1962 was a pivotal year for the Chrysler Corporation as that was the year that Dodge and Plymouth B-Body intermediate sized cars became contenders as bonafide performance machines. Chrysler Corporation vehicles had a solid reputation at the time as being well engineered, reliable cars. They featured torsion-bar front suspension with semi-elliptic leaf springs on the rear, and rugged drivetrains. However, the enthusiasts that sought high-performance typically chose other makes, Chevrolet 409-cid, Pontiac 421-cid and Ford 406-cid, to be specific.
The formula for creating a fast production passenger car revolved around a light weight body and a high horsepower engine. Great news came in 1962, as the newly-released B-Bodies were reduced in size and were lighter than previous models, and they now featured full unibody construction.
A newly designed "Maximum Performance" 413-cid V8 powerplant was released and made available to buyers, boosting the most power output ever offered by the automaker. The focuse is the Plymouth Savoy, while the Dart 330 was the Dodge equivalent.
Described the B-Body cars as "odd-shaped"
Automotive historians have described the B-Body cars as "odd-shaped" and "clumsy-looking" as well as "hideous" among other things, usually revolving around the theme of "ugly." There's a story behind the unusual styling of these cars, and the reason for the proportions of the body shapes. The way the story goes is during the time that Virgil Exner, VP of Design at Chrysler, was finalizing the new line of 1962 cars, which were to be large, full-sized vehicles, there was a sudden and totally unexpected new order from the front office. Legend has it that, while at a garden cocktail party where GM boss Ed Cole was attending, William C. Newberg, who was the new President of Chrysler heard that "Chevrolet was downsizing" as the new Chevy for 1962 was going to be on a shorter wheelbase and be smaller overall. With a panic and immediate reaction, Newberg decreed that the upcoming new models needed to be made smaller, to "keep up" with Chevrolet. Once the line of 1962 Chevrolets were released, it was then learned that during the day of the party Ed Cole was actually talking about the new "Chevy II" model, and not the full-sized Chevy cars, which continued on as a large car.
The downsized B-Bodies were lighter than the competition and these "ugly ducklings" were well-received by drag racers and street performance enthusiasts alike. While the general public did not embrace the styling, in the big picture, these cars did a lot in changing the overall image of the company, all because of what it would become know as the "Max Wedge" engine and its impressive performance.
The Max Wedge 413 was an impressive performer, fitted with 11.0:1 compression ratio forged pistons, solid lifter performance camshaft, large-port cylinder heads, special cross-ram intake with twin Carter four-barrels, double-breaker distributor and huge exhaust manifolds, with 410 HP @ 5200 rpm, and 460 lbs/ft of torque at 4400 rpm.
This high-performance version of the 413 engine for 1962 came as a result of a conversation between the new Chrysler Corporation president Lynn Townsend and his teenaged boys, who were very tuned-in to the scene on Detroit's Woodward Avenue. The boys had told their father that Dodges and Plymouths were not part of the action, that they had no presence at all.
A great candidate for a complete restoration
This car is a factory 413 Maximum Performance Savoy model that came with the 3-speed manual transmission, a rare car that somehow survived all the years. It received a restoration in the 1980s and spent twenty years in an automotive museum.
When found in 1985 in a South Carolina chicken coop the vintage Plymouth was complete but in need of TLC.
Thankfully, most everything was still intact mechanically and while it was not in pristine condition, there was good reason that it would make a great candidate for a complete restoration, including the fact that it was an original 49,000-mile car.
In recent years the car was further refined in authenticity, going from about an 85-percent correct vehicle to where it is now, which is about as close to original May 1962 condition as it is possible. Because it has few options, it wasn't even equipped with a radio this is one of the lightest of all the Max Wedge cars from 1962, with a shipping weight of 3,185 pounds.
A pair of Carter AFB carburetors, aluminum four barrel, model 3447-S were used, and were rated at 525-cfm capacity and used manual chokes.
The design of the intake manifold provided for 15-inch long runners that crisscrossed over the engine, with the twin four-barrels connected via a center-mounted pivoting linkage. These cars had heavy-duty 22-inch wide radiators and low restriction water pumps.
The engine block used on the Maximum Performance 413 engines were heavy-duty truck units, higher nickel content, with modifications done at the top of each cylinder bore, a notch for clearance of the larger-sized 1.88-inch diameter exhaust valve. The exhaust ports were 25-percent larger than a standard 413. These were "raised block" "engines known as Chrysler RB powerplants, featuring a 4.19-inch bore, 3.75-inchstroke.
