Plymouth's 1964 Barracuda was America's first
modern fastback, beating Ford's '65 Mustang 2+2 to market by about two
weeks. Dodge waited until 1966 to join the fray, and then leaped in with
the Charger 426 Hemi -- a muscle car other fastbacks could only dream
of.Plymouth's 1964 Barracuda was America's first modern fastback, beating
Ford's '65
Mustang 2+2 to market by about two weeks.
Dodge waited until 1966 to join the fray, and then leaped in with the Charger 426
Hemi -- a
muscle car other fastbacks could only dream of.
To
create the first Charger, Dodge basically added to its midsize Coronet
two-door hardtop a rather graceless fastback roofline, hidden headlamps,
and full-width taillamps. With a base price of $3,122, Charger cost
$417 more than a Coronet 500 hardtop. Part of the deal was a
state-of-the-art '60s interior: lots of chrome, four bucket seats (the
rears folded down), available center consoles fore and aft, and full
gauges.
A 318-cid V-8 was standard. The most-common performance upgrade was
the optional 325-bhp 383 four-barrel, which would push a Charger through
the quarter in the low 16s at 85 mph. But 1966 was also the year
Chrysler's 426-cid Hemi V-8 came to the streets, and it made for the
ultimate Charger.
Actual
horsepower
was near 500, but Dodge advertised its Street Hemi at 425 bhp on a
10.25:1 compression. A detuned version of the 12.5:l-compression race
Hemi, the new customer version retained solid lifters but had a milder
cam for smoother low-rpm running and a heat chamber so it could warm up
properly. It also mounted its dual quads inline rather than on a
cross-ram manifold. The engine added $1,000 to the price of a Coronet,
or $880 to a Charger, and included stiffer springs and bigger (11-inch)
brakes. Front discs were optional.
"Beauty and the beast," was how Dodge pitched its new Charger with
the hot 426. "The Hemi was never in better shape," it boasted. Of 37,344
Chargers built for '66, however, only 468 got the Hemi. Maybe that's
because Hemi buyers got a one-year/12,000 warranty instead of Dodge's
usual 5/50,000. Even that, Chrysler warned, would be voided if the
car was "subjected to any extreme operation (i.e., drag racing)." Heaven forbid.
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