Plymouth Belvedere A-864 (1964)
The biggest news in the Mopar world for 1964 was the return of the mighty and legendary Hemi 426 engine. Chrysler realized that other manufacturers had caught up with the powerful 413 and 426 Max Wedge engines. The only solution was to bring back the Hemi as the ultimate dragstrip weapon. This was different from the famous Street Hemi introduced two years later in 1966 as a regular production option. This was a race-spec Hemi, which wasn’t street-legal in most states and not sold to the general public (via Max Wedge).
The 426 Hemi was rated at 425 hp but the natural output was much higher than that. In 1964, Chrysler built just 70 copies, 35 as Dodge 440 Hardtop and 35 as Plymouth Belvedere Hardtop. Most of the cars produced had automatic transmissions, and others had four-speed manuals.