Anyone Own/ Drive a Max Wedge Car

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JGC403

JGC403

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Just curious as to how the drivability was with those big ports and relatively small displacement on the original 413/426 Max Wedge Cars. Were they a dog down low till the RPM came up to a certain point or was there little difference compared to the regular port heads?
 
I would think they would be power to the max.....those cars are awesome! :prayer: :burnout: :glasses7:
 
The closest I was to a Max Wedge is a 2 doors 1962 Plymouth Savoy, 413 and push button transmission. Best I can describe it is: ''BRUTAL''
 
Designed for use with big cams/high compression/deep gears, not great down low without those. I can tell you from personal experience, a basic 68/69 440 with a set of well prepped Maxie heads/big solid flat tappet /big stall/5.13 gears, in a 73 half ton 4x4 , absolutely scared the poop out of most Camaros & Mustangs that thought the were bad to the bone(.6800-7000 shift point)
 
once i had chrysler 300 J. factory mechanical tach. 4,200 lbs. with a 500 inch max wedge. made from a 440 block. with a 2.73 rear gear. 3,000 stall. it was a little mushy below the converter. but the extra power made up a little. but when it hit 3,000 rpm better hang on. i had a 4.30 gear for but never got it in. i estimate a 14.xx / 1/4. used TONS of fuel. only got in one race. he fallowed me 2 miles to see what i had. as the hood and deck was shaved.
 
I had a '64 Max Wedge Plymouth Belvedere in the 80's that was a very dangerous street car. As stated above, with deep gears & a converter, they were "BRUTAL". I raced it few a year or two, the only problem was shelling teeth off of the ring and pinion gears with the 8 3/4 rear that was in it until I put a Dana in it. I wish I had never sold it in the 90's, but someone twisted my arm with cash in hand.
 
Subscribed! I would love a early B but a 318 Poly would be fine with me. (I'm hitting 60 and my clutch knee isn't what it used to be.) LOL
 
My dad had a '63 Polara 500 with a 13.5:1 Ramcharger, 3447 AFB carbs, factory spec cam, fender well headers, fmvb 727, 4.56 8 3/4. He always drove it on 10" slicks, even on the street. He owned it from 1974-1980. He bracket raced it a lot, but street raced it a lot more. He used to drive it to work on nice days, then drive it around all night cruising and looking for runs. At the track, through the exhaust, on slicks, it ran low 12.30's at 119. It mile an houred really high because it had a stock Road Runner converter in it. He said it launched like a three legged dog, but had brutal top end. He said the worst part of driving it on the street was with the RR converter, you always had to put it in neutral at stoplights, because it wouldn't idle in gear. BTW, it was not an original 426 car, it was an original 330 horse 383. Black on black, with bucket seats and power windows. Sorry for the long post.
 
70Swinger440 said:
My dad had a '63 Polara 500 with a 13.5:1 Ramcharger, 3447 AFB carbs, factory spec cam, fender well headers, fmvb 727, 4.56 8 3/4. He always drove it on 10" slicks, even on the street. He owned it from 1974-1980. He bracket raced it a lot, but street raced it a lot more. He used to drive it to work on nice days, then drive it around all night cruising and looking for runs. At the track, through the exhaust, on slicks, it ran low 12.30's at 119. It mile an houred really high because it had a stock Road Runner converter in it. He said it launched like a three legged dog, but had brutal top end. He said the worst part of driving it on the street was with the RR converter, you always had to put it in neutral at stoplights, because it wouldn't idle in gear. BTW, it was not an original 426 car, it was an original 330 horse 383. Black on black, with bucket seats and power windows. Sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...

"Sorry" for the long post?!? Don't be,,,, I love these stories!!!! :prayer:

Got any old pics of his ride? Love the 63 Polara.......:glasses7:
 
When I got out of my car the other day, I got a max wedgie... Does that count???
 
JGC403 said:
Just curious as to how the drivability was with those big ports and relatively small displacement on the original 413/426 Max Wedge Cars. Were they a dog down low till the RPM came up to a certain point or was there little difference compared to the regular port heads?
Click to expand...

Yes,

My father was lucky enough to find one in 1967. It was a 1962 Dodge 'Model 330'
2 Door Sedan with the 413/420 HP Engine {13.5-1 Compression-Ratio} with
of course > a 'Push-Button' Torque-Flite.

A very light car at {#3314 lbs. > Shipping Weight}

It was a Street-Car, that wasn't driven on the street, because of the 13.5-1 Compression.

It was an 'animal' above 3800 RPM's. But anything under that, and it was sluggish.

He ended up pulling the Engine, and swapping the 'Dome Pistons' for a set of
TRW 11.0-1 Pistons. Like 'Night-and-Day' for Street Driving.
 
A good buddy of mine has 3 of them. Update- he sold one. He now has an aluminum front end 64 Belvedere and a steel front end 63 Belvedere. He also has a 63 Belvedere wagon with a 440 that has a max wedge top end that he drives on the street. The wagon has a 4000 stall convertor and 411 gears. It is a VERY cool ride!!
 
