1966-1974 Dodge Charger History: B-Body Mopar Muscle
By: by Classic Industries News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
1966-1974 Dodge Charger History: B-Body Mopar Muscle
The Dodge Charger isn't just one of the most famous Mopar cars of all time, it's one of the most recognizable muscle cars ever built. Its sleek, aggressive styling and high-performance V8 engine choices gave the Charger instant presence on the road or the track. Even those who have little knowledge of classic cars will instantly recognize it from its appearances in movies such as Bullitt, Cannonball, and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, as well as its prominent role on The Dukes of Hazzard. Today, we'll take a quick look back at Dodge Charger history and how this Mopar B-body muscle car changed from 1966 through 1974.
Dodge Charger History & Backstory
In the early-to-mid 1960s, Dodge was looking for a way to outshine the new sporty two-door vehicles that its competitors were developing, such as the Ford Mustang and Rambler/AMC Marlin. The company's sister brand Plymouth was also nearing completion of the Barracuda, which would become a legend in its own right.
Above: 1965 Dodge Charger II concept car photo courtesy of Mopar Connection
Dodge engineers and designers put their heads together and developed a concept car called the Charger II, which debuted at auto shows in 1965. The "II" in its name was a nod to the original 1964 Dodge Hemi Charger concept car, which was based on a heavily-modified Polara. That first concept car was an extreme design, with chopped windows and no roof or bumpers, so it's not surprising it didn't become the basis for a production vehicle. However, the Charger II was much closer to a production-ready design, and the overwhelming positive response at auto shows led to the next step in Dodge Charger history: the new 1966 Charger was green-lit for full production.
1966-67 Dodge Charger
On Jan 1, 1966 America was introduced to “the Leader of the Dodge Rebellion”, the Charger, during the TV broadcast of the Rose Bowl. With the Charger, Dodge finally had the platform and the performance image to match the Hemi’s potent performance. Available exclusively as a 2-door hardtop, it could be equipped with a 318ci, 361ci, 383ci or 426ci Hemi engine.
The 1966 Charger had many unique features. Its “electric shaver” grill featured fully rotating headlights that made the grill look like one piece, a feature not seen on a Chrysler product since the 1942 DeSoto. Inside, the Charger used four individual bucket seats with a full length console from front to rear which extended to the back seats. The rear seats and console pad also folded forward and the trunk divider dropped back, allowing for lots of cargo room inside. Many other parts were also exclusive to the Charger such as the door panels, courtesy lamps and the instrument panel.
In 1967, the Dodge Charger remained mostly the same, with a few subtle changes. Turn signal lamps were added to the front fenders, and a vinyl roof was now offered as an option. On the interior, the center console was changed to a partial-length design. A 440ci "Magnum" V8 with 4-barrel carburetor was now available, producing 375 horsepower. This was the last year of the 1st Generation Charger.
1968 Dodge Charger
The '68 Charger was available as a 2-door hardtop only. Engines available were a 225ci Slant-Six (mid-year) or a 318ci, 383ci, 440ci Magnum or 426ci Hemi V8 engine.
Penned by designer Richard Sias, the 1968 Charger’s body was totally different from other vehicles at the time. Its profile was a double-diamond design that would come to be known as “coke bottle” styling. The rear end featured a “kick up” spoiler look, which was inspired by Group 7 racing vehicles. Dual circular tail lamps were added and dual scallops were added to the doors and hood to help accent the new body lines.
In order to further boost the Charger’s muscle car image, a new high-performance package was added, the R/T. This stood for “Road/Track” and would be the high performance badge that would establish Dodge’s performance image. The R/T came standard with the previous year’s 440 Magnum and the 426 Hemi was optional.
1969 Dodge Charger & Daytona
The '69 Charger was available as a 2-door Hardtop only. Engines available were 225ci Slant-Six, 318ci, 383ci, 440ci and 426ci Hemi V8.
The popular Charger changed subtly for 1969. Exterior changes included a new grill with a center divider and new longitudinal tail lamps and a new trim line called the Special Edition (SE) was added, along with two other models (the Charger 500 , which featured a Coronet grill and flush rear window, and the Charger Daytona with its nose cone, giant wing and 200mph top speed, both for NASCAR racing).
Above: The Charger 500 had a different grill and rear window design to improve high-speed aerodynamics.
