Max Wedge Build - PLUS 1970 Challenger R/T Project
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 01. 2023
- Nick has built and tested more 426 HEMI's and 440 engines than he can remember. But today, there is a new experience waiting in the engine room. A rare and beautiful Max Wedge Mopar. PLUS - A new project rolls into Nick's Garage.. a 1970 Dodge Challenger that will become the next Vanishing Point 'Kowalski' tribute.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick's Garage Gear Shop
teespring.com/stores/nicks-ga...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick's Garage Patreon page. Thanks for your support!
/ nicksgarage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick's Garage is on Instagram!
@nicksgarageofficial
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Hemis are cool but for me NOTHING is as cool as a Max Wedge with the original exhaust manifolds. That thing sounds incredible!
Thanks for firing it off for us!
I'm glad that you got to work on this one and give it the golden, Nick's garage touch and tune!
My Best friends from High school, their dad had a ‘64 Dodge Polara with a 426 Max Wedge! That race car was a Beast!
My cousin and I were partners back in1968, we bought a Stage 3 max wedge , 1964 aluminum nose 330 Dodge coupe from Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago. We raced on the streets. Happy memories. Love you and your whole crew.
What an excellent bonus that the best car channel on CZcams features a premium shop that specializes in Mopars and is run by a Chrysler nut. Thank you so much.
Wow, thanks!
The Mopar Maestro. That is my moniker for you Nick.
Again, learning so much that I never knew from Nick.
Hi Nick. Back in 1963 we used a magnetic socket to put the thru the intake bolts on without dropping them to the inside of the cross ram.
I've been a MOPAR guy since I was a kid back in 1960. Always loved the cross ram intake.
Hello Nick and Dan. Kowalski Challenger has been done. This Challenger woul look GREAT in the original colors.
I'd have to say a 426 Max Wedge is probably more rare to see than an original 426 HEMI 'Cuda. I've never personally seen a Max Wedge in life but have heard about them. Keep up the good work and greetings from Ohio, USA.
The 60's really where a special time in automotive and aviation innovation.
I raced for 8 years from 1970 thru 1978 in Super Stock in Ohio at Dragway 42 and Norwalk Raceway Park (Now Summit Raceway). There was probably a half dozen of those Max Wedge Stage lll cars running. Some even had the aluminum front ends on them! They were mid to low 11 second cars easily. I ran a Super Stock Duster 340 that ran 1150's all day long. It was the National Record Holder for a while. Ohio had some of the best Super Stock cars in the county! The Rod Shop cars out of Columbus were very tough to beat.
Nick's Garage is a Mecca for petrol heads Nick is installing a cross ram intake on a 440 Max Wedge It's a fiddly assignment getting the alan bolts in the proper alignment It's always perfection that Nick's Garage seeks the last things you need are vacuum leaks Nick has got the jump because he knows an engine is basically a mechanical air pump This one is shaping up into an impressive lump It's been put together right from the heads to the sump There's a 70 Challenger that just came in So a Kowalski transformation can begin Nick's Garage never fails in giving their clients a wall to wall grin Designed for burnouts because the engine is big and the tyres are thin Nick's Garage every Monday is an epic thing Thanks Nick and Niko Word George
Good evening gear heads! Love that flashlight special effect!
Someone working on a max wedge! That is so cool. I’ve known about these motors for ever. To see one of these manifolds really getting installed it almost seems like a dream. Thanks Nick and George too!
Very exciting to see your first cross ram, can't wait to see the dyno run!
Dang.. that motor is MASSIVE..
Another interesting show agian, from Nick (kowalski) & all the crew
Can't wait to see that beautiful Max Wedge in the dyno...
Nick, a small chunk of paper towel as you insert the alien head into the bolt keeps it place, doesn't fall off in tight and iffy places. Works with any bolt. Keeps loose extensions in place as well.
