Mike Renteria Sr.’s 1964 Dodge 330 makes 800hp out of a 496ci big block Mopar wedge motor, gets driven and shown regularly, and belongs to a man who is 70 years old. The stance hints at an aggressive vibe, but there’s no gawdy junk calling out “crazy fast.”

It took Mike’s sons Tom, Sean, and Mike Jr. three years to completely build the car. There’s not one piece of fakeness on it anywhere. The whole thing is steel and has factory glass in it. This is no flyweight.

There’s something that will always be cool about a car that keeps its factory looks and packs huge power. Graphic paint jobs never stand the test of time, but this car will never look out of style.

By 1964 Dodge had made a name for itself on the drag strips of America. One of the more famous ’64 racers was the car of Bud Faubel names the “Hemi Honker.” These were popular cars, and because this was the first year of a restyle, they sold like hot cakes. More than 76,000 330 models were sold in 1964. Factory shipping weight was 3270 pounds.

The ’68 Hemi scoop looks killer on the ’64.

Here’s the heart of the beast. It’s 496ci and 800hp worth of Mopar big-block. The engine was built by, you guessed it, the Renteria boys, and they did the old man proud. Starting with a 4340 steel crank the brothers spec’d out Clevite bearings, Eagle connecting rods, and Weisco Pistons with Zero Gap rings. A Milodon pan serves oil to an Indy pump. The cam drive is from Indy and it spins a Lunati cam that’s moving Crane lifters and Manton push rods. Harland Sharp rockers and LSM springs work to actuate a set of Victory valves (both intake and exhaust) that are housed in Indy cylinder heads. A Davinci prepared Dominator sits on the Indy intake. The setup is good for 7,000 rpm through the traps at the drags.

Backing the engine is a 727 transmission customer built by Billy Neves at Pro Trans that’s packing a 3,800 stall Spec-Rite converter.

A BG pump moves the fuel to an Aeromotive R2D2 regulator.

The motor sports an Aerospace vacuum pump to aid in sealing the rings.

The headers are from TTi.

The Dodge uses a Chris Alston A-Arm front suspension. Check the neat tabs and mounting brackets for this setup. Neat and clean. The Alston kit uses the stock dodge spindles with rack and pinion steering. The wheels are 15-inch Rallyes. The front tires are 235/60-15 Dunlops while the rears are 29.5x12.5-15s. Rear suspension is an Alston ladder bar setup and uses a Ford 9” rear end packed with 4.11 gears and Strange axles. Koni spings and shock are used in the rear as well. The car has four wheel disc brakes and it should hauling down the all-steel dodge is no small feat.

We know you are all over the notch in the bench to fit the shifter. If it weren’t for that and the roll bar (made of 1 5/8 mild steel tube) in the car the interior would be factory perfect for a 1964 model. The shade of red literally jumps off the screen at you.

Interior styling is minimalist, but clean. Note the radio delete plate.

The modified seat is worth a closer look. You can really get an appreciation for a good upholstery guy when you see work like this. The B&M Pro Ratchet shifter is in perfect reach of the Mike Sr. so he can bang his way through the gears on the street or strip.

Check out the quality work on the rollbar that the boys fabricated. The hoop is tucked nicely up as close to the roof and sides of the body as they could get it, the down bars are also nicely bent. The backseat is a nice thing to look at but not exactly comfy with all that steel tubing back there.

Aircraft switches are cool.