progressive pixs of my 63

[Mike Gaines]

From when I first ran the max wedge 63 lightweight, then with altered wheel base and 1965 fiberglass components and lastly with the engine set back 26" etc.
As a youngster who didn't realize I was totally destroying a perfect 1963 Max Wedge Aluminum Front End car, but who knew ?
In checking with a friend from his books my '63 2 door hardtop belvedere Max Wedge Lightweight was 1 of 3 built by Chrysler in 1963. (99% of the 1963 Max Wedge Cars were Savoy 2 door Sedan Post Cars)
I ordered the car from my local Plymouth dealer. I liked the Belvedere 2 door hardtop styling better than the Savoy 2 door Sedan Styling, not knowing the post car was a better platform for a racecar.


pix from 1963

pix from 1966

pix front 1967

 

[sam dupont]

You didn't ruin anything. Cars are Art, and as such, there is no wrong. The Factory made something cool, no doubt, but you made it your own, taking it where the Factory didn't dare, or have to.
If it had been 1 of 1, that would have been unfortunate, I hope it still exists somewhere.

Was Goldfinger a 1/24 model? It looks familiar for some reason.

 

[VANDAN]

Hey Mike, can You give us a few details about The '63, when it was "new", in Factory dress, as to how it ran, any flaws that you needed to correct, and maybe what you did to it, to improve on performance, or reliability, before making the major changes ? I'm hoping to get my '63 330 Out, & Running this year, after a 6 year resto. Won't be strictly a drag machine at this time, but maybe a few tricks will help it out, Thanks !

 

[Mike Gaines]

Hey Mike, can You give us a few details about The '63, when it was "new", in Factory dress, as to how it ran, any flaws that you needed to correct, and maybe what you did to it, to improve on performance, or reliability, before making the major changes ? I'm hoping to get my '63 330 Out, & Running this year, after a 6 year resto. Won't be strictly a drag machine at this time, but maybe a few tricks will help it out, Thanks !

Vandan,
The car ran just fine when it was new and during the years (3) that I ran it with the Max Wedge Motor and in the 1963 Trim. All I did was put put in new plugs every once in a while. Changed the oil often and checked the lash on the lifters. With today's new technology every thing is much better and easier to work with.
I played around with different traction bar setups, different slicks and such but nothing major. The car ran 12.25 to12.30 but the National Record was around 12.15 (or so) so I was never competitive with the car at a big NHRA race where the top runners showed up.
Remember, I was only 21 to 24 years old and didn't know that much about actual "tuning" of the car being the chassis or motor...but those were great times.
After the car had morphed into a full fledged Funny Car (with altered wheelbase, tube front axle, 26" engine setback and Hilborn Fuel Injection on 50% mix of Nitromethane and Alcohol) I ran the heck out of the car match racing it at least 2 to 3 times each month.

 

[davek]

love the pic from 1966

 

[VANDAN]

Vandan,
The car ran just fine when it was new and during the years (3) that I ran it with the Max Wedge Motor and in the 1963 Trim. All I did was put put in new plugs every once in a while. Changed the oil often and checked the lash on the lifters. With today's new technology every thing is much better and easier to work with.
I played around with different traction bar setups, different slicks and such but nothing major. The car ran 12.25 to12.30 but the National Record was around 12.15 (or so) so I was never competitive with the car at a big NHRA race where the top runners showed up.
Remember, I was only 21 to 24 years old and didn't know that much about actual "tuning" of the car being the chassis or motor...but those were great times.
After the car had morphed into a full fledged Funny Car (with altered wheelbase, tube front axle, 26" engine setback and Hilborn Fuel Injection on 50% mix of Nitromethane and Alcohol) I ran the heck out of the car match racing it at least 2 to 3 times each month.


Mike, Thanks for that feedback ! I guess this is what draws so many of us to this site. I Pray Our Country gets back to it's Roots, so maybe someday we can meet up, and Run a Heads Up in person. Might be kind of tough, with You in Cali, and me in NY, but maybe somewhere in the middle, at a NSS Meet. I can Always Use a Lesson !

Not sure what happened with my response, but ? Leave it to us Old Timers, that should not type !

 

[VANDAN]

Mike, You'll have to open my last post, it didn't quite work, Thanks, and Happy New Year !

 

[wagonwedge330]

Mr. Gaines, thank you for posting these pics! I used to buy photos of any ‘63 Dodge /Plymouth Max Wedge cars I could off EBay. I began hoarding parts about ten years ago to build clone to enjoy myself. Then I found a real one that came up on EBay. Unfortunately, I missed the car by a few grand$$ lol. I bought the 1963 Ply DDavis’ book, I couldn’t find his book on the 63 Dodges, (now out of print),
I love these cars, even as a very young kid I’d take my allowance to buy any magazines with pics of 62/65 Dodge / Plymouth’s!
My uncle always told the story, that while he worked part time at a drag strip, nothing sounded or ran like the MW cars, the first one he saw in ‘62 was a Dodge Dart, 413 of coarse, torque flight. He would tell me how no other car made the ground rumble, well before it headed for staging lanes. He would tell folks theymade the ground rumble like tanks moving in WWII....He always told me how in 1963 all the drivers, tuners, etc would talk about how things would never be the same after Chrysler unleashed the ‘63 MW cars. He also said Chrysler picked who they wanted for these cars because all the Ford, GM guys were on waiting lists to get Into Chryslers. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays sir!