Chrysler didn’t build the 426 Max Wedge to win parking lot arguments – they built it to win at the drag strip, and this 1963 Belvedere is proof the plan worked. With up to 425 horsepower from a purpose-built cross-ram V8 and a factory push-button TorqueFlite behind it, cars like this “Asphalt Angel” were never meant to be everyday drivers. Decades later, survivors like this one are some of the rarest factory muscle Chrysler ever built.
Really nice 1963 Plymouth Belvedere .. They call it “Asphalt Angel”!!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
“Asphalt Angel” is a nickname earned, not given – and if you know anything about what Chrysler was building in 1963, you already know this Belvedere didn’t get it for its paint job. Underneath a body that looks like any other mid-size Plymouth sits one of the rarest, angriest engine packages Detroit ever green-lit for a production car: the Max Wedge. Only a handful of these left the factory built to run, not to cruise, and finding one that survived four decades of quarter-mile abuse is its own kind of miracle. So what exactly makes a Belvedere earn a name like that?
The Max Wedge Wasn’t Subtle
The 1963 package came as the 426 Super Stock with a choice of 11.0:1 compression rated at 415 horsepower or 13.5:1 compression rated at 425 horsepower. Big-port cylinder heads, a high-lift camshaft, heavy-duty forged connecting rods, and a cross-ram intake feeding twin Carter AFB four-barrels all came standard on the option sheet – backed by a push-button TorqueFlite three-speed that was nearly unbreakable for the era.
A Factory Drag Car in Belvedere Clothing
Chrysler offered the Max Wedge across the whole B-body lineup – Savoy, Belvedere, Fury, and Sport Fury – but production numbers were tiny across every one of those nameplates. These cars were street legal on paper, but they were built for one job: winning NHRA Super Stock class, and they started setting records almost as soon as they hit the strip.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related posts:
Plymouth Belvedere 1966 II 426 Hemi
Shelby Mustang GT500 – 1969
Chevrolet Camaro 1967 – Test Driving the 502 Big-Block
Hot Rod Time Machine: Old vs New
Rat Rod vs Lamborghini Aventador!
Oldsmobile Super 88 – 1957 “Christine”
Plymouth Hemi Cuda 1971
Chevrolet Camaro 1969 – Twin Turbo “Sick Seconds” 3350 Horse Power Street Car
Bullit — On the Road Again — Canned Heat — Car Chase
Pontiac GTO Judge 1970
