My Dodge Charger '69 R/T 440cid

[Charger´69]

It´s been while when I last wrote what´s up with my Charger.

Well I have just droven it a lot and it have been great  I bought new battery to it (60Ah/510A), that´s all I´ve done to it. And I got black registry plates to it (not in picture). Now it has worked without problems, it starts always without any problems and now engine works like it should work, it hasn´t misfired anymore after I changed that old coil back to it  That MSD didn´t work, don´t know why and I don´t care 

This picture is taken from one car show where I was with my friends and Charger two weeks ago 

[LUMI]

nice picture
how long it took to get those short black ones?
i cot my short whities today and ordered blacks

[Charger´69]

nice picture
how long it took to get those short black ones?
i cot my short whities today and ordered blacks

Yes I heard from Esko last saturday when we were in O.S.H.A. cruising that you got your Charger inspected at last 

I think it took something almost two weeks to get those black plates... Wasn´t it grazy that you had to first get white plates and after that black plates, you couldn´t have those black plates directly..?!  Weird policy here.... 

[LUMI]

yes it took over one year
OK then it is not so long time to wait, and it is only money to the state to take those white ones first

[Charger´69]

So, if I want to put 15x10 Magnum 500 rear wheels I suppose these would fit without modifications with 295/50 tires? 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WVI-54501205/

Those are Magnum 500 wheels with 5 inch backspace and and 5 x 4.5 inch 

I don´t know how wide my Magnum 500 rear wheels are now, but I think that those are something like 8" wide, max 9"  There are 245/60 BFG´s on now. Can someone tell from pictures that do I have already 10" wide wheels? I don´t think so 

[tan top]

Yesterday I increased initial spark advance to 13 BTDC, it didn´t start misfiring or pinging, maybe I increase it bit more soon.. That misfiring is mystery, it sometimes comes and goes away without reason, don´t know what is wrong or is nothing 

Today we cruised few hours and when we came back, I took this one poor vid from it  And I started taking beer myself 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpTs-mtoqaU

Quality is poor, I´m sorry, I´ll take better videos in future 

sounds good ! nice looking charger 

[Charger´69]

Yesterday I increased initial spark advance to 13 BTDC, it didn´t start misfiring or pinging, maybe I increase it bit more soon.. That misfiring is mystery, it sometimes comes and goes away without reason, don´t know what is wrong or is nothing 

Today we cruised few hours and when we came back, I took this one poor vid from it  And I started taking beer myself 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpTs-mtoqaU

Quality is poor, I´m sorry, I´ll take better videos in future 

sounds good ! nice looking charger 

Thanks, I like it too 

[Charger´69]

Today I really punished my Charger, I tested quarter mail times with G-Tech two times...   Of course on "closed track"  

Road was little dirty and those BFG 245 wide reartires was VERY slippery when launching car moving, so rear tires smoked really bad   on both speed ups so I didn´t get decent 1/4 times, but here are numbers: 1/4 mail times was almost mid 14´s, 0-60mph was 6.2 seconds and trap speed was +100mph. So these numbers are pretty normal to this kind of kombination I think..?  

I just calculated with horsepower calculators and those showed me that there might be something 300-315 RWHP (with 18% drivetrain loss it makes something 360-380 hp from flywheel). Doesn´t surprise much, because engine is almost original 440cid Magnum, only carb is changed to Holley Street Avenger DP 670cfm and cam is little bit stiffer than original Magnum cam.

I´ll test this soon in this summer also on real drag race track and then we´ll see how it moves when is decent track and I´ll have to also practise MUCH launching this devil that I can get better 1/4 mail times, I shouldn´t smoke tires that badly if I want it to move faster   My target is to get it going somewhere low 14´s or high 13´s, I don´t know is it possible but let´s see what happens.....  

What do you guys think about those numbers, are those bad/normal/good to this combination..?  

Well, I was yesterday in real Drag race track with my Charger and I drove 3 times 1/4 mile time. First two starts was something 14.7s / 96 mph. 60 feet times was 2.5 s, so those were pretty poor starts   Track was very slippery because I drove without slicks.

