Anyone Own/ Drive a Max Wedge Car

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Also, not sure where you got the info about the compression ratios, but the '63 425 horse 426 had 13.5:1 pistons. The '64 425 horse 426 wedge had 12.5:1.
 
I just checked some reference material, and I was incorrect about the '62 420 horse 413 pistons. They were 13.5:1, not 12.5:1 like I thought. :eek:ops:
 
70Swinger440 said:
I just checked some reference material, and I was incorrect about the '62 420 horse 413 pistons. They were 13.5:1, not 12.5:1 like I thought. :eek:ops:
Click to expand...

Your apology is accepted.

Engine ....... Compression ..... Dome Height

* 413/410 HP .... 11.0-1 ....... .089"
* 426/415 HP .... 11.0-1 ....... .094"
* 426/425 HP .... 12.5-1 ....... .330"
* 413/420 HP .... 13.5-1 ....... .450"

I know, because we still have the 413 {13.5-1 Pistons} coated, and boxed away.
 
maxie said:
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.

Click to expand...

Traction issues,lol? Trap speed is sweet...
The Mopar guy/ head porter in my life, had a very well prepared set,on a well built 440.(70 Challenger R/T) 4:88's out back/10 inch Turbo Action 3400 stall. Running a big Crane solid/Eddy crossram dual quad intake,Jesus than thing pulled up top in cold coastal weather. Took it to Fomoso,87... The worn out slicks blazed till the 100 foot mark, hooked & pulled till the 1000 foot mark(nosed over,quit pulling). He upgraded the intake to dual quads & big Carter mechanical pump, forgot he had a 3/8 " fuel line & not enough ventilation in the fuel tank. Still ran mid 11's @ 119-120 in 90 degree heat. I really wish, he had sorted the small cra& out.
 
Mine had a radio, heater and thought it was real cool that it only had driver side seat belt. There were no provisions/braces in the floor anywhere for other seat belts. I sold the max wedge to finish my road runner.

Thats also why I still use the user name of "Maxie".
 
Diego,

On your question.

The 1962 Dodge and Plymouth 413 'Maximum Performance' cars were called
'Lightweights'.

But not because they had 'lightweight parts'. As they were 'steel' bodied cars.

It was because that the 1962 Models were so much lighter than the 1961 Models,
due to smaller measurements.
 
Rocco,

On the 1963 Plymouth and Dodge '426 Packages'.

The 'Aluminum-Nosed' cars were {-124 lbs.} lighter than the 'Steel-Nosed' cars.

Car Model .................... Aluminum ........... Steel ..........

Plymouth Savoy ............ #3209 lbs. ....... #3333 lbs.
Plymouth Belvedere ....... #3217 lbs. ....... #3341 lbs.

Dodge 'Model 330' ......... #3233 lbs. ........ #3357 lbs.
Dodge 'Model 440' ......... #3253 lbs. ........ #3377 lbs.

Aluminum Package
* Hood
* Hood Scoop
* Fenders
* Front Bumper
* Front Bumper Supports
* Front Bumper Dust Shield {Valance]
 
My dad's brother has a '64 Fury 2 door hardtop, white with a blue interior. It has an 11:1 440 with the Stage III top end, 650 Carters, .557 mechanical cam, 3200 rpm stall speed converter, 4.10 8 3/4 rear. 15x3 1/2 Cragars on the front, 15x7 steel wheels with 10" slicks on the back. It's a full interior, factory 361 A/C car, so it's kind of a boat. This car gets street driven a lot. Ran a best of 12.15 @ 118.

In exchange for helping him work on it, my uncle occasionally let's me drive it around. One nice summer night, in the early 2000's, I'm driving it to a friends house. I'm sitting at a stoplight, in the left lane of a two lane one way street. I have it in neutral, waiting for the light to change. A guy in his late 50's pulls up next to me in a BMW z6 roadster. He's got another guy with him. They're checking out the Fury while we're waiting for the light to change. I clean it out, and put the car in gear. When the light turns green, Pops surprises me by dumping the clutch, and takes off! I stand on it, and catch him as I punch the second gear button. Blow his doors in. I'm not surprised by that. When he pulls up at the next light, he won't even look over, but his passenger's eyes are the size of dinner plates. I blip the throttle again, but he pulls a right turn. Guess he had enough.:burnout:
 
70Swinger440 said:
My dad's brother has a '64 Fury 2 door hardtop, white with a blue interior. It has an 11:1 440 with the Stage III top end, 650 Carters, .557 mechanical cam, 3200 rpm stall speed converter, 4.10 8 3/4 rear. 15x3 1/2 Cragars on the front, 15x7 steel wheels with 10" slicks on the back. It's a full interior, factory 361 A/C car, so it's kind of a boat. This car gets street driven a lot. Ran a best of 12.15 @ 118.

In exchange for helping him work on it, my uncle occasionally let's me drive it around. One nice summer night, in the early 2000's, I'm driving it to a friends house. I'm sitting at a stoplight, in the left lane of a two lane one way street. I have it in neutral, waiting for the light to change. A guy in his late 50's pulls up next to me in a BMW z6 roadster. He's got another guy with him. They're checking out the Fury while we're waiting for the light to change. I clean it out, and put the car in gear. When the light turns green, Pops surprises me by dumping the clutch, and takes off! I stand on it, and catch him as I punch the second gear button. Blow his doors in. I'm not surprised by that. When he pulls up at the next light, he won't even look over, but his passenger's eyes are the size of dinner plates. I blip the throttle again, but he pulls a right turn. Guess he had enough.:burnout:
Click to expand...

