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Nine Second Drag Car: 1965 Plymouth Belvedere 426

This 1965 Plymouth Belvedere is a factory-built 426 car, one the company’s most impressive engines ever dropped into its passenger cars. It’s funny – we make a big deal out of the modern-day Dodge Challenger Hellcat, but Chrysler has been giving customers the high-performance engines they want for generations, even sticking them in otherwise mundane midsize models like the Belvedere. This one is obviously anything but mundane, having been put to work as a drag car most of its life. Find it here on eBay with bidding over $37K and the reserve unmet.

The seller has followed the history of this Plymouth since new, tracing it back to the original owner who put the car into storage when he fell ill. A friend persuaded the family to sell it, and now the seller is listing it on behalf of the current owner. It somewhat feels like the owner knew the family had a gem of a muscle car in their garage, so hopefully he paid them a fair price. The paintwork is straight out of the period in which this car was drag raced, and that’s a very good thing. The seller notes it saw extensive action on the eastern seaboard.

The list of modifications is extensive, and broken out in graphic detail in the listing description. Basically, it feels as if no expense was spared when this Belvedere was brought home as an otherwise stock car with that thumper of an engine up front. Impressively, despite the dramatic makeover into a full-fledged drag racer, the first owner retained all of the parts he removed, from the original fenders to the stock automatic transmission. This introduces an interesting quandary: do you return this Belvedere back to its sleepy factory appearance riding on some steel wheels with wheel covers?

Personally, I would – and I know that makes the committed drag racers in our readership break out in hives. I admittedly love sleepers, and the thought of this thing packing such a monstrous engine but looking like something that came out of a 1960s Hertz parking lot just makes me warm inside. However, when you watch the videos on YouTube of it racing and the front end lifting off the ground – well, I can begin to see the argument for keeping it in its current as-raced condition. Which direction would you go with this 426-equipped Belvedere?

Comments

  1. Avatar benjy58

    Since Long Island has no dragstrips anymore I’d just open the headers and start it up. Let it idle in the driveway and rev it once in a while. Of course the aroma of Cam 2 would drift across the neighborhood to the delight of everyone.

    Like 16
  2. Avatar Chillywind

    Wow
    What a car! I would put the seats back in it and get rid of that dumb “can you say Hemi” stuff on the side. and try to drive it once in awhile.
    I mean we have heard, “yeah its got a Hemi” and “Hemi powered” and now, “can you say Hemi”

    Wild machine and not for the faint of heart. Wonder how it would do on the street? I have never seen a 9 second car (non supercharged) do well in traffic.

    Like 10
    • Avatar Classic Steel

      Looks like this owner knew how to race the Hemi with out blowing it up as yesterday 426 bang…
      I agree seats and original color and drive it…

      Like 8
    • Avatar Clint Campbell

      A certain 1969 Camaro did well in traffic this summer and also ran 5.99 and 250.46 in the 1/4 mile, it is turbocharged. Best street normally aspirated averaged 8.050 at 169.13 over 5 days and 800 miles. Both spent a lot of time in traffic!

      Like 2
      • Avatar Rattlehead

        drag week separates the posers doesn’t it?

        Like 0
  3. Avatar Steve

    Further down in the add it says it’s not a factory hemi.

    Like 5
    • Avatar Scott Williams

      They really buried that little nugget deep!

      Like 5
    • Avatar stillrunners

      Yep – correct – not an “ordered” car…..you had to be a a big shoe to get one of the few built Dodge or Plymouth’s Hemi Super Stock cars from the factory and most all became the altered wheelbase car’s which were soon after tossed to the side.

      Was that too long a sentence ?

      Like 4
  4. Avatar Dave

    Probably not up to current safety codes, and a ton of things to remove to restore it to original condition.
    Period racing machines are a tough call, be they drag racers, Bonneville racers, or circle track cars.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Stangalang

    These engines were hardly “factory ” when they came off the assembly line..same with some of the big block Ford and Chevrolet engines. The engineers and assemblers new very well what these engines were capable of. They didn’t want to spoil the surprise when you smashed the gas 😁👍

    Like 2
  6. Avatar Troy s

    Only factory Hemi powered cars from ’65 were race cars that I know of, white with white steelies, non Nascar stock rods too. That would be worth a ton if it is was factory built.
    I’d leave it, seems this is how its looked forever. One bad looking engine, and this body style has Mopar fever written all over it. Nice!

    Like 3
  7. Avatar Bob S

    Looking at the title, it’s showing 98k miles, looks like it was a daily driver before they built it, hard to imagine that it made 392,000 passes down the quarter!

    Like 6
    • Avatar Bellingham Fred

      I gave you a thumbs up on that Bob.
      After reading another post I was trying to figure how many miles (or fractions thereof) it takes for each 1/4 mile pass. You have to add the distance from the pits, thru the staging lanes. The 1/4 mile itself, the shutdown area, and the return road. It could easily add up to a mile. The car still didn’t make 98k passes.

      Like 3
      • Avatar ACZ

        Don’t forget the number of times it spun the speedo cable during burnouts

        Like 4
      • Avatar Bob S

        Bellingham Fred, as being a former drag racer on motorcycles, it’s obvious that I’ve musta left my apple jack sit in the sun a little too long!! Never even gave the return trip any thought 😂

        Like 2
  8. Avatar mainlymuscle

    Nope,not a factory car.If you’re truly in the market,you missed your opportunity.
    A real 65 Belvedere AFX just sold at Mecum Kissimee.I didn’t follow it up,but the pre-sale estimate was 4 to $600k.This is just as cool ,for a tenth of the price.

    Like 4
  9. Avatar ACZ

    All I can say is that if I owned that car, I could never bring myself to sell it.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar John

    Data card from a micro fish? It must be very small…

    Like 0
    • Avatar moosie

      Yeah, I “caught” that “fiche” too.

      Like 0
  11. Avatar Del

    I am a Mopar guy.

    But this car does nothing for me. Not a race car fan.

    I guess if you could take a lot of tat junk off you could make it street again.

    And the color sucks

    Like 0
  12. Avatar TimM

    That looks like a bunch of fun!!

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Ralf Österling

    Car came from factory with a 225″ engine (code AB/20) not one thing in drivline is -65 ….you do the math

    Like 0

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