What Cars Had the 426 Hemi: Street and Race Hemis

The 426 Hemi is a legendary engine and many people wonder what cars were lucky enough to have one. Let’s answer, what cars had the 426 Hemi?

The following cars had the 426 Street Hemi:

• 1966-1970 Dodge Coronet
• 1966-1967 Plymouth Belvedere
• 1966-1967 Plymouth Satellite
• 1966-1971 Dodge Charger
• 1967-1971 Plymouth GTX
• 1968-1971 Dodge Super Bee
• 1968-1971 Plymouth Road Runner
• 1969 Dodge Charger 500
• 1969 Dodge Daytona
• 1970 Plymouth Superbird
• 1970-1971 Plymouth Cuda
• 1970-1971 Dodge Challenger R/T

The following cars had the 426 Race Hemi:

• 1964 Plymouth Belvedere/Savoy (A864)
• 1964 Dodge 330/440 (A864)
• 1965 Dodge Coronet (A990)
• 1965 Plymouth Belvedere (A990)
• 1967 Dodge Coronet (WO23)
• 1967 Plymouth Belvedere (RO23)
• 1968 Plymouth Barracuda (BO29)
• 1968 Dodge Dart (LO23)

This article will examine each one of these rare factory cars and provide more details about each one. You’ll discover some interesting facts, like which one came with a single muffler mounted sideways.

The following Hemi cars specifications and facts were learned from my personal experience and research, Mopar engine manuals and brochures, webinars, books, videos and articles.

Check out the production numbers for all years in my article, 426 Hemi Production Numbers.

Cars Which Had the 426 Street Hemi

The street 426 Hemi was introduced in 1966. Therefore, you won’t find them in any Mopars older than that.

More were built for production cars in the earlier years than later. In 1966, the 426 Hemi was only found in the Chargers, Belvederes, Coronets and Satellites.

Let’s take a closer look at these cars.

1966-1970 Dodge Coronet

In the first year of the street Hemi, 1966, the Dodge Coronet came in different models like the base, 500 or 440.

Many of them were plane Jane looking cars with dog dish hubcaps and bench seats.

These grocery getters were blowing away many Chevy and Ford cars when the light turned green.

Only at the next red light, did the unexpecting driver notice the emblem on the front fender.

In 1966:

• There were 204 Hemi Coronet 500 4-speeds.
• There were 340 Hemi Coronet 500 hardtops.
• There were 288 Hemi Coronet 440 hardtops.
• There were 21 Hemi Coronet 500 convertibles (12 with 4-speeds).

One of the first ’66 Hemis I ever saw was a plain looking Coronet with hubcaps. We almost walked past it thinking it was just a regular car.

In 1967 Dodge released a R/T (Road/Track) version of the Coronet. The R/T created a sportier image for the Coronet.

In 1967:

• There were 283 Hemi Coronet R/T hardtops.
• There were 121 Hemi Coronet R/T hardtops with 4-speeds.
• There were 3 Hemi Coronet R/T convertibles (2 with 4-speeds).

For 1968-70 the body style changed.

• 229 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/Ts were built in 1968.
• 107 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/Ts were built in 1969.
• 12 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/T hardtops and 2 convertibles were built in 1970.

1966-1967 Plymouth Belvedere

Just like the Coronet, many of these Belvederes were plain looking cars with bench seats and column shifters.

The Belvedere was redesigned for ’66 and had similar styling to the Coronet. I absolutely love the roof lines of these cars.

The new 1966 Belvedere also had the engine as an option for the first time. It was a true street brawler that could also hold a family of four.

In 1967 these cars weren’t available due to the new GTX but a few were special ordered early in the year by Chrysler executives and employees. One such car was featured at Mecum Auctions in 2012.

1966-1967 Plymouth Satellite

In 1966 the Satellite was the top of the line Belvedere model. The car is basically the same and why so many people get the two confused.

Thankfully the mighty powerplant was an available option in both of them.

In 1967, 6 to 9 Hemi Satellites were built. The number varies depending on who you ask. Although everyone seems to be in agreement only 2 of them were automatics.

There weren’t many Hemi Satellites in ’67 because the GTX took over as the top of the line Belvedere model.

1966-1971 Dodge Charger

The 1966 Charger was one of the lucky models to receive the first street Hemi Engine under its hood.

