What an excellent bonus that the best car channel on TH-cam features a premium shop that specializes in Mopars and is run by a Chrysler nut. Thank you so much.
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!!!
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.
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!
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.
The 426 Max Wedge🤤 The Engineers and designers at Chrysler at that time are so under rated! They really had performance first and foremost in their minds💓 Another fantastic build Nick👌👍 Kali mera from Melbourne Australia 😊
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
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 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!"
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.
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....
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......
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
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!
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.
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!
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.
Good afternoon Nick and George. Wow a Max Wedge with a Cross Ram intake manifold. I've been waiting to see this engine finished, and run on the Dyno. Max Wedge eye candy on Nick's Garage, awesome!!. Here we go!
Thanks Eugene. We have good news and bad news for you. Good news is, the engine is finished.. bad news, you will have to wait until next week for the dyno video. But it is coming!
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
@@NicksGarage I recently watched an interview with Big Daddy and he talked about The Greek. Have you ever met Karamesines? (I also found out that my granddaughter was born on Garlit's 90th bday last year. That sure makes this old Mopar man very happy.)
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.
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.
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 👍
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.
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 🙏
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.
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.
Hi Nicks Garage and all staff ,I am a mechanic Nick but I had never seen a manifold like the wedge before, but by looking at the manifold it looks like it would be very efficient, so why didn't Ford or general motors try that system? I had a charger back in the day it was a 265 hemi with triples I actually thought that was called a six pack.
Beautiful engine nick! I know that the modern Max Wedge castings are somewhat better, but the dyno will lie to you without thorough tuning and mods. the old ones needed internal dams added, and one I knew of was a husband and wife team called "Keen and Keen" he built and tuned most of it, and his wife raced it, with a Lenco trans. It and a 421 8bbl pontiac called "the surprise pontiac" at Oceola Indiana dragway in the '90s were neck and neck. The poncho had an sm420 truck 4 spd with a granny low and launched "surprisingly" hard. The "Keen and Keen" max wedge driven by Cheryl Keen was very problematic. Until they sent that intake to California for tuning, it came back cut, welded, dammed, and had 8 different jets in it. The Pontiac then got the first car length out of the hole and then Cheryl ran away and hid! About 8 car lengths! And pulling away! Incidentally, all the best drivers I have ever seen were women drivers, still true today, women drivers caught ALOT of guff back then! Cheryl dumped a freeze plug under the slicks on the high gear shift, and went fishtailing in a cloud of antifreeze thru the traps at 130 and saved it and the timing lights! That's why all welch plug style blocks are REQUIRED by NHRA to have bolted straps across them!
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.
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... ✌️✌️🤟🤟🤘🤘
The length of the intake bolts are cast right on the manifold, to long and they will hit a push rod or bottom out. Carbs are specific to what side they are on due to staggered jetting, they are mounted side ways.
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.🇨🇦👍
Hello Nick and Dan. Kowalski Challenger has been done. This Challenger woul look GREAT in the original colors.
What an excellent bonus that the best car channel on TH-cam features a premium shop that specializes in Mopars and is run by a Chrysler nut. Thank you so much.
Wow, thanks!
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!!!
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.
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!
My Best friends from High school, their dad had a ‘64 Dodge Polara with a 426 Max Wedge! That race car was a Beast!
I'm glad that you got to work on this one and give it the golden, Nick's garage touch and tune!
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.
Also special hood air induction box that opens with the carbs .was a poor man's Super Charger made for Street Use!!
Again, learning so much that I never knew from Nick.
The 426 Max Wedge🤤 The Engineers and designers at Chrysler at that time are so under rated!
They really had performance first and foremost in their minds💓
Another fantastic build Nick👌👍
Kali mera from Melbourne Australia 😊
The 60's really where a special time in automotive and aviation innovation.
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.
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
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.
That engine went from blue to Orange you glad you're at Nicks garage!!
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!"
Good evening gear heads! Love that flashlight special effect!
Can't wait to see that beautiful Max Wedge in the dyno...
Putin them inner bolts in, is scary!
Love to see what Black Diamond 💎💎 looks like
Nice paint on the max wedge
I have never seen the Dr. Frankenstien come out in Nick before.
Best of the best.
loving the intro
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.
The Mopar Maestro. That is my moniker for you Nick.
I've been a MOPAR guy since I was a kid back in 1960. Always loved the cross ram intake.
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....
A lot of people don't know that was an original opinion including the 383mag yeah!!!
nick your the best...
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......
Paw prints on the windshield at 29:04 courtesy of my cat.
Good mouser.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
Good afternoon Nick and George. Wow a Max Wedge with a Cross Ram intake manifold. I've been waiting to see this engine finished, and run on the Dyno. Max Wedge eye candy on Nick's Garage, awesome!!. Here we go!
Thanks Eugene. We have good news and bad news for you. Good news is, the engine is finished.. bad news, you will have to wait until next week for the dyno video. But it is coming!
hi Eugene.
@@NicksGarage Is it next week yet? 😁
@@NicksGarage I will be looking forward to next Monday's video. I'm very anxious to see this max wedge on the Dyno, making some serious power.
@@ericball6000 Hi Eric, hope all is well.
Hi Nick and your crew
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
446 cubes of pure Mopar insanity...Nick...make that thing sing man!
Dang.. that motor is MASSIVE..
