This 1966 Dodge HEMI Coronet is a piece of automotive history. It was a testbed for Tom Hoover, the one who developed the 426 engine that powers it. Years later, the car was restored by the “Father of the HEMI” himself. Almost six decades after it rolled off the production line, it looks as good as new and is worth more than half a million dollars.
This is not your usual Dodge Coronet. The model was purchased as new by Tom Hoover. He tested and even street-raced this car in Michigan. And – it comes as no surprise – the car has all types of performance tweaks and tricks, specifically designed to make it the fastest car on the road at the time.
That translates to special carburetors, camshaft, aluminum A990 heads, intake mods, Hooker headers, roller rocker arms, an adjustable suspension, and also changes on the transmission.
The 426 was a large, heavyweight engine, with a major increase in power compared to the previous generation of Chrysler engines. That is what got everyone calling it "The Elephant."
Tom Hoover also worked on the interior in the name of performance and weight saving. He put in lightweight A100 van seats on aluminum brackets and deleted the rear window regulator and the back seats. A modified racing floor shifter and a battery relocated inside the trunk for better weight distribution were also on the menu.
Photo: Mecum Auctions
Painted in Dark Metallic Green over black leather, the car has been in the possession of the same person for the past 30 years. When the owner got their hands on it, they wanted to make sure everything would turn out, during restoration, as Tom Hoover himself would have wanted it.
Every inch, nut, and bolt followed Hoover's specifications
How would they do it? They got Tim Hoover himself on the team for the restoration. And as if it wasn't enough already, the famous visionary engineer signed the dashboard, writing his name on it, next to the location, "Las Vegas," and to the year when it happened, "2014."
So, this is how every single nut and bolt was meticulously attended to. Therefore, there was no way the car would fail to meet Hoover’s specifications. "And on the seventh day, God created the HEMI," reads the base on the transmission lever, bringing a wave of nostalgia to a present that killed the HEMI.
Tom Hoover is known as the "Father of the HEMI." He was the one who developed the 426 (7.0-liter) HEMI engine, turning the automotive world upside down and setting new standards in terms of performance for racing cars as well as for street-legal automobiles.
Photo: Mecum Auctions
That roaring and almighty 426 HEMI V8 was restored to date code correctness. It sports dual four-barrel carburetors and aluminum headers, and its soundtrack is just like Hoover wanted it to be, in the first place. And it’s not just the signature on the dashboard, but also Hoover’s notebook filled with personal insights as well as times achieved on the drag strip.
The engine is mated to a three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission with a modded valve body. There is a "hidden" ram air induction setup, designed and installed by Hoover himself.
The Dodge has been stored in a climate-controlled facility for decades, so it looks as if it just drove through the gate of the factory. The odometer shows only 191 miles, but it is the distance covered by the car since the reconstruction of the HEMI.
Several times, Tom and this Dodge Coronet shared the front page of major publications, some of which are included in the sale, and so is a second set of wheels with BF Goodrich Silvertown front tires and period Goodyear Dragway Special slicks, with Hoover’s 'good luck' wheel covers.
Photo: Mecum Auctions
Those are linked to his 1960 NHRA Nationals win in a 1957 Plymouth at the Detroit Dragway. His winning pass was 14.33 seconds at 100.67 mph (162.1 kph). Yet his first major victory came in 1965 at the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) Winter Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. He was 24 and the youngest driver to ever win such a major event.
The Dodge coupe now rides on Goodyear Speedway Blue Streak Specials on Radio wheels.
He built the loudest cars, went away so silently
Tom Hoover developed the 426 Hemi V8 while he was a master Chrysler engineer. Clandestine street racing, as illegal as it was back then as well, on the one hand, was, on the other hand, a laboratory for the development of the power plant and a vast range of innovative Mopar performance advances. This Dodge Coronet was his own personal testbed, his own personal canvas.
Photo: Mecum Auctions
In 2014, he showed up with the 1966 Dodge HEMI Coronet at Mopars On The Strip in Las Vegas for the 50th Anniversary of the 426 HEMI. That is when and where he signed on the dashboard, right next to the factory plaque engraved with his name, a gesture that makes the price of the vehicle skyrocket a decade later.
The man who made the loudest automobiles died peacefully at the age of 81, on October 21, 2022, from natural causes, at the St. Joseph hospital. But his legend lives on in this car and so many others. The 1966 Dodge Cornet will be auctioned off at Mecum Kissimmee. The car goes with the owner’s manual, datasheet, and Certi-Card. The auction house is expecting it to fetch between $500,000 and $700,000.
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