Chrysler took the standard 413 CI RB block design and enlarged the bore from 4.19 inches to 4.25 inches. This increase in bore size allowed them to achieve an increase to 426 CI, a number that would be synonymous with the company for the remainder of the performance era and down through today. The Maximum Performance engine (or Max Wedge for short) featured redesigned heads and valvetrain, a special intake that used Chrysler’s secretive “ram tuning” technology and dual 4-barrel carburetors, and better driveline equipment. In May of 1963 this car was delivered to Des Swifenbank, owner of Des Redwood Motors of Garberville, CA. The car has been well cared for since new and not known to have been formally raced in major track competition; hence it remains in outstanding overall condition.  The car came equipped with a trunk mounted battery, 426/415hp 11.1 compression engine, cross ram dual 4-barrel manifold, two custom matched 625cfm carburetors, upswing exhaust manifolds with 3″ head pipes and factory exhaust cutouts, heavy duty TorqueFlite push-button transmission, 3.91 Sure-Grip limited-slip rear end and hood brace assembly. As Mopar dominated Super Stock racing in the 60’s, this Plymouth Savoy is great reminder of the performance era where Chrysler engineers ruled.  This is one of only eighteen 1963 Plymouth 426 Savoy two door sedans (Stage 1) cars ever produced. Documented in Darrell Davis’ book.

The engine was sent to Paul Hoage at Racing Parts and Machine Co. in Baltimore for a complete inspection. The block was originally a 1972 440 cu.in. engine which was bored .030 over. It has been align honed, magnifluxed and decked. The crankshaft is a Keith Black 4.5 inch billet stroker. The rods are Nascar and the 9.8:1 pistons are by Ross. The block also has been fitted with cross bolt mains by Pro Gram. Every part is new, balanced and blueprinted. The oiling system is an external Milodon item blueprinted for high volume with an outside adjustable pressure regulator. The oil pan is also a Milodon unit, holding 7 quarts. The lifters are big block Chevy alcohol engine items. The reason for the special lifters is to be sure enough oil gets up to the push rods that are also special units, made by Smith Brothers, which are hollow, allowing oil to get to the roller rocker tips.  Finally, to complete the oiling system, return lines are run from the front and back of each head to the block.  This assures oil is getting back down to the pan, pumped and filtered.  When cold, the Hemi puts out over 100 psi but settles down to about 1 pound per 100 rpm when warmed up. The heads are Stage V hi riser from Eric Hansen, which have been port-matched to the M1 intake.  The springs and stainless steel valves are Manley with 2.30 inch intake and 1.90 exhaust.  The cam is a special Crower flat-tappet roller, using Stage V roller rockers.  The specs on the Crower cam are: @50 259 degrees intake and 268 degrees exhaust and a gross lift of .623 intake/.632 exhaust. The intake manifold has also been modified by removal of the separator below the carb. Chuck Nuytten of Rockwall, Texas engineered and provided the carburetor.  It is an 850 Holley, but it flows over 1010 cfm.  Chuck Nuytten really knows how to fit a carburetor to a specific engine. The car runs great; the 535 Hemi idles at 950 rpm with fantastic throttle response. The transmission is a Rick Allison 727 ’64 Torqueflite unit with a ’65 tail shaft to eliminate the use of a trunnion. It has been blueprinted by Doug Miller and is running a Dynamics 9.5 inch converted with a stall speed of about 3200 rpm.  Helping to keep it cool is a B & M transmission cooler and deep oil pan.  The push button shift on the dash is new but looks original. All of the Autometer gauges were custom mounted, including the oil pressure gauge which is in place of the amp meter in the dash.  The ignition and distributor are MSD Billet with 6AL spark unit and blaster coil.  The interior is stock and is in like new condition. Joe Hostetler of ECO Upholstery in Bel Air custom made the carpet in the trunk and passenger compartment. The rear suspension has a Dana 60 mounted on Super Stock springs with a pinion snubber and an LPW stud girdle.  The gears are 4.10 with Strange axles. The Savoy rides on Goodyear 215/75×15’s up front and 255/70×15’s on the rear, mounted to Polished American torque thrusts. To keep the Hemi cool, a Griffith aluminum radiator and two thermostatically controlled electric fans were installed and work great.  On a hot summer day in traffic or sitting still, the temperature will cycle from 198 degrees down to 180 degrees.  The car runs cool. The battery has been relocated to the trunk with a 15 gallon fuel cell. The battery has an external cut off switch meeting tract standards located below the rear bumper. All of the chrome and polish work was done by Frankford Plating in Philadelphia. Engine painting was done by a car specialty painting shop in Philadelphia. The exhaust system is 3 inch diameter from TTI Industries. The headers are by Moser in California.  The entire system is Jet hot coated to keep a clean appearance. The paint on the car was refinished by Rob Beard of Hot Rods East in Washington, D.C. The horsepower at the flywheel was Dynoed at 650 horses @6000 rpm and 625 ft. lbs. of torque at 4500 rpm. This was on pump gas. The one big show attended was Chryslers at Carlisle. Mr. Tom Hoover, of the original Ramchargers and the “father of the Hemi” chose this car for an award – the celebrity pick award out of over 2000 cars.

The car has basically everything to run in any Nostalgia NHRA event, running in the low 11 seconds.  The car has disc brakes on front only, a Dana rear with superstock springs, axle snubber, drive shaft loop and Strange axles. New front tires were installed in 2020. The manual race transmission, two four-barrel matched carbs, matched linkage and intake manifold all came from A&A Transmission in Indiana. Rick Allison is the owner has the only licensed Hemi intake on the market. The manual race transmission has a heavy-duty steel drum for safety.  The transmission is connected to a Frank Lupo 6500 stall converter. The dual ignition is by MSD. The Hemi engine is a 440 Stroker to 535ci with Stage V aluminum Hemi heads. Matched roller rockers /lifters, crank and a Hemi intake with two four barrel 850 Holley carbs were engineered and installed by Kieth Black. Installed is a 426 cam, Manley rods and Ross pistons. The engine has a 12.8:1 compression ratio. The only dyno completed was for break in with no hard pulls. The Hemi engine as equipped is estimated to dyno in the range of 700 to 750hp.  This Savoy is street legal, can run on pump gas, runs cool with no overheating issues. Jason Wenrick the second restorer, (not counting the investment cost of the first restoration) invested over $75k in this car with receipts which are available upon request.  When Jason purchased the car from two brothers in Maryland (who did the first restoration a few years prior) it had a total of 14,828 miles. Ralph Ragland Purchased the car from Jason Winrick in mid-2020 with a total of 15,600 miles.