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| Race Car of the Day: May 5, 2010; Hot Wheels '70 Dodge Charger Funny Car | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 4 2010, 09:24 PM (572 Views) | |
| minicup | May 4 2010, 09:24 PM Post #1 |
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Todays Race Car of the Day is Roland Leong's Hawaian Dodge Charger funny car.. Made by Hotwheels, released in Dragstrip Demons![]() ![]() ![]() Some info on the 2nd generation Dodge Charger. B-Body 1968 Second generation Production1968–1970 AssemblyDetroit, Michigan Hamtramck, Michigan Los Angeles, California St. Louis, Missouri Engine(s)225 in³ 1bbl Slant Six A (1969-70) 318 in³ 2bbl LA V8 383 in³ 2bbl B 383 in³ 4bbl B 426 in³ HEMI 2x4bbl RB V8 440 in³ 4bbl RB V8 440 in³ 2x3 RB (1970) Transmission(s)A904 3-Speed Automatic A727 3-speed automatic A230 3-speed manual A833 4-speed manual Wheelbase117.0 in (2972 mm) Length208.0 in (5283 mm)(1968) 207.9 in (5281 mm) (1969-70) Width76.7 in (1948 mm) (1968-69) 76.6 in (1946 mm) (1970) Height53.2 in (1351 mm) (1968-69) 53.0 in (1346 mm) (1970) RelatedDodge Coronet Plymouth Belvedere Plymouth Satellite Plymouth GTX Plymouth Road Runner It was clear after the sales drop of the 1967 Charger that a restyle was in order. Dodge was going to restyle their entire B-body lineup for 1968 and decided that it was time to separate the Coronet and Charger models even further. What designer Richard Sias came up with was a double-diamond design that would later be referred to as coke bottle styling. From the side profile the curves around the front fenders and rear quarter panels look almost like a Coke bottle. Front and rear end sheet metal was designed by Harvey J Winn. The rear end featured a "kick up" spoiler appearance, inspired by Group 7 racing vehicles. On the roof a "flying buttress" was added to give the rear window area a look similar to that of the 1966-67 Pontiac GTO. The Charger retained its full-length hidden headlight grille, but the fully rotating electric headlights had been replaced by a simple vacuum operated cover. The full length taillights were gone as well. Instead, dual circular taillights were added at the direction of Styling Vice President, Elwood P. Engel. Dual scallops were added to the doors and hood to help accent the new swoopy lines. Inside, the interior shared almost nothing with its first generation brothers. The four bucket seats were gone, the console remained the same as the '67. The tachometer was now optional instead of standard, the trunk and grille medallions were gone, the carpeting in the trunk area was gone, replaced by a vinyl mat, the rear seats did not fold forward and the space-age looking electroluminescent gauges disappeared in favor of a more conventional looking design. In order to further boost the Charger's muscle car image, a new high-performance package was added, the R/T. This stood for "Road/Track" (no 'and' between Road and Track) and would be the high performance badge that would establish Dodge's performance image. Only the high performance cars were allowed to use the R/T badge. The R/T came standard with the previous year's 440 "Magnum" and the 426 Hemi was optional. The standard engine was the 318 2bbl until mid-year when you could order a 225 slant-six. The rest of the engine lineup (383-2, 383-4) remained unchanged. The newly reskinned "semi-fastback" design produced "probably the best looking Chargers ever offered".[1] In 1968 Chrysler Corporation unveiled a new ad campaign featuring a Bee with an engine on its back. These cars were called the "Scat Pack". The Coronet R/T, Super Bee, Dart GTS and Charger R/T received bumble-bee stripes (two thin stripes framing two thick stripes). The stripes were standard on the R/Ts and came in red, white or black. They also could be deleted at no cost. These changes and the new Charger bodystyle proved to be very popular with the public and helped to sell 96,100 Chargers, including over 17,000 Charger R/Ts. [edit]1969 1969 Dodge Charger In 1969 not much was changed for the popular Charger. Exterior changes included a new grille with a center divider and new longitudinal taillights both designed by Harvey J. Winn. A new trim line called the Special Edition (SE) was added. This could be available by itself or packaged with the R/T, thus making an R/T-SE. The SE added leather inserts to the front seats only, chrome rocker moldings, a wood grain steering wheel and wood grain inserts on the instrument panel. A sunroof was added to the option list as well, and it would prove to be a very rare option (some 260 sold). The bumble bee stripes returned as well, but were changed slightly. Instead of four stripes it now featured one huge stripe framed by two smaller stripes. In the middle of the stripe an R/T cutout was placed. If the stripe was deleted, then a metal R/T emblem was placed where the R/T cutout was. Total production was around 89,199 