[MAGIC MUFFLER]

What a great looking race car ..... and build too!!  Very nice..

[bytownshaker]

Great looking build 

[Crizila]

Wow that's a fine build! Looks like nice detailing under the hood! Must've been fun having your foot to the floor in that car. I was born in 69, so I envy you for living thru that era. Grew up a couple miles from the Oswego strip and went a lot but was young and the older fellas around here still talk about those days. 

That car went down the Oswego track many times.  I cut my teeth on that track in 63 with a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury max wedge convertible 3 speed car.  Flag man start back then. Car ran high 12's with a 4.56 gear and Atlas Bucron cheater slicks.  Ran a best of 12.41 @‌ 116.88 at Rockford drag way - racing 4 wide.

 Used a resin body for the model build. Most of the lettering was done with dry transfers.  Holley sponsorship took place at a later date.  

Edited September 10, 2017 by Crizila

[Hmann68]

You nailed the look of the 1/1 for sure! Awesome work. I will think of your car when I pass by the strip later today to go grocery shopping! It's a tree nursery now, but it makes a great place to race snowmobiles wink-wink

[Alan]

John, KILLER build, you nailed this, love those headers you made, great work!!!

Alan

[10thumbs]

Great model John!

I'm impressed, and since you really did pilot a Mopar that all of us fans love, let me ask a couple of questions, OK?

First of all, the Bucron cheater slicks shown on the real car just above, were they not too wide?  Did you have to cut the inner lip of the fender to make them fit?  My brother-in-law bought a new 64 Sport Fury with a 426, but a 4 speed.  The car would never hook, we all laughed every time he attempted a launch....lol.  Bucron cheater slicks and a 4 speed...didn't work with him.

Also, that's a tall front tire, and it's difficult to get that front tire/fender deal to look right on the Lindberg '64 Dodge models.  The real car, did it have 15" wheels?

Further....sorry, just thrilled that we have an expert to talk to, your model shows the battery missing up front.  I've never found exact pics of the way Mopar ran the cables from the trunk to under the hood.  I can only assume, the battery cables ran through the back panel at the rear seat and then under the door tunnel, driver side.  Or where the cables actually just under the carpets?

I do think the cables reached the motor under the steering gear through the firewall.  Any insight?

Again, the way your car sits in the real pic, is the look that killed me and many others from back in the day!  Luckily, I watched lots of these cars, they sounded good too!

Thanks John.

Michael

 

[TarheelRick]

Outstanding build.  Really loved those old MOPARs, back then I was a strong Chevy man, but still loved to watch these race.  You have done an excellent job on this replica.

[smhardesty]

Really nice job! Fantastic detail job under the hood. Another great MOPAR.

[10thumbs]

That car went down the Oswego track many times.  I cut my teeth on that track in 63 with a 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury max wedge convertible 3 speed car.  Flag man start back then. Car ran high 12's with a 4.56 gear and Atlas Bucron cheater slicks.  Ran a best of 12.41 @‌ 116.88 at Rockford drag way - racing 4 wide.

Wow.

1963, with a rag top, running solid 12's.  Gotta love it.  What about the '3speed'?  3 speed manual?

 

[Crizila]

Great model John!

I'm impressed, and since you really did pilot a Mopar that all of us fans love, let me ask a couple of questions, OK?

First of all, the Bucron cheater slicks shown on the real car just above, were they not too wide?  Did you have to cut the inner lip of the fender to make them fit?  My brother-in-law bought a new 64 Sport Fury with a 426, but a 4 speed.  The car would never hook, we all laughed every time he attempted a launch....lol.  Bucron cheater slicks and a 4 speed...didn't work with him.

Also, that's a tall front tire, and it's difficult to get that front tire/fender deal to look right on the Lindberg '64 Dodge models.  The real car, did it have 15" wheels?

