1962 Chevy versus 300H

[quentsmith@xxxx]

Detroit Dragway in 1962 had a match race with Don Nicholson and his 1962 
Chevy 409 Hardtop 4 Speed with the special roof making a run against a Dodge 413. 
The RamChargers car had only a three speed manual transmission in it.

The first race found the Dodge beating the Chevy by about five to 
seven car lengths. The crowd went nuts.

In the second race the Dodge took off with a huge lead, about three 
car lengths before blowing the one to two shift and lost the race by about six 
feet.

The Dodge running was a two door sedan running the B body.

The third and final run was a repeat of the second race with the 
RamCharger's driver missing the one to two shift after another huge starting lead. 
The car lost the race by about two feet. Dodge definitely had the power and 
the speed to deal with the Chevy even with the disadvantage of the three speed 
manual. It was not long after that the Dodges and Plymouths had four speed 
manuals available. Lurking in the wings was the Torqueflite transmission that won 
a ton of match and sanctioned races.

The 300 H would not be able to compete with the Dodge because of 
weight. Hot Rod magazine ran a 300 H in the 1962 year but it did not run Super 
Stock like the B body Dodges and Plymouths. 

Quentin Smith (My father was a Chrysler Engineer)
300C, H, RamK


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