62 Max Wedge vs 63 Fuelie 'vette

[King_Valiant]

I was on a ladder today at work and I recalled the Beach Boys song "Shut Down"I have an article where a 1962 413 Max Wedge Dodge and a 63 Fuelie 'vette were matched just like the song. Needless to say the real race went a lot different than the song.The Dodge won with a 12.77/108.98 to the 'vettes 13.94/101.22 in the first round.It wasn't even a close race.The second round was equally embarrassing for shivvy lubbers with the 'vette pulling 14.02/100.78 to the Dodges 12.77/109.08. I love 60s drag songs and this was a match that needed to be done in the real world. I always thought that song gave the public an inaccurate image of 'vettes being faster than Dodge super stock cars. This article appeared in the October 1990 issue of Musclecar Review, page 30.
A 'vette beating a Max Wedge....what a joke.

[bjoehandley]

Just think of it this way, more sucker money coming your way

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Cool song, too bad the writer didn't have his facts correct! Of course maybe the Corvette they were singing about was highly modified. Who knows?

I have to admit though that I was pretty happy when that match up and article came out in Musclecar Review! It helped set the record straight in the minds of some (atleast if you're talking about both cars being stock).

[King_Valiant]

I have a friend who is a die hard Corvette guy and even he had to admit that song was a fraud(but well written).A stock 327 fuelie has no chance against a 400+hp big block racer like the Max.

[LiveLarge]

If I remember the song right the Stingray does have slicks and dual quads........I would take the dart over the stingray any day. That is what I am looking for. "62 dart with the Max wedge.

On a side note here did anyone think the '62 ugly and have it grow on them to the point of obsession?



I mean besides me

[Dick]

Sorry to contradict, but the song goes .......:


Tach it up, tach it up
Buddy gonna shut you down

It happened on the strip where the road is wide
Two cool sharks standin' side by side
Yeah, my fuel injected Stingray and a four-thirteen
Were revvin' up our engines and it sounds real mean

Tach it up, tach it up
Buddy gonna shut you down

Declinin' numbers at an even rate
At the count of one we both accelerate
My Stingray is light the slicks are startin' to spin
But the four-thirteen's really diggen' in

Gotta be cool now power shift here we go

Superstock Dodge is winding out in low
But my fuel injected Stingray's really startin' to go
To get the traction I'm ridin' the clutch
My pressure plate's burnin' that machine's too much

Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink
And now the four-thirteen's lead is startin' to shrink
He's hot with ram induction but it's understood
I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood

Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down

[Dick]

And on a side note, the '62 Polara 500 hardtop or convertible were the only models I could stand.......until the Ramcharger Package was stuffed in the butt ugly Dart 330. 13 seconds out of the box with normal dealer prep.

[LiveLarge]

Ok... I read that all and I still get that the Stingray has dual quads from this

Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink
And now the four-thirteen's lead is startin' to shrink

And that it has slicks from this

My Stingray is light the slicks are startin' to spin

[Dick]

Read it again. Three references to the Stingray's FI and two references to the Dodge, one as ram induction, which everyone knows back then had/meant dual quads, and one as the dual quads drink. As far as the slicks on the plastic Chevrolet, no argument there.

[King_Valiant]

62 Max Wedge is so freakin awsome that its almost silly to hear some surfer puff up his 'vette by claiming to have beaten a Super Stock Dodge.Actually the win was implied without actually saying it, at last mention the 413s lead was shrinking not gone.Also, I mean COME ON. The 62 is a strange looking thing, but so are most other early to mid 60s Mopars.Overdone styling is an understatement.Ugly and fast pisses of the pretty bowtie guys faster than anything.Imagine your pretty 65 GTO getting stomped by a base 64 330 with a Super Stock engine. Thats why Mopar rules and everyone else drools.

[MoparMarcIdaho]

Didnt the vette have that goofy hilborn setup in those yrs?I know a guy who had an early vette with that on it and it was in the shop all the time trying to make that old crap run right. No dual quads on the plastic penis extension

[Dick]

No, it was Rochester.

[MoparMarcIdaho]

So its still the triangle lookin deal with a throttle body on the side in 62?And its a rochester setup?

[King_Valiant]

The pix from the article show a giant ribbed and chrome box with lots of pipes and junk all over the top of the "motor".What a joke.2 four barrels trump it everytime.And to think those 'vettes are some of the most expensive ones made.Id rather spend the 50 or so grand on a decent Hemi or six pack Road Runner.There is a junky but running Superbird on Ebay for less than the cost of a crappy 'vette like this.Chevy sucked then and they suck now.
(plastic penis extension...thats funny)

[racintracy]

I worked for a Corvette restoration shop here in town in the late 80's for awhile and only saw one fulie pass through. The owner allways tried to talk buyers out of the fulie because they were junk and he couldn't guarantee them to run right. When they ran right (the key word here is "when") they might run a high 13 and that's it. Most didn't run as good as a single 4 barrel.

This song always bugged me too (even if it did have a cool sound) because I knew a vette wouldn't beat a SS Dodge and that's what they were implying.

And Dick's right, it was a Rochester setup.

[Dart 65]

Dick Dale has always been a Chrysler guy and wrote "Mr. Wedge" in response to the lies the Beach Boys sang.

[DAHEMIKOTA]

I owned a 1962 Dodge Dart 440 with a Max Wedge 413. Paid $3650.00 for it new. It would run 12.04 with slicks on the street. Never lost to a Corvette. One of my buddies raced me with his 'Vett one day and almost stayed up with me. I had a "B" engine block,set of heads and crank in my trunk. Sorry I ever got rid of that car. Dan