71 Hemi Charger

[Wild one]

Picked up the latest Feb 2021 issue of Mopar Action tonight.To my surprise there's a decent article on my late Uncle Andy's old 71 Hemi Charger,even mentions my little hometown of Flaxcombe Saskatchewan,lol .Car was butt ugly when i was a kid,and it's still butt ugly now,the only redeeming grace was the flip up hood scoop,but damn it's worth a few bucks now,lol.My uncle definitely lived up our last name,as the car had the living **** drove out of it from the day he brought it home,and the next owner was another local street racer,that drove it even harder,lol

 

[Wild one]

 

[HemiLonestar]

I had a butt ugly green 72 that was falling apart in my mid 20's.....hated that color but it was definitely unique lol.



Mopar Action is my favorite mag, actually got my truck in Reader's Rides about 8yrs ago or so (though I should caveat I was living in Leland at the time, not FROM Leland lol).

 

[Wild one]

I had a butt ugly green 72 that was falling apart in mid 20's.....hated that color but it was definitely unique lol.

View attachment 231471

Mopar Action is my favorite mag, actually got my truck in Reader's Rides about 8yrs ago or so (though I should caveat I was living in Leland at the time, not FROM Leland lol).

View attachment 231472

My old 68Z ended up in a couple hotrod mags back in the early 80's.Still miss that toy every spring,lol. Actually met my wife because of the car,lol. My buddy had a new girlfriend and we were going to a carshow,when his new girlfriend asked if she could invite her sister to come along,i was a single young horndog at the time,so you bet another pretty girl could tag along,long story short,the sister came home with me that night and never left,and that's 35 years ago now,lol









Blew up the radical big block the night before the photographer was coming to take the pic's,an all night thrash to throw a junkyard 454 back into it,so it was drivable for the picture taking,that's why the engine isn't colour matched to the car,and it was missing a few hose coverings.That interm 454 was actually one of the better engines i had in it,it lasted about a 1.5 years swallowing a 150 shot of nitrous,lol.Car had several engines in it over the years,but the one that got the most attention was a 6-71 Dyers blown smallblock.Nobody was running a 6-71 on the street back then,so the car got alot of attention.Even had cops stop it,just to look it over when it had the blower and carbs stuck above the fenders.Only car i ever owned that i never got a ticket in,as every cop in the country just wanted to look at it,and i done some stupid **** in the car,lol.Even had a pair of cops help me break into it in a bar parking lot one time when the electric doors had quit working,and not once did they even ask if i owned the car,i could of been stealing it for all they knew,lol. If i was to ever build another toy as radical,i'd probably try to duplicate the car again,as it'd still stick out and get attention to this day.Sold it to a high performance car dealer in the late 80's as the wife was pregant by then and wanted a house,should of kept the car,and sold the wife,lol

 

[Wild one]

Here's a video on my Uncles old 71 Hemi Charger.

1971 Dodge Charger R/T RT in Dark Green & 426 Hemi Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile - YouTube

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

For me your uncle was a lucky man with great taste. The green interior is the only thing I'd want to change. My favorite Chargers was 1968 through 1970 but no other brand made a better looking car in 1971. Having a Heml in it and a Air Grabber put the icing on the cake!

 

[tidefan1967]

Very nice car! Is the owner in the video your uncle or a later owner? Also is that the stock cam for a HEMI? I haven't heard any 100% totally "stock" exhaust clips from any muscle cars in soo long(probably 30 years) but I don't ever remember hearing such a nice lopey stock cam before. Makes me want to buy another Charger, Challenger or even a Mustang and put a cam in it!

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

Here's a video on my Uncles old 71 Hemi Charger.

1971 Dodge Charger R/T RT in Dark Green & 426 Hemi Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile - YouTube

Music to my ears, nothing sounds like a Mopar with a good sounding cam!

 

[Wild one]

Very nice car! Is the owner in the video your uncle or a later owner? Also is that the stock cam for a HEMI? I haven't heard any 100% totally "stock" exhaust clips from any muscle cars in soo long(probably 30 years) but I don't ever remember hearing such a nice lopey stock cam before. Makes me want to buy another Charger, Challenger or even a Mustang and put a cam in it!

The car has had a couple owners since my uncle sold it in 79. As far as i know it's still a stock cam.The motor spun a bearing in 79 and was rebuilt,but i think the original cam was reused,but i'm not positive,as it was the second owner who had to put a crank in it and rebuild the motor. My Uncle has since passed away several years ago.Personally as a kid i thought the car was butt ugly,still do,lol.My Uncle had a thing for F7 Green as he traded a 68 383 4 speed Road Runner off on the Charger in the same F7 Green,but the boxy Road Runner body pulled off the colour way better then the coke bottle Charger body did.But the Road Runner was done as a day 2 build,jacked up in the rear with M50's and the torsion bars cranked down in the front,as a kid i loved the Road Runner,all he ever did to the Charger was swap out the original factory 14" rims for the 15" that are on it in the video.The majority of miles on the car,were put on it in the time period my Uncle owned it,as his wife used it as a daily driver car,it was even drove through several Canadian winters.
The magazine article posted above is on this car.

