Dodge Muscle Cars, "Detroit's Budget Super Cars"
Dodge Muscle Cars came in many shapes and sizes. By far one of the most popular was the Dodge Charger. It was introduced in 1966 and continued through the golden years of the Muscle Car Era. In 1968 the Dodge Charger was produced with a whole new look. The distinctive Coke bottle shape remains to be an icon of Mopar Muscle and represents well the repertoire of Dodge Muscle Cars. As men we are naturally attracted to things with curves and this sexy B-Body Mopar sure had ‘em. Thinking of investing in a classic muscle car? Click here for some helpful information.
The Dodge Challenger is my personal favorite of all the Dodge Muscle Cars and is among the most sought after Mopars today. Introduced in 1970 it was an instant hit. It also had some curves featuring a prominent S-bend beltline crease. The Challenger was equipped with anything from a Slant 6 to a 426 Hemi. Not many Challengers were powered by a Slant 6 but I have seen them. The standard mill in the Challenger R/T was the 383 Magnum. Other options included the 440 4-bbl, the Holley equipped 440 Six Pack and the 426 Hemi. The 318, 340 and 360 small-blocks were also available for this beautifully sculpted E-Body.
I owned a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. A true Dodge Muscle Car, it originally had a 383 Magnum. But my uncle and I soon replaced the k-member and dropped in a Super Stock 340 drag engine, which he had given me as a graduation gift. It did however, need to be slightly detuned for street use. The motor was precision balanced and bored .055 over with forged TRW pistons and hard to find T/A Six Pack heads. I swapped the Carter 4-bbl carb for a Holly 650 double-pumper mounted on top of an Edelbrock aluminum intake and installed a Crane "fireball" cam for street use. The ignition was a Mallory dual point with a mechanical advance and Hooker big tube headers running through a stock Hemi exhaust system. The 340 power-plant was also accompanied by a tricked out 727 TorqueFlight racing transmission with a manual shift, reverse pattern valve body. Completing the drive train the Challenger's original 3.91 Sure Grip gear package worked well for the street though I would have preferred a Dana 60 with a 4.11 gear ratio. The original color was Vitamin-C Orange with a yellow Scat-Pack Bumblebee stripe, but after seeing the movie “Vanishing Point” I had the car painted white, but not the Mopar Alpine White however. I chose to go with a GM color, Corvette Classic White with silver micro-flake that glittered like sequins under the street lights at night, and custom hand painted pin striping. Finally, I ran with 15” Keystone Klassic mags and the fattest tires I could tuck inside the rear wheel wells, L-60-15s to complete the ensemble. 
In its original form, the '70 Challenger T/A was a mid-year entry into Dodge's Scat Pack, boasting an underrated 290 horsepower 340 Six Pack mill with provisions for four-bolt mains, and fitted with unique iron "J" heads with a different port configuration from those used on the four-barrel 340. They featured an offset valvetrain and adjustable rocker arms, 2.02 intake valves and 1.60 exhausts. The motor was topped by an Edelbrock-sourced aluminum intake sporting a trio of Holley two-barrels. The motor breathed air through a suitcase-sized scoop molded into the pinned-down, matte-black, fiberglass hood. Low-restriction dual exhausts ran to the stock muffler location under the trunk, then reversed direction to exit in chrome tipped "megaphone" outlets in front of the rear wheels. A TorqueFlite automatic or Hurst Pistol-Grip shifted four-speed, 3.55:1 or 3.91:1 gears, and manual or power steering were available. Front discs were standard and the special Rallye heavy-duty suspension increased the camber of the rear springs. The T/A was among the first production cars with different sized tires front and rear boasting E60x15s up front, G60x15s in back just like it's counterpart the 'Cuda AAR. There is talk that at least one 1971 T/A was built. I don't know for sure, but the '71 Challenger pictured here is either "The One" or it is a very nice T/A clone. 
In 1967 Dodge introduced the Coronet R/T into its Muscle Car lineup, powered by the new 375 horse 440 with closed chamber heads and a Carter AFB 4bbl carb.The Coronet was completely redesigned in 1968. This super sanitary '69 Coronet R/T pictured here is powered by a 500 Stroker and has been modified with a tubular k-member, coilovers and rack and pinion steering. It has 4 wheel Wildwood disc brakes and Competition Engineering Slide-A-Link traction bars were added to the rear suspension. This car also had one of the finest Candy Wild Cherry paint jobs I have ever seen. This picture unfortunately does not do it enough justice. This car is truly a work of art, and has twice graced the pages of Car Craft Magazine. 
The Dodge Super Bee was introduced in 1968 and came standard with the 335 horse 383 Magnum with high performance 440 heads. The optional 400 4bbl, 440 Six Pack (with a scooped fiberglass hood like the one pictured here) or the more expensive 426 Hemi were also available for this popular Dodge Muscle Car.The standard transmission was a heavy-duty 833 4-speed with a Hurst Competition-Plus floor shifter or you could order the optional 727 TorqueFlight automatic for an extra fifty bucks. In fact the entire drivetrain and suspension was heavy-duty all the way including six leafs in the rear springs. 
From 1967 to 1969 the A-Body Dart GTS was the compact member the Dodge Scat Pack and was offered with either a 275 horsepower 340 or the optional 300 horse 383 big block.
A few rare models of these compact Dodge Muscle Cars were equipped with the big block 440 and 426 Hemi engines for drag racing purposes. In 1969 Dodge expanded the 440 Dart program and built over six hundred 440 powered Darts. In essence these were factory race cars and were not intended for street use. But, that didn't stop a few die hard motor-heads from doing it! Like the 526 Hemi stroker pictured here. This light weight Dodge Muscle Car gives a whole new meaning to weight-to-horsepower-ratio. 
In 1971 the Dodge Demon joined the Scat Pack replacing the Dart as a high performance Dodge Muscle Car. The Demon sharing the same body as its corporate cousin the Plymouth Duster, came standard with the 275 horse 340 4bbl. Return from Dodge Muscle Cars to Home Page
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