units. But in 1969 Dodge had its eye on NASCAR and in order to compete it would have to create two of the most rare and desirable of all Chargers: Charger 500, and the Charger Daytona. Bo and Luke Duke popularized the 1969 Dodge Charger in The Dukes of Hazzard The television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) featured a 1969 Dodge Charger that was named The General Lee, often noted as being the most recognizable car in the world. "The General" sported the Confederate battle flag painted on the roof and the words "GENERAL LEE" over each door. The windows were always open, as the doors were welded shut. The number "01" is painted on both doors. Also, when the horn button was pressed, it played the first 12 notes from the de facto Confederate States anthem "Dixie". The muscle car performed spectacular jumps in almost every episode, and the show's popularity produced a surge of interest in the car. The show itself purchased hundreds of Chargers for stunts, as they generally destroyed at least one car per episode. (Real Chargers stopped being used for jumps at the end of the show's sixth season, and were begrudgingly replaced with miniatures.) The Dodge Charger in "The Fast And The Furious" was a 1969 Charger modified to look like a 1970 Charger [edit]Charger 500 Dodge Charger 500 In 1968, Dodge watched their NASCAR inspired Charger R/T fail to beat the Ford cars on the high-banks oval-tracks. The Dodge engineers went back to the wind tunnel and found the tunneled rear window caused lift and the gaping mouth induced drag. Dodge engineers made the rear window flush with the rest of the hood and put a 1968 Coronet Grille up front. The original Charger 500 prototype was a 1968 Charger R/T with a 426 Hemi. The prototype was painted in B5 Blue with a white stripe. The Charger 500 prototype had a Torqueflite, a white interior and 426 Hemi. The Charger 500 was tested for production, got the greenlight and was one of three models introduced in September 1968. The Charger 500 was standard with the 440 Magnum but the factory literature claims the 426 Hemi was standard. The Charger 500 had the Torqueflite standard and the same equipment standard as the R/T. The Charger 500 sold for $3842.00 MSRP. The Charger 500 was available with the 426 Hemi for an extra $648.20, The Charger 500 had the options A11 and V88 the stripe was available with red, black and white colors. The Charger 500 was available with Air Conditioning on the 440 Magnum for an extra $357.65. A total of 500 Charger 500s were made but only 392 were bought for street use. The rest were bought by racers and gutted, stripped, modified and/or repainted. Only 67 Charger 500s were built with the 426 Hemi; 27 with 4-Speeds and 40 with Torqueflites. The Charger 500 did not get the results expected of it on the NASCAR superspeedway circuits and lost to FoMoCo entrants, but it was successful on the shorter under 1-mile (1.6 km) tracks. [edit]Charger Daytona Dodge was not satisfied with the results of the Charger 500. The car was not enough to beat the other aerocars on the NASCAR circuit. After months of research and development, including the aftermarket shop Creative Industries Inc., the Dodge Charger Daytona was introduced on April 13, 1969. Within hours of its unveiling, Dodge had received over 1,000 orders, despite the price point of $3,993.00 MSRP. Chrysler made many attempts at improving the aerodynamics of the 500 by adding noses rumoured to be up to 23 inches (580 mm) long. The Charger Daytona finally received an 18-inch (460 mm) nose. The full size Charger Daytona was tested with an 18-inch (460 mm) nose at the Lockheed-Martin Georgia facility. The test was a success and the project was greenlighted. The nose piece was only part of the innovation. The Charger Daytona also received a 23-inch (580 mm) tall wing in rear. This wing was bolted through the rear quarter panels and into the rear subframe. The Charger Daytona's wing also helped out in an unintended way, by giving the car directional stability as well. The Charger Daytona proved itself to high management but was shot down by Dodge's styling department. The Charger Daytona engineering model was tested on the Chelsea, Michigan Chrysler Proving Grounds on July 20, 1969. Driven by Charlie Glotzbach and Buddy Baker, it was clocked at 205 mph (330 km/h) with a small 4 bbl. carb. The Charger Daytona's nose made 1,200 pounds of downforce and the wing made 600 pounds of downforce. (a zero lift car) The Dodge styling department wanted to make changes to the Charger Daytona as soon as they saw it, but was told by Bob McCurry to back off; he wanted function over finesse. The Charger Daytona introduced to the public had a fiberglass nose without real headlamps and a wing without streamlined fairings. The media and public loved the car, but were mystified by the reverse scoops on the front fenders. The PR representatives claimed it was for tire clearance. Actually, they