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1966 Dodge Charger

Dodge Charger (1966-1977)

The Dodge Charger was introduced on January 1, 1966. Built off of the Dodge Coronet chassis but using its own body, the Charger was Dodge's first fastback, high-speed street racer. It featured many styling cues from the Charger II concept car like a fastback roof design and full width taillamps. The interior featured four bucket seats and a full-length floor console.

The vehicle came with a standard 5.2-liter, 318 cubic-inch V-8 engine delivering 230 horsepower. Other available engines included a 361 cubic-inch V-8 engine that created 265 horsepower, or a 6.2-liter, 383 cubic-inch V-8 engine delivering 325 horsepower. However, it was the availability of a massive 426 cubic-inch Street HEMI® engine that provided 425 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. of torque that forever defined the vehicle.

AT THE TRACK...
Chrysler Corporation cars dominated NASCAR in the mid-1960s with the mighty HEMI engine. In 1965, NASCAR banned the HEMI and Chrysler boycotted the racing season. Ultimately, Chrysler followed the new NASCAR rules mandating that engines had to be available in general production, not just for race cars as the HEMI had been. For the 1966 season, Chrysler made a Street HEMI that was used for both the street and the racetrack

 

1968

ON THE STREET…
The Dodge Charger was completely restyled, and now featured a big, bold, aggressive look. A new roof design, called a tunnel roof or a flying buttress, was introduced. An exposed decorative gas filler cap also was a design feature.

The Charger R/T version was added to the lineup as a performance model featuring a 440 cid or 426 HEMI engine.

AT THE TRACK…
The new 1968 Charger combined aerodynamic design, and handling and performance for national circuit racing objectives. No other automaker had applied aerodynamic principles to a race car before, and because of wind tunnel testing, rear spoilers were introduced on NASCAR machines of the mid '60s to control the tremendous amount of rear lift. In addition, the first front air dam was developed to counteract lifting in the front end.

1968 Dodge Charger

1969 Dodge Charger

1969

ON THE STREET…
The 1969 Dodge Charger body style carried over from 1968 with minor exterior changes like a new grille and taillamps. The HEMI engine was installed in less than two percent of '69 Dodge Chargers, yet contributed immensely to the image and desirability of the Charger lineup. The 1969 Charger gained fame as the tire-squealing getaway car driven by Bo and Luke Duke for seven seasons on the TV series, Dukes of Hazzard.

AT THE TRACK...
The 1969 Dodge Charger 500, featuring a flush rear window to improve aerodynamics, was introduced especially for NASCAR. The Charger Daytona was introduced in September and built specifically for NASCAR competition. The Daytona featured a large aerodynamic nose and a huge "wing" spoiler in the rear that stood 58 inches above the trunk. All Dodge Charger Daytona models were powered by either a 440 Magnum cid or 426 HEMI engine.

Dodge Charger Daytona won its first NASCAR Grand National race at Talladega (Ala.) in September followed by a win at Texas International Speedway. From September 14, 1969, through the next year, Charger Daytona and the Charger 500 won 45 out of the next 59 races. The car dominated racing so much that NASCAR eventually placed restrictions on the HEMI engine by forcing the use of carburetor restrictor plates on Chrysler models featuring the HEMI engine and limiting engine displacement to a maximum of 305 cubic inches on Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird models.

Driver Buddy Baker, behind the wheel of a HEMI-powered Charger, became the first to top the 200 mph mark on a closed-circuit course in 1970.

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. (C-989)

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, Only 505 units were built of the Dodge Charger Daytona for model year 1969. it was the most conspicuously styled Dodge of all times and served as homologation model for the Dodge stock cars entered in NASCAR* races; it was available at a price of 3,860 US dollars. The road-going version of the model was powered by the Hemi 426 (seven liters) with 425 hp; the tuned racing version reached speeds in excess of 200 mph (over 320 km/h) on oval racetracks. *NASCAR: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

For NASCAR racing, Dodge resurrected the hemispherical-head concept in a new 426-cubic-inch HEMI-Charger engine for competition use only, which soon proved capable of generating some 500 horsepower. A special Daytona Charger race car equipped with a HEMI-Charger, an elongated nose piece and a roof-high spoiler attached at the rear took the checkered flag at the 1969 Daytona 500.

America's fondness for fast cars was effusively addressed by Dodge during the "muscle car" era of the late '60s and early 1970s. Placing large V-8 engines in intermediate-size cars with optional levels of accessorizing brought drag strip-style performance to street racers and distinctive collector cars to thousands of other buyers. Notable Dodge nameplates from the muscle car period include the Charger R/T (for Road and Track), the Coronet R/T, with a 440-cubic-inch Magnum V-8 engine as standard equipment, the Super Bee and, after 1970, the Challenger.

