'62 - '65 Mopar Muscle
Written by Keith Fudge

When the talk turns to powerful vintage muscle cars of the 1960s, many certified car nuts think Mopar; however, they generally think about Cudas, Chargers, Roadrunners; however, in the early 1960s, specifically from 1962 to 1965, some of the strongest and most powerful examples of Mopar muscle rolled off the assembly lines in the form of race cars that were built for the streets!  One of the foremost authorities on vehicles from this era is Bob Mosher, owner of Mosher’s Musclecar Motors of Monrovia, California.  Some of Bob’s restorations have been featured on major car magazines, and his cars have also gained notoriety among the most serious collectors and hobbyists.  Recently, Dennis and the crew had a chance to visit with Bob and see some of these road rockets up close and personal.

Bob began the visit by telling Dennis that these cars were basically produced as race cars for the street.  “They were cheaply built and were meant to go fast,” Bob said.  He also added, “These cars built from ‘62 to ’65 were real hot rods; factory performance cars that you couldn’t build.”  Bob also told Dennis a bit about his own history with these cars, and ironically, it had to do with their location at the Pomona drags!  Pomona is the site of the NHRA Motorsports Museum, and one of Bob’s cars, the 1963 Plymouth Melrose Missile, is on display!  This car won the 1963 Winter Nationals!  Bob said that he got started in this business by his father who also collected and restored cars!  And speaking of cars, Bob had a few of these rad rides ready for us to see!

First, he showed Dennis a pair of 1962 Mopars that were to die for.  A 1962 Dodge Dart was at the top of the list.  Painted red, this two-door post vehicle featured a 3-speed on the floor complete with a Hurst shifter from the factory!  Weighing only 3,000 pounds and powered by a 413 cubic inch Dodge Max Wedge engine featuring dual four-barrel carburetors mounted on a Cross Ram intake manifold, this beast made 415 horsepower from the factory!  Dennis also mentioned that these cars didn’t even carry any type of factory warranty and came with a disclaimer included in the glove box!  Next, Bob showed us the Plymouth version of this car, the Belvedere.  Painted a factory shade of green, this car was virtually identical to the Dart except that if featured the famous “Push Button” transmission.

The next car that Bob showed Dennis was a 1963 Plymouth Savoy.  This car was the base model offered for that year and the best way to describe it is that it was practically “chrome challenged!”  But, even in its stark appearance there was something that made up for the lack of bling in the form of a 426 Max Wedge motor that lurked beneath the hood.  A 1965 Black Plymouth Belvedere was next on the agenda also featured a 426 cubic inch engine with a single four-barrel carb.  This was the first year that the push button shift fell to the wayside and now a column shift was found in its place.  Last, but certainly not least, was a 1965 Dodge Coronet.  This car was the prime example of the factory racer.  Equipped with the A990 package, which meant that there was a 426 Hemi under the hood, this bad boy had all the excess weight removed from the factory including the back seat!  Bob said that out of the box that this car would run 10.50 in the quarter mile at approximately 130 miles per hour!  Now this particular car had undergone a bit of tweaking (an understatement) and had been stroked to 526 cubic inches!  Featuring Stage V Hemi heads, there was nothing left to do but to take to the track which Bob and Dennis happily did.  The sounds of these great cars soon filled the air and for a split second it was possible to turn back the clock to the days when Detroit made racers straight from the factory!

Dennis and the crew had a great time visiting with Bob and some of his cronies at the Pomona Drag Strip.  If you would like to learn more about Bob Mosher’s work, give him a visit on the web at www.moparsbymosher.com.  That’s it from Mopar heaven in sunny Monrovia, California, so until our next trip, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”