Short story, In the late 60's while still in high school a guy named "Chick" along with a couple of others pooled some money together and went in on a 62 Dodge Max Wedge.Walking home from school,Here comes Chick in the black Dodge.I stuck out my thumb and he pulled over(remember those days ?)Anyway, it was my first ride in a max.The thing was a beast(brutal ^^ I like that) The thing would spin the tires with the lightest petal pressure,you had to neutral it at every stop or it would load up the plugs.It was not very street friendly.With in the first week they scattered the 413.Never knew what ever happened to it after that.40+ years later I see "Chick",,,you guessed it,trying to capture his youth he bought another 62 Dodge Max Wedge.Same story, he tries to street drive it with identical results.Yes he scattered the engine with in the first week,But after a rebuild I went for my 2nd ride ever.He complained about the the constant up keep to keep it on the road.His comment was "Not much has changed in 40 years other than the driver. I thought it would be different".A few weeks later he scattered the transmission.Pushed it in the garage and it sits to this day.:banghead:
 
Update on the Beach Boys song "SHUTDOWN "

Since 2013 was the 50th anniversary of the release of this Beach Boys hit, it is time to shed some light on the history behind the song. "Shutdown" was inspired by an actual race, held on a road in the oil fields of San Pedro, California. One of my past co-workers went to Hawthorne High School with Al Jardine and Brian & Dennis Wilson of Beach Boys fame. Al and Brian went with Don (my co-worker) to San Pedro to race. This was late '62, as the song was recorded January 5, '63. A'62 Dodge Dart 413 Max Wedge went up against a '63 Corvette Stingray, which very likely was Dennis Wilson's car. ('63 fuel-injected 4-speed Stingray) -see the album cover of "Shutdown Vol. 2". AT THE TOP OF EACH GEAR, THE MAX WEDGE WAS POPPING & BACKFIRING. THE PROBLEM WAS LATER TRACED TO A CRACKED COIL TOWER. Brian wrote a song about the race, and as they say "the rest is history". I hope this bit of real history puts to rest any doubt about a Max Wedge's "Ram Induction" proven ability to move down the quarter mile quicker than a Corvette with a "fuel-injected engine sittin' under the hood" and "My Stingray is light the slicks are starting to spin, but the 413's really diggin' in" (sounds like a holeshot for the Dodge!) So when your Chevy friends heckle you about the MOPAR that got "shutdown", tell them the real story. Note-song lyrics in"quotes". PS--THE NEXT WEEK THERE WAS A RE-MATCH BETWEEN THE MAX WEDGE & THE 'VETTE. WITH A NEW IGNITION COIL, THE MAX WEDGE BEAT THE 'VETTE BY 2 CAR-LENGTHS.
I just wanted to set the record straight by revealing historic facts that somehow have been omitted from American musical culture. Based on a personal account from an eyewitness (Don,my co-worker),the BBC documentary "Dennis Wilson the real Beach Boy"and the Beach boys website. www.thebeachboys.com

Bryan

FEEL FREE TO MAKE COPIES OF THIS TO SPREAD THE WORD TO THE MOPAR COMMUNITY
 
I have a friend who has over 40 cars in his barn, 6 of them max wedge cars, including the only 63 Maxie 3 speed convertible! All of them have been restored to cool 60's nostalgia condition, but unfortunately when I asked him when the last time he had one out......1982!!!! Yikes!!! I need to get over there and offer up a pile of cash and all my cars and try to get one!! He also has 9 early Valiant station wagons, his new favorite ride for some reason!!!
 
Scara-Mooch,

On the 1962 .... Mopar 413/410 HP and 413/420 HP cars.

Year ................ NHRA Class
1962 ................. S/S or S/SA
1963 ................. S/S or S/SA
1964 ................. AA/S or AA/SA
1965 ................. AA/S or AA/SA
1966 ................. AA/S or AA/SA
1967 ................. SS/C or SS/CA ~ AA/S or AA/SA
1968 ................. A/S or A/SA
1969 ................. B/S or B/SA
1970 ................. C/S or C/SA
1971 ................. C/S or C/SA
1972 ................. SS/E of SS/EA

Note; In 1964, the NHRA instituted the AA/S and AA/SA Class for older
S/S and S/SA cars.

Note; In 1968, the NHRA instituted the 5-Year Rule for Super/Stock.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
Yes,

My father was lucky enough to find one in 1967. It was a 1962 Dodge 'Model 330'
2 Door Sedan with the 413/420 HP Engine {13.5-1 Compression-Ratio} with
of course > a 'Push-Button' Torque-Flite.

A very light car at {#3314 lbs. > Shipping Weight}

It was a Street-Car, that wasn't driven on the street, because of the 13.5-1 Compression.

It was an 'animal' above 3800 RPM's. But anything under that, and it was sluggish.

He ended up pulling the Engine, and swapping the 'Dome Pistons' for a set of
TRW 11.0-1 Pistons. Like 'Night-and-Day' for Street Driving.
Click to expand...

I thought the '62 420 horse 413 had 12.5:1 pistons. The '63 Stage II 425 horse 426 had 13.5:1 pistons. That's what was in my dad's Polara.
 
I'm one of those guys that does better with a visual representation of what we are talking about ...

Max_Wedge-TM.jpg


0447-80-10.jpg


There, that's better!

Love me some Max Wedge!

Now back to the conversation ...
 
70Swinger440 said:
I thought the '62 420 horse 413 had 12.5:1 pistons. The '63 Stage II 425 horse 426 had 13.5:1 pistons. That's what was in my dad's Polara.
Click to expand...

70 Swinger 440

No,

The 1962 ~ 413/420 HP 'Maximum Performance' came thru with 13.5-1 Pistons.

Damn near impossible to run on the Street, even with the 'highest' Octane
Gas back in 1967.

1963 and 1964 Engines >
* 426/415 HP .... 11.0-1 Compression
* 426/425 HP .... 12.5-1 Compression
 
If you go over to the B body site, there are a few guys over there that actually OWN some and will tell you all about them. There are some really nice guys over there that own some super nice original rare cars and are not snobs in the least. They might even share some video.
 
I had a Q9 415 hp 63 Max Wedge Dodge. Very street friendly. Took it to the track, left it in drive, launched at an idle and went 12.73 at 115 mph.

 
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