392 vs. 426
Due to my close relationship with Chrysler, I was well aware of the development work on the new 426 Hemi long before it was public knowledge. Prior to the release of the engine, Chrysler sent me five complete crated Hemis. Swamp Rat VIII was the first 426 car we ran, and Connie Swingle was driving for me at the time. We struggled for two years with the 426 and couldn’t get out of the 8-second zone at 192 mph. Conversely, people who were running the old 392 were in the mid-7s at 214 by now. We weren’t the only ones having the problem; the Ramchargers, and just about everyone else, were locked in the 8s struggling with the 426. With the 392, you ran 34 degrees of timing; 35 degrees would burn a cylinder, so we were running the 426 at 34 degrees, just like the 392.
In 1966, we were racing at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio, and could only run 190 mph. On our way to the next race at Rockford, Illinois, I made up my mind to run the engine at 40 degrees, blow it up, and put a 392 back into the car. At 40 degrees, the car went 7.55 at 214. I figured I’d go to 50 degrees and grenade it for sure—it went 7.40 at 219! We had found that the secret to the 426 was fuel volume and lots of spark advance. With the stock Chrysler aluminum heads, we went 6.77 at 222 mph; with worked heads, a Keith Black 3/8-inch stroker crank and 30 percent blower drive, we could run 6.15 at 243. We were showing 1,600-1,700 hp and turning the motor in excess of 8,000 rpm, and we were still using the stock block, exhaust valves, and rocker arms and shafts.
—Don Garlits, abridged from Mopar Muscle, Vol. 1, No. 2
Due to my close relationship with Chrysler, I was well aware of the development work on the new 426 Hemi long before it was public knowledge. Prior to the release of the engine, Chrysler sent me five complete crated Hemis. Swamp Rat VIII was the first 426 car we ran, and Connie Swingle was driving for me at the time. We struggled for two years with the 426 and couldn’t get out of the 8-second zone at 192 mph. Conversely, people who were running the old 392 were in the mid-7s at 214 by now. We weren’t the only ones having the problem; the Ramchargers, and just about everyone else, were locked in the 8s struggling with the 426. With the 392, you ran 34 degrees of timing; 35 degrees would burn a cylinder, so we were running the 426 at 34 degrees, just like the 392.
In 1966, we were racing at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio, and could only run 190 mph. On our way to the next race at Rockford, Illinois, I made up my mind to run the engine at 40 degrees, blow it up, and put a 392 back into the car. At 40 degrees, the car went 7.55 at 214. I figured I’d go to 50 degrees and grenade it for sure—it went 7.40 at 219! We had found that the secret to the 426 was fuel volume and lots of spark advance. With the stock Chrysler aluminum heads, we went 6.77 at 222 mph; with worked heads, a Keith Black 3/8-inch stroker crank and 30 percent blower drive, we could run 6.15 at 243. We were showing 1,600-1,700 hp and turning the motor in excess of 8,000 rpm, and we were still using the stock block, exhaust valves, and rocker arms and shafts.
—Don Garlits, abridged from Mopar Muscle, Vol. 1, No. 2
