Introduced for the 1966 model year, the iconic 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 remained in production until 1971. Officially rated at 425 horsepower, the Street HEMI found its way into a dozen Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, creating some of the most desirable rigs from the golden era.
But despite its somewhat production cycle, the 426 HEMI was built in low numbers. Specifically, Chrysler fitted only 8,921 vehicles with the beefed-up big-block V8. That’s fewer than 1,500 per year on average, which makes the mill super rare and expensive nowadays.
What are the most common HEMI cars based on production output? The 1968 Plymouth Road Runner was the most popular in the day, finding 840 customers. The 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda hardtop is the second one, with 652 units made, while the 1966 Belvedere II comes in third, with 531 examples built.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have rarer cars than hen’s teeth. And most of them are convertibles. The 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T drop-top is the rarest HEMI, with only one car produced, while the 1966 Coronet four-door sedan and 1967 Coronet R/T convertible spawned two examples each. Then there’s the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Convertible with three built and the 1970 Dodge Superbee coupe with four made.
As for nameplates, regardless of model year, the Satellite is the rarest, with 27 units built. It’s followed by the 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Super Stock with 50 examples and the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona with 70 cars made. The two-digit list is rounded off by the 1968 Dodge Dart Super Stock, of which 80 were built.
What’s the most common, then? Well, the Road Runner is the only one that surpassed 2,000 units across all these years. If we also include the Superbird here, production of the most common HEMI sits at 2,141 examples, which is about 24% of the total output. Only two more nameplates exceeded the 1,000-unit mark: the Charger at 1,507 vehicles and the Coronet at 1,276.
The latter was among the first Mopars to get the HEMI for the 1966 model year. And unlike other Dodges and Plymouths, the Coronet HEMI came in an unusually high number of trims in 1966. The list included hardtop and convertible models, two-door sedans, and the 400 and 500 designation. Dodge even built a pair of four-door rigs with the 426 HEMI.
All told Dodge sold 740 HEMI Coronets in 1966, the nameplate’s most successful year. In 1967, however, deliveries dwindled to only 61 units, which makes this model-year Coronet among the rarest HEMI cars ever produced. The black example you see here is one of those cars.
While it’s not one of only two drop-tops sold that year, this mean-looking hardtop is a rare sight thanks to its four-speed gearbox. That’s because only 28 HEMI Coronets were ordered with the manual transmission in 1967. And needless to say, this one is probably the only one with a black-on-black color combo.
But that’s not the only spectacular thing about this Mopar. It’s also one of those rare, unmolested, and unrestored survivors. Maybe “unrestored” is a bit of a stretch since the paint has been touched up in places over the years, but most of the coating is still factory-original.
How does a car like this end up looking so fine without restoration after more than 50 years? Well, it was babied since day one and spent a few years in storage after the previous owner passed away. And even though it’s a whopping 56 years old as of 2023, it’s been driven for only 31,000 miles (49,890 km). Naturally, it runs and drives as it should, and it sounds downright fantastic.
With restored examples selling for as much as $150,000, this unmolested Coronet is likely worth more than $200,000. It’s not for sale, though, so all you can do is hit the play button below and enjoy a detailed walkaround of what could be the finest unrestored 1967 HEMI Coronet R/T out there.