Hello Nick beautiful regards from Greece 🇬🇷
Thanks for being here with us! 🇬🇷
I can't wait for this engine to be on the dyno! 👍😁
Could you imagine having to put this on when working on the assembly line?
@@NicksGarage I recently watched an interview with Big Daddy and he talked about The Greek. Have you ever met Karamesines? (I also found out that my granddaughter was born on Garlit's 90th bday last year. That sure makes this old Mopar man very happy.)
Nassai Kala.
Got same engine 440 , 30 over. with 413 heads in the 67 Coronet... Twin Edelbrock 500's.,⚡💥👍🏼
chryslers are junk
MOPAR Forever!
George!! That intro with light was soooo cool.
Thanks, Nick. This is such a cool Engine!!
Glad you liked it!
Them caps that go in there on that cross ram look just like the small bung from a oil drum
Holy smokes that's a beautiful engine! I love that Hemi Orange😎👍
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.
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.
Very exciting to see your first cross ram, can't wait to see the dyno run!
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 👍
That engine looks like a piece of jewelry in your engine room.
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)
Another interesting show agian, from Nick (kowalski) & all the crew
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.
Linkage is fun.. balancing carbs is the cherry on top 😁👍🏼
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.
Bondhus makes a series of "Pro-Hold" hex bits with a small plastic insert that holds socket head cap screws on the bit..
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 🙏
Anxious to see the dyno results.
I never knew how those cross rams were bolted on ! Thanks for this video!👍👍🤗
Evenin Mr Nick! Have a Great week!
Thanks, you too!
Very nice episode reminds me of graveyard Carz show that you save on TV
I saw you with your old school challenger and your hellcat on the track wow.
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.
That is one wacky wedge awesome
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
440 Max Wedge I like the sound of that!! Great idea 👍
Right on! To the max!
Love to see a man doing what he loves!!
I remember seeing that car in the movie's love the old Challengers
That engine is going to be awesome! Another Kowalski Holy cow can't wait on it...
Awesome, I always wanted to see one of those put together !
I've only seen the intake by themselves.
Another awesome Project. Great work Nick as always and also George for a great produced video 👍
What a beautiful Max Wedge paint job eye popping color .....Thanks Nick bye for now
Maybe Kowalski DID make it to San Francisco - looking forward to this build !!
I've heard about these but now thanks to Nick I can actually see one!
You are amazing Nick!
We built a lump port in line 6 chevy that the head bolts went through the heads with pipe plugs covers .
love Nick....would love to vaca up there
Really looking forward to this engine's dyno test.
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.
THE 426 MAX WEDGE IS ALIVE AND WELL IN 2023!!!!!
That cross ram is like a bucket I wonder what sort of cfm it would flow...very interesting thanks nick
Love the look of cross ram intakes. Great engine detailing work Nick.
TOTALLY AAWSOME VIDEO NICK!!!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!! A MUST WATCH!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks Nick. I've been waiting for this. I have a 64 Max Wedge III
Another work of art. Yes, they did make all that power N/A...amazing, and you keep bringing them back Nick.
Hi Nicks Garage and all staff ,I am a mechanic Nick but I had never seen a manifold like the wedge before, but by looking at the manifold it looks like it would be very efficient, so why didn't Ford or general motors try that system? I had a charger back in the day it was a 265 hemi with triples I actually thought that was called a six pack.
George another great intro on Nick's Garage. You are making some great videos . Excellent work !!!
Glad you like them! Thanks Sarge.
I like the paint on that Challenger
Great news. Cheers guys 👍
You bet!
The cross ram looks so menacing, lots of personality! Thank you Nick and George. This is a fun build. Dyno sounds soon!! 👍😃
Beautiful engine nick! I know that the modern Max Wedge castings are somewhat better, but the dyno will lie to you without thorough tuning and mods. the old ones needed internal dams added, and one I knew of was a husband and wife team called "Keen and Keen" he built and tuned most of it, and his wife raced it, with a Lenco trans. It and a 421 8bbl pontiac called "the surprise pontiac" at Oceola Indiana dragway in the '90s were neck and neck. The poncho had an sm420 truck 4 spd with a granny low and launched "surprisingly" hard. The "Keen and Keen" max wedge driven by Cheryl Keen was very problematic. Until they sent that intake to California for tuning, it came back cut, welded, dammed, and had 8 different jets in it. The Pontiac then got the first car length out of the hole and then Cheryl ran away and hid! About 8 car lengths! And pulling away! Incidentally, all the best drivers I have ever seen were women drivers, still true today, women drivers caught ALOT of guff back then! Cheryl dumped a freeze plug under the slicks on the high gear shift, and went fishtailing in a cloud of antifreeze thru the traps at 130 and saved it and the timing lights! That's why all welch plug style blocks are REQUIRED by NHRA to have bolted straps across them!
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.
Another favorite motor Nick thanks for sharing bud have a great Tuesday morning and day sir
Shop looks nicely filled!
What a pleasure it must be to come to work everyday 🙂
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... ✌️✌️🤟🤟🤘🤘
The length of the intake bolts are cast right on the manifold, to long and they will hit a push rod or bottom out. Carbs are specific to what side they are on due to staggered jetting, they are mounted side ways.
Awesome Nick I’ve been in some cars with that motor brings back great memories good Old 70s
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?