Specially designed free-flowing up swept cast iron exhaust manifolds were part of the Maximum Performance package, and they have a 3-inch header pipe diameter. Today these are extremely rare as many of them were discarded in favor of aftermarket equal-length tubular headers.
When the car was found it had an oil pan that had been deepened for extra oil capacity, and during the restoration that oil pan, which was the original Maximum Performance-spec pan which featured an extra baffle, was brought back to its standard capacity with the metal work done precisely in factory form.
The 413 engines featured fully-adjustable rocker arms along with double springs and flat wound outer spring. The engine had four bolts securing the valve covers, later these engines would have six bolt valve covers.
No detail was overlooked in the restoration process, including the fitting of a proper Carter high-capacity mechanical fuel pump.
Spark came from a Prestolite double-breaker full centrifugal distributor #IBB 4202, and that was one of the items that needed to be found to complete the restoration.
The underside was all business
The manual transmission was a 3-speedBorg-Warner T-85 unit with 2.09:1 low gear, and while it was strong enough to handle the brute power of the Maximum Performance engine.
The factory three-speed T-85 manual transmission had stayed with the car (many were later replaced with four-speed gearboxes) and a complete rebuild took place of all components, including the shifter and linkage shifting arms.
The underside of the car was all business, from the engine came large-diameter three-inch pipes than ended at 45-degreeangled exhausts, which were capped-off for street use. Two inch exhaust pipes connect to New Yorker mufflers, and a balance tube was fitted to equalize backpressure.
The factory went all-out in designing an exotic exhaust system for these cars. Three-inch head pipes were capped-off with four-bolt removable cut-outs, and a balance tube was incorporated in the system.
Correct exhaust hangers along with a pair of accurate 2-inch diameter low-restrictive mufflers that were used, which were Chrysler New Yorker factory units.
Fuel tank restoration included the correct.070-inch bitumen saturated felt insulation sound deadener material.
This car has been added to the Chrysler Registry
"Luminous Brown" is the factory paint code for the car (Code Y on the fender tag) and it was faithfully re-applied with product formulated from Ditzler (Code 22023).
Galen Govier, who's considered an expert with these cars, had verified the VIN with the fourth digit "1" verifies a factory 413 Max Wedge car and this car has been added to the Chrysler Registry.
The fender tag shows the Model 311 Savoy2-Dr Sedan, V8 had a build date of May 23, 1962 (0523), and with Luminous Brown paint (Y).
The Savoy model had no identification regarding the model, only "Plymouth" emblems on the doors, hood and deck lid.
The front end styling incorporated a concave fine-mesh grille with outer headlights (low beam) positioned in large round housings, while the high-beam headlights were inboard in location.
The Savoy series were basic and as such didn't have premium equipment. Single taillights were used, without back-up lights which were optional at $11.00.
Without question the accidental down sizing of the line of 1962 Chrysler Corporation B-Bodies turned out to be a sales disaster, however, history has shown that the move to smaller, lighter cars from the automaker greatly contributed to these cars becoming the hottest passenger car products in the domestic market.
Body-color wheel and correct-size spare tire with standard bumper jack in the truck, accurate to every detail.
"Dog dish" standard hubcaps mounted on 14 x 5.5-inch steel wheels, wrapped with 7.50-14 4-ply rayon tires, just as they were fitted as it rolled off the Lynch Road, Michigan, assembly line.
In the glove box is the original 1962 owner's manual, and small details like this helps add to the completeness of this rare "time capsule" Plymouth.
Note the automatic transmission push-button block-off plate located to the left of the instrument panel. This car was ordered as a "no radio" car so in place of where the radio would be located is a color-matching radio block off plate.
One of the unique features of the manual transmission Maximum Performance cars is the shifter cover panel that attaches to the tunnel over the transmission. Because this is a bare-bones car, there's rubber flooring instead of carpeting. Seat belts were a $19.00 option.
While not the most beautiful passenger car to ever roll out of Detroit, the 1962 Plymouth Savoy did have the distinction of being top in its class, that meaning hot street machine. It was shorter, narrower, lighter and more powerful than its counterparts from General Motors and Ford Motor Company, and it lead the way in the development of the factory muscle car era.
"Wolf in sheep's clothing" is how these cars looked, however once the engine was fired up, it was very apparent that there was some serious horsepower under the hood. It truly was a silver lining to see the launch the changing of the image of Dodges and Plymouths in the eyes of the youth market starting with these high-horsepower Maximum Performance vehicles.
