06/15/2026
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Before the 426 HEMI became the most feared engine in drag racing. Before the Max Wedge terrorized every stoplight in America. There was the 413.
The Chrysler 413 cubic-inch Wedge V8 was part of the RB engine family, the Raised Block series that gave Chrysler its big-block architecture for the late 1950s and 1960s. Introduced in the late 1950s, the 413 used wedge-shaped combustion chambers instead of the hemispherical chambers from Chrysler's earlier HEMI engines. The wedge design was a deliberate trade-off: it gave up some of the HEMI's theoretical breathing advantage in exchange for better production efficiency, lower manufacturing cost, and reliability that held up under sustained high performance. The result was an engine that could be built in volume, sold to the public, and raced on weekends without requiring a team of specialists to keep it alive.
The 413's robust bottom end and generous displacement made it a natural platform for high performance. The engine's breathing characteristics were excellent for a wedge-chamber design, and Chrysler's engineers knew exactly how to exploit them.
The key was the intake system. Chrysler developed Ram Induction and cross-ram intake manifolds that used long intake runners and dual four-barrel carburetors to maximize cylinder filling. The long runners created a ram effect at specific engine speeds, essentially using the momentum of the incoming air-fuel charge to pack more mixture into the cylinders than atmospheric pressure alone could deliver. The cross-ram setup placed the carburetors on opposite sides of the engine, with each carburetor feeding the cylinders on the far side through long, tuned runners that crossed over the top of the engine.
With dual four-barrel carburetors on a cross-ram manifold, the 413 produced power numbers that made it a dominant force in early 1960s drag racing and stock car competition. Dodge and Plymouth both used the 413 in their most formidable performance cars. On the drag strip, 413-powered Mopars were among the quickest factory cars available. In stock car racing, the 413's torque and durability made it competitive over long distances at high speeds.
The 413 Wedge was the engine that taught Chrysler how to win. The lessons learned with the 413 fed directly into what came next. The Max Wedge program took the 413 architecture, increased displacement to 426 cubic inches, and pushed the performance further with higher compression, bigger valves, and more aggressive cam profiles. The Max Wedge dominated drag racing in 1962 and 1963. And when even the Max Wedge wasn't enough, Chrysler went back to hemispherical combustion chambers and created the 426 HEMI in 1964, the engine that changed everything.
But none of that happens without the 413. It was the proving ground. The engine that demonstrated Chrysler could compete with Chevrolet's big-blocks and Ford's FE engines in both displacement and engineering creativity. The cross-ram intake system alone was an innovation that showed Chrysler's willingness to think differently about how to make power.
The RB block architecture that the 413 established continued through the 440 cubic-inch engines that powered Chrysler's muscle cars well into the 1970s. The same basic block design, refined and enlarged, served Dodge and Plymouth for nearly two decades. When enthusiasts talk about Mopar's big-block heritage, they're talking about a lineage that starts with the 413.
Today, the 413 Wedge is respected among Mopar enthusiasts as the engine that started Chrysler's golden era of factory racing. Not as famous as the HEMI, not as feared as the Max Wedge, but the foundation that both were built on. Without the 413 proving that Chrysler could compete, the HEMI might never have been approved.
Before the HEMI legend, there was the 413 Wedge. The engine that laid the foundation for Mopar's horsepower empire.
