When we think about the history of Mopar muscle cars, a big, brawny 2-door sedan like the 1959 Plymouth Belvedere is probably not a vehicle that comes to mind. However, the off white ’59 Belvedere shown in the video below packs major muscles borrowed from the mighty Dodge Viper.
The video doesn’t say which generation Viper V10 engine is tucked under the hood of this huge 2-door sedan but there is little question that this Plymouth Belvedere is one of the coolest sleepers ever. This clip shows the first drag race for the Viper powered Plymouth and making this video even sweeter is the fact that this Belvedere is racing against a Mustang GT.
The Mustang gets away from the line better and has the early lead but as the Viper powered antique Plymouth climbs through the gears, the big power of the V10 engine allows the Belvedere to beat the Mustang to the finish line. The timeslip at the end of the video shows that the Belvedere “only” ran 13.382 seconds but when you look at the fact that it went through the traps at almost 111 miles per hour – it is very clear that this car is capable of far better times with some work. Figure that my Mirada runs low 12s with a good launch and slightly slower trap speeds so provided that the owner of this awesome hot rod can get off of the line quicker…12 second runs are well within his grasp.
This user has a couple other videos showing the car moving around and driving up and down the road but this clip shows the most action. The image above came from one of the other videos.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
