'Street Racing A Street Hemi'
Though the 1968 'Hemi Charger' is an '8-Barrel Beast', it is not all it is cracked up to be
without proper tuning and adjustments.
Our 'Press Test' car was equipped the famed '426 Hemi', which comes standard with
Heavy-Duty Suspension, Heavy-Duty Shocks, and 15" x 6" Road Wheels with F70 x 15"
Goodyear Red-Line Tires.
The car was also equipped with a 727-B Torque-Flite Automatic Transmission and
Front-Disc Brakes, which surprisingly are 'options' on the Hemi Charger.
The Rear-End is the standard 'tried-and-true' 8 3/4", and is equipped with a standard
3.23 Geared Sure-Grip unit.
In our 'intial tests', we experienced 'off-the-line' issues and a lack of low-end torque.
Our best E.T. was a somewhat disappointing
14.04 @ 101.4 MPH.
What we did find, is though the '426 Hemi' is a beast on the track with racer modifications,
in Street -Trim it leaves much to be desired, and can easily be outrun by a properly tuned
'Magnum 440' with 4.10 Gears.
But, with 'fine-tuning', and a step or two up in gears, we feel the 'Hemi Charger' with the
727-B Torque-Flite can be one of the Top Street Racers. We will see what the 1968
'Hemi Charger' does after a one-stop visit to our local performance Dodge Dealership
and a follow up Track Test next week.
