1966 Plymouth Satellite HP2, “Big Iron One”

This whole thing started with Richard Petty dominating NASCAR in 1964 with his bright blue Plymouth and a brand-new motor, the 426 HEMI. It caught Ford and Chevy off-guard to the point of protest. “Big Bill” France, the owner of NASCAR, responded by banning the motor, citing the fact that Chrysler didn't offer this motor in any of their regular production models available for sale to the public. Chrysler boycotted the 1965 race season
in protest and hatched a plan. So, Ford can't stand competing with the
HEMI on the racetrack, we will make them compete with it on the showroom floors to! In 1966 a slightly detuned solid-lifter 426 street HEMI was offered by Plymouth, in much the same body as Petty used to mop up the competition in the 1964 Grand National Series. The first 50 cars were badged with an unassuming “HP2” moniker on each front fender. The only tell that the fire breathing 426 HEMI lurked under the hood stood on the hood ornament, facing the driver, reminding him of what his car was made of. Some say HP2 stands for “Hemi Powered Plymouth”. Other's state the Tom Hoover, father this second generation HEMI, meant it to designate the Hemi Heads and the two Dual-Quad Carburetors, HP-squared. Because, every high-performance car on the market worthwhile had a multiple carb setup.
No matter the case, this HP2 solved a very pressing problem for its first owner, Ray “Big Iron” Scoggins.

“Big Iron” Scoggins was an over the road truck driver during the week and a race car driver during the weekends. Ray even held an AHRA world record in his class for 17 years. In January of 1966, we went hunting for an
A990 4-speed and ordered one from Hervey Motors in his hometown of Corsicana, Texas. Then the bad news came. Hervey told him the factory placed a hold on manual shift cars and he could only get an automatic.
That just wouldn't do for Ray. So, Hervey Motors went to work finding a
suitable replacement. They found one in this 1966 Plymouth Satellite HP2, 4-speed. An HP2, “Hemi Powered Plymouth” seem to fit the bill for Mr.
Scoggins. One catch, it was in Lubbock, Texas 389 miles away. Hervey Motors offered to send a driver down and go get the car. Ray wouldn't have it stating, “No one but me is going to drive my car.” So, he and his bother-in-law drove truck and trailer six hours, in the snow, to pick up the car. The original title reflects an original purchase date of February 25th, 1966.

Ray went right to work prepping the car for his favorite Super Stock class, which thankfully, did NOT require or allow modifying the rear wheel tubs. The original motor was immediately set aside, as was the rear seat, carpeting, and console. Ray was great friends with Dick Landy and naturally installed a Landy Dual Plug Pro Stock HEMI. They used a huge wooden crate to ship engines and parts back and forth between Big Iron and Dandy Dick featured a top that had Ray's address on one side and Dick's address on the other. When they shipped engines and parts back and forth, they simply flipped the lid and sent in the opposite direction. Once fully prepped this '66 HP2 became “Big Iron One” and until a rule change forced it out, dominated the AHRA Super Stock class. After a year and half, the car was simply parked.

In 1993, Big Iron One, along with another car and a king-sized cache vintage Mopar racing parts passed to the second caretaker. Most everything that came off the car brand new to prep it for its first race was still around. The back seat, the carpets, the console, even the original air cleaner with the original filter was sitting in the shop rafters. Of course, the original motor was still sitting on a stand.
Showing less than 5,000 miles on the odometer, it didn't take long to realize how remarkably intact and original this HP2 was. So, he spent the next 25 years methodically sourcing what NOS and original parts were still missing. Fast forward to 2018, the car changes hands again as a restoration in progress. Legendary restorer and early B-Body expert, Jim Drain, was tapped complete the project.

Jim Drain, if you don't know already, is the foremost expert when it comes to first generation “shoe box” B-body HEMI cars. If you have ever restored one, you probably bought parts from him. He took special care in restoring this one, breaking out some of the NOS goodies that he's held close for decades. This car was that case, his last and ultimate
restoration. We saw for the first time during its debut, fully restored
and road ready for the first time in over 50 years, at the 2019 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. It was concours judged and earned 989 out of 1000 points, a Concours Gold. That is one heck of a legacy to leave- for Jim Drain, for “Big Iron” Skoggins, and for Chrysler.

Hagerty Current Value for this vehicle in #1 Concours Condition, $151,000.00