Dr. Nick, can not wait to see that Max Wedge on the dyno, we have had no snow here where I live, the other day I met a guy that was driving a 1969 Super Bee with a 440 4 speed, we had a chat and he is a Nicks Garage fun, we are everywhere!!, cheers
When I worked in Randolph Vermont, my boss had a Polara 426 Cross Ram Max Wedge 63 or 64. His daily driver in the summer was a 58 Imperial, he would take us for a cruise to Chelsea for lunch in it.
Holy smokes that's a beautiful engine! I love that Hemi Orange😎👍
loving the intro
Linkage is fun.. balancing carbs is the cherry on top 😁👍🏼
That engine went from blue to Orange you glad you're at Nicks garage!!
I remember seeing that car in the movie's love the old Challengers
Bon Jour/Good Day, I have not seen a wedge since I was a kid and then it was at either St. Jerome, or Napierville drag strip in the 60's. Thanks for the memories.
The '69 RR I've had for 40 years is getting it's original 383 rebuilt, but with Stage 6 heads , which need a 440 intake when used on a B block. Then the '64 Stage 4 Max Wedge intake I have had squirrelled away for 35 years is going on top making it a Super Stock 383, or Max Beep :) I even have an original set of 4 bolt valve covers to complete the factory look
Love to see a man doing what he loves!!
I never knew how those cross rams were bolted on ! Thanks for this video!👍👍🤗
I have never seen the Dr. Frankenstien come out in Nick before.
Best of the best.
446 cubes of pure Mopar insanity...Nick...make that thing sing man!
Love to see what Black Diamond 💎💎 looks like
Great Job Nick. Just Love your attention to detail. Painting the bolts with a brush. A man after my own heart. It is the small stuff that make the difference in clients cars. Thank you to Nick and George for all of the great work and all of the videos.
Times like these I really want to send Nick a butterfly air ratchet for putting in bolts and tightening nuts. There are so many jobs made super easy with this tool during assembly.
The cross ram looks so menacing, lots of personality! Thank you Nick and George. This is a fun build. Dyno sounds soon!! 👍😃
Nick,
Great video - thank you!
Its incredible how expensive these engines are. The intake alone can be $3000+. Even those 6 little caps/plugs that go in over the bolt holes cost $300+ per set.
Paul (in MA)
Nick, I have to say how beautiful and neatly presented all the work that goes through your shop is. In Australia you'd be surprised how many mopar are getting around. I've watched you build and dyno plenty of engines so now when I see one on the street or at a show I find myself looking for all the finishing touches that make a authentic build. I love your shows and especially the passion all the people you have working and visiting. I get a real joy seeing the young ones that you share knowledge with,muscle cars are here for a long time thanks to people as your self. Thanks so much for sharing, there's more to building engines than bolting parts together.
Thanks for your kind comment, Brad.
Awesome Nick I’ve been in some cars with that motor brings back great memories good Old 70s
Way, way back in the day, street raced a 66 Charger, I ran a set of 64 Max head(518's) with a Weiand 7511 X-celerator intake , on a 383(stroked to 426CI) welded up the edges of the intake and then port matched them to the 518's , man that was a money maker....I would tell people it had Max heads on it, and they would see the single 4BBl Intake, and that it was a b-block.....man did I get called all kinds of "bs artist.....then they would start whispering back in-fourth and next thing you know they upped the bet..... Old Herb McCandless 324 .650 lift... I miss that car......
Love the look of cross ram intakes. Great engine detailing work Nick.
nick your the best...
Got same engine 440 , 30 over. with 413 heads in the 67 Coronet... Twin Edelbrock 500's.,⚡💥👍🏼
chryslers are junk
Another work of art. Yes, they did make all that power N/A...amazing, and you keep bringing them back Nick.
