NEW POLL..What's Better..A 71-72 Chargers or the 73-74 Chargers

[Charger1973]

  

[71ChallengeHer]

 

[Forza]

I hope the owner of that car loses a lugnut or 8 on the freeway.   

[LargerCharger383]

73/74 with HP mods...

[bordin34]

73/74 unless it a triple black 71 r/t hemi 440-6 or 383.

[Wheels of Terror]

So who's keeping count?  Who's winning?  Why wasn't this set up as a poll?   

Who cares. It's like choosing between your kids.  Any MoPar is the best.

[Charger1973]

So who won?   

[Paladin]

      I have always admired the appearance of the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T, right from the time they were new and sitting on the dealer's show room floor.  I have had this one for the past 10 years, and of all the 1950s-1970s automobiles I have ever owned (and I have had a bunch), this particular car attracts the most attention and complimentary comments, so I am not alone in my prejudice.  Often when I look at it, I think of the quote in Henry Gregor Felsen's classic novel Hot Rod, where he writes about the "little mishapen god of speed".  Someone in this thread mentioned that it looked like it was running 110 MPH sitting still.  That is an apt description of the '71 R/T.

     That being said, if I had to do it all over again, I would have chosen a '73-'74 Charger over my R/T.  The reason is simple, I built my R/T to be driven.  It, along with my '66 Thunderbird, are my daily drivers.  They are never abused, but they definitely get used.  Recently though, the idea of leaving the R/T in the Wal Mart parking lot with a bunch of cellphone wielding idiots buzzing about is getting more and more worrisome.  I can scrounge '73-'74 Charger body parts, but for a '71 Charger R/T?  Forget about it.  I have two complete parts cars for the T-Bird, and it is getting driven more and more and the R/T less and less. 

     Another thing that bears mentioning.  The '73 and '74s do drive better and handle better than any earlier Charger ever made, though that might have more to do with the available sway bar package of the later Third Gens.  Underneath, they share the same underpinnings with most every other '73-'78 Mopar B-Body, and you can pick up those as complete cars cheaply enough these days.  Also, I think you could also get the bigger brakes on the '73s and '74s.  That was one of the most important modifications I made to the R/T, so it could stop as well as it could go.  The later Third Gens had better aerodynamics, too, which was why King Richard ran those cars until NASCAR finally told him the body style was just too old. 

     Whatever the finding in this poll, any of these cars were great automobiles.  I would be proud to have any Charger, from 1966 through 1978, parked in my garage.  No matter what the generation, they represented Dodge well in both performance and designs of that particular era.  There were giants in those days...

May God bless America,
Paladin

[RD]

how about if we ask this question, and the answer will determine who is better...

Which, 71/72 or 73/74, has the worst blindspots?  

Whoever does is the LOSER!  

[OldGuy]

I don't know, they all look the same to me!!

[twilt]

how about if we ask this question, and the answer will determine who is better...

Which, 71/72 or 73/74, has the worst blindspots?  

Whoever does is the LOSER!  

73/74 with Opera windows has the worst blind spots. Opera windows? that name alone just sounds kind of ......well, limp wristed.

[Goldfinger71]

 

I am building my R/T to drive and enjoy.I don't care what I own im driving it!

[RD]

how about if we ask this question, and the answer will determine who is better...

Which, 71/72 or 73/74, has the worst blindspots?  

Whoever does is the LOSER!  

73/74 with Opera windows has the worst blind spots. Opera windows? that name alone just sounds kind of ......well, limp wristed.

no way!  72 SE has the worst blind spots!!!!

[hemihead]

how about if we ask this question, and the answer will determine who is better...

Which, 71/72 or 73/74, has the worst blindspots?  

Whoever does is the LOSER!  

73/74 with Opera windows has the worst blind spots. Opera windows? that name alone just sounds kind of ......well, limp wristed.

no way!  72 SE has the worst blind spots!!!!

71/72 has the worst blind spots  I love all the 3rd Gens but the 73/74 takes it for better handling

[73chgrSE]

The only thing that I never cared for with the 71-72 was the upturned angle on that side window. To me it just looked incomplete but it has since grown on me. That had to be a bad blind spot. But I still think they finally got the look right in 73. Although engine performance was best in 71 ofcourse, but handling and appearance  in 73.

I guess my ultimate would be a 73 with a 426 hemi.

[Charger1973]

Why does everyone think the 73-74 had better handling?  If anything the handling was WORSE due to the entire car being "isolated" from the suspension.  Its pretty sloppy if you ask me. 

More comfortable?  Sure.  Better handling?  No...  And this is coming from a 73 guy.  Im removing all of the rubber isolator junk from mine, so it will handle like a 71-72. 

[1972Rallye]

Why does everyone think the 73-74 had better handling?  If anything the handling was WORSE due to the entire car being "isolated" from the suspension.  Its pretty sloppy if you ask me. 

More comfortable?  Sure.  Better handling?  No...  And this is coming from a 73 guy.  Im removing all of the rubber isolator junk from mine, so it will handle like a 71-72. 

As for which I think is better... my sig should say it all 

[Nacho-RT74]

if you will junk the isolators, then give them to me...I want them... mines look worst than those on your pic ( just the rubber stuff )

[rudyjrusa]

i like 73/74 chargers

[Charger1973]

if you will junk the isolators, then give them to me...I want them... mines look worst than those on your pic ( just the rubber stuff )

If I can get them out without destroying them, they are yours.   

[71 RT]

71-72 for me!

[gitrdone73]

73/74

[RD]

73/74 handling = overall ride quality.  If what you all are referring to in handling, none of those cars "handled" good in any turn, so to say a 71/72 can corner better than a 73/74 is really dependent upon who is driving the car through that turn, not really on the car itself.

[Paul G]

if you will junk the isolators, then give them to me...I want them... mines look worst than those on your pic ( just the rubber stuff )

If I can get them out without destroying them, they are yours.

Why dont you get the best of both worlds and put poly isolator pads in? I used poly pads on my 73 and it made a world of difference in ride quality.

[Charger1973]

Why dont you get the best of both worlds and put poly isolator pads in? I used poly pads on my 73 and it made a world of difference in ride quality.

Ive already got the rear suspension in, its a complete setup I pulled from a 72 Rallye.  Im building my 73 to perform like a muscle car.  I really dont see the need for rubber isolators in my suspension and im going to stiffen up the car in any way that I can.  Not saying its a bad thing to have, just not something I want on my car. I still need to order some heavy duty springs.  Im also converting it to a non AC car and considering a manual transmission...