The FBI Drove A 426 Hemi Four-Door Sedan Nobody Talks About
The FBI had the need for speed, and an unexpected four-door sedan packing 426 Hemi heat answered the call. Chrysler dropped the massive engine into the bay of a family car that was never meant to become one of the rarest Mopar sleeper models ever built. Without Ford complaining about this unbeatable NASCAR engine, this monster may never have been built. Sadly, it’s so rare that it hardly ever gets brought up in conversation and goes for decades without crossing the auction block.
Ford Forced The 426 Hemi Into Production Vehicles
Mid-1960s drama alert! When Chrysler introduced the ‘race Hemi’ during the Daytona 500, it quickly became an extremely dominant force. The engine took the top five spots, leaving rivals in the dust. This really ground Ford’s gears, so it complained that the Hemi was a non-production racing engine instead of a street-legal option for the public.
But NASCAR continued allowing the 426 Hemi to race, and Ford built the famous 427 SOHC “Cammer” engine to fight back. Then NASCAR’s founder, Bill France, banned both of these engines. In protest, Ford boycotted several races, and Chrysler skipped the entire 1965 season to focus on drag racing while negotiating its return.
On that note, the 427 SOHC “Cammer” engine is a 7.0-liter V8 beast with 657 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. It helped cars accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and cover a quarter mile in about 10 seconds. It beat the Hemi on drag strips, but the 426 ‘Elephant’ Hemi proved to have more endurance in organized circuit racing.
To get back on NASCAR tracks, Chrysler developed the 426 Street Hemi in 1966. To homologate the engine, it was available as a high-cost option in plenty of legendary cars like the Dodge Charger and Plymouth Belvedere. Upon returning to NASCAR, the 426 Hemi was an instant success, as it won the Daytona 500 again. Plus, the engine was dropped in a four-door sedan that no one expected.
The 1966 Dodge Coronet 426 Reported For Duty
If you needed a car that was fast enough to catch the bad guys, the 1966 Dodge Coronet 426 was a great option. The 426 cubic-inch, 7.0-liter Street Hemi engine delivers 425 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque. However, this amount of power is widely considered to be conservative. This engine helped launch the four-door Coronet from 0 to 60 mph in about 6.1 seconds and complete a quarter mile in roughly 13.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 135 mph.
But as a massive brick with limited aerodynamics, how did this boat of a car manage to be so fast? Each of these models features a heavy-duty Chrysler A-727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission and an 8.75-inch hypoid axle with Sure-Grip limited-slip and a 3.23:1 standard ratio. Plus, the B-body platform is paired with heavy-duty police and taxi suspension components.
You’ll find independent unequal-length control arms with heavy-duty torsion bars and tubular shocks in the front. The rear includes a solid axle with asymmetric semi-elliptical heavy-duty leaf springs and telescoping shocks. It has dual four-barrel Carter AFB carburetors on an aluminum intake manifold, 11-inch drum brakes, and a station wagon radiator shroud as well.
To lighten the load, and because the engine took up too much space, the 1966 four-door Dodge Coronet Hemi was stripped of the basics. Forget about creature comforts such as power steering, power brakes, a radio, or air conditioning. They don’t have power windows or locks. They were commonly delivered in taxicab spec with vinyl bench seats, rubber floor mats, and basic dashboards.
Only Five Models Ever Left The Factory
The 1966 Dodge Coronet Deluxe Hemi four-door sedan was never available in the standard, consumer-facing model. It could only be purchased through the special order program for fleet buyers. They could be ordered as undercover vehicles in stock spec with a non-flashy body for government agencies like the FBI.
Only five of these rare sedans were ever built, even though the 426 Hemi engine was available in 13 different Mopar models. Historians believe that two models went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as field support and towing vehicles. Yes, a few of these cars have tow hooks. Also, one or two models may have gone to Canada as police cars. However, one model may have been shipped overseas instead. The remaining car might have been sold to the American public.
The four-door Coronet 426 was built in small numbers because it was viewed as completely unmarketable to the public. They placed a high-performance racing engine into a plain family sedan, creating a massive contrast in features. For example, it wouldn’t exactly keep your family comfortable due to a lack of features.
After the 426 Hemi was successfully homologated, Chrysler didn’t need to continue putting racing engines in a family-friendly sedan. Plus, people wanted sleek, two-door muscle cars instead of massive, practical sedans at the time. Four-door cars weren’t built to handle massive powerhouses. In 1967, Dodge limited the Hemi to top-of-the-line, two-door, high-performance models, closing the special-order loophole.
The 1966 Hemi-Powered Four-Door Coronet Is Hard To Find
Many Mopar fans and collectors would love to get behind the wheel of this insanely rare sedan. As a four-door model that blends into traffic, it’s a legendary four-door Dodge Coronet sleeper model that could suddenly surprise others at red lights and drag strips with rapid acceleration. While it does have ‘426 HEMI’ badging on the front fenders, they look identical to base models.
This car would have never been built without having to satisfy NASCAR and NHRA homologation rules. Only three of the original five models may still survive today, and they hardly ever cross the auction block. One model was in a Barrett-Jackson auction back in 2007, and it sold for $660,000. These cars have gone for decades without crossing the auction block, and seeing one of these Hemi-powered four-door sedans go up for sale could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
It’s probably safe to assume that the next one to hit the auction block will sell for over one million dollars. One model is rumored to be in the state of Minnesota. Another model is associated with the drag racing legend, Don ‘Big Daddy’ Garlits. However, some folks believe that Garlits special-ordered a Coronet Deluxe four-door model and installed the 426 Hemi engine himself to make it period correct.
Source: Dodge, Barrett-Jackson
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