'69 Charger question????

[67 Power Wagon]

Guys,
I'm working on a few items as models and in my building, I got to thinking, instead of adding a "Big Block" Mopar in these cars, like EVERY OTHER one is made, DID Ma Mopar make any 1969 Dodge Chargers, to have say a performance small block, for instance an LA 340? Say, a 340 6 pack?

I've done searches and nothing comes up on engine options in my search engine.

I don't even know if they done such a thing in '69 BUT, it could have been possible! The 340 was made not to long before the 69 Chargers were going out the doors, didn't the 340 begin in '66?

Just trying to do something a bit different, BUT, still keeping it how Ma Mopar intended it to be!

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[69Coronetrt]

"DID Ma Mopar make any 1969 Dodge Chargers, to have say a performance small block."


No.

 

[67 Power Wagon]

so not even a "normal" small block LA power plant used in a '69 Charger then?

I figured that they honed in on the 340 it would have been at least the one of choice for a muscle car!

Interesting! I'm learning something.....

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

'69 Charger available with -

225 6cyl. 1bbl 145HP

318 8cyl. 2bbl 230HP

383 8cyl.2bbl 290HP

383 8cyl. 4bbl 330HP

426 8cyl. 8bbl 425HP

440 8cyl. 4bbl 375HP.

So yes, LA available as 318 but not 340...

 

[OKDart]

340 wasn't available to B bodies until '72 I believe. From what I've read, they didn't perform to well either due to more weight of the car vs A bodies and lower compression.

 

[super-bee_ski]

340 wasn't available to B bodies until '72 I believe. From what I've read, they didn't perform to well either due to more weight of the car vs A bodies and lower compression.

SWEET!
A 1969 Charger with a 225 slant six....

Yup, we covered that on the forum a couple of years ago.
What a swell and rare car that would be now!

 

[Nuclear1]

SWEET!
A 1969 Charger with a 225 slant six....

Yup, we covered that on the forum a couple of years ago.
What a swell and rare car that would be now!

They are rare, especially unmolested examples....

 

[67 Power Wagon]

WOW! You learn something everyday here. I love these forums! LOL

You got Ma Mopar, to have a performance 340, but yet she uses the 318......Much more to that a slant 6 too!? WOW!

Now for a real stumper. The 383.. one was a "B" block, the other a "RB" block? As far as I know, in 1969, is when the cross of this engine size was said to "cover" over a lack, or need for this engine.....SO, most if not ALL the 383's are "B" size, NOT RB size blocks.....Slight difference, question is, if you "look" can you see a difference from one to the other? WITHOUT measuring, knowing block numbers etc, is there a physical difference from one to the other easily seen?

I ask, as I know of the information, BUT, have never seen the actual "RB" motor, as I said, from what I have read, most of the 383's we know and drive are B block not RB's but there are a few out there.....ANYONE?

I guess to say am I saying this right? Are the normal 383's we all know, drive, and have, look exactly the same as the RB model of the same engine just with a different deck height on the physical block of the engine but have all the same fitted parts so merely a skewed version of intake, heads, water pump timing chain cover, and distributor etc,?

Yeah, I'm on a mission! but all reading this couldn't tell! LOL

 

[69Coronetrt]

The 383 RB was only available in '59 and '60 in Chrysler Windsors and Saratogas. No B body ever came with a 383 RB. It's highly unlikely you'll see one outside of in a restored 59/60 as the 413/426/440 RB blocks are easier to find and easier to rebuild.

 

[67 Power Wagon]

...wait a minute, so your saying the 383 was split between '59 and '60 NOT '69-'70? I'm lost I thought I read that they had an issue with the 383 being made B-RB in '69... Didn't say what cars it was going into.....as far as car names and such.

I'm trying to figure out the whole "383 story" as they were made both as a B motor and a RB motor....

Besides the deck height, was there any real visual difference from one to the other?

So with this all said, what does a RB 383 look like?