Awesome!
 
I only wish the dude would have been driving something with more steam, to make it more interesting. Driving a Max Wedge car on the street is a real hoot!
 
Back-in-the-Day

A few of the 'smart' guys running the Mopar 'Maximum Performance' cars would
run with 15" x 4.5" rear steel rims with the 7" Slicks {Maximum Width for Stock Class},
and the Super/Stock Class up to 1966.

The Goal > To get a 'taller tire' when hitting Top-End and the Traps.

Those cars got real 'squirrely' at the Big End, but those MPH's were way up there.

See > 'Tritak and Morgan'
 
1965 Dodge Coronet 440, converted 2-headlight 'Ramcharger' grill. 383 removed, manual steering installed, waiting on the street for a 413 bored to 426, 284 purple cam, 11:0/1 1963 Max Wedge pistons, Cross-Ram intake, 906 heads. Drunk piles into the back of the Dodge. Project over.

1965-dodge-coronet-hemi-charger-grille.jpg

(Mine was flat red no hood scoop before taken out by a Honda... I couldn't afford a Hemi back then and the car became available so I bought it; and found a 413 in a 64 Chrysler in a yard and the pistons-intake in the paper. Had good 906 heads on the 383.)
 
I put together a 63 Dodge 330 for a customer a few years ago. He was fortunate to find a real 426 Max engine. Engine had sat for years. Took it down to short block to inspect. All std. with factory cam. Simply amazing! Did a 727 with a small convertor, 2500 ish. 4.10 spooled rear. It drove ok, but to be really fast, it should have a 3500 convertor and a 4.56 gear.
 
I had a MO block 68 Z28 302 engine. I was offered a straight across trade for a pan to carbs 426 max. Needless to say, I made that trade.
I bought a 62 Savoy from GTX John to put it in. It went a best of 11.11/122 about 30 years ago. (4000 converter and 4.56s)
Still have both. Same wheels. Different tires.

IMG_20240524_102554.jpg
 
408 swinger said:
I put together a 63 Dodge 330 for a customer a few years ago. He was fortunate to find a real 426 Max engine. Engine had sat for years. Took it down to short block to inspect. All std. with factory cam. Simply amazing! Did a 727 with a small convertor, 2500 ish. 4.10 spooled rear. It drove ok, but to be really fast, it should have a 3500 convertor and a 4.56 gear.
Click to expand...
Wow what a score a standard board Max wedge all original. There seems to be a common thread throughout these posts and that's that you really need to wind these Max wedge up to really get what they were designed for.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
Rocco,

On the 1963 Plymouth and Dodge '426 Packages'.

The 'Aluminum-Nosed' cars were {-124 lbs.} lighter than the 'Steel-Nosed' cars.

Car Model .................... Aluminum ........... Steel ..........

Plymouth Savoy ............ #3209 lbs. ....... #3333 lbs.
Plymouth Belvedere ....... #3217 lbs. ....... #3341 lbs.

Dodge 'Model 330' ......... #3233 lbs. ........ #3357 lbs.
Dodge 'Model 440' ......... #3253 lbs. ........ #3377 lbs.

Aluminum Package
* Hood
* Hood Scoop
* Fenders
* Front Bumper
* Front Bumper Supports
* Front Bumper Dust Shield {Valance]
Click to expand...
I grew up outside of a small town , the next town away , an older guy bought the liteweight 63 savoy , the dealer (in our town where he bought it ) couldn't get it started , they offered him his down payment or what ever back , if he wanted it .
He brought 4-5 big buddies of his to pick it up , they got on the back and in the back seat area , then he had another guy pull it around , he dropped the clutch at a good speed in hi gear (had a 3 speed) , to get it started .
We all watched this this car closely when he came around, it was absolutely untouchable , altho he had "great traction problems" with it ...I was about 16 at the time it and the 63 sport fury my dad bought is what made me a Mopar misfit ...
 
I had a chance to buy a factory 64 Plymouth Max Wedge car, aluminum front end and all for $3,000, and passed on it. The car was named "Compose" and supposedly paid for itself street racing in the Chicago area the first year. I should have sold everything to get that car, but unfortunately did not know what it was till it was gone. A friend has a 64 Polara Max Wedge clone, exhaust and all. I have driven that car with a push button trans, but there is no way I would ever push someone else's car anymore...
 
The max wedge had a mystique of its own and would have a much bigger place in history if not for the hemi coming out and overshadowing it. But that doesn't take away from how awesome and strong those motors were for the day.
 
I drive a 63 Plymouth on the street every chance I get, Just finished the motor last year after dropping a valve. Installed KB +.040 flat tops, made comp. 9.9 to 1 , same roller cam and Rick Allison's A & A repop manifold for 440 port. Dave at Woodruff built me the carbs that drive incredible AND picked up almost 60 HP on the dyno over the 750's I had ! Pump gas made 660 HP & 600TQ and is a blast to drive !
 
Reminder: these are the same cars that came with the ball & trunnion driveshaft that everyone says is garbage and should be tossed in place of a slip shaft asap.

Skimmed this thread and read of a rearend blowing up and a trans shattering, but have yet to hear about a b&t shaft throwing in the towel.

I still have the b&t in my 64 wagon, with a ripped boot, been driving it for a decade or so.
 
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