KB’s 1971 Dodge Charger R/T
This Dodge Charger was the first fabulous Mopar muscle car we enjoyed during our high school days. It was our transportation to school and part time jobs and we cruised in it every spare moment we had during the week. From Friday night to Sunday night late, we cruised, parked at the various hangouts, and drag raced on back roads and four lanes.
Some Fun Facts
- The body color was Chrysler Y8 Gold Poly
- Like all R/Ts, it had a black vented hood treatment with Charger R/T badges on both fenders
- It also had black striping treatment down the body to the rear quarters and two black vent stripes on each door
- A 440/Six Pack big block was under the hood
- The popular Hurst pistol-grip shifter topped the 4-speed manual transmission (There were only 80 Chargers produced with the manual 4-speed in 1971, according to allpar.com)
- Rallye wheels finished the awesome look of this new body style for the Dodge Charger introduced in 1971
We shared the suburban streets and rural roads with 60s and 70s Camaros and Mustangs, Chevy IIs and Novas, GTOs and Torinos.
In the late 70s, Dodge muscle cars were trying to prove they could take on the fast pony cars of Ford and General Motors. In our opinion, they were successful! There weren’t many cars that could outrun this gorgeous 440/Six-pack…unless it was another one of the Mopar muscle cars that our friends had.
Here’s a great example, our friend’s 1968 Dodge Charger R/T. He bought it from another friend who couldn’t afford it and honestly didn’t know what to do with the 440 magnum power sitting under the hood. It had the Torqueflite 727 3-spd automatic and of course the Cragar S/S wheels.
These old photos make it hard to see but the paint was Chrysler F8 Dark Green Metallic highlighted with the R/T white bumblebee stripe.
Here’s RB’s other Mopar muscle car. This 1972 Plymouth Duster was equipped with a small block 340 with the same 727 3-spd automatic that was in the Charger. It was the first car that he took to the drag strip, just the beginning of KB’s heartache about breaking parts. RB kept this car, and his 1973 Duster, for almost 20 years and finally sold this one before
restoring the ’73.
It’s hard to believe that some days the driveway and street in front of the house would hold this dream set of classic muscle cars and we took it all for granted!
So where's the old Dodge Charger now? Don't we wish we knew? After a street drag racing incident that Mom didn't find amusing, the Charger was traded in at a local dealer for a 4 cylinder Chevy Vega. Seriously. It wasn't too long though (after KB got his driver's license back) before another awesome Mopar muscle car was in the driveway...
|
Did you have a great muscle car that got away? Do you have information that you think we should know? Please share your muscle car story with other muscle car enthusiasts.
Click here
to share now! |
The Dodge Charger wasn’t the end of the Mopar muscle cars in our circle. Click here to learn about our other cars.
If you’re ready to find your muscle car, click here to go back to the home page and continue your research.
|
