When it comes to high-performance Mopars from the golden muscle car era, we usually think about HEMI-powered Plymouths and Dodges. Not only powerful, but these cars are also very rare nowadays. But the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI wasn't Chrysler's first high-performance V8. Before the iconic mill arrived in 1966, Mopar had the Max Wedge.
Introduced in 1962, the Maximum Performance Wedge engine was based around the RB block, which most of you may know in its 383- and 440-cubic-inch (6.3- and 7.2-liter) formats. Originally launched as a 413-cubic-inch (6.9-liter) mill, the Max Wedge was good for 410 and 420 horsepower, depending on compression ratio.
Chrysler enlarged displacement to 426 cubic inches in 1963. Not only as large as the HEMI that followed, but the Max Wedge was also just as powerful. While engines with 11.0:1 compression ratios came with 415 horses on tap, the 13.5:1 version was rated at a whopping 425 horsepower and 480 pound-feet (651 Nm) of twist. That's only 10 pound-feet (14 Nm) below the HEMI.
The Max Wedge was designed primarily for drag racing, but it found its way into a long list of Dodge and Plymouth cars. But because Mopar made only a few hundred powerplants per year, each of these models is quite rare. The 1963 Plymouth Savoy you're about to see below is one of those cars.
Plymouth reportedly built 298 Max Wedge vehicles in 1963. How many of them were Savoys? Well, there are no records to run by, but many believe that fewer than 30 got this awesome package. That makes the Savoy Max Wedge so rare that most of us will never see one on public roads, let alone at the drag strip.
But thanks to "Cars and Zebras" and its passion for the Factory Appearing Stock Tire (FAST) racing series, we can check out a Max Wedge-powered Savoy running for quarter-mile glory against a 1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda, another legend from the muscle car era.
On paper, these cars are pretty even when it comes to power and torque, while the Savoy has a 250-pound (113-kg) weight advantage. But these figures don't matter all that much in the FAST series, which allows quite a few upgrades under the hood. So while both muscle cars may have 425 horsepower as factory ratings, they could generate anywhere from 600 to 1,000 horses.
And the video below shows that they're quicker than the average classic muscle car, which covers the quarter-mile in 13 to 15 seconds. The race sees the HEMI 'Cuda taking a comfortable win by crossing the finish line in 9.63 seconds at 144 mph (232 kph). The Savoy is also impressively quick compared to its stock siblings, but it's more than a second slower than the 'Cuda, with a 10.79-click and 130-mph (209-kph) sprint.
The footage was shot during the 2022 FAST racing season, and it's one of the coolest I've seen so far. Hit the play button below to watch the drama unfold. The race starts at the 2:27-minute mark.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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