1965 Plymouth Satellite - Perfect Plymouth

After a career of working on Mopars, Frank Bentz finally found the ideal piece of muscle machinery in this ’65 Satellite

When you see Frank Bentz's 1965 Plymouth Satellite from a distance—even in a sea of extraordinary Mopars—it stands out like a diamond in a coal mine. Deep obsidian paint is set off by trim so bright and new, you wonder if it's a mirage shimmering in the summer sun. And then there are those body lines. As the first official year of differentiation between Chrysler's midsized B-Body and fullsized C-Body cars, Plymouth was eager to lure in buyers with its top-of-the-line intermediate Satellite, built on the 116-inch B-Body floor plan. Its faceted greenhouse has a sleek shape; its inverted C-pillar sits atop a slender body with flowing lines that move uninterrupted from front to rear. A peaked grille with a precision mesh is bookended by single headlights set in squared-off nacelles, and taken together with the body, make the futuristic statement that this '65 model is elegant, understated, and fast.

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It must have made quite an impact when it hit dealer showrooms in the fall of 1964—and it's still making an impact now, at least with those who have an affinity for early B-Bodies. For 1965, the Satellite, and its lower trimmed Belvedere I and II stablemates, had an agile, athletic appearance that later B-Bodies never quite rivaled, in spite of having similar underpinnings and outstanding aesthetics. You would be quite right back in the day to single out any of the '65 Plymouth intermediates as both a practical family transporter and a serious street performer. Back then, car buyers also understood without saying that styling was subject to yearly change, sometimes quite dramatic, so if you liked what you saw on the lot, you better shake a leg real quick. Eager to please, Plymouth offered its '65 B-Body with virtually any engine in the Chrysler lineup, save the race-only Hemi—everything from the indestructible fuel-sipping Slant-Six all the way up to the 426 Super Commando big-block wedge. (Satellites, however, were all V-8 equipped.)

Those who didn't grab one when they had the chance usually aren't lucky enough to get another chance years later, and the opportunity to get one as nice as the one shown here almost never happens. Nevertheless, such was the case in 1998 when Frank Bentz was combing through the swap meet's car corral at Chryslers At Carlisle—arguably the world's largest and most prestigious non-racing Mopar event. Even for a lifelong Chrysler lover like Frank, it's not a foregone conclusion that you'd have the presence of mind to pull the trigger on a car like this, yet that's exactly what he did.

Frank's finely tuned Mopar sense comes not just from a lifelong appreciation of mechanical history and design, but from wading waist-deep under the hoods of an endless string of Chrysler products. Fresh out of high school, Frank started as a grease monkey at a Dodge dealership in his hometown of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. That was in the magical year of 1969—one that saw an incredible stampede of Chrysler performance machinery. As the kid in charge of prepping cars for the showroom and customer delivery at Ruano Brothers Dodge, a young, wide-eyed Frank doted on factory fresh powertrains, ministering to the mechanical and cosmetic needs of vehicles that would soon be enjoyed by their lucky owners.

3/20 Some 23,341 Satellite two-door hardtops were produced by Plymouth in 1965—but all you gotta have is one of ’em to appreciate their appeal. Frank Bentz’s example is one of the hottest examples we’ve seen.

Our story obviously ends in Frank's love affair with this '65 Satellite, but it begins innocuously enough with a '60 Dodge Dart two-door hardtop—that's right, the original fullsized version. One jab of the Dart's push-button shifter and Frank was hooked—but it hardly slaked his thirst for cool Pentastar machinery. That first year at the Dodge dealership doing prep work provided Frank with the opportunity to see many factory street machines, and to rapidly form an opinion on what he needed to do next. When a like-minded salesman bent his ear about a B5 blue four-speed '70 Super Bee at a dealership nearby, Frank jumped at the chance to get a good-guy deal. Of course he did, you say, but please remember that in 1970 none of us had the benefit of hindsight to inform our decisions; what Frank had was foresight.

The summer of 1970 was a heady time for a gearhead with a fresh 383-powered muscle machine. With his younger brother Fred in tow, Frank prowled the streets, enforcing the Mopar code, hitting cruises and racetracks throughout the fertile performance turf of Eastern Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Frank's mechanical learning curve was rocketing upward like an F-105 on full afterburner. He quickly went from prep boy to full-fledged mechanic. When the Ruano Brothers dealership went out of business sometime in the 1970s, the surviving service department became one of the most popular service stations in town—and Frank stayed on to spin wrenches. In 1983, the chance to buy the garage came along, Frank took the dive, and Bentz's Service Station was born.

