"Gentle Ben" is Back! The rare 1966 Coronet 426 Street Wedge 4-Speed has a new owner

[RemCharger]

Well, maybe Mr. Norm painted it orange ?

That's a good point.

 

[Big bill]

Well, I can tell you this for a fact my original 66 383 had an advertised horsepower rating of 325 at 10 to one compression when the engine was tore down at 58,000 miles untouched the Pistons were way farther down in the bore than a ten to one piston would’ve been in fact, the calculation came out to 9.4 to one you can’t argue numbers but the point being by the time that car with that 426 was sent to Mr. norms Tom Hoover himself well before October 1965 was driving around a 66 street hemi four-door Plymouth testing it . There is just no comparison of a red ram 426 street wedge and a 426 street hemi , if it was such an awesome set up why isn’t there more of them out there and people building that engine combination .

 

[Big bill]

Exactly. How did that Engine leave Mr. Norms? What was the cam profile? Did it have headers or manifolds exactly? How did it leave there? Ask the original owner or I’m assuming you must have what was his answer?

 

[Bryon]

Exactly. How did that Engine leave Mr. Norms? What was the cam profile? Did it have headers or manifolds exactly? How did it leave there? Ask the original owner or I’m assuming you must have what was his answer?

Excluding the cam I have all of those answers and I’ve happily shared them with Jim

 

[Bryon]

Well, I can tell you this for a fact my original 66 383 had an advertised horsepower rating of 325 at 10 to one compression when the engine was tore down at 58,000 miles untouched the Pistons were way farther down in the bore than a ten to one piston would’ve been in fact, the calculation came out to 9.4 to one you can’t argue numbers but the point being by the time that car with that 426 was sent to Mr. norms Tom Hoover himself well before October 1965 was driving around a 66 street hemi four-door Plymouth testing it . There is just no comparison of a red ram 426 street wedge and a 426 street hemi , if it was such an awesome set up why isn’t there more of them out there and people building that engine combination .

Just from your statement I can tell you didn’t read or listen to any of the history on the car

 

[dmoore]

Oh boy

 

[ukieone]

we spent a lot of time at norms,bought a 65 coronet from him with the 426 sw. in 66 we saw a coronet with 383 badges and what looked like a 383 engine.i spent some time arguing with the salesman that is in fact a 383 car.if your familiar with a 65 383 thats exactly what this car looked like.he poionted to the right side of the block,it said 426.if you want to fool street racers with what you are really runnig why would you paint the engine orange or put chrome on it .it would then look like the 426 of 65,except turquise.norm was slick.

 

[YY1]

Few non-Mopar guys can tell a B from an RB without being specifically directed to the RB distributor pad.

 

[Elimin8317]

Update on "Gentle Ben" or the Coronet that shouldn't exist, but does and sold through GGS Mr. Norm. I have added move videos of the transformation this car is going through on my YouTube channel @AngryCylinders it has come a long way in less then one year. 4 different shops working on getting it done. The final transformation will be unveiled at this year's MCACM show. Last year it was a barn find and in one year will be ??

 

[Elimin8317]

@AngryCylinders I am the new owner of the rare 1966 Coronet 440 with a factory 426 Street Wedge 4-speed "H" VIN. This car was advertised and sold through Grand Spaulding Dodge by Mr. Norm. What makes this car possible on of the rarest mopars is that it was a special order and pulled from the factory assembly line to get a special R&D treatment that included a 426 Street Wedge with a 4-speed. To add icing to its journey when R&D didn't need it anymore, it when to Grand Spaulding Dodge and got the Mr. Norm (Gary) treatment. The facts about this car are now well documented by a build sheet, data card, historical records, original owner's testimony, Galen's registry, the knowledge of Uncle Tony and other Mopar enthusiasts. The whole story can be read in other treads and Uncle Tony has a great narrative. I have put a few more pieces of its history together an may post a summary story in the future.

You can follow what I am doing to it at my YouTube channel @AngryCylinders . I don't want to spoil everything that is getting done but it IS getting a '65 period correct 426. The car is almost all torn down. The new engine is rebuilt and most of the hard parts are located. Still need a Chrome 426 Commando air cleaner for the Carter carb and nice front/rear bumpers. Hope the car will be completed for some Illinois shows in summer!

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