Breakdown/Review: 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II Convertible 426 Hemi

Exactly ten 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II convertibles were built with the factory 426 Hemi, and this one, from The Brothers Collection, is Episode 228 of V8TV’s Muscle Car of the Week series. Most comments focused on the car’s rarity and color — but a few sharp-eyed viewers flagged a driver’s door that doesn’t sit quite right where it meets the rocker panel. On a car built in single-digit numbers, that kind of scrutiny comes with the territory. Watch the full walkaround.

Exactly ten of these were ever built. That single fact should be enough to make this 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II convertible one of the most quietly significant cars to ever roll across a V8TV episode — and yet, buried in the comments, a few sharp-eyed viewers noticed something on this exact car that doesn’t quite add up. Whether that detail is a restoration shortcut or nothing at all is exactly the kind of debate a car this rare invites.

A Production Number That Explains Everything

Exactly ten 1966 Belvedere II convertibles were built with the factory 426 Hemi — four with a manual, six with an automatic — a production number so small that most Mopar enthusiasts will go their entire lives without ever seeing one in person, let alone hearing one run. The Hemi itself was a roughly $900 option in 1966 — a genuinely serious sum on top of an already expensive convertible — and combining that engine with a soft top rather than a hardtop or sedan body meant even fewer buyers were willing to spend the money. That combination of expense and rarity is exactly why a surviving example, verified and presented by a collection with a track record like The Brothers Collection, draws the kind of attention a more common Belvedere simply wouldn’t.

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The Brothers Collection’s Reputation for the Real Thing

One commenter estimated that The Brothers Collection includes somewhere around 600 cars, a scale that would put it among the more serious private muscle car collections documented on YouTube. That kind of depth matters for a car this rare — a collection large and well-connected enough to source a genuine Hemi Belvedere convertible, rather than a clone or a tribute build, has almost certainly built relationships with brokers, other collectors, and restoration shops over years, if not decades. V8TV’s ongoing access to that collection is part of why the Muscle Car of the Week series has been able to reach Episode 228 without running out of genuinely significant cars to feature, and a Hemi convertible this scarce is exactly the kind of entry that justifies the collection’s reputation.

A Door That Sparked Its Own Debate

Not every comment on this video was pure admiration. At least two viewers specifically flagged the driver’s door, with one noting it “almost looks as though it’s not completely closed” where it meets the rocker panel and rear quarter, and another going further, suggesting the panel gap in that area might indicate the car was bent out of shape at some point or repaired with filler rather than proper metalwork. On a car this rare, that kind of scrutiny isn’t nitpicking — it’s exactly the level of attention serious Mopar buyers apply before spending real money, and it’s a useful reminder that even cars presented by well-regarded collections benefit from an in-person inspection rather than taking a video walkaround at face value.

The Door Lock Moment Everyone Remembers

Beyond the mechanical details, viewers clearly enjoyed the personality of the video itself. One commenter singled out a specific moment where the host, Kevin, plays with the door lock on camera, calling it a habit he’s guilty of doing himself on cars he’s checking out. Another opened with an inside joke referencing a friend and a mounted deer that isn’t actually dead — the kind of recurring, familiar banter that suggests V8TV’s regular viewers treat these Muscle Car of the Week episodes less like formal car reviews and more like catching up with familiar hosts. That tone matters for a channel built around a weekly format; two hundred and twenty-eight episodes in, keeping the presentation loose and personable is clearly part of what’s kept the audience coming back.

What Made the 426 Street Hemi So Rare to Order

Ordering a 426 Hemi into a mid-size Plymouth in 1966 wasn’t a casual decision. Beyond the roughly $900 price premium, Hemi-equipped cars required a heavier-duty suspension, larger brakes, and specific cooling and exhaust components to handle the engine’s output and weight, all of which added further cost and complexity to the order sheet. Dealers didn’t stock these combinations in volume, meaning most Hemi buyers were specifically seeking the engine out rather than stumbling onto one already sitting on a lot. That deliberate, expensive ordering process is a major reason why Hemi convertibles from this specific model year stopped at exactly ten cars — buyers had to actively want the most extreme, most expensive version of an already expensive car, in a body style that sacrificed structural rigidity for open-air driving.

A Personal Connection From a Fellow Belvedere Owner

One commenter shared that he owns a 1967 Belvedere convertible with the original 383 four-barrel, and that he’s planning to eventually drop a 426 Hemi into it to create his own “Hemi Belv.” He described the Mopars of this era as “mint in every way” and called cars like this Belvedere “super fun to drive,” offering a rare mix of cruiser comfort and genuine tire-shredding potential. That kind of firsthand plan — an owner actively working toward recreating what this car already is from the factory — underscores just how desirable the factory Hemi convertible combination remains, even among people who already own a closely related car and understand exactly what the swap involves.

Rare Enough to Debate Every Detail

A car built in a run of exactly ten invites exactly the kind of close, almost forensic attention this Belvedere received in the comments — from genuine admiration for the color and the collection behind it, to real questions about a door panel that didn’t sit quite right. That tension is part of what makes documenting rare cars on camera valuable in the first place: a written provenance can claim anything, but a video walkaround lets a community of genuinely knowledgeable owners weigh in on details a casual viewer would scroll right past. For a Hemi convertible this scarce, that level of scrutiny isn’t an insult. It’s confirmation that people still care enough to look closely. That scrutiny doesn’t diminish the car’s significance — if anything, it reinforces just how seriously the Mopar collector community treats a Hemi convertible built in these numbers. Every detail, down to a panel gap, gets weighed against what a factory-correct example should look like, because with only ten ever built, there’s effectively no room for a casual restoration to hide behind the car’s rarity alone.

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