Owner(s) : Lonnie & Melanie Ball
Year : 1971 Make : Dodge Model : Charger R/T
Color: Blue Silver Engine : 440-4bbl (originally, now a “496” stroker)
Modifications other than stock :
727 TorqueFlight has a towing/RV type shift kit. MP 166K/2400rpm stall convertor (will stall higher with the torque of the 496), drilled/tapped for 7/16″ Hemi convertor bolts. B&M heavy duty flex plate for matching the 8 bolt Eagle Stroker crank flange to the Hemi bolts. 8-3/4″ rear with 3.55 gears and Sure-Grip. Dynoed engine with 1-3/4 headers and the smaller Comp Cams 292H hydraulic cam initially – 514hp @ 5000rpm, 586 ft lbs. Torque @ 4000rpm. Disappointed. Engine was undercammed for the hp/torque numbers to peak so soon, thus the installation.
Unusual options or accessories :
Gunmetal blue and black interior. Correct factory Go-Wing and reproduction front spoiler have been added.
Brief description of how you came to own this car and little history on it :
Owning a 1971 Charger R/T had always been a dream of mine. A guy, 1 block from where I grew up had one when I was a teenager, which spurred my interest. Some 20 years later, I began searching the internet. The wife had given me approval, as long as the car had air conditioning. A 6-month search and evaluation of 12 different candidates, culminated in the car’s advertisement being found on Moparts.com in February 2002. Fortunately, the car was located 2 hours south of Kansas City near Pittsburg, KS. The Charger’s engine had a light tapping/knocking sound, which I gambled was a lifter problem. I hoped to swap in a camshaft and lifters to cure the problem. Once the car was home, after much tinkering, I determined it was a wrist pin, meaning the engine would have to come out. Not only was the #1 wrist pin bad, but the #1 rod journal was burnt blue. Thus, the decision to build the 496 ci RB Stroker Engine. The guy I bought the car from had purchased it off Ebay in the fall of 2000 from a guy in Washington state. I was able to contact the guy in Washington. He originally bought the car from a transmission shop owner in 1981. The Charger was repainted in 1985 (still looks decent 17 years later). The engine was rebuilt in 1994, but began knocking some 1500 miles later. Car was parked in his garage for 6 years before being auctioned on Ebay and being shipped to Kansas via Auto Transport in 2000.
If low production, give the number produced :
1 or 2172, 1971 Charger R/T’s equipped with a 440-4bbl & auto transmission. Total production for 1971 Charger R/T’s was 3, 118. Source: Galen Govier.