Super Stock A990 Plymouth

An orange and white ’65 Plymouth two-door will instantly excite a Mopar fan such as myself. It’s the iconic images of the California Flash that instantly come to mind when I see this hulk of a Belvedere on eBay, and even more so after reading the hallowed A990 code in the seller’s ad. Right off the bat you’re thinking this is a Holy Grail car, the stuff of muscle car lore, but all is not exactly as it seems, clearly evident when you see that the auction closed with a winning bid of just $9,999. So what’s the scoop on this one? Let’s dig in.

Well the HEMI was hot for 1964, and Chrysler decided to make a good thing even better for 1965. The serious Stock racer could option the A990 version of the otherwise unassuming Dodge Coronet or Plymouth Belvedere, which bagged you a 426 ci HEMI with 12.5:1 compression, a new solid-lifter cam, aluminum cylinder heads and loads of special lightweight goodies. Thin-gauge steel was used to lighten the cars, as the NHRA’s rules changed after 1964 outlawing lightweight fiberglass and aluminum panels. Special lightweight Corning glass was used for the side windows, and all seam sealers and undercoatings were removed from the cars as Chrysler was cutting every once possible. Just 101 Dodges and 102 Plymouths rolled off the Lynch Road line to meet the production requirements with the NHRA… read more >