1965 Dodge Coronet Race Hemi Tribute: Wicked Wednesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
It may not be original, but this 1965 Dodge Coronet shreds tires thanks to the 426 cubic inch race Hemi engine under the hood.
It is not unusual to see a Dodge tearing up a drag strip. The Mopar powered cars have been in the drag racing game a long time. In 1965 Dodge built 101 A990 426 Hemi-equipped models to compete in the NHRA Super Stock class. The 1965 Dodge Coronet that you see here is not one of the original 101 cars. However, it is as good a tribute car as you will likely ever see. Everything from the engine to the single windshield wiper has been reproduced in this monster of a build.
This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” presented by Nitto features this 1965 Dodge Coronet tribute car. It was built by Mosher’s and is currently owned by Russ Toms. Toms recently meet up with Lou Costabile to show off his epic car. A video of this meet up was posted on the Lou Costabile YouTube channel. In this video you will see all the unique touches that make this build so special. On top of that you get to hear this special Hemi engine roar to life and roast some tires along the way.
What’s Missing
Before we talk about all the goodies that this car has, we should talk about all the things it doesn’t have. This car was built to be as faithful to the original as possible. And the original was built to race. Not to look like it could race but to actually race. So, if you are going to build a racecar you want to remove everything that is not needed to make the car faster. Dodge took these deletes very seriously.
The following items you may find on a stock Dodge Coronet, but not on a special A990 engine car with the W01 package. Inner fender liners, high beam lights, radio, heater, clock, rear seats, rear window cranks, sun visors, backup lights, passenger windshield wiper, and the door arm rests are all ditched. Also ditched from the original car was any warranty. These were sold new “as is.”
What’s Not Missing
All of the above were removed to save weight, but in the trunk, you will find a battery that tips the scales at a hefty 72 pounds. It is placed in the rear to aid with traction and to get some weight above those drag slicks. The car also has an interesting transmission. It is a TorqueFlite 727 manual transmission with no parking gear.
And the column shifter runs through the gears in the opposite direction compared to regular production cars. So, in this car the driver pulls the lever down to go to the next gear. The reason is when this thing rockets off the line it is easier to pull the gear down for the next gear instead of pushing it up against the inertia of the acceleration.
Race Hemi Engine
The heart of this beast is of course the 426 race Hemi engine. It is fed by dual Holley 4160 4-barrel carburetors. It also includes aluminum heads and an aluminum water pump. There is a lightweight magnesium CrossRam intake manifold that saves about 15 pounds compared to an aluminum piece. Another fun piece under the hood is the little yellow sticker in the air cleaner. It states that the car is intended for acceleration trials and not general passenger use. It also states that if something breaks that is on you because there is no warranty with one of these.
Time for a Ride
Toms fires up his 1965 Dodge Coronet and we are treated to some glorious race engine noises. No turbos or superchargers, we just hear all cam and compression. Wonderful. Even though these cars were built for the drag strip they are street legal. So, Toms and Costabile hit the road. “It just sounds dangerous,” said Costabile. That about sums it up. It does sound dangerous and for good reason. It is a wicked fast car.
Video
Watch the video below. If you are even the slightest Mopar fan we promise you it will be 14 minutes well spent. This 1965 Dodge Coronet might be a tribute car, but it is a first class build that is as historically accurate as can be. Make sure you have the volume up to fully enjoy this piece of history.
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