Nice paint on the max wedge
I like the paint on that Challenger
I can remember the ads that Gratiot Auto Supply in Detroit used to run in Hot Rod Magazine back in around 1965 (+/-) and 1967-68, This was after the Hemi engines came out, Chrysler had apparently cast and machined several, many Stage lll Max Wedge cast iron heads, pallets full of them, and Gratiot bought those several, many pallets of them. They were being offered for $85.00 each, + whatever shipping was required. The ads ran for a couple of years. If I had, or anybody else had, some spare cash we could have bought up piles of them, and today they'd be worth $$$$$ on the resale and collector car markets. They were an opportunity lost. I can't remember if Chrysler had cast up the 2x4 cross ram manifolds such as what Nick has today, but they probably did.. The drag racing technology was advancing very rapidly at the time, with emphasis on the Hemi engines, but the Max Wedge heads with high rise ports certainly were a part of racing history as well. And at the drag strips, the Max Wedge MoPars always had a distinct whistling sound when being tuned up or being driven around the pits, etc. Very distinct sound.
One interesting story from my teen years in the early 1960s: a friend of mine had a 1963 1/2 Fastback Ford Galaxie with a dual quad 427 engine, red with bucket seats and 4-speed manual trans; one Friday night we were driving around to the various burger doodles, and at one there was a 1963 Plymouth Savoy 4 dr post sedan, tan, and the kid had installed a Sun tachometer on the dash. The hub caps were off of it. I remarked to my friend that this poor kid had his mom's car, it probably had a straight 6, and he wanted it to be more than it was, so he could go cruising as well. So my friend pulled up next to the kid, told him what I had said, and asked him to start up his "straight 6." It turned out to have a Stage lll Super Stock V8 with 2x4 carbs, such as Nick's engine, and also had an aluminum front end. Turns out, it was just the mom and her son, she was going to buy a Plymouth, she wanted a 4-dr post sedan, but he lobbied her to let him choose the engine, he wanted the Max Wedge, and she agreed, though she specified the Torqueflight transmission. Ordered car. So it was literally the little old lady from Pasadena but in St. Louis, MO,, she got with the program, and she went out at nights from time to time, hunting down 409s, 427 Fords, etc and would give them a head start off the green light and then smoke them for lunch. And the kid was with the program too. Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Not Judged.
I was in Detroit at Gratiot auto supply and bought 8 new Chrysler Hemi Rods for total of 125.00 dollars. Back in 1974. That was a bargain.
What a beautiful Max Wedge paint job eye popping color .....Thanks Nick bye for now
Nick Keep Having Nico Work With You He Rolls The Clock Back For Me. Back to The Days Me And My Best Friend Colin Met in The HighSchool Parking Lot He in His 1971 Dodge Challenger and Me In My 1972 Dodge Challenger and Brother We Had Us Some Great Times Before I Enlisted In The Army in September of 1979!!!
I fired my 67 Camaro up today and pulled it into the driveway, it’s so depressing looking at all this snow, at least I have Nicks to keep me entertained until spring. Love the show guys, keep up the good work.🇨🇦👍
We sure know how you feel! Maybe Nick will have to go into the snowmobile business?
What a motor! That cross ram is so cool. I wouldn’t even care what it puts out, it just looks so cool. And another Kowalski build? Christmas every day.
440 Max Wedge I like the sound of that!! Great idea 👍
Right on! To the max!
We built a lump port in line 6 chevy that the head bolts went through the heads with pipe plugs covers .
That cross ram is like a bucket I wonder what sort of cfm it would flow...very interesting thanks nick
I like the old school guitar music
Hi Nick and your crew
George!! That intro with light was soooo cool.
Thanks, Nick. This is such a cool Engine!!
Glad you liked it!
Another awesome Project. Great work Nick as always and also George for a great produced video 👍
Bondhus makes a series of "Pro-Hold" hex bits with a small plastic insert that holds socket head cap screws on the bit..
I've heard about these but now thanks to Nick I can actually see one!
You are amazing Nick!
Anxious to see the dyno results.
Got some coffee in my Nick's Garage coffee mug and I'm ready to enjoy the show!