The SE could be available by itself or packaged with the R/T, thus making an R/T-SE. The SE added leather inserts to the front seats only, chrome rocker moldings, a wood grain steering wheel and wood grain inserts on the instrument panel. A sunroof was added to the option list as well, and it would prove to be a very rare option (just 260 sold).
1969 Charger Daytona
Above: 1969 Daytona image courtesy of Mecum Auctions
The 1969 Daytona represented a can-win attitude by Dodge in the muscle car heyday. Although the Charger’s beak and tall wing were extremely unusual for the time, Dodge still decided to build 500 in order to comply with NASCAR rules. And the Daytona performed. In fact, on the super-speedways, it was the first NASCAR racer to hit 200mph. The Daytona sold relatively well to the public as well, due to its radical styling and 440 Magnum or 426 Hemi performance. Other features included functional fender scoops, vacuum-powered headlights, and an enormous bumble-bee stripe that covered the three-foot wing.
1970 Dodge Charger
The '70 Charger was available as a 2-door Hardtop only. Engines available were 225ci Slant-Six, 318ci, 383ci, 440ci and 426ci Hemi V8.
The Charger saw a few more small changes for 1970. The front end now featured a large wraparound chrome bumper and the grill no longer had a divider . Electric headlight door motors replaced unreliable vacuum actuators and the side markers were now actual lamps instead of reflectors. The tail lamps were similar to 1969’s, but 500 and R/T models came with a new tail lamp panel. For R/T models, new rear-facing scoops with the R/T logo were mounted on the front doors, over the door scallops. This was the last year of the 2nd Generation Charger.
1971-74 Dodge Charger
Engines available were 318ci, 340ci, 383ci, 440ci and 426ci Hemi V8. For 1971, the Charger was completely restyled with a new split grill and more rounded “fuselage” body styling. The interiors now looked more like those of the E-body and were now shared by the Plymouth B-body. The Charger’s trademark hideaway headlights were now optional rather than standard and a rear spoiler and a “Ram Charger” hood made the option lists for the first time.
The Ram Charger added a special hood scoop that would pop up and draw fresh air directly into the carburetor through special duct work mounted to the underside of the hood. This same device also appeared on the Road Runner as the N96 option. For 1971 only, the Super Bee was applied to the Charger name and included Bumble Bee graphics and performance options.
Above: 1973 Charger Rallye photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions. Note the new shape of the C-pillar and window opening.
In 1972, the R/T was replaced with a Rallye trim, and the Ram Charger option was discontinued. In 1973, the Charger's body received a slight redesign, becoming longer and wider. This change is most noticeable when observing the C-pillar and quarter glass shape. The taillights and grill were also redesigned, and hideaway headlamps were discontinued. For 1974, the final year of the 3rd Generation Charger, there were only a handful of changes such as exterior colors and interior panel grain pattern.
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Because the Dodge Charger has been a favourite "muscle car" for a lot of movies, such as Bullitt, Cannonball, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, as well as The Dukes of Hazzard this could almost have been a Movie Group article as well as a Classic Cars one, but I guess it belongs here more. As I think back to all the cars I have had in my life, I actually never had a Chrysler product, although my father did have a Chrysler from 1946 until 1950.
Speaking of movies, I just remembered a Canadian movie called "Going Down the Road" in which a couple of what we in Toronto call "Newfies" drive from the Maritimes to Toronto in what Roger Ebert calls "a beat-up old Chevy with flames painted on the sides". The IMDb mini-synopsis of the film is this:
While they are driving west to Toronto, they talk about all the money they're going to make working in Toronto, and one of them says "Maybe I'll buy a Charger" being what could have been his life's dream.
Charger is here on the Charger story. But it is past my bedtime and the repairman is coming to fix my dishwasher early in the morning so I will have to wait until the morning.
Okay, hope this article will still be on the Front (Home) Page when you can get to it.
I went from driving a VW to a Roadrunner that got wrecked to a 68 Charger R/T that I bought from an old man down the street. He did not buy it as a high performance car, he said he asked the dealer to take off the ralley wheels and put on hubcaps and cut the price. I drove that car for a long time and wore it out. I bought a Dodge Little Red Express Truck and another 68 Roadrunner and a Powerwagon pickup that was 4 wheel drive, 4 speed and 440 motor. There were some other Mopars along the way. Then I finally bought the current Charger .