The fastback design was also the first year for the Charger which was Dodge’s top model in 1966.

In 1966 there was a total of 37,344 Dodge Chargers produced.

The sleek, edgy boldness of the new design was aimed at the young professional and there was no better option to check off than the elephant engine.

• 468 Dodge Hemi Chargers were built in 1966.
• 118 Dodge Hemi Chargers were built in 1967.

In 1968 Dodge redesigned the Charger to the body style most people know and recognize. Partly due to the Dukes of Hazzard TV show and the famous car chase in the movie Bullitt.

The Bullitt Charger wears the R/T emblems. The chase never gets tired, check it out below.

The ’68 model year was the first for the R/T option on the Charger, like the one in the video above. Standing for Road and Track, the R/T was introduced a year earlier on the Coronet.

Today Dodge has combined the words Hemi and Charger again. Although few can argue against the 68-70 being the most iconic Chargers ever built.

In 1971 the Charger was redesigned again and these R/Ts were the last year for the Hemi Charger. Only 63 Hemi Charger R/Ts were produced in 1971.

What about the Charger 500? I gave it its own subsection down further in the article.

1967-1971 Plymouth GTX

Plymouth introduced the GTX for the first time in 1967. It became the top of the line model in the Belvedere line up taking over from the Satellite.

Little did they realize at the time the GTX would become one of the most potent muscle cars. If you wanted a Plymouth Hemi in 1967, you’d have to order a GTX.

The 1967 GTX came standard with a 440 cubic inch motor which had 375 HP. The Hemi Engine was the only other engine option for the ’67 GTX.

The GTX came with more options and was geared towards the businessman, making it a fancier muscle car.

• 720 Plymouth Hemi GTXs were produced in 1967.

Like the Coronet, the B-body was redesigned in 1968 through 1970. The ’70 GTX is one of my favorites.

In 1971 the GTX was redesigned again, and only 30 Plymouth Hemi GTXs were built in 1971.

1968-1971 Dodge Super Bee

Dodge introduced the Super Bee for the first time in mid-year 1968. Plymouth was seeing success with the Road Runner, and Dodge wanted something similar.

The Super Bee was based on the Coronet, installed the Charger’s dashboard gauge cluster and added the high-performance options available including the mighty engine.

The Super Bee was a masked Bumble Bee with an engine and tires found in the center of the Bumble Bee stripe.

• 125 Dodge Hemi Super Bees were produced in 1968.

You could actually order the Super Bee stripe delete but still have the Bumble Bee on the side of the quarter panels.

The 1968 body style remained through 1970 with some minor changes like the other B-body cars.

In 1971 the car was totally redesigned like the other B-bodies and the Super Bee became part of the Charger line. There were no Coronets produced in 1971.

In ’71 the Bumble Bee was moved to the Hood.

Everyone knows about Hemi but what does it really mean? Find out in my article, What Hemi Means in an Engine: Generation 1, 2 and 3 Hemis.

1968-1971 Plymouth Road Runner

1968 was the first year for the Road Runner. The 383 cubic inch engine was standard, and the Hemi was an option for the new cartoon character.

With the 383 the ’68 Road Runner had 335 horsepower but with the Hemi it had 425 HP.

For the rest of the car, not many other options were included. Chrysler wanted the Road Runner to be a budget racer, unlike the GTX.

The formula was simple:

• Start with a basic coupe body.
• Add a few items for identification (cartoon character and special horn).
• Offer the most powerful engine available as an option.
• Sell it at a price the younger crowd can afford.

1,019 Plymouth Hemi Road Runners were built in 1968, 449 of them with 4-speeds.

The 1968 style remained through to 1970 with some minor changes like the other B-bodies.

In 1971 the car was totally redesigned. It was the final year of the engine and it was an option available for 1971 in the GTX.

• 55 Plymouth Hemi Road Runners were produced in 1971, of which 28 were 4-speeds.

1969 Dodge Charger 500

The Dodge Charger 500 gets its own subsection in this article and is not included under the regular Chargers or R/Ts.

The Charger 500 was based on a Charger but with modifications to the front grill area, rear window and fastback design.

The changes made the 500 a different model with its noticeable differences.

The purpose of the car was for Chrysler’s Nascar program and to make the more aerodynamic car eligible to race.

• They produced 580 of the Charger 500s.
• 60 Dodge Charger 500s were produced with the 426 Hemi in 1969.

