The 426 Hemi lump is in my opinion the best engine ever built. It was originally strictly a racing engine Its over 40 years old and was developing over 550 bhp in standard factory trim ( although Dodge, chrysler and plymouth M.O.P.A.R quoted 425 bhp for insurance and safety reasons ) back in the 60's it was untouchable. A good 440 running a 6 pack would keep up with one till about 80mph and then the 426 would leave it for dead.
When the 426 Hemi was introduced in 1964, it was strictly a racing engine. On February 23 of that year, four Hemi-powered Mopars swept the Daytona 500, finishing 1-2-3-4. This single event caught the racing world by surprise and eventually prompted NASCAR to impose stricter production rules on Chrysler. Instead of producing only a few blueprinted Hemi motors each production year, they would instead have to produce several thousand and sell them in "ordinary" production vehicles. Fortunately, Chrysler didn't throw in the towel on the hemi after this (although they did sit out the 1965 season), and the end result was the slightly detuned street hemi which first appeared in 1966 B-body Dodges and Plymouths.
The Deuce coupe on the vid is running an A833 4 speed gearbox with Hurst 4 speed pistol grip ( optional in MOPARS as in standard trim they were fitted with the TorqueFlite automatic gearbox ) and a 426 Hemi ( hemi stands for hemispherical combustion chambers ) with a triple carb set up ( 6 pack )
The 426 Hemi was fitted in The Dodge Charger / Dodge Dart / Plymouth Superbird / Plymouth Barracuda + lots more inc Chrysler models as well.