Your personal feelings about your car are made pretty obvious by your user name and avatar.
You were a true believer.
When I got my Charger I was told it had a rebuilt 383 motor and it ran good for several years Then it started running poorly. Mechanic checked the bock numbers and found it was a newer 400 motor and was not balanced right. I had a 440 6 Pack motor and he rebuilt it for me. If i had not had that, there was new style HEMI from a wrecked newer Charger available (before they came out with the Hellcats)
(Man is here to fix my dishwasher so got to go for now)
Looking forward to, as Paul Harvey used to say in his radio broadcasts, "the rest of the story".
Great article about some very iconic cars.
Everybody in my family have classic cars. The only one that didn't need to be rebuilt was my fathers '68 Nova SS (he bought it in '68). My brother's '69 Charger and mine is a '71 Challenger were both bought as "project cars" when we were in high school.
Both the Charger and Challenger are all numbers matching cars. I was very lucky to find the Challenger's engine. My brother's Charger, miraculously still had the original engine. Both are still running great to this day.
As you might surmise from my articles, I have a love for vintage and classic cars, but unfortunately I have never seen any here - every car I've seen is either new or not at all old, and after approaching 18 years here, that seems to me to be a bit unusual.
I love classic cars. They are more attractive, stronger and easier to maintain Those of us that have them keep them in great condition. And from a money perspective, they can be more valuable. My mother still has her '74 Mustang II. While it's not the muscle car Mustangs are known as, she just had a collector offer her over $90,000 for it.
My wife's car is a 2019 Volvo. The damn thing doesn't even have a dipstick to check the oil. IMHO they rely too much on the electronics to tell us if anything is wrong. New(er) cars you almost need an electrical engineering degree just to be able to even start to trouble shoot them.
My kids think senility is setting in because my dream car is a '55 Bel Air. I don't want anything done to it. Just rebuilt to the standard as if it just come the factory floor.
Yeah, think of those old cars. I think I could have hit my father's 1947 Chrysler's fender with a hammer and not been able to dent it. Compared to the cars of today with power this and power that my 1950 Ford Custom Coach had NO power door locks, NO power trunk opener, NO power windows, NO automatic transmission (it was 3 speed manual with a steering column mounted H gearshift), NO power seats, NO automatic rain sensor windshield wipers, NO signal seeking radio - it was an A.M. radio with 5 manual pushbuttons, NO tape player, NO signals to tell you you're close to another car when parking, and in fact NO warning signals of any kind, NO LCD screen with touch ability to do whatever, such as GPS, NO electronics of any kind - I mean it was really basic, and I loved driving it.
It's hilarious that lacking all that technology, and they are still an attention grabber.
Seems to me that the more technology you put into a car, the more problems need to be dealt with.
And virtually all the problems are with the technology and not a mechanical problem.
The more complicated, the more problems.
That's why my every day vehicle is an '03 F150. Don't want a new(er) one because of the electronics nightmare that comes with it.
Good decision.
I've been seeing news that the Chinese are really into building electric cars-- on a large scale.
Apparently they will compete with American cars because their prices are significantly lower.
There are millions of evs in use here already. The last time I was in a car here it was an ev, and it was the quietest, smoothest ride I've ever had in a car.
Absurd and magnificent
Magnificent, yes, but what do you mean by absurd?
Gargantuan gas-guzzlers, squishy suspensions, over-the-top styling...
And despite all that, magnificent.
Nobody even knew what greenhouse gases or global warming were back then.
My 1961 Plymouth Savoy had no PCV system,
Just a vent cap filled with "wire wool" to condense some of the oil back into the head while the rubber and steel
1/2 inch line carried the other smoke, fumes and dripping oil down past the oil pan to drip on the streets.
The good old days.
Drum brakes not quite big enough to make a panic stop, which didn't work at all when wet,
as you mentioned questionable suspensions and persistent over steering because few people realized that there
was an adjustable screw for the worm gear in the steering box.
Despite all that-- or because of all that?
LOL
Did I mention that?
I was expanding on Outis' observation of our absurd love of the unsafe...
Ah, okay, got it.
1968 or 2024 the Charger grabs one's attention.
Longevity of a good reputation.
The next generation Charger will come as a two door coupe again with either an all electric or an inline turbo six cylinder engine. Both will be four wheel drive with crazy horsepower...
