1964 Mopar - Build A Max Wedge For Under Seven Grand

Superior's Scott Emley says, "As long as it passes the usual Magnaflux check, the cast-iron 440 crank is reliable up to 600 naturally aspirated horsepower." And at 67 pounds it weighs 20 percent less than a forged crank, thus cutting rotating mass. But due to the softer journal material (versus a forged crank), regular Clevite 77 bearings are preferred over harder HP-series Clevite bearings so that the bearings take the wear, not the crank. Superior chamfered all oil holes and set oil clearances at 0.0025 for the mains and rods.

OK, here's the crux of the story. The bottom head is a virgin '64 Stage III Max Wedge 518 casting. It's worth about two grand. Notice how much larger the intake ports are compared to our standard 452 wedge casting. The Maxie's exhaust ports are also about 20 percent larger. But it's an established fact that an untouched 452 head can legitimately support 1 hp/ci. We're here to say the standard wedge head is plenty good for hot street and strip use. Notice the Maxie's lack of a heat crossover passage.

While original Max Wedges used solid flat-tappet camshafts, we chose an Isky 292 Mega hydraulic flat tappet (installed straight up at 106 degrees) with a JP Performance double-roller billet timing set. Why the juice cam? Because the passenger-side Max Wedge exhaust manifold prevents in-car valve cover removal for lash adjustment. A solid cam would also force the replacement of our dirt-cheap, stock, stamped-steel rocker arms with pricey adjustable models. Safety wire and thread-locking compound keep it all in place.