426 Max Wedge: 1964 Dodge 440
Chrysler and its subsidiaries produced some of the most legendary vehicles of the muscle car era. One of those cars was the 1964 Dodge 440. In base form, it was an unassuming car with a slant-six under the hood. However, if the buyer had the money and ticked the right boxes on their Order Form, the Dodge could be transformed into a muscular brute with the legendary 426 Cross Ram Max Wedge occupying its engine bay. That is what is on offer with this 440, and its presentation matches its incredible performance potential. The owner has recently restored this Dodge but feels that the time is right for it to find a new home. It is located in Ashford, Connecticut, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $36,995, although he is willing to consider offers.
It isn’t clear when the owner performed this restoration, but I get the impression that he only recently completed the work. He retained the car’s appearance by repainting it in its original Code W White paint with a contrasting Code P Red stripe. This is how the vehicle would have looked when it rolled off the production line, providing a striking but understated appearance. The paint shines beautifully, and if there are any flaws, they are too small to be visible in the supplied photos. The panels are laser straight, and there is no evidence of any rust or other nasties that could stress prospective buyers. The exterior trim and glass appear to be flawless, while the Gunmetal B/G “Old School” alloy wheels and BF Goodrich tires add a perfect finishing touch to the exterior.
While the body and paint show impressively, this Dodge makes its impact felt when you lift the hood. Forget a slant-six because that was never a consideration with this car. This classic is not numbers-matching, because the Fender Tag indicates that it rolled off the line with a 361ci V8 under the hood. However, who can’t use more power? Therefore, the 361 has gone bye-bye, and there’s something significantly more desirable occupying its spot. The engine bay is crammed full of the mighty 426 Cross Ram Max Wedge V8. Churning out an incredible 415hp in stock form, those ponies find their way to the road via a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission and an 8¾” Sure Grip 3.55 rear end. Does that combination make this a fast car? Just a bit! How does a ¼-mile ET of 14-seconds dead sound? Yeah, I thought so. The 426 exhales through a set of Max Wedge exhaust manifolds, that lead into a 3″ stainless steel dual exhaust. The carburetors aren’t original and are newer Edelbrock items. The factory radiator has made way for a Be Cool aluminum unit with a thermostatically controlled fan. Internally, there is also an upgraded Competition Cam to unleash a few additional ponies. The owner has recently flushed all of the fluids, performed a service, and tuned the carburetors. He has also added a new alternator, voltage regulator, battery, and fan belt. He doesn’t provide specific information on how the car runs or drives, but the overall impression seems pretty positive. The 440 comes with a good collection of documentation. This includes the original Build Sheet, Window Sticker, Owner’s Manual, older Service Records, camshaft data sheets, and other pieces of paperwork.
The good news continues when we venture inside this Dodge. Part of the restoration process included the owner refurbishing the interior. He has fitted new upholstery and carpet in a combination of Red cloth and vinyl, and it is impossible to fault. The seats and carpet show no evidence of wear, the headliner is spotless, while the dash and pad are equally impressive. An aftermarket vintage-look tach is mounted on the steering column, but otherwise, the interior is unmolested. Not only does it look good, but every light, gauge, and dial works exactly as it should. This includes the optional AM radio.
This 1964 Dodge 440 is a stunning car, and it is hard to find a weak point. Its exterior presentation is essentially faultless, its interior matches it every step of the way, and the desirable drivetrain combination offers power to burn. If I am surprised by anything, it’s that only sixty-one people are watching the listing. However, since it only takes one to hit the BIN button, I would be surprised to see this classic heading to a new home in the near future. Would you?
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Comments
One of the best looking cars of the 60’s.
Beautiful ride and with the flat hood nobody would know it’s a Max Wedge 426. If this car came from the factory with the Max Wedge it would had the Ram Air hood. I seen two Dodges like this not 440 trim at the Bear Mt. Car show . One black other white. Wild rides and the sound is soooo old school!! Love these cars from that time. I just wish I had the space for this one. 😊
The hood scoop was an option. Most came without one.
https://racehemi.maxwedge.com/topics/hood-scoops.php
These were beautiful cars no matter what mill was under the hood. My uncle had a sea-green Polara with a 318. It was impressive enough that my dad bought a ’65 Belvedere which had the same lines and roof.
