426 Wedge in a 66 Coronet?

[Bryon]

So you do have actual proof/documentation the car left the factory with a 426 wedge?

The only other proof we have is a text from the original owners son (who conveniently has seen this forum) telling us when his dad got the car off the dealership it had a 426 Wedge in it his Dad wanted a Hemi but the only 426 they had with a 4 speed was the wedge

 

[YY1]

As a steward of Mopar history, it should be a privilege for Galen to work with the owners of both cars, and any representatives of Grand Spaulding historical documentation to bring this information to the light of the general Mopar fan-base public.

 

[YY1]

25K for a build sheet????

Wow. That's crazy.

 

[dadsbee]

25K for a build sheet????

That he was holding in trust for the owner to boot!

 

[Big Bad Dad]

That he was holding in trust for the owner to boot!

What's the whole story on this?

 

[dadsbee]

What's the whole story on this?

Owner of car gave him the broadcast sheet to hold safely in trust many years back. Owner was selling car and Galen declared he wanted 25K to cough up the sheet. I think they call that "mail fraud" in the US. I'll leave it there, I've muddied up this Wedge thread enough with this. Just wanted to make sure the Brothers know what they may be up against...

 

[pnora]

That he was holding in trust for the owner to boot!

I seem to remember hearing that story.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Owner of car gave him the broadcast sheet to hold safely in trust many years back. Owner was selling car and Galen declared he wanted 25K to cough up the sheet. I think they call that "mail fraud" in the US. I'll leave it there, I've muddied up this Wedge thread enough with this. Just wanted to make sure the Brothers know what they may be up against...

Wayne do you think your friends car would gain any value with the second BS? Wouldn't pay Galen any where near $25K maybe $1k max. I asked original owner if he would take $300 for order form, finance/trade in agreement, work orders to change a few things on the car and the original window sticker. Thought he he was happy with the price, I was but don't know if I'd pay much more.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

“Christine’s Daytona”

 

[440 4 speed]

Wayne do you think your friends car would gain any value with the second BS? Wouldn't pay Galen any where near $25K maybe $1k max. I asked original owner if he would take $300 for order form, finance/trade in agreement, work orders to change a few things on the car and the original window sticker. Thought he he was happy with the price, I was but don't know if I'd pay much more.

When I sell a car, very seldom, new guy gets all the information I have. All receipts etc.

 

[Fran Blacker]

When I sell a car, very seldom, new guy gets all the information I have. All receipts etc.

I bought my car from second owner in 1978, he gave me all he had. Direction to original owner's house and phone number. In 1981 called to see if he had the gas cap, he gave it to me. He put a 67 GTX cap but didn't put the ring that goes against quarter panel. Fuel came up filler neck wrecked the paint. In 2015 took a ride with daughter to his house he mention the paper work then, never expected it.

 

[Al T]

Please post a picture of the part of the IBM card showing the dealer’s name and address, if you don‘t mind.

The dealer info needs to be decoded off the IBM card.

 

[khryslerkid]

I see the brothers have some videos on their Coronet. Great to see these young guys so excited about their find

 

[Bryon]

That’s us and honestly the cars been kind of a dram come true for us. We got into this stuff roughly 4-5-6ish years ago when we were about 14-15ish years old and it wasn’t super easy for a young guy to buy a Mopar. We always figured we’d be stuck with /6 cars and clone cars which we were content with that. But one of our buddies offered this one to us and we just wanted it because it was an old race car we had thought it was a factory error and that’s what we were told until my brother was transferring the title and we got the build sheet.

 

[426Wedge1966]

I see the brothers have some videos on their Coronet. Great to see these young guys so excited about their find

Thanks for sharing our videos up on here! We’re super excited to work on this rare piece of Mopar history, while we may not be able to restore it, it’s still gonna have some fun.

 

[patrick66]

Interesting WH23G on top line and I can't clearly read what is before 426 WEDGE on the bottom. What is on the top line should be a 361 car.

You're referencing incorrect info (the 1966 FSM). A "G" in 1966 is a 383. I've owned my '66 361 Coronet for 43 years (second owner!), and the VIN is "F" for 361. If you are referencing the 1966 FSM, it is WRONG and has been documented as such for many years.

 

[426Wedge1966]

You're referencing incorrect info (the 1966 FSM). A "G" in 1966 is a 383. I've owned my '66 361 Coronet for 43 years (second owner!), and the VIN is "F" for 361. If you are referencing the 1966 FSM, it is WRONG and has been documented as such for many years.

That’s been another debate among coronet guys, I tried deciding my first 66 a long while back, G code car, and everyone was telling me it was a 361 car until a guy, like you, came in and said he bought his new with a 361 and it’s F code.

 

[khryslerkid]

 

[RemCharger]

 

[Beeorange]

I read all 22 pages and love when something new pops up in the hobby! Also like seeing young people involved with Mopar's.

My thoughts (I acknowledge no one ask for them ):

I am in the camp that the car is real and batch special ordered by Mr. Norm. The broadcast sheet special order code and "Street Wedge" does it for me.

I highly doubt the engines were installed at the dealership. It would have been cost prohibitive. I would guess by the time a complete drivable car was purchased, a new engine bought and installed, the 50 cars with the 426 street wedge would have cost as much, probably more, than a street Hemi. It is my opinion the street wedge was installed at the factory. It would also explain Galen's statement that 50 were made. It aligns with another well know special order, the 68 Bengal Charger. It stands to reason it would take a certain number of special orders to make it a worth while endeavor for the factory.

Have you tried researching newspapers from that time frame? Assuming they were batch special orders, my strong feeling is Mr. Norm would have aggressively advertised them and the most popular media back then was newspapers. He was a master at marketing and the best way to move them would have been newspaper advertising. If you find advertisements, they will go a long way in verify the history.

Awesome find, great car, good luck!