Re: [Chrysler300] 300-L with 426? For sale on Craigslist

There was a 365 HP 426 wedge with a single 4-bbl carb available in Dodge & Plymouth in 64 & 65. I had a 65 Coronet 500 with one. I wouldn’t think a dealer would go to the trouble to “special order” an engine with only a 5 HP rating difference than the standard L engine. Big block engine number pads starting in ‘65 were stamped with the letter “A” before the displacement. The alphabet continued with B for 66, C for 67, etc. If it was a 65 Dodge engine, it would be stamped A426. Not sure what the L engines were stamped in ‘65, a New Yorker would be stamped A413.

From: mailto:Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Monday, February 29, 2016 10:41 PM

To: 'Ray Jones' ; 'John'

Cc: 'yahoogroups'

Subject: RE: [Chrysler300] 300-L with 426? For sale on Craigslist

Well, there was the max wedge 426 but it was embellished with dual quads. Boring out a 413 by 1/16” would take it to 426 cubes. Max connections sometimes facilitated unusual drivetrains but a single 4-BBL 426 may not ever have been available.

Point of information:

The club, through Cuzzin Gil Cunningham, has records that can identify the matching numbers for hemi engines which were each stamped with individual serial numbers. The engine serial number was recorded on the IBM build card for each letter car 1955-58. Although the engine serial numbers are not as the chassis VIN’s, the “matching” is to the company build records.

Wedge engines were identified as letter car engines and stamped with their build date. I’m not aware, but doubt if, the build date of the engine was ever recorded on the build card or anywhere else. The engines were no longer serially numbered.

I don’t think Gil has the IBM cards for ‘65’s or ‘70’s.

Rich Barber

Brentwood, CA—(Getting warm and dry too early, again)

From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ray Jones 1970hurst@xxxxxxxxx [Chrysler300]
Sent: Monday, February 29, 2016 8:34 PM
To: John <spiers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: yahoogroups <chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; Ray Jones <1970hurst@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] 300-L with 426? For sale on Craigslist

We can't quite see enough of the engine to be sure, but it looks like a 413 to me.

Off an allpar site discussing building a NASCAR motor:

In a 1994 Mopar Muscle interview, engineer Tom Hoover said, “We knew with the power level we could expect, we could provide performance and win races for minimum expenditure. You could continue to hone and evolve the Wedge forward, but the results would be limited. The cost effective way to make a real impression at Daytona was to take advantage of the A311 Indy program background, and adapt it to the race ‘B’ engine.”

When the 426 Hemi was introduced in 1964, it was strictly a racing engine. On February 23 of that year, four Hemi-powered Mopars swept the Daytona 500, finishing 1-2-3-4. This single event caught the racing world by surprise and prompted NASCAR to impose stricter production rules on Chrysler. Instead of producing a few blueprinted Hemi motors each production year, they would have to produce several thousand and sell them in “ordinary” production vehicles. Chrysler didn’t throw in the towel on the hemi after this (although they did sit out the 1965 season), and the end result was the Street Hemi, which first appeared in 1966 B-body Dodges and Plymouths.

So, per Tom Hoover, none in 1965 and then only in Dodges and Plymouth's. in 1966 and after.

Ray with a 1965 300 L I wish had a 426 in it...

On Mon, Feb 29, 2016 at 8:42 PM, John spiers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [Chrysler300] <Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi group,

I saw this 300-L coupe for sale on Craigslist, and was wondering if the claim that the 426 V-8 was an option on an L - I never heard that before, and I thought that the answer may be of general interest to the group.

Here's a link to the ad:

http://spacecoast.craigslist.org/cto/5442798524.html

Thanks!

John S in Florida

Ray Jones. Y'all come on down an see us. Ya hear?