Others claim only 392 were really produced and Nascar didn’t notice.

The Charger 500 was aerodynamic but didn’t satisfy Chrysler or the race car drivers enough to last long.

Even with the elephant lurking under the hood, the car wasn’t good enough against the Ford Torino Talladega and the Mercury Cyclone aero cars.

Following the 500 is the next car below which was more slippery through the wind. Was that car good enough? I think you already know the history.

With so few made, you’d think they’re worth a fortune. Check out the latest prices on 426 Hemis in my article, How Much An Original 426 Hemi Car is Worth: Recent Prices.

1969 Dodge Daytona

There is one reason the Dodge Daytona was built, to satisfy Nascar rules for production so the winged cars could be raced on the tracks.

• There were 503 Dodge Daytonas produced in 1969.
• 70 Dodge Hemi Daytonas were produced in 1969. 22 of them were 4-speeds.

The Dodge Daytona was built on the Charger platform. An aerodynamic nose was installed, a wing attached to the back, lower front spoiler and a more streamlined rear window were some of the changes made.

The Dodge Daytona was produced with two engines, the 440 and the 426 Hemi.

The Dodge Daytona, driven by Buddy Baker, was the first car in Nascar to break the 200 MPH speed barrier.

1969 was the only year for the Dodge Daytona.

There’s more to the head design that makes a 426 so special. Find out more in my article, What Makes the 426 Hemi So Special.

1970 Plymouth Superbird

The 1970 Superbird was based on the Road Runner platform. It retained some of the Road Runner cartoon character badging throughout the car.

This gave the car an extra touch of uniqueness unmatched by the Daytona. The limited production of the Plymouth Superbird was to satisfy Nascar requirements.

• 135 Plymouth Hemi Superbirds were produced in 1970. 58 were 4-speeds..

Every Superbird produced came with a vinyl top. This was necessary to cover up metal work done to the roof line for the rear window.

1970-1971 Plymouth Cuda

In 1970 the Barracuda model received a total redesign. In addition, the sport version of the Barracuda was given its own name, Cuda.

The older A-body Barracuda was too small for the mighty elephant with its wide heads.

The main reason for the new design, which was called the E-body, was to fit the large engine into the engine compartment.

By placing the legendary engine into the new Cuda, Chrysler made another legend. The Hemi Cuda.

• There were 666 Plymouth Hemi Cudas built in 1970, 14 of them were convertibles.

The ’71 Cuda has some minor restyling and also had the powerplant as an option.

Learn more about the carburetors in my article, The Carburetors on a 426 Hemi.

1970-1971 Dodge Challenger R/T

The Dodge Challenger shared the E-body design with the Cuda. The 426 Hemi was available in the R/T Challengers for both years.

Unfortunately in 1971, the R/T wasn’t available in convertible. For this reason a ’71 Hemi Challenger convertible doesn’t exist.

Find out how much HP the 426 Hemi really had in my article, 426 Hemi Horsepower and Torque – Rated and Real HP.

Which Cars Had the 426 Race Hemi

1964 Race Hemi cars

Under the shadow of Richard Petty’s Daytona 500 win and the dominance of the Hemi at Nascar, is the race Hemis built for the NHRA.

To qualify for the NHRA Super Stock Classes, a certain number of production cars had to be built by Chrysler. It’s the sole reason for the existence of these cars.

Chrysler wanted to dominant Nascar and the NHRA. Therefore, in 1964 they took the previous 426 Max Wedge lightweight themed race cars and developed a Hemi version with engineering code A864.

These cars were identified by a “Vin” chassis number which were all numbers and no letters.

Even though the heavier engine added weight to the car, Chrysler knew the engine was too special not to use.

To make up for the extra weight, they did everything possible to reduce weight off the car itself.

In 1964, the following was done to reduce the weight of the car:

• Aluminum front bumper.
• Aluminum front fenders.
• Aluminum hood and hood scoop.
• Aluminum doors.
• Removed the passenger windshield wiper.
• A100 lighter bucket seats with aluminum brackets.
• Removed the rear seat.
• Removed dome light.
• Removed the heater.
• Removed the radio.
• Removed the coat hooks.
• No arm rests.
• No sun visors.
• Removed reverse lights.
• No air conditioning.
• No power brakes.
• No power steering.
• Magnesium front wheels.
• Lightweight plexiglass side and rear windows.

