Whatever the ’62 PLYMOUTH 413 MAX WEDGE MUSCLECAR lacked in style, it more than made up for with Super/Stock performance!
In 1957, the Automobile Manufacturers Association’s ban on member auto racing participation and promotion was about as effective as the United Nations! Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors signed on, but never actually stopped developing and producing high-performance engines and “supporting” racers. Many of the high-performance brake, chassis, and suspension packages were initially hidden in Police & Taxi and Export vehicle order books.
It was business as usual in Motown until June 11, 1962, when Ford’s board chairman, Henry Ford II, let the trade association know that Ford was no longer honoring its ineffective ban. Initially, Chrysler and General Motors remained committed to the agreement, yet continued participation in the horsepower wars with impressive big-block Musclecars, like the ’62 PLYMOUTH 413 MAX WEDGE MUSCLECAR, to combat Ford’s 406 Galaxie. Racing budgets were often disguised to avoid corporate detection and, unlike Ford, racing activities were transacted through convoluted “backdoor” relationships.
Not long after Ford pulled out of the 1957 AMA “agreement”, Chrysler followed suit. But Chrysler did not have Chevrolet and Ford’s racing heritage, nor their budgets and “supported” brand-name racers. They also didn’t have the right image cars to compete with GM and Ford styling. Chrysler slightly downsized and restyled its 1962 Plymouth (and Dodge) B-body car lines, resulting in cars that lacked youth market appeal. Fortunately, whatever they lacked in style, they more than made up for in performance with 413-inch Max Wedge musclecars.
Much of the Mopar racing technology of the time was developed by a group of young Chrysler engineers who had formed the Ramchargers Racing Club. Tom Hoover, below, right, was Chrysler’s racing engines project coordinator, Dick Maxwell directed racing programs, and club president, Jim Thornton distinguished himself as a class-winning and record-setting driver. They raced Dodges while another in-house “club”, the Golden Commandos, concentrated on the Plymouth brand.
Displacing 413 cubic inches and fitted with short tuned-ram intake manifolds with dual four-barrels and tuned upswept cast iron exhaust manifolds, “Max Wedge” engines were not available at the new model introduction time. They appeared in the Spring of 1962, and there has always been some confusion over horsepower ratings. The 413-inch Wedge engine was available in the Chrysler 300-H and rated at 380 and 405 horsepower. When the 413 was made available in Dodge & Plymouth models, other than station wagons, it was more highly tuned with a 15-inch short ram intake manifold, new heads with large 2.08-inch intake valves, and upswept, tuned cast-iron exhaust manifolds. The compression ratio was 11-to-1, and it was rated at 410 horsepower. A second 413 engine, with 13.5-to-1 compression and rated at 420 horsepower, found its way into some cars, including the ’62 PLYMOUTH 413 MAX WEDGE MUSCLECAR
Available with B-W T-85 three-speed manual transmission and the superb A-727 three-speed TorqueFlite automatic, 413-inch Super/Stock Mopars could run in the mid-12s. In 1962, they recorded four class wins at major NHRA events. At the NHRA Nationals, HOT ROD’s Ray Brock and Leroi “Tex” Smith campaigned a 413-inch Plymouth and set the low ET record at 12.37 seconds. In the final round for Stock Eliminator, Jim Thornton, in the Ramcharger’s Dodge, fell prey to Hayden Proffitt driving his 409 Chevy. He later switched to a Super/Stock ’62 Dodge, below! When installed in Plymouths, 413 engines were branded SUPER STOCK; Dodges carried RAMCHARGER logos.
Even with impressive horsepower/torque engines and record-setting drag strip performance, the public rejected Dodge and Plymouth styling, and 1962 model sales suffered dramatically.
For complete details about the ’62 PLYMOUTH 413 MAX WEDGE MUSCLECAR and the full Plymouth model range with spec sheets, links to period tests, etc., please visit OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/10/06/1962-plymouth-mid-size-cars-fact-sheet/