JERE'ST TRIBUTE

This 1966 Plymouth Belvedere Street Hemi is a tribute to Jere Stahl.

- JOHNNY HUNKINS

The stigma once attached to the word "clone" or "tribute" as it relates to look-alike classic muscle cars is thankfully gone. Once upon a time, a car like David Randall's '66 Plymouth Belvedere I Street Hemi might've been considered scandalous without a neon billboard stating such. These days, building a clone car is not just popular, it's considered a sign of the owner's good taste and nuanced knowledge of automotive history in this case, Mopar Street Hemi history.

If we rewind the clock to 1964, Chrysler’s Hemi was tearing up the race world with win after win with its 426ci Hemi, an engine that was only available over the counter—if you could even get one. The Hemi was a race-only affair and was never supposed to be available to the public, but then the rule of unintended consequences reared its head. NASCAR wanted nothing to do with the Hemi and gambled that Chrysler would fold its hand when told they had better offer the Hemi to the public or scram. Chrysler didn’t fold, however. Instead, they doubled-down by putting the Hemi into Plymouth and Dodge production cars—9,955 of them in a six-year period spanning 1966 to 1971. Those first Street Hemi cars of 1966 would prove to be particularly sentimental to those who remember.