Further....sorry, just thrilled that we have an expert to talk to, your model shows the battery missing up front.  I've never found exact pics of the way Mopar ran the cables from the trunk to under the hood.  I can only assume, the battery cables ran through the back panel at the rear seat and then under the door tunnel, driver side.  Or where the cables actually just under the carpets?

I do think the cables reached the motor under the steering gear through the firewall.  Any insight?

Again, the way your car sits in the real pic, is the look that killed me and many others from back in the day!  Luckily, I watched lots of these cars, they sounded good too!

Thanks John.

Michael

 

Thanks Michael!  I ran the Atlas Bucrons on my Plymouth, not the Dodge.  We ran  10" wide M&H Racemasters on the Dodge and yes, we had to cut the inner lip of the rear wheel opening to get them to clear.  Yes, we ran the tallest and skinniest front tire we could find ( 28 - 29" tall) on 15" X 4"  front steel wheels and 15"X10" rear wheels.  It was a tight fit.  Big diameter front tires gave us more rolling time through the "beams".  We moved the battery to the trunk - over the right rear tire. Common for the day. Battery cables ran along the right side frame rail to the front. Headers were "Dougs".  Primary pipes were very long and big (2" X 36" long).  We had problems with them cracking at the header flange until we added a strap at the collector to the frame.  Yes, it was loud.  Trans was a B&M torque flite. No high stall convertors at the time. Rear end was a Mopar 8 3/4 with 4.56 gearing - which we blew up several times.  The car left like a snail with a basically stock stall convertor, but really ran strong once we got it rolling.  I think our best speed was 119.  Car weighed 3410.  3400 was the minimum it could weigh.  We ran two vacuum secondary 750 Holleys on the cross ram.

[Crizila]

Wow.

1963, with a rag top, running solid 12's.  Gotta love it.  What about the '3speed'?  3 speed manual?

 

Yes, 3 speed manual trans.  Only 8 cars were built with that combination - as far as I know.  Original 426 in this car was the 415hp, 11.1 comp. motor.  Rebuilt it after a year with 13.5 comp. slugs which upped the hp to 426.  Original trans was a T-83 3  speed manual.   Mopar did not make a 4-speed trans until 64.  I actually ran this car with a 3 speed, 4 speed, and automatic.  With the 3 speed, the car ran high 12's.  Had a horrendous clutch explosion with the 4 speed ( trans cam out of a 64 hemi car ).  We were speed shifting at the time ( gas pedal stayed on the floor between gears ) and I missed the 2-3 shift.  I was very lucky not to get hurt.  Switched to a Torque Flite in 65 and it ran it's best ET's with the torque Flite. 

[bondo bill]

very nice build

[shoopdog]

Looks great, fantastic detail down to the handwritten class numbers on the windshield.

[peekay]

Beautifully built replica!

[smhardesty]

Looks great, fantastic detail down to the handwritten class numbers on the windshield.

That really caught my eye too. I remember that from 'back in the day'. Saw an awful lot of those numbers on the glass. Brings back loads of memories.

[10thumbs]

Yes, 3 speed manual trans.  Only 8 cars were built with that combination - as far as I know.  Original 426 in this car was the 415hp, 11.1 comp. motor.  Rebuilt it after a year with 13.5 comp. slugs which upped the hp to 426.  Original trans was a T-83 3  speed manual.   Mopar did not make a 4-speed trans until 64.  I actually ran this car with a 3 speed, 4 speed, and automatic.  With the 3 speed, the car ran high 12's.  Had a horrendous clutch explosion with the 4 speed ( trans cam out of a 64 hemi car ).  We were speed shifting at the time ( gas pedal stayed on the floor between gears ) and I missed the 2-3 shift.  I was very lucky not to get hurt.  Switched to a Torque Flite in 65 and it ran it's best ET's with the torque Flite. 

