The Chrysler Hemi So Dominant NASCAR Banned It And Forced Chrysler To Build A Street Version
There is one Chrysler engine that was so dominant it left rivals with no chance in NASCAR races, and competitors took notice. But this potent HEMI wasn’t ready to apologize for its unstoppable dominance and ended up being branded a rule-breaker. Plus, Ford got involved with its own response, escalating the pinnacle of horsepower wars during the golden age of muscle cars. Chrysler boycotted a season and was forced to detune the infamous HEMI powerhouse before proving it would still dominate the track, even with less power.
Here’s Why Chrysler Boycotted NASCAR In 1965
During the 1964 NASCAR season, Chrysler was ruling the track with a potent HEMI engine in its Plymouth and Dodge race cars. With drivers Richard Petty behind the wheel of the number 43 Plymouth Belvedere and David Pearson in the number 6 Dodge Polara, competitors from Ford and Chevrolet stood no chance.
NASCAR president Bill France implemented strict homologation rules for 1965 in response. Suddenly, automobile manufacturers needed to meet a minimum dealership production quota of 500 street-legal units to meet racing requirements. Bill pointed out that Chrysler’s HEMI engine didn’t meet this rule, and it was knocked out of the competition.
Chrysler didn’t take this news very well, and aggressively boycotted the 1965 season while sparking the Aero Wars, which led to decades of muscle cars competing against each other to dominate racetracks with the most power. Also, Chrysler pulled its teams to compete in the NHRA series instead, where it gained multiple Stock Eliminator wins.
The fight wasn’t over as Chrysler faced NHRA restrictions as well. Chrysler moved the wheels forward on 1965 Plymouth and Dodge models to optimize the weight distribution for its HEMI engine, but the NHRA restricted the design. Being excluded from the strict NHRA classes led to the creation of the “funny car” sub-sport, though, so that’s one positive thing.
The Chrysler 426 HEMI Was Too Powerful To Ignore
To be fair, the Chrysler 426 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Race HEMI engine is a true monster, with a rated 425 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque. However, dyno tests show that the output is closer to 500 hp or more. With the Elephant HEMI, Dodge and Plymouth cars could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.1 seconds and cover a quarter mile in around 11.4 seconds at roughly 125 mph.
Upon its debut, it swept the top three spots at the 1964 Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty in a Plymouth Belvedere. Over the season, it helped Dodge and Plymouth cars win 26 out of 62 races. Petty went on to finish the season as the NASCAR champion while setting lap records left and right.
The engine was so dominant in drag racing that it was viewed as unfair, leading to complaints and pressure from other automakers like Ford and General Motors. Some will claim that the engine was banned because it was too fast and dangerous for the sport. However, others attribute it to being simply too good.
Ford Had A HEMI Response
Of course, Ford wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines during the ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ era. So its engineers got to work building something to tackle the unstoppable Race HEMI. In only 90 days, there was a new FE big-block engine on the track, built with the sole purpose of dethroning Chrysler.
The Ford 427 SOHC Cammer V8 was introduced as the 90-day wonder. The 427 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) engine produces 616 hp and 515 lb-ft of torque with the single four-barrel carburetor setup and 657 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque with the dual four-barrel carburetors. It helps the Ford Galaxie and Fairlane accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.0 seconds with a quarter-mile time of roughly 11.61 seconds at 124.8 mph.
The Cammer V8 never faced off against the Race HEMI during NASCAR races. It also failed to meet newly implemented homologation rules because it wasn’t available to the public, and Chrysler wasn’t going to let that go unnoticed. All special racing engines without mainstream production options for daily drivers got the boot.
Also, for the record, while the Ford 427 SOHC was an NHRA monster, the 426 HEMI had more wins during the 1965 season. The Race HEMI was able to meet more legal requirements than the 427 SOHC. The HEMI was already widely established and available to more race teams as well.
Chrysler Had No Choice but To Detune
Chrysler had no choice but to detune its powerful Race HEMI to get back in NASCAR action for the 1966 season. The package was available for the Dodge Charger, Dodge Coronet, Plymouth Satellite, and Plymouth Belvedere for between $800 and $907, which is an upgrade price many of us would gladly go for today.
The compression ratio was reduced from 12.5:1 to a more public-friendly 10.25:1. Also, the camshaft was replaced with a calmer 276-degree/292-degree durable solid lifter profile that provides a better low-end idle and street behavior. Instead of race headers, the detuned Street HEMI features twin Carter AFB four-barrel carburetors and cast-iron long-branch exhaust manifolds instead of aluminum.
It is factory rated at 425 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque in stock form. However, dyno tests show that its output is closer to 470 to 500 hp. This engine helps Mopar cars like the Plymouth Belvedere and Dodge Charger accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds and complete a quarter mile in about 13.5 seconds at roughly 106 mph. This detuned engine wasn’t too far behind the banned racing variant and proved that Chrysler could still dominate with less power.
The Street HEMI Struck With A Vengeance
Despite facing true competition, the detuned Chrysler 426 Street HEMI V8 and its race car drivers showed no mercy during the 1966 NASCAR season. In the number 6 Dodge Charger, David Pearson won 15 races and won the first Grand National Championship of his career.
Plus, Richard Petty immediately won the 1966 Daytona 500 in his number 43 Plymouth Belvedere. He won eight races that season. Jim Hurtubise won the 1966 Atlanta 500 in the number 56 Plymouth, and Earl Balmer won the second Daytona 500 qualifier race in the number 3 Dodge.
Overall, that adds up to an impressive 25 out of 49 wins, allowing the detuned HEMI to continue its reign. Ford also performed well, with around 13 racing wins. Ford accumulated enough points to capture the 1966 Manufacturers’ Championship. That probably helped to soften the blows delivered by Chrysler.
Source: Fastest Laps, Hemmings, Dodge, Ford
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