reduced drag 3%. The Charger Daytona came standard with the 440 Magnum Engine with 375 hp (280 kW) and 480 lb·ft (650 N·m). of torque, A727 Torqueflite Automatic Transmission, and a 3.23 489 Case 8 3/4 Chrysler Differential. The Charger Daytona also came with the 426 Hemi with 425 hp (317 kW) and 490 lb·ft (660 N·m) (620 hp (460 kW) at 6000 rpm and 620 lb·ft (840 N·m) at 4700 rpm) for an extra $648.20. The 426 Hemi was also available with the no cost option of the A833 4-Speed Manual. Only 503 Charger Daytonas were built, 433 were 440 Magnum 139 4-Speed and 294 Torqueflite; 70 were 426 Hemi power, 22 4-Speed and 48 Torqueflite. In the end the Daytona was brought down by the decision to make the 1970 Plymouth Superbird the only 1970 aerocar, however apparently two Charger Daytonas were built using 1970 sheet metal. One of them resides in the backyard of an individual in western Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburgh. Several enthusiasts have tried to buy the car, but the owner refuses to sell, and the car sits un-covered and deteriorating. While Daytona's were raced through the 1970 season, only one Daytona still raced until 1971 (in the 1971 Daytona 500) when NASCAR decreed that engine displacement of wing cars would be limited to 305 ci. That particular car, driven by Dick Brooks finished in seventh place. [edit]1970 In 1970 the Charger changed slightly again. This would be the last and rarest year of the 2nd generation Charger and it now featured a large wraparound chrome bumper and the grille was no longer divided in the middle. New electric headlight doors replaced the old vacuum style. Side markers were now actual lights. The taillights were similar to those used in 69, but 500 and R/T models came with a new more attractive taillight panel. On the R/T new rear-facing scoops with the R/T logo were mounted on the front doors, over the door scallops. A new 440 or HEMI hood cutout made the option list for this year only. In order to achieve the desired look, Dodge painted the hood scallop inserts black and put the silver engine callouts on top. New "High Impact" colors were given names, such as Top Banana, Panther Pink, Sublime, Burnt Orange, Go Mango and Plum Crazy (sometimes nicknamed "Statutory Grape"[2]). The 500 returned for another year, but now it was just a regular production Charger unlike the limited production NASCAR Charger of 1969. Interior changes included new high-back bucket seats, the door panels were also revised and the map pockets were now optional instead of standard. The ignition was moved from the dash to the steering column (as with all Chrysler products this year), and the glove box was now hinged at the bottom instead of the top as in 1968-69. The SE "Special Edition" option added high end luxury to a full on muscle car and was available as 500 SE and R/T SE models. The all new pistol grip shifter was introduced, along with a bench seat, a first for the Charger since its debut. A new engine option made the Charger's list for the first time, the 440 Six Pack. With three two-barrel carburetors and a rating of 390 hp (291 kW), it was one of the most exotic setups since the cross-ram Max Wedge engines of the early 1960s. The Six Pack was previously used on the mid-year 1969 Dodge Super Bee and Plymouth Road Runner and was notorious for beating the Hemi on the street. Despite this hot new engine, production slipped again to 46,576 but most of this was due to the brand new E-body Dodge Challenger and the high insurance rates. In the 1970 Nascar season it was the 1970 Charger that tallied up more wins (10) than any other car....including the notorious 69 Dodge Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds, giving Bobby Isaac the Grand National Championship. ![]() ![]() ![]() Sorry I couldn't get any information about the drag car itself.. So if you have anything else to add please do thanks.. Edited by minicup, May 5 2010, 09:39 PM.
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| Swifty | May 4 2010, 09:59 PM Post #2 |
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Very nice- what brand of diecast? |
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| 69Stang | May 4 2010, 11:07 PM Post #3 |
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Station Wagon
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Dude, you cant have a "Race" car of the day and not use any race car info!!!!!!!! Nice choice though, a beautful car for sure. It's a Hot Wheels Drag Strip Demon release Swifty. |
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| minicup | May 5 2010, 03:29 PM Post #4 |
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Thanks guys...lol I was doing this half awake last night I remembered as I was shutting my computer off to go to bed... so yea this is what you get for a half awake COTD posting.. sorry
Edited by minicup, May 5 2010, 09:39 PM.
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