1965 Plymouth Belvedere 'Ed Miller Drag Car' Replica (LHD)

Description

Starting with the 1962 model year, all full-size Plymouths were "downsized", with more compact outside dimensions. Despite the "common sense" that such an idea makes, American car buyers at the time were in the thought mode of "Bigger is Better," and sales of these models suffered. However, the big block V8 engined (426) Belvederes proved to be a terror on the track, and became a desirable drag race car due to its lightweight body.1963 and 1964 models used the same unibody platform as the '62s, but were restyled to look longer and wider.The 1964 Belvedere (and corresponding Fury hardtop coupes) featured a new "slant-back" roofline that proved to be popular, and sales improved significantly over '62 and '63.

The 1964 Belvedere is also notable for being the car used to introduce the 426 Chrysler Hemi engine which used a canted large-valve arrangement. This was such a significant high-RPM breathing improvement that Hemi-equipped Plymouth Belvederes won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at NASCAR's 1964 Daytona race. One of the winning drivers was the famous Richard Petty. The '64 Plymouth 413/426 Wedge's engine was carried over unchanged for 1965. Without changing dimensions, the Belvedere line became a mid-size. New to the Belvedere line up was the attractive premium-level Satellite. It came standard with front bucket seats, center console, custom wheel covers and some up-level exterior trim to set it apart from the lesser mid-size Plymouths. Inside, the Belvedere and Satellite got a new dashboard with integral instrumentation -- a departure from the Jetson look of 1963-64.
The 426 Street Wedge was dropped after '65 and its displacement soon became synonymous with Chrysler's King Kong Hemi. The wedge would return in '66 bored to 440 cubic inches. This was the engine that would carry MoPar into the heart of the muscle years, around which Dodge and Plymouth would build performance cars for a whole new generation of buyers.