How fast should a 440 Charger be?

[Dino]

I ask this because I took the Charger up to fairly high speeds last Friday morning.  I got a call at work, my wife wasn't doing well and since we live out in the country and ambulances take a while, I hopped in the Charger and went home, then took her to the ER in my daily.  My wife's fine and she's back home but at the time I was scared out of my mind (she's a nurse and never worries until that day) and just drove like an idiot getting home as soon as I could.  It's normally a 20 minute drive that I probably did in half that.

I am not proud of this and I hope I'll never be in this frame of mind again but I drove home like I was chased by the cops.  I honestly hoped to find one so he could escort me but no go.

I drove fairly normal until I got to the edge of the city, you can't speed in town, there's just no room for it.
The last road to home is a 55 mph road.  It's straight with very good visibility but people don't usually break the speed limit because of all the wildlife.  Again, not proud of this but I took the charger well beyond 100 mph.  It was noisy and vibrating quite a bit but looking back I was kinda shocked how fast this sucker really was.  I always cruise the damn thing with my 2.96 gears, I never really put my foot down long enough to see what she could do.  Now I'm tempted to take her to the track and find out.  Not with the 14" wheels though.

I don't know exactly how fast I was going.  I never changed the speedometer gear when I changed the axle gears so when the clock reads around 48 mph I'm actually doing 55.  This time the speedometer was more in the 120 range.  I just went as fast as I could until there was a car in front of me, slowed down to 55 and waited until it was safe to pass, then gunned it again.  Crazy...

[RECHRGD]

Well, with those gears you should be able to bury the speedo if the engine is running well.  I know that when my original '68 R/T was new I hit the 150 mark with the 323's, but I seriously doubt that the speedo was real accurate at the higher speeds.....

[green69rt]

When my first 69 RT was new I lived in Idaho and it was 66 miles from town to work.  More than once I pegged the speedometer at 150+ so who knows how fast I was really going.  Thinking back I was just a foolish kid becasue tires sure weren't up to that kind of speed.  Sure wouldn't try it now!!  440 with 3.23 gears, 3 spd auto.

[Chargen69]

Flying down the road is a LOT different than trying to get one started at the track

[cdr]

figuring the % that your speedo is off,i come up with about 137mph

[Troy]

Doesn't matter much with the drum brakes - anything over about 80 mph and you won't stop (in a panic) until you hit something solid. These cars could always go a lot faster than they could stop - or turn in many cases! When I was younger I would routinely drive above 100 in my Charger. It was a bad idea but teenagers are indestructible right?

These cars will "lift" at around 160-180 (don't know if I ever saw an exact figure) so they'll at least go that fast. I've seen several hitting 130+ in the quarter so, with the right gears and enough RPM, you can go way faster than you should.

Glad everything ended well.

Troy

[Dino]

Thanks all, I expected more pointing fingers, and that would be valid to be sure.  I sure hope I never come close to doing stuff like that again but when I heard my wife's voice, very worried, I had to get home as fast as possible.

Troy you are absolutely right, as you know my brakes are slowly failing ad there was no way in hell this car would've stopped anywhere near soon.  It's parked until they are fixed, I'm no longer driving it.  I have all the parts to do the repair and disc install, all I need is the courage to start.

I probably was doing in the 130 mph range and it felt like it had a lot to spare as well.  Nuts...no wonder so many killed themselves in these back in the day.   

[AKcharger]

A 440 Charger should be fast enough to go 1 millllllion miles an hour

[c00nhunterjoe]

Assuming it is a stock 440 out of power at  with 14 inch factory tires rated at roughly 26 inches tall, coupled through 2.96's and floating valves at just under 6,000 rpm you would see 150 mph

[Cooter]

My brother got me and a buddy in his factory '69 R/T with hopped up 440 magnum, 727, and sure grip 3.23 gear.

All it would do WFO, was 137 MPH and even then, he turned the steering wheel a 1/4 turn each way and the car never turned. Too much wind drag to go anymore. Hell, he was almost off the road at that speed.

Many tried to say they went 150 plus, but one ride in that Charger and they were white as ghosts when they got out. Real time 130 Plus is SCARY in these cars. 150,160,170 MPH? All but impossible with anything resembling a stock 2nd Gen. Charger.

[Dino]

Cooter that was pretty much the experience I had with my 68 when I was a kid.  Not going that fast but the faster you went, the more you could move the steering wheel without any effect.  Scary stuff!  I honestly don't recall what the 69 felt like last week, I had a one track mind but I have to say, the way I drove that thing it pretty much went where I wanted it to go.  The previous owner installed a rebuilt steering box and although the power assist is still way too much, it does handle quite nicely.  Not Porsche nice but for a car this size it behaved good.  The skinny tires are the worst really, I feel I could lose a tire going sideways.

And yes, those speeds in a Charger can load up your shorts quite fast, it's not something I would ever do for fun, not without some serious mods.

[cdr]

Thanks all, I expected more pointing fingers, and that would be valid to be sure.  I sure hope I never come close to doing stuff like that again but when I heard my wife's voice, very worried, I had to get home as fast as possible.

Troy you are absolutely right, as you know my brakes are slowly failing ad there was no way in hell this car would've stopped anywhere near soon.  It's parked until they are fixed, I'm no longer driving it.  I have all the parts to do the repair and disc install, all I need is the courage to start.

I probably was doing in the 130 mph range and it felt like it had a lot to spare as well.  Nuts...no wonder so many killed themselves in these back in the day.   

read my earlier post

[Dino]

Thanks all, I expected more pointing fingers, and that would be valid to be sure.  I sure hope I never come close to doing stuff like that again but when I heard my wife's voice, very worried, I had to get home as fast as possible.

