Is Chrysler´s/Dodge´s 70´s Hemi 426 that rare ?!!

[livi]

Read a Swedish car magazine. An 18 year old girl got her birthday present from her father - a Charger 71 with a Hemi 426 in stock original condition. Sofa in front and manual gear on wheel hub.

According to the author there is to his knowledge only one more left in the world in driving condition - and this one was the only one never touched in any way. Apparently worth a small fortune.

Any truth in this?

[Tobra]

Very likely true, particularly for a 1971 model, the smog laws changed that year as I recall, and they pretty much quit making muscle cars in 1972. They still made them, but they were not the same, for the most part. The guy I bought my 914 from is a Porsche mechanic that who is into Mopars. He had a 1970 roadrunner, hemi, convertible. One of 3(three) made. He bought it for $1000 as a rust free basket case, put a new interior and top on it, the right motor init, buffed out the paint and sold it for $100,000 at least 10 years ago.

You must understand that getting a 426 hemi added a great deal of expense to purchase price, and was more demanding to maintain. The 440 was produced in large numbers, was every bit as fast off the dealer lot, was bulletproff and easy to maintain. They did not make a lot of them, and many were gutted andturned into drag cars.

Same guy I got my car from sold a '67 Hemi Belvedere the same day I bought mine for $30,000. With the transmission in the trunk, and the motor in boxes. It was pretty much all there, but plenty ratty looking. The Mopars are more rare than the Ford or GM cars

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm an old MOPAR guy from way back, having been into them (and subsequently back out - marriage, kids...). Let me tell you about Hemi cars...

They are indeed quite rare, at least as original equipment. They added about half again to the cost of the car and were typically quite a long wait to get one. Insurance companies either charged a massive premium on them, or refused to cover them altogether, contributing to their lack of sales. The 440 cars were a relatively cheap and available alternative.

The 440 cars were nowhere near as fast as the hemi cars right off the lot. The 440 four barrel was rated at somewhere around 375 HP; the Sixpack (three, two barrel Holley carbs) got about 390. Those were realistic gross numbers. The Hemi was rated at 425 HP @ 5,000 RPM. It was well established that no Hemi ever left Chrysler that made less than about 550 HP @ 7,000 RPM or so. Driving a Hemi car and a 440 car leave no doubt as to the difference, believe me. The Hemi did make 425 HP @ 5,000, true enough, but that's like rating an early 911 S motor at 5,000 RPM. It is rather deceiving, and meant to be.

'71 was the last year for the hemi. Not many were made at all, even compared to earlier years. They had to continue to produce enough of them to homologate for NASCAR, but that's about all they made. The column shift in your friend's Charger must be for an automatic transmission; they simply never made a column shift manual hemi car. That would be a three speed, and MOPAR did not have one suitable for that kind of power. Their 727 Torqueflight automatic was used in all big block V-8 applications. It was renowned for its strength, with early nitro burning, blown dragsters and funny cars running them.

The '70 and '71 hemis are hydraulic lifter motors, easing some of the maintanence chores. MOPAR guys decry the fact that they were "dumbed down" for the masses from the old solid lifter motors, but they made every bit the power.

What is an original hemi car worth these days? A small fortune; your friend is right. I simply cannot believe what they sell for these days. Even the "clone" cars, built up from non-original hemi cars, are going well over $50k. Double to triple that for an "average" hemi car; several times that again for something unique. Original, unmolested hemi cars are the RS, RSR, and R's of the muscle car world. Same stituation; originals are out of reach, everyone is building copies, and many get sold as "original". Interestingly, the hemi is still a catalog item in the MOPAR Direct Connection catalog...

[Superman]

When I bought my 911, about eight years ago, I was considering a Mopar car instead. I particularly like the '68 and '69 Charger, but a Roadrunner would have pleased me also. And of course, a 'Cuda. I was wanting a 383. At that time, 426 cars were selling for between $30K and $65K, depending on condition. Today you cannot touch an original 426 car in the worst possible condition for $65K.