“Ramcharger” and who cares if it’s not original? You can’t drive a VIN plate.
It’s not a 426 car,or motor.It’s a 440, dressed as a cross-ram 426.
Still , one of those cars that defines Super Stock .Great car ,worth the ask .
Not a 426 , it’s a 440 , dressed as a 426.
Beautiful car anyway ,and one that defines the Super stock look.
Well worth the ask.
Gobs of hp and torque, and a push button transmission. I can’t tell you how much fun we used to have in my friend’s father’s Dodge punching that button after revving the engine in neutral at a light lol
It could have anything under the hood and still draw attention like crazy while in motion or parked with the hood down. Seems like we have seen this car here before, maybe a similar one. Nice ride, Mopar Man!
Can’t help it, music was, and still is, my favorite. Even though my references may be a bit dated, there’s enough of us old farts here to appreciate it.
“But there in a rickety old garage, is a brand new shiny red, super stock Dodge”. All ’64 Dodge 2 doors remind me of that song. The “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” was actually a true story. I read, Jan( or Dean) was in the Pasadena police station for a speeding arrest, when the cops dragged in this little gray haired woman in cuffs. Jan ( or Dean) asked, what’s the deal here? The cop said, this woman would take her sons new Dodge out and terrorize drivers on Colorado Blvd. They wrote the song and the rest is history, probably one of the most popular songs ever.
Closer to home, a HS friend down the block had a car like this, only a 361/4 bbl and 3 speed. It was a fun car, but needed a 4 speed. Odd, Dodge stole all the thunder at drag strips, but it was Plymouth ( essentially the same car) that dominated stock car racing, even without the hemi. I don’t know about the most beautiful car of the 60’s, that’s a hefty claim, but it’s racing heritage more than makes up for it. Cool find.
The max wedges were a terror on the strip, but never very street able. If all you want is a trailer queen or something to drive up and down the strip to rev your engine like some punk kid, fine, this is for you, but any kind of enjoy able riding and you would be better off with the 361 or better yet, a poly 318.
Ha! I bet u wouldn’t say that if u owned one Gary! 😁
Motorman, don’t have to have driven one. I used to hang out at the drag strip in those days. I watched them dominate many a race, rare did these lose. But, I also had many conversations with the owner/drivers of these. Most agreed with what i said, and usually they were trailered to the track. Even in those days, it was a rich mans game. Most of us who were fortunate enough to be able to afford a brand new car, also had to have it practical for work duty and day to day use. Most of these I saw had advertising on the sides, now and then some rich kid who’s Dad owned a big store or something had one for the track and Dad got to write off the advertising. (as usual, it pays to be born well). Despite all of that, I must say it was a great time to be alive, but those times didn’t stay around long. I had to leave for a few years, and when I got back, the country had really changed. Maybe it was just me who had changed, but I haven’t been to a drag strip since.
Gary: “Get off my lawn!”
How ridiculous. Everyone knows that you don’t buy a Max Wedge car to drive cross country with the wife, kids, and dog. So, I’m acting like a “punk kid” if I buy a Max Wedge car? I don’t think so bud…and I doubt people that own them would agree either.
Okay, your not acting like a punk kid if you buy one. So, please tell me the reasons why you would buy one. A restored Max Wedge is going to run a pretty penny, why would you indulge in one? You must have some solid concrete reasons why this car is desirable besides laying rubber.
Don, you keep forgetting that only the evil rich, mainly kids who didn’t deserve them, were the ones that owned them.
This car only uses a few max wedge parts, with the exception of the heads and (reproduction) intake, everything else is off the shelf performance equipment meant for a street car, not a track oriented race car. Anyone that read the ad with an open mind would have drawn that conclusion, it’s plain for all to see.