The Race engine had an aluminum intake manifold. It had factory installed exhaust manifolds like tube headers with removable dump caps.

The battery was moved to the trunk to make more room in the engine compartment and to improve weight transfer over the rear wheels.

The exhaust lead into a single exhaust system with a single muffler mounted sideways directly under the rear bumper.

Some of these weight saving measures seem a little extreme, like removing the coat hooks. Every pound removed saves weight which means the car will run a quicker 1/4 mile time.

Every 100 pounds are equal to about .10 faster in the 1/4 mile. That one tenth could be enough to win a race, so why not remove the weight. It’s what I did with my first Cuda.

Find out the all differences between a Race and Street Hemi in my article, The Difference Between a 426 Street Hemi and a 426 Race Hemi.

1964 Plymouth Belveder/Savoy (A864)

• There were 55 Plymouth Hemi Savoys built in 1964 with the Race 426 Hemi.

The Savoy was the lightest Plymouth B-body available.

1964 Dodge Coronet/330/440 (A864)

• There were 55 Dodge 330s built in 1964 with the Race 426 Hemi.

Like the Savoy, the 330 was a light B-body which made it a good choice.

1965 Race Hemi Cars

To qualify for the NHRA Super Stock Class, 100 of each car had to be built.

Just like in 1964, these cars were identified by a “Vin” chassis number which were all numbers and no letters.

There were a few changes made in 1965, mostly due to new NHRA regulations. They were no longer allowing cars to be produced with the aluminum parts used on the ’64 cars.

Chrysler had to adapt and subject the metal parts to acid dipping. They called it “chemical milling” which reduced the wall thickness of the following body parts:

• Front bumper.
• Hood and hood scoop.
• Fenders.
• Thin steel radiator support.
• Grill support brackets.

In addition, they used the following on the engine:

• A magnesium intake manifold instead of an aluminum part.
• Aluminum water pump housing.
• Aluminum oil pump housing.
• Aluminum thermostat housing.
• Aluminum alternator brackets.
• Aluminum cylinder heads.

They changed the plexiglass to Corning thin, lightweight glass. The other weight saving strategies used on the 1964 car remained the same like the following:

• No rear seat.
• No heater.
• No radio.
• Lightweight van bucket seats.
• No coat hooks.
• No power steering.
• No air conditioner.
• No power brakes.
• No reverse lights.
• No dome light.
• No arm rests.
• No sun visors.
• Trunk mounted battery.

Find out why the Hemi was banned twice in my article, Why the 426 Hemi was Banned From Nascar.

1965 Dodge Coronet (A990)

• 200 of the Dodge versions of these cars were built in 1965 with the race 426 Hemi.

Chrysler used the Dodge Coronet and made the necessary changes to make this car quicker in the 1/4 mile.

1965 Plymouth Belvedere (A990)

• 160 of the Plymouth Hemi versions were built in 1965.

They used the Belvedere and modified it to make it as light and fast as possible.

1967 Race Hemi Cars

In 1967 the NHRA introduced the Super Stock Eliminator as a stand alone division. Chrysler didn’t want to compete against their older lightweight cars mentioned above.

Therefore, they built the Coronet WO23 and Belvedere RO23 to move down one class and race in the SS/B and SS/BA classes.

These cars were all steel and built on the Chrysler assembly line.

1967 Dodge Coronet (WO23)

In 1967 55 WO23 Hemi Coronets were built for Super Stock racing. Just like the previous lightweight cars much of the extra weight was stripped away.

These cars were actually completed by Chrysler on their assembly lines. They were all painted white which didn’t last long as the race teams sprayed on their brand colors.

• 39 were produced with the 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission.
• 16 were produced with the 4-speed manual transmission.

1967 Plymouth Belvedere (RO23)

• In 1967 55 RO23 Belvederes were built for Super Stock racing, 17 with a 4-speed.

Same as the WO23, many weight saving items were left off the car including the following:

• Radio delete.
• Heater delete.
• No sound deadener.
• No undercoating.
• No carpet underlay.
• No seam sealer.
• Trunk mounted battery for weight distribution.

1968 Hemi Super Stock Cars

After using the larger and heavier B-body cars, Chrysler wanted to spearhead a new Hemi race car project.