Enjoy! And thanks for the support, Meower! You are always here for us.
I have only seen 4 max wedge engines in my life time in a 31 year period living in Florida, U.S.A. when I lived there. Now I see this engine on Nick's Garage! "YOUR GIVING ME A WEDGEY, NICK!" "JOKE!" Another Quawalski Vanishing Piont project? "OKAY!"
Max Wedge on the Dyno soon.
@@nickpanaritis4122 "LOVE TO SEE THAT!" "CHEERS!"
MOPAR Forever!
That engine is going to be awesome! Another Kowalski Holy cow can't wait on it...
Great video. Something you might not know about the Max Wedge Manifold your working on is that at the hidden bolt locations there are some cast in numbers such as SC 225. These are the hex head screw lengths. SC 225 is 2.25 inches long. 3 different lengths for each side of the manifold at the hidden locations...2.00...2.25...2.50.
That would be very important if you don't want the screw to bottom out before it compress the head and manifold together.
On a traditional intake manifold you pretty well can see that your screw is too long but not on the Max Wedge.
Good call Len 👍
Maybe Kowalski DID make it to San Francisco - looking forward to this build !!
That is one wacky wedge awesome
Hi Nick, my friend Jerry had a 63 440 with a Wedge. I remember looking at that engine and drooling about dumping the clutch and letting it rip. He used to drive it to Florida in the 60’s and race it and then drive it home. He didn’t go crazy with it because he said if you weren’t careful this car could make you meet your maker ahead of schedule. For me it was such a privilege and great memories. The reason he stopped driving it is because the last time he raced it, it tried to get away and he parked it. He passed in 2002 and my best friend his son sold it to a guy who restored it back to stock. Great Videos Thank You 🙏
Doing all these Kowalski cars you should have a plaque to put on the dash with "Kowalski by Nick" with a number and also autograph them, something like the Bandit Cars autographed by Burt Renolds. Maybe someday they will be valuable collector cars 🙂. Thanks again for all the great videos. Best Regards - Mike
David Freiburger from Hot Rod magazine has a Dick Landy ported cross-ram on his Super Bee! They had to cut out sections to get access to port and and welded it up. It looks sick!
ALWAYS something going on at Nicks garage , what an awesome show today Love it
Glad you enjoy it!
Looking forward to the 413 big block rebuild
love Nick....would love to vaca up there
Awesome, I always wanted to see one of those put together !
I've only seen the intake by themselves.
Thanks Nick. I've been waiting for this. I have a 64 Max Wedge III
Great news. Cheers guys 👍
You bet!
Another favorite motor Nick thanks for sharing bud have a great Tuesday morning and day sir
I saw you with your old school challenger and your hellcat on the track wow.
Very nice episode reminds me of graveyard Carz show that you save on TV
Them caps that go in there on that cross ram look just like the small bung from a oil drum
Putin them inner bolts in, is scary!
Really looking forward to this engine's dyno test.
Two fantastic projects! Always fun, gentlemen...
My Motors Manuel has this 426 in 2 versions, one with 13 1/2 to 1 compression ratio. 409 killer.
As always, This channel does not disappoint the viewer... What an OUTSTANDING episode!!! I am looking forward to see how this engine will perform on the Dyno!!! What I like so much about tuned ram induction systems like these, is the simplicity of design.... No complex drive systems for blowers, no exotic/complex exhaust systems to drive turbo's, no complex and expensive intercooling equipment... Just the forces of nature that have been harnessed properly, and good / reliable power is the result!!! I work on trucks and heavy equipment, and one of the main sources of problems with much of this equipment, are the turbos and their associated systems... This is on 100% STOCK equipment, no performance improvements, no super high boost pressures, just stock equipment...And when they develop problems, things tend to get extremely expen$ive very quickly... Not often is that the case with tuned induction systems on naturally aspirated engines that are close to stock form, running no higher than their rated rpm... Natural aspiration is the way to go for ground vehicles , driven daily on the public roads... For aircraft, turbos and supercharging are mainly used to maintain power at high altitudes, and to provide breathing air and cabin heat and pressurization for the people on the aircraft... Much higher than what the majority of highways pass through... But for travel at altitudes less than 10,000' MSL, natural aspiration is the way to go... That '70 Challenger R/T is a BEAUTY... It will be cool when You're finished with it Nick... I lived in that area for about 20 years, and met some people who were involved with Muscle cars, especially the Mopars... The 'E' body cars that Chrysler made were the cream of the crop... Especially the R/T cars and other performance optioned versions in their impressive line of vehicles...
