Mopar enthusiast fulfills 25-year dream by installing ultra-rare cast iron Tri-Y manifolds on his one-of-five 1964 Dodge Polara 500 Max Wedge.
In a testament to dedication and Mopar passion, classic car owner Al Macdonald has completed his 1964 Dodge Polara 500 Max Wedge build with a set of ultra-rare Tri-Y exhaust manifolds—spending $20,000 to acquire the 40-pound cast iron parts that were never factory-installed but originally designed for the car.
The 1964 Dodge Polara 500 was one of just five two-door hardtops built that year with the 426-cubic-inch Max Wedge engine, a short-lived but legendary motor that helped define Chrysler’s early muscle car era. Known as the “Ramcharger” in Dodge circles, the 426 Max Wedge was a factory weapon intended for drag and oval racing dominance.
Macdonald purchased his survivor car—then showing only 9,000 miles—more than two decades ago and spent years meticulously restoring it. Though the car was complete by 2002, he knew one element was missing: the cast iron Tri-Y manifolds originally developed for NASCAR homologation before being scrapped due to a rule change.
Only a handful of these experimental manifolds survived, most being destroyed before they ever made it onto a car. When a set finally surfaced on eBay more than a decade after Macdonald began his restoration, he jumped at the chance—sending $20,000 to secure both pieces of what he considers the heart of his Max Wedge dream.
“These manifolds were what the car was meant to have. I had to make it right,” Macdonald said in a recent interview with The Story Behind the Car YouTube channel.
Now showing more than 20,000 miles on the odometer, the fully restored Polara 500 still sees regular road time. With its factory 3.91 gears and automatic transmission, Macdonald says the car remains surprisingly drivable, even with the added 80 pounds over the front end.
It may be the only Max Wedge Polara 500 in existence fitted with the elusive Tri-Ys, but for this Mopar loyalist, it’s not about the rarity—it’s about completing the car the way Chrysler originally intended.