And if it's an ev it's bound to be quieter and smoother.
I have seen videos of test model electric Chargers that have something to make the HEMI and big block roar..
LOL. Got to have that "roar" - sort of like how important the sound of a Harley is.
In 63 or 64 my father brought home a Chrysler turbine 2 door coupe designed by Ghia.
It whined, it wasn't peppy and no one cared about mileage. He bought a 65 Dart with a 426 hemi.
Never had a car that made an unnecessary noise.
“He bought a 65 Dart with a 426 hemi.”
How’d that turn out? A lot of times heavily modified cars don’t turn out so great as far as dependability.
So sorry it was a 62 with a blown 413 wedge
We added the 426 later
Stripped the interior and added adjustable weights over the rear suspension.
Changed the tire and brakes and suspension.
After a while it was just ridiculous to drive in NE Philly and it lived on its trailer between gigs at the track.
Real g forces in first and second gear, lol
This is my 1955 Chevy Bel Aire Hardtop with continental kit and V8. I sure wish I still had that car.
It's a beauty.
My Mom had a teal and cream 55 Bel Aire four door without the continental kit. Daddy drove a 1956 Biscayne two door in the same two tones...
Conjugal love means matching colours. LOL
The early Chargers were influenced by NASCAR and win on Sunday sell on Monday. The racecars then were like what you could buy at the dealer. They wanted to improve the high speed aerodynamics and made the 500 Charger sub model and had to sell that package to the public. The same with the Daytona and Superbird.
Richard Petty was Plymouth's top driver and he wanted a Daytona but Chrysler said he had to race in a Plymouth. So in 1969 Richard raced a Ford . To get him back they made the1970 Roadrunner Superbird, "Plymouth is out to win you over" was their ad slogan . Later Petty raced the Charger.
There have been some good car racing movies shown here recently that I've watched on TV - Shelby, Le Mans and Ford vs Ferrari. Watched 2 Lane Blacktop as well - it is considered a car racing movie.
There is a company that makes a carbon fiber body replica of 1968 Charger and puts it on a new Challenger. They look nice but very expensive.
I love the 2nd gen charger. One of my all time favorites. Was very disappointed when dodge brought the charger back in ‘05 or ‘06 as a four door sedan.
Daimler was running Chrysler then and they liked a 4 door high performance sedan. So it got us the Charger back and that lead to the Challenger. But a 4 door Charger took some getting used to. I sometimes think about buying a used police Charger to get a HEMI but I don't need any more vehicles.
Daimler did chrysler no favors, so much for the merger of equals. I’ll never get used to the 4 door charger. The front end looks pretty good, but from the cowl back it’s just,,,not my cup of tea.
How many vehicles do you have, and what are they?
The lesson is to not screw around with a winning formula.
68 Charger, getting painted soon. Blue and getting a new black vinyl top and headliner.
1978 Dodge Little Red Express Truck 360 HP motor. I bought this for my college graduation present. I had read about them and drove by the Chrysler dealer when they were unloading it and went in and bought it.
1995 Jeep Cherokee, 320,000 miles and my regular vehicle and I have a parts one
2 1997 Dodge Dakota pickups. one runs good and other runs OK but keeping for parts
1975 Dodge Powerwagon, Restored and painted HEMI Orange. 440, 4 speed, 4 wheel drive. i used to push snow with it and wore it out and put a newer cab and bed on it. Getting motor rebuilt.
1977 Dodge pickup army surplus M880 runs but parts for 75. probably going to sell this one
and 1970 Army surplus Duce and Half 6x6 with 10 new tires. Why? The school I used to work at had 2 and sold it to me cheap.
Even though i’m not a fan of the 4 door charger it has sold very well for dodge.
Oy vey!
Holy smoke. You could support yourself if you became a vehicle rental business.
So it DID benefit the bottom line - a family muscle car.
A grown-up avatar - can hear the roar as you press the accelerator.
When I was much younger my parents liked driving the first Charger.
My father's friend who worked for Chrysler Credit was going to get him a good deal on his company car when he got a new one. He sold his car and then the deal on the used company car was delayed and he drove the Roadrunner for 3 months and I had to drive a beat up old Dodge pickup.
This me in the General Lee Charger at Cooter's near Luray, VA.
When it comes to Chargers, you're number 1 around here.
Thanks