 

[69Coronetrt]

Yes. The only 383 RB was 59-60 and only in Chryslers.
It looks like an RB.

 

[Ranidart70]

didn't the 340 begin in '66?

BTW: 340s came available for the 1968 model year.

Its a common swap to find them in earlier A-body cars but it is never factory, Real muscle car A-bodies began in 1968 with advent of the 340 which was standard in the GTS and formula S in 68. The GTS came with a 340 standard and the only engine option it had was a 383.

 

[ma mopar nutz]

They are rare, especially unmolested examples....

What about a 72' SSP that's a 2 tag car with power windows a sun roof powered by a 225?? Everyone I have asked about it says it has to be a 1 of 1 car ?? Don't know its my dads and has been in storage since the early 90's !?

 

[Nuclear1]

What about a 72' SSP that's a 2 tag car with power windows a sun roof powered by a 225?? Everyone I have asked about it says it has to be a 1 of 1 car ?? Don't know its my dads and has been in storage since the early 90's !?

It probably is a one of one with those particular options. It is easier to find a factory slant six in a second gen Charger than a third gen Charger, let alone one with a sunroof....

 

[sleepar]

The truly rare cars would be the racing off road stuff.. like a '65 dart hemi lightweight... Or a 225 aluminum block bracket racer valiant... they put out so many options that mopar would have many one of one production cars. Clock delete dung Brown interior and lemon yellow sunroof slant wagon. Because someone ordered it or the factory had a quuota... there are some cars that they made out side the parameters like one or two factory 440 426 cars where 440 or 426 wasnt on the option list but it slipped through... and the really rare are the dealer modified cars like grand Spaulding special from norms... but there were other dealers doing it too. That's why mopar is always worth more on average than the others.... My 4 door is a rare car not because they made so few because they made a ton of taxis and police cars but because not many 4doors survived because they weren't desirable to keep like a hurse or an limo. It's really interesting to see all the options they had and there all a one of its kind today... rare would be to have a matching set of cars with the same options with sequential #s... food for thought.

- - - Updated - - -

Just talking engines there was heavy truck motors the hemi was a truck motor in D800 series semi tractors... and there was Chrysler marine stuff that is really cool and really rare... Or those cab over Fargo pick ups. In Maine on my farm sits the only dodge brothers 2 1/2 ton truck exported to the US from Canada in 1936.... with green window tint.

 

[67 Power Wagon]

BTW: 340s came available for the 1968 model year.

Its a common swap to find them in earlier A-body cars but it is never factory, Real muscle car A-bodies began in 1968 with advent of the 340 which was standard in the GTS and formula S in 68. The GTS came with a 340 standard and the only engine option it had was a 383.

I thought it was '66 that the 340 started, I stand corrected....

As far as the 340 in A bodies sure it was a small block performance engine so yeah, BUT because it was the engine Ma Mopar honed in on to make it a performance engine, I thought it could have been found in a B Body "Muscle Car".....

To just find that they did offer the 318.....Which wasn't much "stock" for performance, BUT it would get you from point A to point B, with little trouble doing so!

The Slant 6 in a Charger, NOW thats priceless! Hmmmm I been pondering a model I have, its a die cast unit, that I picked up and it has no "real" model engine in it, and have planned to change that but EVERY damned '69 Charger I see has a 426 Hemi, or a RB 440....WHY can't it be made with some other choice of engine? I mean God, I have a '70 Roadrunner '74 Roadrunner and a '71 GTX, ALL 3 of them, powered factory kit models with a RB 440......Talk about over use! I mean Ma Mopar DID make other engines then the Hemi and the 440......(I'm NOT bashing either engine) I just think using some of the other choices for these models would give a little variety to the building of the kit.....

SO I been "changing" a few "440" to single 4 barrel to "383", and painting them the Mopar Turquoise to signify "383" as the 440's I've done one is in a cop car model and painted Mopar Engine Blue, the other 440 is painted Mopar Performance Orange...

...just to be different! But remain sort-of "factory, if that makes any sense!