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Other things were born as well, like Frank's family. The Super Bee now took a back seat to things like diapers and formula. The muscle car had to go, however, Mopars were still doing the transportation duty—one of them holding the clue to what was to come: a '65 Plymouth Belvedere four-door. As a four-door shop parts chaser, there could be no possible harm in toying around with it, so in went a mild 273 with some glasspacks. It sure beat the Volare it replaced, but moreover, it got Frank thinking about driving something a little more exciting. As the owner/operator of one of Birdsboro's top repair shops, Frank had worked on a number of local hot rods and vintage cars—none of them his. Then he saw a '33 Plymouth coupe for sale at a used car lot of all places. The knee-jerk purchase soon lea to the quest for parts—a quest that brought him to Chryslers At Carlisle.

...if something is meant to happen, you will know it'stright the moment you feel it. This was one of those moments.

That brings us to 1998, and Frank's random meeting with Dave Allen. Allen's '65 Satellite radiated energy like a beacon from across the field, and Frank was immediately drawn to it. Whatever trinket he was sniffing out for the street rod instantly became insignificant as he approached. The Satellite was for sale and Frank couldn't stop staring at it—its stance, its Cragar racing wheels, and its mile-deep black paint were irresistible. And then came the knock-out punch: the car's owner was looking for a street rod, and Frank's '33 Plymouth coupe fit the bill perfectly. For those who don't believe in fate, take this to heart: if something is meant to happen, you will know it's right the moment you feel it. This was one of those moments.
This is the part of the story where we normally regale you with tales of major repairs, paintjobs, driveline swaps, and big boxes of parts showing up on the UPS truck—but not this time. In this case, Dave Allen's '65 Satellite was so perfect a match for Frank that the new owner elected to keep it largely the same—even 16 years later. That's saying a lot for a mechanic of Frank's experience. Minor upgrades and repairs, however, have proceeded gradually over the years, including a complete refurbishing of all the chrome and aluminum anodizing. Along the way, the original engine was replaced with the 440 and 727 automatic from a '70 GTX, and the 2.73 open rear was upgraded to a 4.10 with a limited-slip diff. ("I had to have something a little quicker out of the hole!" Frank says.)

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Frank is also quick to credit Layson's Restorations for helping him raise his Satellite to the highest level. "I sent the dash out to Layson's Restoration in Washington State. They had it cleaned, painted, and chromed. I was happy as a lark at the way it looked. That was well worth the money." We must admit, the interior of Frank's Plymouth is stunning, so we sit up and take notice of any outfit that helped get the job done. Likewise, YearOne also gets kudos for much of the face-lift.

Like Frank did 16 years ago, we walked through the field of cars at Carlisle and locked onto it immediately. The '65 Plymouth Satellite is a very special car, made even more memorable by perfectly applied 20-year-old paint, pristine brightwork, laser-straight body lines, and a period-correct stance that demands attention and inspires the gearhead in everyone. We humbly submit you will agree!
Fast Facts
1965 Plymouth Satellite
Car Owner: Frank Bentz, 63 Birdsboro, PA
Engine
Type: 375hp Chrysler 440ci RB wedge big-block
Block: 1970 vintage, cast iron
Oiling: stock
Rotating assembly: stock, cast crank, forged rods, flat-top 9.7:1 pistons
Cylinder heads: stock cast-iron, 1970-vintage open-chamber, 2.08/1.74-inch valves
Camshaft: stock, hydraulic flat-tappet
Valvetrain: stock with double-roller timing chain
Induction: dual-plane Edelbrock Performer 440
Ignition: Mopar Performance electronic ignition, Mallory coil, Taylor 8mm wires
Carburetor: Edelbrock 650 cfm
Exhaust: Hedman 1¾-inch long-tube headers, dual 3-inch H-pipe exhaust with glasspack mufflers
Cooling: Flow Kooler aluminum water pump
Output: approx 390 hp

Drivetrain
Transmission: rebuilt TorqueFlite A727 from '70 GTX with 3,200-stall converter and B&M Quicksilver shifter
Rear axle: Chrysler 8.75-inch rearend with 4.10:1 Direct Connection gears, and Sure Grip differential, custom aluminum driveshaft

Chassis
Front suspension: stock with Hemi torsion bars, PST rebuild kit, KYB shocks
Rear suspension: stock re-arched leaf springs with added second leaf (Super Stock style), Gabriel air shocks
Brakes: stock power brakes, rebuilt 10-inch drums front and rear, '67 dual master cylinder
Wheels & Tires
Wheels: Cragar forged racing wheels 15x7 front (4-inch backspacing), and 15x8 rear (4.5-inch backspacing)
Tires: BFGoodrich, 215/70R15 front, 285/70R15

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6/20 Satellite owner, Frank Bentz: “I love the show up at Carlisle. I drive it up the turnpike—it’s almost exactly a hundred miles from my house to the fairgrounds. At 60 mph, it tachs right at 3 grand—those big tires in back help those 4.10 gears out. The motor sounds so good right there. We don’t even have the radio on; we just enjoy the ride.”

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20/20 Since purchasing the Satellite, Frank has gradually spruced up the exterior, fixing and polishing trim as time and money allows. His crowning swap meet find? This tricolor NOS grille badge, which set him back $350.