The A-body Barracuda and Darts were picked for these factory Race Hemis because of their light weight. What followed may be the most legendary factory race-bred muscle car built.

Working with Hurst Industries, they made special accommodations to the A-bodies to fit the wide powerplant into the engine compartment.

The cars were delivered to Hurst missing the following:

• No engine or transmission.
• No exhaust.
• No shifter.
• No driveshaft.
• No Battery.
• No fuel lines.

Hurst installed the factory built engine after taking a “sledgehammer” to the right shock tower for valve cover clearance. They also cut open the rear wheel openings to accommodate big slicks.

The cars were delivered in gray primer and their fiberglass front ends were unpainted. Upon delivery the racing teams would paint them in their brand colors.

For this reason very few will be found in their factory primer unless they were restored that way.

Maybe the most famous of the Barracudas were raced by Sox & Martin and painted in red, white and blue. Dick Landy was a famous Dodge Dart racer.

If you can find one of these behind some lonely barn or hidden in a desolate junk yard in the middle of nowhere, you may have hit the lottery.

Combined, only 150 of them were built. The following was done to help prepare these cars for weight savings and speed:

• Fiberglass hood.
• Fiberglass fenders.
• Light gauge acid dipped steel doors.
• Thin gauge front bumper.
• Thin Corning glass for the windows.
• Seatbelt used to pull up and down the windows instead of window cranks and hardware.
• No rear seat.
• No radio.
• No heater.
• No air conditioner.
• Lightweight bucket seats.
• Trunk mounted battery.

The seats from the A100 installed in the cars are folding down. If they don’t fold down, they are not from a Super Stock Barracuda or Dart.

1968 Plymouth Barracuda (BO29)

70 ’68 Hemi Barracudas were built. The most famous is Sox & Martin. Take a look at the video below.

1968 Dodge Dart (LO23)

In 1968 Chrysler issued a press release to all Dodge dealers stating they wanted to create a factory drag racing version of the Dart GTS hardtop.

The car would be specifically built for the NHRA Class B Super Stock class. Enthusiasm for the car was off the charts.

Dart GTSs were shipped to Hurst to modify their Dart into a Chevy and Ford destroyer.

80 Dodge Dart Super Stock 426 Hemi cars were built in 1968. One of the more popular ones was Dick Landy’s Dart shown in the video below.

Note Worthy Cars

1966 Dodge Hemi Coronet 4-door

Officially, there were two 1966 Dodge Hemi Coronets built for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for field operations and towing.

Big deal, right? There were plenty of 1966 Hemi cars built but these 2 cars were 4-doors.

It’s unbelievable, but the two cars still exist today. One was red, and the other one was white. They were special orders and both had the 727 automatic torqueflite transmission.

One is in Don Garlits Museum, and the other is privately owned and was sold at auction in 2007 for $660,000.

Check the video down below and see the white one located in the museum.

Both cars had no options except for the engine.

Rumor has it two more 4 door Hemi cars were shipped over seas, one in Finland and the other may be a brown one located in Canada.

In addition to the 4-doors, there are rumors of a few station wagons, five of them.

Check out all the Hemi engines produced prior to the 426 in my article, Hemi Engines Made Before the 426 Hemi.

1964 Ramchargers

A small percentage of lightweight 1964 Ramchargers were originally built with Max Wedge motors and then later changed to a Race Hemi.

When the engine was released, the previous built Max Wedge Cars were converted over.

Many people would say these cars don’t count because they were originally Max Wedge cars. I agree, but wanted to mention them anyway.

Any questions or if you have more information you’d like to contribute, send us an email found on our contact page.

Check Out More 426 Hemi Articles!

The Last Year of the 426 Hemi

How fast is a 426 Hemi? 1/4 Mile & 0-60 Results

426 Hemi Specifications – Complete Engine Specs

The Worth of a 426 Hemi Engine

The First Year of the 426 Hemi

Article Resources

• Mecum Auctions: 1967 Plymouth Hemi Belvedere ll
• Wikipedia: Chrysler Hemi engine
• Google books: How to Rebuild and Modify Chrysler 426 Hemi Engines
• Google books: The Definitive Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger Guide: 1970-1974
• The Mopar Blog: Mopar.com
• GTS: Galen’s Tag Service
• Hemmings: Hemmings.com
• NHRA: Drag Racing Classes