WHITE ELEPHANT: 1964 Dodge Polara Convertible With Cross Ram 426 Ci Under The Hood

But circumstances intervened. Greg sold the engine to help in the restoration of an original aluminum lightweight ’64 Hemi Savoy being completed by Richard Boeye of Denver. Now without its engine the project was stalled. Greg decided to sell the car to longtime friend Steve Hagberg of nearby Berthoud, Colorado knowing that it would be completed as he had intended all along. So the car was taken from long term storage and the restoration began. Time had not been kind to the 10 year old paint, so the car was refinished with single-stage urethane, to simulate the original synthetic enamel finish (for which 1964 was the last year).

Additionally the engine compartment, trunk and underside of the car were stripped and refinished as original. Once the paint and body work were completed in early December 2013 an intense and detailed restoration was begun.

The amount of original and new replacement parts cover virtually every area of the car including the entire brake, suspension, electrical, fuel system, interior, convertible top, newly rebuilt crossram Hemi engine, 727 Torque-Flite transmission and complete TTi exhaust system. To list all the areas where parts for a correct Hemi steel-nosed car were used would be nearly impossible, but the photos speak for themselves. Such things as the reverse pattern shifter buttons, heater delete, blower switch delete, radio delete, trunk mounted battery, correct Prestolite ignition harness, NOS Carter 3861 carbs with choke cables, original air cleaner, and many more items were included.

Steve notes that the car was not meant to be a 100% correct restoration but something as reasonably close without spending obscene money. An example is that the red plug wires are the closest thing out there to the original burnt orange steel core Packard wires that came on the car when new. Finding a set today could set you back $1,000.
Likewise for the exhaust. An original set of pipes could run up to $10,000 and they were terrible from a performance standpoint. Just like the Max Wedge exhaust, when corked they would reduce output by almost 100 HP on the 1964 cars.

The car still stands as a representative tribute to the anniversary of arguably the most iconic factory race engine of our time. But this one was built to be driven, enjoyed and still turn heads with its clean top down convertible lines that remind us of a time when the Ramchargers ruled the drag strip in Super Stock, and the dawn of the Funny Car age was about to begin. But don’t think this is just another trailer queen or poser. Because under the hood lurks 610 horsepower of the “Legend” … still up and ready for action.