Steve R
@ Steve R.
I am “rich”. My net worth approaches 8 figures, I did well for myself despite my humble beginnings. You can be well off and still be a decent human being. I would like to think that describes me. Most of what people hate about the rich is their behaviors. I feel that despite my personal success, I have turned out okay and think things through. Steve, this should not be about petty squabbles over class warfare, it was just an observation I have seen over and over again after almost 8 decades on this Earth. I don’t think my references to cash were out of place in my comment about the car, yet you seem to feel that is the most important part of the thoughts expressed. Your right to feel so of course, but why do you ponder on it so much?
Gary, FYI, when calculating net worth you don’t include the numbers to the right of the decimal point.
You are a funny guy, your posts typically paint an unflattering picture of the wealthy so it’s natural to assume you are lying. After all, this is the Internet. People can, and do say anything just to inflate their ego.
Steve R
@Stever R, I made my estate charging Uncle Sam under Titles 18 and 19 of the Social Security Act. Plus I gave away much service to those who did not qualify for that. The only reason I still don’t practice is because I am at times somewhat cloudy in my thinking, so it might not be 100% safe for me to do so. Despite that, I can still pick up the fact that you didn’t explain why all of this is so important to you. Even if I am lying, why is it so important for you to publicly proclaim it as such? Life is too short to be sullen and angry all the time.
You are dead wrong about a 426 Max wedge being strictly a strip car my dad had a 63 max wedge he raced it every weekend he drove it everyday cranked up over 200,000 miles on it before he finally damaged the motor motor a few transmissions and Rears other than that it did just fine it was one badass car the only thing that gave it away was the Rumble and stock traction bars and yes he probably w o n over a hundred trophies the 426 Max wedge that’s one tough motor. when he ran it down the highway on road trips with 4:56 gears he was still getting 70 mile an hour out of it 4 hours on end well over four grand
Just a really nicely done, reasonably priced car. Can’t think of a thing I would change. Bravo !!!
I had a friend that picked up one of these with the wedge cheap in 1973. I loved the sound of that engine. Wonder what happened to it, he got married in 75 and his new wife hated the car.
Had a red one with a 318, beautiful car. Traded it for a 66 Satellite with the 426 Hemi.
Great Trade!
IIRC these engines were either 13 to 1 compression ratio or around 11 to 1. It was the 13 to 1 compression ratio engines that didn’t like to be driven around like a family car. Plus you had to put aviation gas in them in order keep them from detention worries.
13.5 to 1 compression thump thump rattle the neighbors windows
I wouldn’t want the engine sent to “detention” for shooting spit wads. I think you meant detonation.
“Detention” is usually a law enforcement issue……….lol
Don’t know about the max wedge, but for my 66 hemi a mechanic told me to toss the timing light and set timing where it just stopped clattering.
I worked on car magazines for for over 10 years, from early 1994 to mid 2005 and was West Coast Editor for High Performance MOPAR (and several other CSK titles) for about a year in 1994 and 1995. During that time I got to photograph (and write about) two different real, factory-built Max Wedges, a ’63 Plymouth Savoy 2-door sedan and a ’64 Dodge Polara 500 Hardtop. Both were tons of fun to do for features. The ’63 Savoy was a lightly restored one-time drag car that still had it’s original (and never apart) Max Wedge, complete with the original (and massive, upswept) cast iron exhaust manifold and original (albeit ceramic-coated) 3-inch dual exhaust with factory cut-outs(!). I invited an associate editor, who was a serious MOPAR fanatic, to come along for the ‘shoot (the easiest way to get action shot of a car is from a second car, with the ‘shooter’ hanging out a window. Our ‘camera car’ was my ’90 5.0 Mustang LX with a supercharger and other tweak that put out about 400 rear wheel horsepower, California smog-legal and on pump gas. And to amp up the testosterone a little more, a friend of the Savoy’s owner came out to watch — in his yellow ’67 Vette with a 435-hose 427 and 4-speed, We were using the freshly paved streets in a south Orange County housing development with no houses built so we were havin’ some fun. At one point, running about one lane apart and 1 1/2 car lengths ahead, and my co-worker hanging out the passenger side door window shooting the bright red MOPAR, the owner jumped on the throttle for a few seconds, which I (of course) had to do, too, while my co-worker screamed! But we got some great photos. The Max Wedge Savoy was on the cover and had a 4-page feature spread in the March 1999 issue of the magazine.