"OUTSTANDING" Coffee Walk? If you watch it, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about..
Love the cross ram - can't wait to hear it on the dyno. For the Challenger - I read in Vanishing Point, there were 5 cars used. 4 were 440 4-speeds, and the 5th was a 383 automatic. A comment was raised that they used the 383 car for a few show bits, but finally to tow the body into the bulldozers at the end. Somebody commented that that 383 R/T seemed to run just as well as the 440's. Since this is an automatic (and planned to remain so), it would be a teaser to clone that 383 number 5 of 5 VP car.
Was lucky as a young guy being involved with Chrysler superstock and funny cars in the 60's...Worked at a fiberglass shop that built funny car bodies for Chrysler...The 68 A-body superstock cars were top of the heap for Chrysler, until the modern hemi cars came about....Then the draft came around and it was mostly gone when I got done with the military.....Couldn't run a superstocker on military pay....
Shop looks nicely filled!
What a pleasure it must be to come to work everyday 🙂
Evenin Mr Nick! Have a Great week!
Thanks, you too!
Hi Nick .... Give the car and the engine THE 440 KING TOUCH... NICE MAX WEDGE what will the horsepower be Nick around 500 HP ??? George thank you so much for the excellent video of the MASTER in his Engine room talking about installing THE MAX WEDGE INTAKE... Have a great week and hope to see you NICK on your FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE with Manny/Robert/Niko and by the way how is my buddy doing at his other job with the diesel engines???? I will be watching FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE stay safe everyone FROM YOUR FRIEND THE BANDIT AKA BOB FROM ILLINOIS... ✌️✌️🤟🤟🤘🤘
Another good one Nick no doubt I would leave the vital tapan I would but that's just me I'm nostalgic I guess thanks for the video Nick
Nice looking motor.
Nick put a dab of gun grease in the allen heads that will hold them on the end of the allen wrench drive, that little dab of grease won't hurt a thing.And help keep the stress levels down!
Yes, lubed all the bolts after the video to make sure the intake sat well.
George another great intro on Nick's Garage. You are making some great videos . Excellent work !!!
Glad you like them! Thanks Sarge.
Hello Nick & George that Max Wedge with the Cross Ram sure is very interesting, looking real sweet, can't wait to see it on the Dyno. George loved the beaut touches at the start of the video with lighting around all those simply beautiful classic rides Nick has in the shop, great start to a great show.
TOTALLY AAWSOME VIDEO NICK!!!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!! A MUST WATCH!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Compared to your previous Stock type 180° & "Single Plane" (360° ?) Intake Mopar engine Dyno runs, When tuned & running right, the Torque & Power curve should look Amazing !! The Intake's Multiple Torque Peaks (3 or 4) all Blend to a wide & Efficient HP curve similar to a Passive Supercharger without the mechanical drive loses....The '60's Excellent factory engineered Aluminum & Magnesium Short Ram pieces cleverly Optomized the RB & Hemi power curves to get the factory Stock Eliminator win light On !! These large cu in (and relatively Heavy internals) factory Stage & Max motors were holding HP to Amazing High Rpms for the times....Without a doubt, assembling a factory Dual Quad, X-Ram engine Is a special experience with all the Exotic fastener hardware & bell crank linkages !!