After an telling scratch - up in 1966 , sale of the dramatic fastback Charger slipped in its 2d season . What to do ? Unleash a restyled variant – the 1968 - 1969 Dodge Charger models – with an even tougher stance and extra sinew .
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Many consider the retool 1968 - 1969 Dodge Charger exemplar to be some of the advantageously - looking mid - size cars around , though the original fastback roofline was supplant by a notchback semi - fastback profile with " pilot buttress " sheet panels .
To satisfy themuscle - carcrowd , Dodge released a Charger R / thyroxine ( for Road / Track ) as part of its " Scat Pack , " which also let in the Coronet R / T and Dart GTS . Each wore bumblebee chevron around its nates and carry an engine appropriate for its title .
advert for " The Clean Machine " ( Charger R / T ) noted that it was " not built for the vulgar car crowd . " For many , that ’s all it take to induce an insatiate craving for a 440 - Magnum V-8 and hit ‘em hardsuspension .
Though purpose at " a rugged case of individual , " however , Charger ads further noted that the likely vendee was a person " who likes it soft in spite of appearance . " So which was it , ruffian or softy ?
in reality , the Charger do good from a dual personality and qualified on both count . vinyl radical - trimmed bucket seats and swish amenities lured comfort seeker , with a cushion available to position an extra passenger between the bucketful .
An aggressive outside with king to match was enough to pull in the performance boys – peculiarly when abet by a pair of pipes blaring out the back , and brawny violent - sidewall rubber hit the pavement .
Hemi and Magnumengineswere only part of the story , after all . Standard Charger fittings let in a mild - mannered 318 - cid V-8 with an adequate , if uninspiring , 230horsepower . Next step up : Chrysler ’s 383 , with 290 or 330 bhp . Only by consecrate an roentgen / thyroxin or train off the 375 - bhp Magnum or 425 - bhp Hemi did the Charger turn from pussy into mean machine .
Copywriters for muscle - auto ads evidently had a nasty streak , labour their products ' potential asocial tendencies with point-blank abandon . A Charger ’s suspension , they reported , " treats an angled grade crossing in the rain with studied gall , " while this " Beautiful Screamer " with an " impertinent flip of the spoiler on the rear deck of cards " contained " 440 cube of beggarly . "
stay reading to find out more about the " antisocial " automobile of choice for driving partizan .
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Continued
The imaginative copy continued to stress the 1968 - 1969 Dodge Charger ’s power to bollix up away the competition . Manual - shift buff were encouraged to imagine how the " four - pep pill boxful changes cogs with the precision of a sharp ax striking soft pine . "
In other news , Dodge ads exalt exactly what America ’s sneer teen wanted to hear . " American guts " were promised , in a car " shaped like a Mach 2 jet on bike . "
action mechanism matched the fast-growing stance , too . A 440 - Magnum Charger R / T could make 60 in six and a half irregular or less . A Hemi might actually tucker the five - second roadblock , earning its $ 604.75 cost for those who appreciated such skills .
Front - disc brakeswere still a $ 73 option , as was a tach at $ 48.70 . Like some other brawn car , Charger became a movie star , chased by Steve McQueen inBullittand playing against Elvis inSpeedway .
A nonaged face - face lifting with fragmented full - breadth grille was n’t the biggest word for 1969 . More exciting was the egression of the Charger name on two especial model : the Hemi - power Charger 500 , build for competition ; and the heater - nosed Daytona with its far - above - the - gang wing stabilizers , aimed atNASCARracing .
A 500 sold for $ 3,860 , the Daytona an even four grand . Most average kinfolk settle for a garden - variety Charger , an R / T , or new SE ( Special Edition ) with " leather - vinyl " front buckets and a mutation - character steerage bicycle .
Take your radius / deoxythymidine monophosphate " to the funnies where the valet are , " the advertizement intimate , where the Hurst shifter could be used to greatest advantage directing the index bring about by either a Magnum orHemi engine . step downhill in CRO , Chargers also came with six - cylinder locomotive engine in 1969 .
Certainly , the restyled Charger rank as one of the well - looking mid - size cable car of the recent sixties : long and low , pleasingly lash out , headlight hidden again behind a dewy-eyed grille . gondola and Driverclaimed that only the restyled Corvette challenge the Charger in the styling department , even pointing out rearward - persuasion similarity between the two .
Shoppers plain constellate to the second coevals in droves , too . Sales mottle to new elevation , with 96,108 Chargers hitting the showrooms in 1968 and only 7,000 less in 1969 . For sheer drama even when standing still , however , this notch - back hardtop with its semi - fastback roofline , even if NASCAR - inspired , lacked the elan of the initial fastback Charger .
But either example ranks as memorable American muscle today .
Continue reading to find out more about the 1968 - 1969 Dodge Charger specifications .
1968-1969 Dodge Charger Specifications
The 1968 - 1969 Dodge Charger specification run heavily in party favour of performance , which suited its lean and mean design ethos .
Specifications
Engines : all ohv V-8 : 318 Criminal Investigation Command ( 3.91 x 3.31 ) , 230 bhp ; 383 cid ( 4.25 x 3.38 ) , 290/330 bhp Charger R / T 426 cid ( 4.25 x 3.75 ) , 425 bhp ; 440 cid ( 4.32 x 3.75 ) , 375 bhp
Transmissions:3 - swiftness manual ( 318 - cid only ) ; optional 4 - speed manual of arms and 3 - speed TorqueFlite automatic ( TorqueFlite standard on R / T )
Suspension , front : short / foresightful arm , tortuosity ginmill , sway taproom
Suspension , rear : live axle , leaf outpouring
Brakes : front / rear drums ( front disc optional )
Wheelbase ( in.):117.0
Weight ( lbs.):3,100 - 3,646
Top speed ( mph):Hemi 142 - 156 roentgen / T 113 +
0 - 60 mph ( sec):Hemi 4.8 R / T 6.0 - 7.2