I was hoping that I would get low 14´s, but that didn´t happen yet. I´ll have to practise my driving in quarter mile, it´s kind of hard to get good launch from lights because track is slippery slippery with BFG 245/60-15 rear street tires and Charger is pretty heavy car  

After two starts I decided to try to increase my ignition advance. I had something 14-15 degrees BTDC (total 34-35 degrees), and I increased it 2 degrees. So now I have something like 16-17 degrees BTDC (total 36-37 degrees). It did help a little, in third try I got 14.6s / 97mph, but still that 60 feet time was 2.5 s   If I could get it to somewhere 2.2 s or less, then it would be close to drive it to high 13´s. But it didn´t happen this time. I don´t want to drive with slick rear tires because I want to to know where this is capable in full street condition  

I used also RWHP calculator that shows RWHP from 1/4 mile trap speed and it tells that I have something like 292 RWHP, that makes something like 350-360 from flywheel.

Well, I´m still pretty satisfied to it, because now I have some facts what my Charger can do in 1/4 mile. Next summer I WILL drive it to mid 13´s, I´ll have to practise starts and of course I need more power and traction. I was thinking that first things that I´m going to do, is get decent air filter to it like this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KNN-66-3030/ and buy those 10x15" Magnum 500 rear wheels http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WVI-54501205/ with Cooper etc 295/50 rear tires. Then I´ll hope I have little more power and much more traction. But I don´t think that those are enough to get it to mid 13´s, maybe with good luck very low 14´s or high 13´s.

I´ll change that original Magnum aircleaner setup to K&N X-Stream Air Flow setup because I think, that original Magnum air cleaner setup is pretty bad getting enough air to engine because it is so "closed", what do you guys think of it??  

Maybe I´ll change also my original iron intake manifold to some performance aluminium intake. Any ideas which intake would be good in mostly cruising use but also in performance? I would really LOVE to put some dual tunnel ram to it with 2x450cfm carbs, I mean something like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-03-0178/  but I quess that my almost original 440cid Magnum would "drown" with it? Don´t know. And how bad is those tunnel rams in street use?  

And of course, I appreciate any tips to get my Charger go with mild modifications to mid 13´s   I know that ProCharger etc would help me a lot with this so you don´t have to tell me that   But right now I would like to go without superchargers, turbos or NOS because my previous Camaro was supercharged and there are always own problems with those setups...  

[Charger´69]

I thinked again and I decided to get this kind of street scoop http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MRG-6658/?rtype=10 to my Charger, this would look mean when it comes through hood  And another good thing is that then engine will get cold air and it gives more hp... 

[Brock Samson]

 Please would you leave it alone and either get a proper 426 HEMI or take the damn HEMI emblems off the doors, i would also remove the chromed R/Ts - or the stripe - and possibly the pinstripes, though i think the pinstripes are kinda' cool actually.
in other words, please don't ruin a hood for that bolt on crap...  If ya do punch a hole in the hood for that cheap lookin scoop you might as well paint the entire grill assembly flat or better yet gloss black... as per your original plan. 

[Charger´69]

Please would you leave it alone and either get a proper 426 HEMI or take the damn HEMI emblems off the doors, i would also remove the chromed R/Ts - or the stripe - and possibly the pinstripes, though i think the pinstripes are kinda' cool actually.
in other words, please don't ruin a hood for that bolt on crap...  If ya do punch a hole in the hood for that cheap lookin scoop you might as well paint the entire grill assembly flat or better yet gloss black... as per your original plan. 

Yes I will change those Hemi emblems to 440 or R/T emblems in next winter, don´t worry  And I really won´t remove chromed R/T´s, stripe or pinstripes, this is R/T clone car so I´ll let those be as those are.... 

I wasn´t going to ruin my original hood, I´ll get fiberglass hood for that  And don´t be so "tight" with this, this is still my own Charger  And don´t worry, I won´t do anything to it that can´t be undone if necessary... 

I won´t get Hemi engine but I´ll start build new over 500cid engine to it some day... 

