Beschreibung:

The hegemony of Plymouth and Dodge on the dragstrip was interrupted in the early Sixties by Chevrolet’s lightweight front end 409s, a usurpation of sovereignty which the Mopar performance teams didn’t take lightly. The new Hemi was still in development and a response to GM’s upstart interference was needed. This is it, the aluminum front end 1963 Plymouth Savoy Stage III with 426 cubic inch Max Wedge power rated at 425 horsepower. Plymouth took its lightest body style, the stripped Savoy two-door sedan, and stripped it even more then made it even lighter by replacing all the sheet metal forward of the firewall with aluminum. Only 48 are known to have been built. This is car number 41 in the series and one of only five Aluminum Package Savoys known to Galen Govier through 2005. It was, as can be imagined, a race car, touring the dragstrips of the Northeast and one of five or so campaigned from around Philadelphia and New Jersey. These were fast, fast cars, turning 11’s consistently and high 10’s on a good day and were enough to maintain Plymouth’s competitiveness through the Super Stock and A/FX days until the Hemi returned. Reggie Jackson has owned this car for many years and it has been restored to its original, as-delivered condition. The original engine and transmission burst years ago but the rest of the car has withstood an exhaustive examination and documentation by marque expert Galen Govier which is extensively documented in writing and photographs in the “tissue” (Reggie’s slang for paperwork) that comes with it. “Some time ago I met a guy who had worked with the teams racing these cars in the Sixties. He conclusively identified it from some damage which he remembered it incurred while it was being raced. It was gold with black accents back then. “I sold it once to a friend, then got it back when he decided to sell.” Most of these factory built race cars were long ago used up, crashed or dumped in a field after they’d been stripped of anything useful after they were no longer competitive. This example, however, has survived remarkably complete and with its original aluminum body panels. It is a rare and charismatic reminder of the days when Chrysler, Ford and GM were, in fact, the Big Three and ruled the roost wherever they chose to play. Finished in the Ermine White with blue vinyl interior, the configuration in which it left Lynch Road in April of 1963, it’s no Fiat. It is a magnificent part of Chrysler and American performance car history.