Unique Discoveries

Quite a number of interesting details have surfaced while the car was being disassembled in preparation for restoration. The following items are unusual because even though the car clearly carries a Street Hemi VIN# it came off the assembly line with deletions only seen with factory Race Cars. We will update the website periodically to post new findings as they surface so be sure to visit often to learn more.

The car was ordered radio and heater delete, no radio, no antenna, no heater, no heater ducting, and no blower motor, only a steel or plastic delete plate over the various holes respectively, and no hole in the passenger front fender for an antenna.

The car was ordered with no body sound deadener; this means it received zero undercoating in any area of the car, not even in the wheel well areas which was standard with any Street Hemi car.

The car was windshield & back glass sealant delete (which was not a deletable option), just a rubber gasket with the windshield and back glass installed with the overlaid stainless steel trim, no sticky sealer to prevent leaks. This was very unusual because even later 1967 RO23 factory race cars (built as a run of 55 factory race cars in the spring of 1967)  which were also seam sealer delete cars, did in fact receive the sticky liquid sealant in the windshield and back glass surround.

The car was seam sealer delete meaning it lacked all sealant between the various sheet metal panels after welding, something not found in Street Hemi cars.

It received no sound deadening felt pad above the head liner. Again, very unusual because the 1967 RO23 factory race cars, which were also sound deadener delete cars, received the pad under the headliner anyway.

Most Belvedere I sedans, being base model cars, received a rubber floor mat in place of carpeting, but in 1967 there was no rubber matt pattern for a 4 speed car so it received a carpet set with no jute backing. Two of the original date coded tags were still under the carpet when it was removed and photographed proving its originality.

Unlike any other Street Hemi car, the battery was originally mounted in the trunk, much like a factory 1964 Max Wedge car. In the course of disassembly the original negative battery cable was found attached to the underside of the trunk floor.

When the body was being media stripped crayon markings were uncovered on the bare steel panels. There were 3 clearly visible hand written words located on the top rear half of the transmission tunnel, these were added before the car was painted, only careful paint removal revealed them. The words read "Hemi Race Sed" ("Sed" short for Sedan no doubt). Also, near the rear wheel house near the trunk floor to wheel tub seem was another note with an arrow that said “Repair”, probably made to call out a serious daylight gap between the trunk floor panel edge and the wheel tub, there was probably an obvious gap due to the lack of seem sealer typically covering such voids. Keeping in mind that this car was VIN’d as a normal Street Hemi made these notations very unique and unusual.

Found under the original carpeting was this "Hemi Engine" fender tag. These tags were often affixed to the bare unit body using a small wire, generally up near the window frame area before the body was sent down the production line. This tag informed line workers that they needed to add the Hemi specific chassis reinforcment plates, pinion snubber plates, and torque boxes before the car continued on to paint. After paint the tag was pulled off and discarded, sometimes it was just tossed into the interior and hidden by the carpet as in this case.