All-Steel Hemi Mopar: 1964 Belvedere Is an Amazing Survivor With Under 3,000 Miles, Numbers Match
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More Photos: http://www.thehemi.com/gallery3/index.p ... edere/1964The 426 Hemi debuted in 1964 on race-only Plymouths and Dodges, and some of those were NHRA lightweight rockets with aluminum parts; this time capsule isn’t
We are used to associating the 426 Hemi with a pair of humongous quad-pot carbs, and for the most part, we’d be right. That’s because the Race version of the motor was overshadowed by its Street sibling, despite the two-year gap between the debuts of each. Well, this 1964 Plymouth Belvedere probably won’t take the case any further, but it will make gearheads stand up and give it an arms salute.
The early sixties were a period of nuclear tests performed in Detroit, although none of the Big Three were registered superpowers with atomic arsenals. Lacking fissionable material, the engineers had to settle for the next best thing – gasoline. It was during this magnificent period when Mother Mopar absolutely shot for the stars, what with its legendary 426-cubers.
Chrysler's Max Wedge powerplant reigned as the ultimate racing motor during the early 1960s, specifically in its 425-horsepower, 426-cubic-inch Stage III layout launched in 1964. During that exact year, nevertheless, an alternative engineering initiative, aiming for a vehicle capable of dominating Daytona, pivoted away from expanding the boundaries of the Wedge architecture, choosing instead to chase the venerable “aircraft-type” designs from over a decade before.
Starting with a conventional RB engine block, Chrysler technicians Tom Hoover and Don Moore installed fresh hemispherical cylinder heads featuring a 12.5:1 compression ratio, originally manufactured from cast iron and connected to an aluminum short ram induction manifold. The sound design proved its mettle at the highpoint of the season, when Richard Petty, Jimmy Pardue, and Paul Goldsmith secured 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the 1964 Daytona 500 in late February.
ChryCo announced the new engines with meticulous attention to detail, defining each one rigorously. Confused? The Race Hemi was one engine, right? No. It was a pair of dedicated powerplants, custom-built for separate applications: NHRA Drag Racing (or “Acceleration”), and NASCAR’s oval banks (Track).
The big difference was the number of carburetors: the quick-quarter V8 had a pair of four-pots, the endurance motor got a single four-barrel. Critically, the acceleration engine came in two states of tune: 11.0:1 compression (415 hp, 470 lb-ft), or the savage 12.5:1 monster, rated a 425 hp and 480 lb-ft. both ratings were taken at 6,000 rpm for power and 4,600 rpm for torque.
Meanwhile, the stock car racing unit claimed a measly 400 horses and 465 lb-ft (at 5,600 and 3,800 rev, respectively), despite it’s 12.5:1 squeeze. Since zero road cars had the 426 Hemi back in 1964, the scant 269 production run was split between Dodge and Plymouth thoroughbreds as follows: 110 Savoy and Belvedere, 159 Coronet/330/440. Few and far between, and extremely rare today.
Imagine what it would be like seeing a survivor of that magnificent batch in 2026. Or, if imagination is on a tight budget, scroll through the gallery – that 1964 Plymouth Belvedere is about as original as the 2,390 miles on its odometer. It’s one of the 55 examples assembled (the remainder 55 were Savoys), and one of the few with pushbutton transmission. That might explain the absence of a factory tach – the small gauge down under the dash is about as relevant as a rear wing on a stroller.
Mopar expert Dave Wise recently evaluated this remarkably preserved machine, rightfully awarding it a prestigious “Benchmark” Certification due to its unmolested, highly authentic, factory correct condition. Considering that only 18 like it existed, it’s a miracle this car is still wearing the original engine, inspection marks, and other quirks that make gearheads breathe lightly.
Critically, this is one of the all-steel Hemi Belvederes made in 1964, which means it doesn’t carry the lightweight aluminum front-end elements (fenders, hood) that are arguably the famous ones in the family. For the Belvedere steel-front hardtop model specifically, Plymouth produced a mere 35 units total, with only 18 rolling off the assembly line equipped with the heavy-duty 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
These stats should add some weight (pun intended) to any 1964 Hemi Mopar, but this survivor with less than 3,000 miles on the clock can prove its worth next month, when it crosses the block at the Richmond auction in Georgia, at the Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville, on October 17.
To add even more to the aura, the hood carries the signatures of Jim Thornton, Tom Hoover, and Dick Maxwell, three of the men who set in motion the Race Hemi program back in the early sixties - and thought 425 horses and 480 lb-ft were perfectly reasonable figures for those skinny rubbers.
And, as a final touch-up, note that this extremely red Mopar was present at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals in November 2019, where it received a MCACN Vintage Certification, with just 2,342 miles on it. Any Hemi Mopar survivor of any model year of the second-gen, 426-cube Elephant’s lifespan is a treasure with wipers (which this example probably never used), but something like this doesn’t come out at the local cars and coffee walk every year. Or ever, which begs the question: what’s this unicorn worth?
The older I get the more I really love these non-E-Body HEMI cars!
#Plymouth #Belvedere #PlymouthBelvedere #HEMI #426HEMI #MOPAR
