1968 Dodge Charger

[Paul Ceasrine]

1968 Advertisement

Let Boch Dodge Turn Your 383 4-Barrel Into A 383 'Magnum HP' With Our
Dealer Only Engine Performance Kit.

For $383 you can turn your 383 into a 'Magnum HP'

Our Performance Parts Department can offer you an 'over-the-counter' 'Magnum HP Kit',
which will add over 50 Horsepower to your 383 Big-Block giving you an output of
383 Horsepower.

Performance Kit includes,
* 383 'Magnum HP' Camshaft
* 440 Valve Springs
* Special Intake Carburetor Adapter
* Holley 780 CFM Carburetor
* Unsilenced Air-Cleaner
* Distributor Advance-Kit
* Cyclone Headers
* High Pressure Fuel Pump

383 'Magnum HP' Camshaft (Hydraulic)
Lift...............450/.465
Duration..... 276*/292*
Overlap...... 54*

This Camshaft is more aggessive than the 440 HP Camshaft.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Motor Trend (December 1967)

Road Test, 1968 Dodge Charger R/T ('440 Magnum' - w/Automatic and 3.23 Sure-Grip)

Performance.......14.90 @ 95.5 MPH

* Respectable, despite absolutely no traction with the F70 x14" tires.

[Paul Ceasrine]

'Just What The Doctor Ordered'

Several Southern California Dodge Dealers partnered with Cragar Wheels to market a
1968 Charger R/T '440 Magnum' with a "Cragar Performance Package".

Cragar S/S Wheels, Cyclone Headers and a Dodge Maximum Performance
(ignition-kit and carburetor jet-kit) installed.

The Charger R/T '440 Magnum' 4-Speed with 3.54 Sure-Grip Gears advertised as
running a 13.80 @ 103 MPH.

[Paul Ceasrine]

July 6, 1967 (Dodge Press Release)

Dodge unveil's the new 1968 Charger R/T '440 Magnum' at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds.

Public Relation's Manager Frank Wylie, is pleased with the car's performance, and sends information to Hot Rod Magazine listing
the Charger R/T specifications and performance results.

Charger R/T '440 Magnum' with Automatic Transmission and 3.23 Sure-Grip Rear.

1/4 Mile Performance.......14.66 @ 97.4 MPH

Base Price - $3506

[Paul Ceasrine]

Street and Strip (October 1967)

Street and Strip Magazine tests the 1968 Charger R/T '440 Magnum'

We were supposed to receive a new 1968 Charger R/T with a '426 Hemi', but when we got to the
Dodge Storage Facility on the West 51st Street in Manhattan, we were given a 'Bronze Metallic'
Charger R/T with a '440 Magnum' as our 'Test Car'.

The new stylish Charger was equipped with a Torque-Flite Automatic Transmission, and a
3.23 Sure-Grip rear-end. The Charger R/T was also equipped with - an upgraded interior with
Bucket seats, Console, Dashboard Rallye Guage Package with an 8000 RPM Dash-mounted
Tachometer. The black Vinyl-Top and rear deck Bumble-Bee black-stripe added nice exterior
appointments to the 117" Wheelbase and 208" elongated car.

Other added options included; Front Disc-Brakes, Power-Steering, 26" Radiator and Fan-Shroud,
Tinted-Glass, Exterior Decor-Trim and the 'stylish' 14" x 5.5" Chromed Road Wheels with
F-70 x 14" 'red-line' Goodyear tires.

Though we were disappointed in not getting the '426 Hemi' we were still pleased with getting a '440'
instead of the slug-383.

A quick look at the 'Dealer Price Book', we found that a 4-Speed Transmission is 'standard' with the
Charger R/T (Base Price; $3506), and that the Automatic Transmission is an additional $186

Our Charger R/T had a sticker price of $4317

Our 3-Week long 'performance test' will include, Elapsed-Time tests performed at WestHampton Raceway
on Eastern, Long Island and follow-up perfomance upgrades at Rockville Centre Dodge on Sunrise Highway.