Lotsa fun and a fantastic car!
Your associate editor sounds like a dude named Tony DeFeo, from the old Cars Illustrated magazine days, probably not though. Cool you worked in that industry!
Lots of hours and never enough time, constant deadlines, always pressured to produce more ‘pages’ in even less time, had to make nice with all the advertisers even if some closely resembled the south end of a north facing horse…and it beat the HELL out of a real job!
Back when I was a kid, I had two cars: a “datin’ car”—a ’54 Caddy Coupe de Ville, and a “beater”—a ’56 Plymouth Savoy 2-door sedan, 6-cylinder flathead six. You can tell which car got the Saturday wash ‘n’ wax.
Anyway, there were four of us guys, tight as ticks, in our rural area. If we had been adults, we would have sensibly walked from house to house when we were purportedly studying for tests or exams. Being teens, we elected to drive the ¾ mile between homes. Friend Chuck had a ’57 Ford. Friend Tommy’s dad had a ’57 Chrysler with the Hemi—the REAL Hemi. Friend Jessie’s dad had a ’61 DeSoto with the 361 Firedome (I think). One night at Jessie’s we finished studying for one of my mother’s infamous English tests (like I had an “in” or something). We could have walked to Tommy’s for a peanut butter milkshake, but it was easier to drive…all three cars. Remember, gas was a quarter a gallon for high test. Jessie was the first out of his driveway, left about 100 yards of wonderful-smelling Goodyears on the tarmac. Tommy’s Hemi put down rubber from Jessie’s driveway all the way to his driveway. Ever game, I floored the accelerator, dumped the clutch, and left about 6” of recap at the end of Jessie’s driveway.
Came the weekend, and Jessie’s dad came home from being a fishboat captain off the New Jersey coast. Saturday he corralled us. “Jessie,” he said, working his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other, ”did you do that?” “Yessir.” “You won’t drive this car for two weeks.” “Yessir.” “Tommy—is that long one yours?” “Yessir.” I’ll be talkin’ to your daddy pren’ly.” “Yessir.” “Grid, that one yours?” “Yessir.” Silence. Then, “Boy, you need more power.” Can you fault me for making him my adopted father?
He had the carbs tuned, so look at the hose at the fuel filter I think they over looked that part of the tuneup.
Off topic…
Did you guys ever make it through all the submissions for us aspiring BF writers? I’m ready to give my boss the finger and start bangin’ out reviews. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!
You are dead wrong about a 426 Max wedge being strictly a strip car my dad had a 63 max wedge he raced it every weekend he drove it everyday cranked up over 200,000 miles on it before he finally damaged the motor motor a few transmissions and Rears other than that it did just fine it was one badass car the only thing that gave it away was the Rumble and stock traction bars and yes he probably w o n over a hundred trophies the 426 Max wedge that’s one tough motor. when he ran it down the highway on road trips with 4:56 gears he was still getting 70 mile an hour out of it 4 hours on end well over four grand
A guy I knew bought an identicial car new and it came without a warranty (if I remember correctly) Anyway he didn’t get 1500 miles on it and blew the engine. That car sat for a long time and I nevwr did see it on the street again.
These were a pure racing engine, I also do not remember any warranty from the factory. Maybe 30 days, later on, if you bought a street hemi, but not the typical Chrysler 12month/12000 miler of those days.
i know a guy that has one of these, it has a 440 and 727 in it. is says the incredable hulk on the side and is green, not bad looking but under the body line on the quorter there is bondo starting to pop out.