Scott’s 1966 Coronet Deluxe is one of the 18 equipped with the Street Hemi and TorqueFlite automatic. Total Engine Service machined the 426
block, and Scott assembled the engine. The Hemi head design locates the spark plug at the top of the hemispherical combustion chamber for a
more efficient lighting of the air/fuel mixture. The intake and exhaust valves are located on either side of the chamber, which increases the effi-
ciency of combustion and crossflow. It makes big power.
HAMMERIN’ HEMI
Scott spent hours fastidiously restoring the
OE appearance of the engine compartment.
All factory wiring, engine paint, and metal fin-
ishes are as delivered from Dodge.
The ballast resistor can sometimes be a
pain in the neck for Mopar guys. Scott came
up with this simple bypass, which looks
tongue-in-cheek slick in the otherwise facto-
ry-appearing engine compartment. When the 1966 Coronet Deluxe was de-
livered from the factory to Mr. Norm’s, it
received the famous Mr. Norm’s dyno tune.
Current owner Scott did the drag-race tune on
the 426 Street Hemi that propelled the car to a
stout 11.67 e.t. down the quarter-mile.58 SEPTEMBER 2019
AT A GLANCE
1966 CORONET DELUXE
Owned by: Scott Dahlberg, Minneapolis, MN
Restored by: Owner; Total Engine Service,
Minneapolis, MN
Engine: 426ci/425hp (rated) Hemi V-8
Transmission: TorqueFlite 727 3-speed auto.
Rearend: 8¾ with 4.30 gears and Sure Grip
Exterior Color: LL-1 Dark Turquoise Poly
Interior: Turquoise bench seat
Wheels: 14x5.5 steel front, 15x7 steel rear
Tires: 7.75x14 Blue Line Coker Tire front, J60-15
M&H Racemaster rearand beaten him in an acceleration testing
exercise. Lou was not happy, so he called
Mr. Norm and asked, “What’s the fastest
car you got on your lot?” Mr. Norm told Lou
about a little Hemi Coronet Deluxe post car
that he had taken in on a trade. In his view,
it was the fastest car on the lot.
Convinced, Lou flew down to Chicago,
bought the Coronet, and made the 400-
mile drive back to Mankato. The 4.56 gears
and bellowing exhaust likely made Lou’s
experience memorable, to put it mildly.
Lou then found the guy with the Camaro,
entered into a friendly acceleration com-
petition, handily defrocked the Camaro kid,
and convincingly regained his title as king
of the streets. We only report the facts.The Coronet quickly morphed to race
car status. Lou added a fiberglass hood-
scoop, lace paint, “Hammerin Hemi” letter-
ing, and numerous performance parts. He
raced the Hemi Coronet until 1972, when
he purchased a Road Runner to replace
the Dodge. He later sold the Coronet, and
it probably changed hands a second time
over the ensuing 10 years.
In the early 1980s, Scott Dahlberg saw
an ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for
a 1966 Coronet rolling chassis drag car.
Upon inspection, Scott not only confirmed
it to be a true Hemi car with a clean title,
but that it had the original fender tag, all
original sheetmetal, original glass and
chrome, and a mere 15,000 original miles.