1966 Plymouth Satellite 426 Hemi

In 1966 Chrysler began selling the legendary 426 hemi engine in its mid-side cars. The hemi, so-called because of its hemispherical cylinder heads, was rated at 425 horsepower; in reality it was closer to 500.

For about $1,000, or about $7,800 in 2018 money the buyer of this otherwise plain-jane Satellite got the most powerful engine ever made, upgraded suspension and police-grade drum brakes. Sounds like a bargain to me!

Chrysler did offer disc brakes in 1966, but did not make them available on "smaller" cars like the Satellite. Also, buying the 426 did not require you to buy power steering, but driving this car without it would have been pretty much impossible. I'm led to understand that the 426 was sold with only a 90-day warranty - the assumption was that anyone buying it would take it straight to the race track.

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