[Brock Samson]

 I'm just tryin' to help, I've loved these cars since '66 when I was 9 and have very strong feelings for them,.. they are somewhat more than just "inanimate objects" or "cars" to me... I understand there's a learning curve and you have your own ideas but that cars is pretty darn sweet and I hate to see it all gussied up with silly do dads,...
 (says the man with faux tiger skin seat covers)  

[Charger´69]

I'm just tryin' to help, I've loved these cars since '66 when I was 9 and have very strong feelings for them,.. they are somewhat more than just "inanimate objects" or "cars" to me... I understand there's a learning curve and you have your own ideas but that cars is pretty darn sweet and I hate to see it all gussied up with silly do dads,...
 (says the man with faux tiger skin seat covers)  

Like I said, I´ll do what ever I want to it, but I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone. I won´t ruin this car, believe me.. 

If someone want´s to stop me doing what I want, I can sell this Charger for $50.000 

I know Brock that you love these cars, so do I and that is the reason why I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone.

I tried to search picture of ´69 Charger with that kind of street scoop but I didn´t find  Does someone have that kind of picture, I would like to see how it looks before I buy that scoop and fiberglass hood  If it sucks, I´ll buy just that K&N airfilter and do nothing to hood 

[LUMI]

this is near us 
http://rpglasfiber.com/
they have fiberglass hoods to Chargers and scoops too
dont know the quality

[jb666]

I'm just tryin' to help, I've loved these cars since '66 when I was 9 and have very strong feelings for them,.. they are somewhat more than just "inanimate objects" or "cars" to me... I understand there's a learning curve and you have your own ideas but that cars is pretty darn sweet and I hate to see it all gussied up with silly do dads,...
 (says the man with faux tiger skin seat covers)  

Dude your passion for these cars inspires me 

Charger'69 -- Great picture!! I look forward to seeing more. It looks like you have some beautiful scenery over there!!!! 

[PPRCuda]

this is near us  
http://rpglasfiber.com/
they have fiberglass hoods to Chargers and scoops too
dont know the quality

Anders from RP makes good products. I was there last week and bought two 1964-1967 HEMI Scoops.

http://www.paalupaikka.com/galleria/albums/userpics/hemiscoop2.jpg

Rgds Pepe

PS. For good traction you need set of M/T ET Street tires. 295/50-15 compared to your current tires doesn't make noticeable different.

http://pprcuda.blogspot.com
http://pprcharger.blogspot.com

[Charger´69]

I haven´t wrote here for a long time so maybe little update  

Well, now is winter here in Finland and Charger had been in my warm garage. I haven´t done anything to it, just planned some things in my mind. Last summer I drove something 1500 miles and it worked pretty much great after that charging and starting problems got solved.

Before summer I think I´ll get those 295/50-15 rear tires to it and maybe better aluminium intake manifold, and maybe that K&N airfilter ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KNN-66-3030/ ). Some minor fixing I´ll do also but nothing big I think.. My friend has new BFG 295/50-15 tires, so maybe I´ll buy those, or Cooper Cobras because those are pretty cheap in www.rengas-online.com. And then just drive and burn rubber  

I did something little week ago, I washed dust off and waxed it and wheels with Auto Glym red wax one time. Now it shines again   And yesterday I checked my engine´s codes, there was these codes: E 440, 5-26, HP2.

Here is picture from my garage when I waxed it week ago, it´s so easy and fast to wax when car is on autolift  

[Charger´69]

... And here is nice picture from last summer 

[Blakcharger440]

I'm just tryin' to help, I've loved these cars since '66 when I was 9 and have very strong feelings for them,.. they are somewhat more than just "inanimate objects" or "cars" to me... I understand there's a learning curve and you have your own ideas but that cars is pretty darn sweet and I hate to see it all gussied up with silly do dads,...
 (says the man with faux tiger skin seat covers)  

Like I said, I´ll do what ever I want to it, but I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone. I won´t ruin this car, believe me.. 

If someone want´s to stop me doing what I want, I can sell this Charger for $50.000 

I know Brock that you love these cars, so do I and that is the reason why I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone.

I tried to search picture of ´69 Charger with that kind of street scoop but I didn´t find  Does someone have that kind of picture, I would like to see how it looks before I buy that scoop and fiberglass hood  If it sucks, I´ll buy just that K&N airfilter and do nothing to hood 

By all means have fun with your Charger and do it like you want it. I am sure whatever you do can be undone when you want to. Life is too short not to have fun when them. Congrats on the good looking Charger! 

