Anyone here have a 68 Charger non R/T that had a 440 from the factory?

[kikgas01]

My dad has a dark green one but sadly, I havent spoke to him for 20 years and wouldn`t even if he gave me his car(he is a bad person, that is all I want to say about that) anyway I have a person calling me a liar lol.

[tan top]

 did he buy it   new ??      doubt very much ,  &  would say no , but not saying the dealer could not have dropped one in , for some reason  or another 

[kikgas01]

I don`t know or remember. I was 8 and got in trouble tor touching the windows and leaving finger prints.... I know it had a 440 and it was like new when he got it. I am 40 now. Actually Mom said I would have been younger. like 4 or 5. I hated him then.....

[RECHRGD]

I worked with a guy once that said he had a non-R/T '68 that had a non-HP 440 in it from the factory.  I think he was delusional.  I've never heard of any like that before or since.  I know that when I bought my new '68 R/T, back in the day, that there was no 440 option available for XP cars..

[nvrbdn]

what about special order cars? but then why order a basic car and put the 440 in it? how much would they shun an order back in the day though? ive seen some different stuff out there including a 72 satellite grey with black interior that was ordered by a chrysler exec. for his wife that had some wild options. it was bought at an auction in Mo. and they said the only way this car was sold this way was by a chrysler employee getting to order it.

[Troy]

How do you know it wasn't an R/T? Both my 68 R/Ts are stripe delete so you really only have the grill and tail panel emblems to designate that it isn't a base model.

Otherwise, I highly doubt there was a factory installed 440 in a non-R/T Charger.

It's possible that it was a 383 that the dealer replaced with a 440 or something along those lines (4-speed cars especially didn't seem to hold on to the original engine very long). Without asking him it will be hard to know the true answer but you're going to need a lot of proof to convince anyone that it was manufactured that way.

Troy

[hemigeno]

How do you know it wasn't an R/T? Both my 68 R/Ts are stripe delete so you really only have the grill and tail panel emblems to designate that it isn't a base model.

Otherwise, I highly doubt there was a factory installed 440 in a non-R/T Charger.

It's possible that it was a 383 that the dealer replaced with a 440 or something along those lines (4-speed cars especially didn't seem to hold on to the original engine very long). Without asking him it will be hard to know the true answer but you're going to need a lot of proof to convince anyone that it was manufactured that way.

Troy

Chances are extremely remote that it's a legit car, but stranger things have happened.  There is both actual and documentation evidence for the 1969 model year of base Chargers (i.e. non-R/T) with a 426 Hemi, but I am not aware of any such exceptions for a 440.  Could be, but I'm not aware of them.

Without seeing the VIN (XP with an "L" in the fifth digit), fender tag (with "E86"), and having a numbers-matching block, I'd be pretty skeptical it came that way from the factory.  The broadcast sheet, if present, would also need to have all the right part numbers for engine & transmission too.

[Kern Dog]

I know it had a 440 and it was like new when he got it.

LIKE NEW is the key here.
In '64 or 65 when Hertz ordered Mustangs for their rental fleet with the 271 hP 289, there were cases of guys renting the cars, taking them home and pulling the engines out. They'd put a 221 or 260 back in and return the car later. Many times, the deed wasn't noticed until years later.
The Charger may have been a 383 car that had the motor replaced very early in its life. Back then, it was an easy swap since the 440s were internally balanced.

[XS29LA47V21]

I remember a buddy had a F3, green int, green top XP29L Charger in western NC back in the late 1980s, however that was basically 25yrs ago and I have held on to that memory after some number of beers with no photos/docs, starting to feel like a long time ago, maybe I just want to believe   FWIW, I do believe is is plausible as a special order car where some guy was trying to stay under the insurance radar paying dealer RT prices but not being an RT..

[moparstuart]

I remember a buddy had a F3, green int, green top XP29L Charger in western NC back in the late 1980s, however that was basically 25yrs ago and I have held on to that memory after some number of beers with no photos/docs, starting to feel like a long time ago, maybe I just want to believe   FWIW, I do believe is is plausible as a special order car where some guy was trying to stay under the insurance radar paying dealer RT prices but not being an RT..

this car has a XP29L vin

[hemigeno]

I remember a buddy had a F3, green int, green top XP29L Charger in western NC back in the late 1980s, however that was basically 25yrs ago and I have held on to that memory after some number of beers with no photos/docs, starting to feel like a long time ago, maybe I just want to believe  FWIW, I do believe is is plausible as a special order car where some guy was trying to stay under the insurance radar paying dealer RT prices but not being an RT..

this car has a XP29L vin

... with an XX29L designation on the fender tag.  IMHO, typo's are a different story - but that's just me.

[moparstuart]

I remember a buddy had a F3, green int, green top XP29L Charger in western NC back in the late 1980s, however that was basically 25yrs ago and I have held on to that memory after some number of beers with no photos/docs, starting to feel like a long time ago, maybe I just want to believe  FWIW, I do believe is is plausible as a special order car where some guy was trying to stay under the insurance radar paying dealer RT prices but not being an RT..

this car has a XP29L vin

... with an XX29L designation on the fender tag.  IMHO, typo's are a different story - but that's just me.

  yup just wanted to throw that wrench   

[Drache]

I have heard stories about workers at Dodge Dealerships ordering things in their cars that weren't technically supposed to be there. 

[bull]

This sort of topic has come up a few times and the general conclusion people come to is why would Chrysler make such a thing? Similarly, why would someone order such a thing? If you told Chrysler you wanted a 440 in a Charger they'd just point you in the direction of the R/Ts. I don't see any benefit to Chrysler to put a 440 in a base model Charger. And without any documentation it'd be impossible to prove.