His father, Harry Baker, ran Harry Baker Motors, a small but successful Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Newton, Kansas. He was in the Army Air Force during WWII and was a ball turret gunner aboard a B-17. That was one of the most vulnerable positions on the aircraft, but he made it through thirty combat missions over Germany without a scratch. Right after the war ended, Dad came home, started selling cars in 1946, and married his sweetheart.
The 426 Race Hemi was huge news in 1964. To launch it, Chrysler Corp. built approximately 50 Dodge lightweight sedans, 12 steel-nose hardtops, and this 440-series station wagon. It was first campaigned by son of the President of the Mopar parts division, and Dodge Vice President
At the 1964 NHRA Indy Nationals it won B/FX, the A, B, and C Factory Experimental rules did not require quantity production. They only called for the use of approved factory-sourced parts, which could be mixed and matched at will by factory engineers.
The race-ready wagon was sold to Harry Baker Motors before the end of the 1964 season.
Full story and gallery at http://www.hotrod.com/articles/factory-built-64-hemi-wagon-really-happened/