[Superman]

But also........426 cars were not THAT rare "back in the day." They dominated the drag strip. Factory 426's made 450 hp or so. With not much more than a screwdriver, they could make 550 hp and if you could afford a hundred or two hundred dollars in parts, they could make upwards of 700 hp. Or more. As I say, that engine dominated drag strips for many years.

[lonewolf]

this was mine , 67 GTX,28930org miles factory Hemi car, could buy a house for what you could get for it today.
the 71 charger is a big boat comparded to the earlier cars but still there is nothing like the sound of a Hemi idleing

[TerryH]

Originally posted by livi
Read a Swedish car magazine. An 18 year old girl got her birthday present from her father - a Charger 71 with a Hemi 426 in stock original condition. Sofa in front and manual gear on wheel hub.

Had fun translating! Sofa (bench seat) took me a while to figure out, but are you saying it had manual shifting on the column? That would be hard, okay... impossible, to believe.

[lonewolf]

no it would be a 3sp auto on the column
i had it in my 68GTX 440. acctualy not bad ,you can shift through gears without hands leaving the wheel the lever was that close.

[pwd72s]

Some 1/4 miles guys preferred the torqueflight automatic over the 4 speed back in the day...

[the]

Originally posted by TerryH
but are you saying it had manual shifting on the column? That would be hard, okay... impossible, to believe.

I had a friend who had a Ford that had manual shifting on the column, 3 speed manual with a clutch, "3 on the tree."

It was weird to drive!

[TerryH]

Originally posted by the
I had a friend who had a Ford that had manual shifting on the column, 3 speed manual with a clutch, "3 on the tree."

It was weird to drive!

Oh yeah, I have driven many a 3 on the tree. But you won't find one moving a factory 426 hemi. It was either the 727 torqueflite or 4 speed (probably the Hurst pistol grip)

[Thunderbolt]

In 1980 a good friend of mine had a 1968 Hemi Barracuda. This was the single most uncivilized, frightening automobile experience I have ever had pleasure of having. As stated 700+ hp was not hard to accomplish. With 4:56 gears the tires would go up in smoke on the freeway with a healthy stab at the throttle. I have driven a 996TT and the mind numbing acceleration of that vehicle still does not compare. Believe it or not the car was sold one year later for the unbelievable sum of $6,000. Believe it or not back in the early 80's people did not want to spend $$$ on a vehicle that got 4-6 mpg.

[livi]

Thanks for all your insightful replies! I had a feeling many of you still have MOPAR in your blood.

I might be wrong about the gearbox - may very well be auto. Sorry for the sofa..

Apparently this car is completely original, not touched in any way. Original paint (dark yellow with black stripe on the side) and even still carry the factory mounted tires - 36 years old. It has some kind of optional scoop/handle on the hood with the Charger logo on.

Some kind of 18 birthday present for a girl..

[Superman]

A '68 Barracuda with a tweaked 426 engine would be one of the most frightening experiences you can have in an automobile.

[RANDY P]

She'll probably cry and want a Honda Civic instead..

rjp

[kmhemi]

I still have my 426 Hemi. Of the Hemi cars the E body cars are worth the most. E bodies are Cudas and Challengers. I have a 70 Hemi Challenger RT with a factory 426 and 4 speed manual. I dont know what it's really worth. NADA has it listed on their website at anywhere from 100,000 - 450,000
Cudas are worth more than Challengers. last year ago a well known 71 Hemi Cuda Convertible sold for 4 million. I have heard that one since sold for five but have not verified that.
There were two 71 Hemi Cuda convertibles that were Export cars. Those 2 cars still exist and have been located. They are pretty much priceless.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by Superman
A '68 Barracuda with a tweaked 426 engine would be one of the most frightening experiences you can have in an automobile.

Back in the early '80's when I was heavily into drag racing my '69 Super Bee 383 four speed, one of our inner circle came up with a '69 'Cuda. It was an original SS/AA class race car. To translate for the guys not familiar with NHRA class designations, "SS" was Super Stock; obstensibly "stock" cars with some allowable modifications. "A" was the highest class, which is pretty much like road racing, and the second "A" was for "automatic".