Troy you are absolutely right, as you know my brakes are slowly failing ad there was no way in hell this car would've stopped anywhere near soon.  It's parked until they are fixed, I'm no longer driving it.  I have all the parts to do the repair and disc install, all I need is the courage to start.

I probably was doing in the 130 mph range and it felt like it had a lot to spare as well.  Nuts...no wonder so many killed themselves in these back in the day.   

read my earlier post

Oh that's why I said that but forgot to put your name in there, my bad!

[cdr]

Thanks all, I expected more pointing fingers, and that would be valid to be sure.  I sure hope I never come close to doing stuff like that again but when I heard my wife's voice, very worried, I had to get home as fast as possible.

Troy you are absolutely right, as you know my brakes are slowly failing ad there was no way in hell this car would've stopped anywhere near soon.  It's parked until they are fixed, I'm no longer driving it.  I have all the parts to do the repair and disc install, all I need is the courage to start.

I probably was doing in the 130 mph range and it felt like it had a lot to spare as well.  Nuts...no wonder so many killed themselves in these back in the day.   

read my earlier post

Oh that's why I said that but forgot to put your name in there, my bad!

no bad,but if your speedo reads like you said,you were closer to 140,than 130 ,& that is haulin a$$

[Dino]

Thanks all, I expected more pointing fingers, and that would be valid to be sure.  I sure hope I never come close to doing stuff like that again but when I heard my wife's voice, very worried, I had to get home as fast as possible.

Troy you are absolutely right, as you know my brakes are slowly failing ad there was no way in hell this car would've stopped anywhere near soon.  It's parked until they are fixed, I'm no longer driving it.  I have all the parts to do the repair and disc install, all I need is the courage to start.

I probably was doing in the 130 mph range and it felt like it had a lot to spare as well.  Nuts...no wonder so many killed themselves in these back in the day.   

read my earlier post

Oh that's why I said that but forgot to put your name in there, my bad!

no bad,but if your speedo reads like you said,you were closer to 140,than 130 ,& that is haulin a$$

Unfortunately I was hauling ass, waaaaaay too fast for public roads, even out in the country.

[TUFCAT]

I get scared at those speeds only having a lap belt. 

[mauve66]

so,is the wife ok now???

i hope so cause when she reads this over your shoulders her head is going to explode................

[Dino]

so,is the wife ok now???

i hope so cause when she reads this over your shoulders her head is going to explode................

Yes she is fine, without going into detail she had quite the scare but the Er docs knew what to do and fixed mylovely bride.

She would probably kill me because when she called I promised not to race home.  The thing is, I meant it, I really did.  But by the time I got to my car I was so scared and freaking out that everything went blank and I jumped in the car and floored it.

Monday I went to check the parking lot and apparently I left a bit of rubber behind.

I get scared at those speeds only having a lap belt. 

Yeah no kidding!  Those things are a joke doing 5 mph...but I still wear it!   

[cdr]

so,is the wife ok now???

i hope so cause when she reads this over your shoulders her head is going to explode................

Yes she is fine, without going into detail she had quite the scare but the Er docs knew what to do and fixed mylovely bride.

She would probably kill me because when she called I promised not to race home.  The thing is, I meant it, I really did.  But by the time I got to my car I was so scared and freaking out that everything went blank and I jumped in the car and floored it.

Monday I went to check the parking lot and apparently I left a bit of rubber behind.

I get scared at those speeds only having a lap belt. 

Yeah no kidding!  Those things are a joke doing 5 mph...but I still wear it!   

very glad to hear the wife is ok

[Back N Black]

I just got back from a car show and was running late, i was hitting 130 mph on the way home and still had lots of pedal left.

[UH60L]

My brother got me and a buddy in his factory '69 R/T with hopped up 440 magnum, 727, and sure grip 3.23 gear.

All it would do WFO, was 137 MPH and even then, he turned the steering wheel a 1/4 turn each way and the car never turned. Too much wind drag to go anymore. Hell, he was almost off the road at that speed.

Many tried to say they went 150 plus, but one ride in that Charger and they were white as ghosts when they got out. Real time 130 Plus is SCARY in these cars. 150,160,170 MPH? All but impossible with anything resembling a stock 2nd Gen. Charger.

" he turned the steering wheel a 1/4 turn each way and the car never turned."

Mine does that no matter what speed I'm driving!     (I gotta remember to fix that before it ever goes back on the road.....)

[69charger2002]

nothing wrong with haulin ass in a charger when you need to lol, just be careful! i have to admit i've only gone 110 in a charger. it felt like it was floating even then. i couldn't imagine trying to bury the speedo anywhere other than a 3 mile long track

[myk]

Yeah, anything over 100 in a stock Charger and the numb around-town front end just goes completely dead and you get that floaty feeling.  Sure, you might have more pedal to push but I value steering control over speed, or at the very least acknowledge that I can't have one without the other.  I remember running with an RX7 back in the day but I called it quits at 110.  Now, my '99 Ram-Air Firebird on the other hand....

[Todd Wilson]

You 2nd gen guys should step up to a 3rd gen!   


Todd

[FLG]

130mph with the charger, 145 with the BMW (87 325is) both at 3am on a dead empty highway. The Charger was plain scary but with gearing had more to go, the BMW was very well planted and really didnt seem like i was going that fast with 3.73's i just was about out of motor at that point.

[Road Dog]

Never felt floaty in my Charger and I've gone some insane speeds in it. It's tightened up a bit though and angled just right to not lift so much under speed. Back in the 80's I was side by side with a Ford at 120. I gave him a wave and left him sittin.   

[bill440rt]

Just glad to hear your wife is OK, Dino. Wouldn't matter to me how fast you were driving. 
Look at it this way, if you got pulled over & told the police WHY you were driving so fast, they probably would have given you a police escort to the hospital (at least around these parts they would).