1963 Lightweight Super Stockers –

This Back in the Day story makes some BIG mistakes!

Back in the Day – and evaluation proved wrong . . . oh, so very wrong.

Car Life Magazine reviewed the “lightweight” factory superstock cars for 1963 and made some observations and projections in their July issue. Unfortunately, back then, publishing lead times we quite a bit longer than today, and this article was likely written at about the time that Dodge and Plymouth were wiping the floor in Super Stock at the Nationals. Regardless, it is a great outline of the programs in place among Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and Pontiac.

As the article correctly states, Pontiac and Chevrolet started using aluminum components in their Stockers in 1962, but the practice went full-blown for the ’63 season, with first Ford, then Dodge. The trouble was, the Mopars already had a distinct weight advantage, and when they added these components, they were easily 200-300 lbs lighter. When you combine Tom Hoover’s repop of the 426 wedges to deliver more HP – the Mopars would prove untouchable.

But the author, Allen Hunt, was unaware of some of these factors. His most interesting quote in the conclusion of the article was: “Don’t put too much stock in the results of the recent NHRA Winternationals . . . It will be early summer before we can see what they really can do.” (Yes, we did see – Mopars cleaned up and basically forced Chevy, Ford, and Pontiac to shed their lightweight bodies and run in the lower classes).

But no matter, the article really details what was offered on these cars BITD – and it’s a great trip down memory lane!