At last! The classic confrontation–413 Super Stock Dodge vs. 327 fuel-injected Sting Ray.
By Cliff Gromer Photos by TheBruntBros
I t’s 1962 and the Corvette holds the
I unofficial title, King of the Street.
I Street racing is hot and heavy and
I it’s a rare car that gets to whip a
Vette’s tail. Sure, there are the 421
Super Duty Pontiacs and such, but for
the most part, the Corvette is the high
performance car on the street.
Then, early in 1962, Chrysler unleashes
their potent 413 Max Wedge-a thinly
disguised race motor-in their small
Dart body. Dodge calls their package
Ramcharger, while Plymouth calls
their virtually identical version Super
Stock.
Instantly, the 413 MoPar with 420
horsepower stuffed into what was considered
then a teeny car. becomes a terror
on the street. lt also snatches the –
title of King of the Street away f rom the
Corvette.
That’s how things stand until late’62
when Chevrolet introduces their all new
Sting Ray tor the 1963 model year.
Powered by a new 327 cubic inch motor
that develops 360 horsepower in
fuel injected trim, the Corvette regains
respectability on the street. But now a
controversy: Which is the hottest car,
the fuel injected Sting Ray or the
Ramcharger?
It takes no less a force than The
Beach Boys to capture this perennial
street conflict for generations. They
immortalize the battle of 1962 in their
record. Shutdown, which chronicles a
street race between a 41 3 Super Stock
Dodge and a fuel injected Sting Ray.
Here’s the way they tell it:
It happened on the strip where the
road is wide,
