The Hemi Boomerang

This 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II Left Its Original Owner’s Grasp Years Ago, but Never Left Town. Now It’s Back in His Hands Again!

- Brian Lohnes

It all began with a simple magazine article for Massachusetts native and resident Dennis Geniuch. As a gainfully employed 22-year-old mechanic at a local Mobil station he was reading his monthly copy of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine when he happened upon a story about the then-new street Hemi cars that Chrysler was selling. In the story, guys like Ronnie Sox took turns flogging the mighty Hemi car against all comers and beating them into a pulp. The 1966 Belvedere II coupe really caught his eye.

As someone who was already an avid drag racer, hammering a tri-power—equipped 1960 Pontiac, Dennis knew exactly what that Hemi car could be on the strip: all conquering. Like in many life situations there were complications though.

“My wife and I had just gotten back from our honeymoon,” Dennis said with a laugh. “I read this story and really wanted to get my hands on one of those cars so I was telling her that since we were married we did not need a big Pontiac and we should get something a little smaller. That was kind of my angle on the car.” The other problem was that local dealers were dry when it came to the new, hot, Hemi machines. “My brother-in-law worked for the electric company at the time and he traveled all over the state,” Dennis explained. “He came to me one day and told me that there was a car dealer in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with 12 Hemi cars on the lot. It did not take us long to get up there to see what they had.