The Charger R/T '440 Magnum' with a shipping weight of #3737 lbs, rates at 375 Horsepower, and as per the
1967 Drag Rules, the Charger would fit into the the NHRA 'B/SA' Class, and the AHRA 'C/SA' Class.

Performance Test

Running in 'delivered' condition, a series of 'break-in runs' were performed first, to get the feel of how the 3700+ lb.
Charger R/T would handle down the track and through the traps.

After we got the feel of the Charger, we were able to run several 1/4 Mile 'accelerated elapsed time tests' - with the car
performing between 14.62 and 14.88, with speeds between 94 and 96.4 MPH.

Our best run was - 14.62 @ 96.4 MPH

Our tests were run, by keeping the Torque-Flite Transmission in 'Drive', and leaving the starting line at idle (1100 RPM's),
as the Charger R/T had to be feathered off the line, to help prevent the F-70 X 14 tires (6.55" wide and 26.45" diameter)
from spinning into oblivion.

Once we were able to get a steady traction-load, we dropped the gas-pedal to the floor and the Goodyears still broke loose
while the Charger accelerated steadily. We found the 440/375 HP pulled very strong, and the Torque-Flite had shifts points of
4000 RPM between 1st-and-2nd, and 4600 RPM between 2nd-and-3rd.

The Dash-mounted Tachometer has a 5000 'red-line', but the 440 pulled into the 5200 RPM range without a problem, and
there were no valve-float problems with the Hydraulic-tappet Camshaft and High-Rate Valve Springs.

We will follow up, with a visit to Rockville Centre Dodge for our 'check-up' and recommended performance up-grade before
returning to the West Hampton Raceway.

[Paul Ceasrine]

'Speed and Custom' was later changed to 'Street and Strip'



Charger R/T '440 Magnum' Perfromance Test

After running a previous best of 14.62 @ 96.4 MPH - the car was brought to Rockville Centre Dodge
outside of Hempstead, Long Island - located on Sunrise Highway.

Their first job at task, was to make improvements to the ignition timing, by re-curving the distributor,
and installing a set of colder Champion Spark-Plugs (from J12Y to J11Y).

The crack Performance Staff also tweaked the Carter 750 AVS Carburetor, by making the neccessary
changes to the Primary and Secondary Jets, as well the Primary Metering/Step-Up Rods.

When we left the Dealership, we could feel the improvemts immediately, as the Charger R/T was more
responsive, and had more of a kick when depressing the gas-pedal.

We were more than pleased with the improvements, as we headed back out to Eastern Long Island for another
accelerated performance test.

This time, we removed the Air Cleaner Top, and disconnected the vacuum-advance from the Distributor. We
also made the correct timing advances as per the 'script' given to us by Rockville Centre Dodge, and we were
ready to go.

Following the same racing style as last time, the Charger R/T let go with more 'V-Room', and literally flew down the
'1/4 Mile Track' and surprised us with an initial run of 14.35 @ 97.9 MPH.

Several follow up runs were consistent, and we hit a best of 14.29 @ 98.3 MPH, while still burning the F-70 x 14" Tires.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Though we were pleased with the Charger R/T and its performance after a few tuning modifcations, we
brought the car back to Rockville Centre Dodge for our 'second-set' of improvements.

This time, they installed a 'heat-riser' between the cast iron Intake Manifold and Carter AVS Carburetor,
to help prevent 'vapor-lock' which we experienced on back-to-back test runs.

This plate will also improve the Venturi-Effect of the Carburetor which will improve Top-End performance.

The Staff also installed a copper-plate between the Intake Manifold and Cylinder Hear heat cross-over passage,
to prevent heat from travelling to the Carburetor-base on the Intake.

And, their ignition expert Thomas, swapped out our ignition wires for a Performance set from Chrysler.

And for a treat, the staff put the Charger R/T on the lift, and performed a rear-end swap out in record time,
by removing the Stock 3.23 Sure-Grip Rear, and installed a set of 4.10 Gears that were already in a
#742 Case with a Sure-Grip unit.

Upon leaving the Dealership, we punched the gas-pedal as soon as we hit Sunrise Highway, and the
Charger R/T 'launched' like a Rocket, pinning us back in our bucket seats.

We couldn't wait to get to the Track.