The effects of the 1973 oil crisis, which spawned skyrocketing prices for both crude oil and retail gasoline, were new government emissions regulations and rising insurance rates that combined to bring the muscle-car era to a close and generate new interest in smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Dodge responded with the subcompact Omni, one of the first American-made cars with front-wheel drive.

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. (C-989)

1970s

ON THE STREET…
The Dodge Charger was completely redesigned for the 1971 model year with a shorter wheelbase and wider body style. A modern, sleek and sporty design evolved with a swept back roofline and semi-fastback. A front spoiler and a "Ramcharger" vacuum-operated hood scoop were added.

The Charger Super Bee performance package was introduced to the lineup in addition to the R/T performance model. Charger now had four price classes and two performance models.

Due to increasing emissions and insurance regulations, the industry moved to low-lead gasoline, and the Street HEMI was phased out. 1971 was the last year customers could order a factory-built HEMI.

In 1975, the Dodge Charger was completely restyled and featured a more formal and elegant appearance. The largest engine available was the 360 cid. By 1978, the rear-wheel-drive Charger was phased out of the Dodge lineup.

AT THE TRACK…
The Dodge Charger Daytona entered the Daytona 500 with 305-cubic-inch engine and driver Dick Brooks at the wheel. The vehicle qualified for the race and even led for a time, but in the end, managed to place only seventh. This was the last of the Dodge Daytona models to race at Daytona.

1971 Dodge Charger R/T

Dodge Charger available as a Super Bee was a 1971 model.

1981–1987

The Dodge Charger name reappeared on several small, front-wheel-drive Dodge vehicles, but none gained the popularity or carried the same mystique as the original.

1973 Dodge Charger, No. 43 STP

Dodge Charger in NASCAR: 1966-1977

Total Dodge Charger Wins: 124 (six earned in winged Charger Daytonas)

  • Most Charger Wins by a Driver:
    • Richard Petty – 37
    • Bobby Isaac – 36
    • David Pearson – 17
       
  • NASCAR Drivers Who Won in a Dodge Charger:
    • Earl Balmer – (1966)
    • Charlie Glotzbach – (1968, 1970)
    • David Pearson – (1966-67)
    • Richard Brickhouse – (1969)
    • Sam McQuagg – (1966)
    • Ray Elder – (1971-72)
    • LeeRoy Yarbrough – (1966-67)
    • Richard Petty – (1973-77)
    • Bobby Allison – (1967, 1969-71)
    • Dave Marcis – (1975-76)
    • Buddy Baker – (1967-68, 1970-73)
    • Neil Bonnett – (1977)
    • Bobby Isaac – (1968-1972)
       
  • NASCAR Drivers Who Drove a Charger During a Championship Season:
    • David Pearson – (1966)
    • Bobby Isaac – (1970)
    • Richard Petty – (1972, 1974, 1975)

First Dodge Charger NASCAR Win: Earl Balmer, Feb. 25, 1966, Daytona International Speedway, (40 laps/100 miles/2.5-mile track) – Balmer led one lap en route to winning the 100-mile qualifying race in a No. 3 Dodge Charger owned by Ray Fox.

WINGED WARS: Sept. 14, 1969 – Richard Brickhouse's No. 99 Nichels Engineering Dodge Charger Daytona (originally to be driven by Charlie Glotzbach) is the first "winged" stock car to win a NASCAR race. Brickhouse earns his first and only career victory amid a Professional Drivers Association boycotted Talladega 500 – the inaugural race at Alabama International Motor Speedway.

200.447 MPH: March 24, 1970 – Buddy Baker becomes auto racing's first driver officially timed completing a closed-course lap at more than 200 miles per hour. Baker piloted his Cotton Owens-owned No. 88 Dodge Charger Daytona to a top lap speed of 200.447 mph at Talladega Superspeedway.
Dodge Charger in NASCAR: 1966-1977

Most Recent Dodge Charger NASCAR Win: Neil Bonnett, Nov. 20, 1977, Ontario Motor Speedway (200 laps/500 miles/2.5-mile track) – Bonnett drove the No. 5 Dodge to victory in the season-ending Los Angeles Times 500, leading eight times for 96 laps in his first superspeedway win. Bonnett passed Richard Petty with five laps to go, blocking Petty's last-lap maneuver to win by two car lengths.

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona - window sticker

 

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