In the course of a couple of years, I had the opportunity to make a few passes in that car. I can't remember the exact times and trap speeds, but they were in the high 9 second range at over 140 mph. Being an automatic, it was relatively easy to drive, even with its full manual valve body. Launches were easy; left foot on the brake to hold it, run the motor up to just over 5,000 RPM as the tree started to count down, then just side-step the brake on the green. It wouldn't wheelie as impressively as the same car with a four speed, but it would certainly get daylight under the front wheels. Just plain way too much fun.

Funny, Supe, we must have way more in common than either of us likes to admit. When I bought my 911 about five years ago, I had been out of the loop on all things car. I was going to buy another MOPAR; this time with a hemi in it. HA! Good luck; any average old Road Runner, a real one, was fetching $20k and up; really nice ones far more. With a 383; hemi cars were well over $50k by then. Then one day I saw a 911 for sale and stopped to look; I thought the price was a miss-print. I looked at more, learning that it was no miss-print. I bought my 911 for a fifth of what I would have paid for a suitable MOPAR.

I had owned the 383/440 cars; a '66 Sport Fury 383 four barrel automatic, a '67 R/T 440 four barrel automatic, a '68 Road Runner 383 four speed, and finally a '69 Super Bee 383 four speed. All purchased for, and subsequently sold for, about a grand. All in pristine condition. That was the post-gas crunch market on muscle cars in the late '70's to early '80's. Also in the mix was one pristine '67 GTO 400 four speed; also a thousand dollar car at that time. My gawd, if I had kept any one of those... Oh, and hemi cars were out of reach for me at the time at a whopping $3000-$5000. Dammit all... hindsight...

[TerryH]

Originally posted by Superman
A '68 Barracuda with a tweaked 426 engine would be one of the most frightening experiences you can have in an automobile.

There were a handful of Hemi Dusters built by the factory for the strip only. Heard they were very scary and almost impossible to keep on a straight line because of all the mods to the front suspension to make the motor fit.

Kmhemi, post some photos of your beast!

[kmhemi]

I'm at work tonight. I'll try and get some pics posted tomorrow.
To get a 426 in an A body car (Duster and Dart) the passenger side fenderwell has to be heavily modified also the entire K-frame has to be changed. If you wanted power brakes in a car with a 426 the brake booster had to be mounted on an offset bracket (z shaped) because othwerise the vlave cover would hit the brake booster. My car has manual brakes. I like the old "iron" but I love my Porsches. Its two completely different worlds.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by TerryH
There were a handful of Hemi Dusters built by the factory for the strip only. Heard they were very scary and almost impossible to keep on a straight line because of all the mods to the front suspension to make the motor fit.

Kmhemi, post some photos of your beast!

They actually sold "bodies in white" to Pro Stock teams, who subsequently finished them. No Duster/Demon ever left the factory with the hemi actually in it. I'm kind of picking the fly ***** out of the pepper on this one, admittedly, as that was the intended combintation.

The closest there was to a "factory" MOPAR race team was the Motown Missile; an "A" body Demon that was renamed the "MOPAR Missile" when Dodge got more involved with them. There were a number of heavily supported cars, but much like Porsche's race efforts, they relied on customer cars to carry the flag for the most part.

Sox and Martin were one of the more successful teams, along with Dick Landy. One of Dick Landy's original cars showed up here in the Northwest, running Division Six races in the '80's. There was no VIN, no title, nadda... It had been originally delivered as a body in white.

The NHRA (and NASCAR for that matter) killed the hemi. NHRA with "weight breaks"; the hemis ran Pro Stock at a car weight of 7 lbs per cubic inch. Small block Chevys ran 6.25 lbs per cubic inch, and Ford Cleveland head small blocks were 6.75 lbs per cubic inch. This pretty much handed Pro Stock to guys like Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins with his mouse-motored Vegas, "Dyno" Don Nicholsen with his 351 Cleveland powered Pintos, and later Gapp & Rousch with their four door Maverick "taxi cab". Same Jack Rousch we all know from NASCAR, by the way. NASCAR killed them with restrictor plates; different sizes for different motors. That is why MOPAR left NASCAR and took almost 30 years to come back.