Speed shifting that beast...can we say that took a lot of stones?  I couldn't imagine how it was to experience the clutch carnage.  I had a 442 Olds powered 57 Bel Air back in 1970 that had the rear U-joint break, that was kind of frightening on the 1-2 shift.  Loud too, scared me too.  But a clutch....nightmare!

I remember well the sensation of riding in those cars, not as nasty as yours of course, but actually a second or so difference in a 1/4 mile is really not all that discernible while riding in one, at least they're fairly similar.  Just I know gaining a second takes a lot or power.

Kind of surprised too you had a wasted 8 3/4 with an automatic, but I really don't know much about those B&M deals, I had a fuel altered pilot get grayer than usual hair trying to explain to me how they worked.  I wanted one for a fuel altered model.  JRass was a very helpful member.

Another question:  Did you have a dealership that helped out with parts?  I imagine they were all over-the-counter in '64-'65.  Maybe at least reduced prices, or a buddy that worked the counter?  I had an Olds guy that was very helpful with parts.

I appreciate your insight, as I can imagine for others this is kind of interesting to read about.

Thanks John!

Michael

 

[Crizila]

Clutch explosion in my 63 Plymouth.  - I was racing at US30 dragstrip in Indiana.  I was side by side with another Max wedge car when I missed the 2-3 shift. Of course no scatter shield. Clutch and flywheel both let go. Disintegrated the bell housing. Cut the brake line ( single master in 63 so - no brakes ).  Cut down the right front tire.  MANY parts came out from underneath the car. Damaged the car I was racing.  I coasted through the traps at 79mph with no brakes, a flat right front tire and the oil pan laying on the steering center link.  I was pooping bricks!!   Luckily this track had a long shut down area with tall grass on both side of the track.  I got it off in to the grass and actually had the ambulance pull along side of me as the car came to a stop.  I had clutch springs laying on top of my cross ram manifold and the firewall was pushed in, put nothing came in to the driver compartment.  I was very lucky.  I couldn't even look at the car for about 6 months.  I finally decided to put it back together with an automatic, which is how I raced it for another year before I went in to the service. 

   64 Dodge:  The car was originally purchased from Grand Spalding Dodge (  My Norm was actually the sales man ) and we bought our parts from them at a modest discount. The Holley rep for the Chicago area lived down the block from us, so we got free carbs, carb parts, and spark plugs - hence the Holley logo on the side of the car.

[10thumbs]

Excellent!  Thanks John.

The new pics shows the stance that I remember and loved about these cars.  Really, what's better than a post door Mopar with a nasty motor? 

With today's torque converter tech, and the motor from back then....well let's add spark and carb performance upgrades, let the motor be the same....what kind of performance would you think achievable?

Granted, the Mopar of old can still be built, and still is built, newer heads, Max Wedge knock offs, and old cam grinds.  Still, they run strong.

What would a 3400 car with the same motor, but newer tech about the hit, reach?

By the way, I always thought the Dodges looked better in race trim than the Plyms.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2017 by 10thumbs

[Hmann68]

Cool pics, great stories, thx!

[Crizila]

Could probably drop an easy 3 tenths just with a higher stall convertor.  I toyed with installing a Clutchflite, but class rules forbid them - not to mention my previous clutch explosion.  We ran the stock Chrysler dual point ignition system.  Wasn't bad for the day, but todays stuff can put out over twice the secondary voltage that the stock system did.

Excellent!  Thanks John.

The new pics shows the stance that I remember and loved about these cars.  Really, what's better than a post door Mopar with a nasty motor? 

With today's torque converter tech, and the motor from back then....well let's add spark and carb performance upgrades, let the motor be the same....what kind of performance would you think achievable?

Granted, the Mopar of old can still be built, and still is built, newer heads, Max Wedge knock offs, and old cam grinds.  Still, they run strong.

What would a 3400 car with the same motor, but newer tech about the hit, reach?

By the way, I always thought the Dodges looked better in race trim than the Plyms.

 

 

 

 

[ChrisR]

Looks great!