 

[Tray Burge]

I agree, 71 was the death of the Charger, ugly as Cher standing in front of you naked.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

72 to 74 was the downhill spiral, 75 was the death.

 

[tidefan1967]

I agree, 71 was the death of the Charger, ugly as Cher standing in front of you naked.

You talking about now Cher or 1971 Cher?

 

[Treburkulosis]

That is awesome! The 71 Charger, Superbee, and Roadrunners are all forgotten muscle cars. Not a lot of people respect the styling as they got so big. That is one rare car with the hemi. They did not make many of those. I pursued a 71 440 road runner for a few years. It sold at some point after I moved. I was out in the country where it sat and its gone. My grandpa bought a 72 Grand Prix new and still has it. It was restored in 2010 I believe. Car is cool. This was my 67 RS/SS 350 car and then his Grand Prix.

 

[dwade]

Here's a video on my Uncles old 71 Hemi Charger.

1971 Dodge Charger R/T RT in Dark Green & 426 Hemi Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile - YouTube

There is nothing that sounds as sweet as a big block Mopar being stomped on. Grew up with several friends having 426 Hemis and 440s under the hoods and they were sweet.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Treburkulosis]

There is nothing that sounds as sweet as a big block Mopar being stomped on. Grew up with several friends having 426 Hemis and 440s under the hoods and they were sweet.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

My dad was in that era of the late 70s early 80s. Supposedly a guy at his Highschool had a 71 Cuda Convertible 440 4 Spd. He has rode in a 68 I think 426 road runner 4 Spd and he said the only time you saw the road was in between shifts. The entire late 60s early 70s was the best time to be alive. My dad is currently well the last 12 years has been restoring his dream car. 69 Camaro. I grew up in the backseat of his 67 RS/SS Camaro.

 

[Wild one]

My dad was in that era of the late 70s early 80s. Supposedly a guy at his Highschool had a 71 Cuda Convertible 440 4 Spd. He has rode in a 68 I think 426 road runner 4 Spd and he said the only time you saw the road was in between shifts. The entire late 60s early 70s was the best time to be alive. My dad is currently well the last 12 years has been restoring his dream car. 69 Camaro. I grew up in the backseat of his 67 RS/SS Camaro.

My 68Z from my younger days is posted in this thread,miss the car,but don't miss the work that went into keeping it alive and looking good,lol. Not many of the old muscle cars would hold a candle to todays naturally aspirated muscle cars,let alone the boosted versions.My wifes naturally aspirated 6.4 Challenger 1320 runs 11.80's off the showroom floor at 4,000ft DA,with A/C / cruise / power windows etc.,wasn't any stock 440 or 426 that would run with it ,lol. Memories are wonderous things guys,but for the most part they're wrong,lol. Stock the big block muscle cars were lucky to run in the low 13's with slicks,put headers / cam / intake /big ass carb on them they might get into the high 12's at DA numbers under a 1,000ft.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

My 68Z from my younger days is posted in this thread,miss the car,but don't miss the work that went into keeping it alive and looking good,lol. Not many of the old muscle cars would hold a candle to todays naturally aspirated muscle cars,let alone the boosted versions.My wifes naturally aspirated 6.4 Challenger 1320 runs 11.80's off the showroom floor at 4,000ft DA,with A/C / cruise / power windows etc.,wasn't any stock 440 or 426 that would run with it ,lol. Memories are wonderous things guys,but for the most part they're wrong,lol. Stock the big block muscle cars were lucky to run in the low 13's with slicks,put headers / cam / intake /big ass carb on them they might get into the high 12's at DA numbers under a 1,000ft.

Agree with you 100% but it's not exactly apples and apples to me. Take these engines of today and put carburetors, solid lifter cams, make everything steel instead of aluminum. Give them 4 speed transmissions and they would be a lot different too. I definitely not knocking today's cars but the old muscle cars were strong for the times. Cars today are better because of the muscle cars. Their HP was raw not freed up HP from roller anything. Wish I had one of my old muscle cars I use to have, I only own cars of today cause I can't find or afford one of the older ones. I enjoyed them very much, was a lot easier to work on and fun to work on. Now I have to get a computer out to adjust them. Wouldn't trade my youth and fun times we had for any car of today. lol Just my opinion!

 

[Tray Burge]

You talking about now Cher or 1971 Cher?

Both were/are disgusting.

 

[Treburkulosis]

My 68Z from my younger days is posted in this thread,miss the car,but don't miss the work that went into keeping it alive and looking good,lol. Not many of the old muscle cars would hold a candle to todays naturally aspirated muscle cars,let alone the boosted versions.My wifes naturally aspirated 6.4 Challenger 1320 runs 11.80's off the showroom floor at 4,000ft DA,with A/C / cruise / power windows etc.,wasn't any stock 440 or 426 that would run with it ,lol. Memories are wonderous things guys,but for the most part they're wrong,lol. Stock the big block muscle cars were lucky to run in the low 13's with slicks,put headers / cam / intake /big ass carb on them they might get into the high 12's at DA numbers under a 1,000ft.

Technology is key. Plus the old muscle cars were Detroit iron. Still tho for what they were they were something and I cherish my memories in them, and the ones I have shared with my boys.