[Charger´69]

I'm just tryin' to help, I've loved these cars since '66 when I was 9 and have very strong feelings for them,.. they are somewhat more than just "inanimate objects" or "cars" to me... I understand there's a learning curve and you have your own ideas but that cars is pretty darn sweet and I hate to see it all gussied up with silly do dads,...
 (says the man with faux tiger skin seat covers)  

Like I said, I´ll do what ever I want to it, but I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone. I won´t ruin this car, believe me.. 

If someone want´s to stop me doing what I want, I can sell this Charger for $50.000 

I know Brock that you love these cars, so do I and that is the reason why I won´t do nothing that can´t be undone.

I tried to search picture of ´69 Charger with that kind of street scoop but I didn´t find  Does someone have that kind of picture, I would like to see how it looks before I buy that scoop and fiberglass hood  If it sucks, I´ll buy just that K&N airfilter and do nothing to hood 

By all means have fun with your Charger and do it like you want it. I am sure whatever you do can be undone when you want to. Life is too short not to have fun when them. Congrats on the good looking Charger! 

Thanks!! 

Of course I´m going to do to it what ever I want, last time when I looked at the title there was my name on it  And I always think twice before I do anything to it, so when I actually do it I´m pretty sure about what I´m doing. Some ideas that I have wrote here has gone away but new ideas comes all the time.

I really build this Charger only for my purposes and I don´t think that all Chargers should look the same. But I´ve noticed that -68-70 Chargers are almost perfect like those are, so it is hard to innovate something that makes it even better 

Just now I´m looking for proper performance aluminium intake to this combination, I think it is Edelbrock Performer or RPM intake that I´m going to buy. It would be nice to get some more horsepower before every summer. And I´m fixing some minor things, nothig big though. And maybe I´ll remove mufflers from it and use straight pipes, that is easy to try, I don´t know will it come too loud then because it is pretty loud already, but maybe I try it anyway.. 

[jeryst]

I dont think you will like the sound if you use just straight pipes.

[Charger´69]

I dont think you will like the sound if you use just straight pipes.

Maybe I´ll try still, it takes maybe 1-2 hours from my life when I get mufflers off that I can test it  But I think so too that it will come too loud. Seriously best would be electric cut outs like these: http://www.quicktimeperformance.com/QTEC/index.php , if you sometimes want it be very loud and get maybe some more power you could just press the button to open exhaust. But this isn´t so important right now..

[67440chrg]

 Im haveing a few beers and reading about your car. I think it looks and sounds great. Dont worry about others who want to coment about what you do to it. By the way it sounds you love it too much to do it harm. I have heard a few talk at cruises about what I have done to mine and I dont even take the time to tell them that I used a salvage yard hood and saved the original. I used to not like to hear about old muscle cars leaving there home land but hearing how much someone like you loves and cares for them it is ok with me now.Have fun take care.

[Charger´69]

Im haveing a few beers and reading about your car. I think it looks and sounds great. Dont worry about others who want to coment about what you do to it. By the way it sounds you love it too much to do it harm. I have heard a few talk at cruises about what I have done to mine and I dont even take the time to tell them that I used a salvage yard hood and saved the original. I used to not like to hear about old muscle cars leaving there home land but hearing how much someone like you loves and cares for them it is ok with me now.Have fun take care.

Thanks and nice -67 Charger  Love the colour! And you´re right, I really love this car so much that I wont do any harm to it

[Bob T]

Good thread Charger'69 and a great looking car. Well done , what a good find and sounds like you are really enjoying it , good to hear ,

Im haveing a few beers and reading about your car. I think it looks and sounds great. Dont worry about others who want to coment about what you do to it. By the way it sounds you love it too much to do it harm. I have heard a few talk at cruises about what I have done to mine and I dont even take the time to tell them that I used a salvage yard hood and saved the original. I used to not like to hear about old muscle cars leaving there home land but hearing how much someone like you loves and cares for them it is ok with me now.Have fun take care.

Yep, we love em down in the Southern Hemisphere as well, we take good care of em, drag them hard, polish them up and cruise round with the family in. Beats the Hell out of any other brand