1964 Plymouth Belvedere

Description

In 1964, this Plymouth Belvedere was just about the nastiest car you could buy from a dealer. Packing a 413 Wedge, a 4-speed, and that industrial-strength bodywork, this was a car that was all about kicking sand in lesser cars' faces.

Big, bad, and black, this Belvedere is all about presence. It rolls up next to you at a red light and you'll notice, but unless you're packing some serious firepower, you'll let it go unchallenged. Finish quality is just about right for a car that earns its living on the street, clean, straight, and brutally efficient. The metal underneath is in good shape, certainly good enough to wear black with pride, and it's holding up well despite being finished a few years ago. The simplicity of the design is what gets a lot of guys, from the plain but nicely finished grille to the ornate taillights, the car doesn't have to do much advertising. Of course, Chrysler's cantilevered roofline on their hardtops was absolutely gorgeous and with a few slashes of bright trim, the car looks fast just sitting still. Chrysler probably didn't invent the muscle car, but with machines like this, they sure perfected it!

The all-black interior is built for combat and nothing else. Obviously their priorities were in order when this car was new, because there's a bench seat and a heater, and that's it. The big white cue ball on top of the Hurst shifter is a big advertisement that this car means business, and when you turn the key, you'll forget about all that other stuff anyway. The tach was neatly hung under the dash, augmenting the factory dials without blocking them, and its white face works well with the under-dash gauges in the center. The steering wheel is original and wrapped in more black leather, and it's a good match to the black vinyl upholstery, which uses factory pleated patterns for an OEM look. Newer carpets and nicely finished door panels give it a clean, updated look that'll make you proud to show this one off. And yes, the trunk is absolutely cavernous, and includes custom-fitted carpet and a full-sized spare tire.

The real reason this car was such a threat on the street is the 413 cubic inch "Wedge" V8 under the hood. In various guises, it powered some of the most potent showroom-stock cars of the period. It offers seemingly bottomless reserves of torque and a good high-RPM charge that's limited only by the number of barrels in your carburetor. This one's fitted with an Edelbrock intake and matching 4-barrel, so throttle response is instantaneous. Corporate orange paint on the block is a bright contrast to the all-black engine bay and for the most part, it looks quite stock aside from the open-element air cleaner. Power steering is probably a good idea in a full-sized car with a big chunk of engine like that up front, too. The 4-speed will become a trusted ally on the street and with long-tube headers and Flowmasters, the soundtrack is like Valhalla. It's not detailed for show underneath, but you already knew this wasn't a show car when you first saw it. Really, the only flash on the car are those 16-inch Torque Thrust wheels, which carry 215/60/16 front and 235/60/16 rear Goodyear radials.

If you get it, this is an extremely cool car. If you don't, well, get used to seeing the back of it. Performance junkies, you know what you need to do: call now!