1969 Dodge Charger
The 1969 Dodge Charger presented perhaps the widest array of
choices in the history of the nameplate. There was a base model,
an available SE (for "Special Edition") option that heaped on
more luxuries, a hot-performing R/T version, and two wild
race-bred iterations: the 500 and the Daytona. Engine selections
started with Chrysler's trusty 225-cid Slant Six, but also
included five V-8s, topped by the rollicking 425-horsepower
426-cid "Street Hemi." Depending on the model, available
transmissions were three- and four-speed manuals, plus the
excellent three-speed TorqueFlite automatic.
Given all these choices, it's perhaps ironic that the car came in just one body
style, a two-door hardtop. The 1969 Dodge Charger was an update of the
completely restyled '68 model, which meant it was built on a 117-inch wheelbase
with Chrysler's familiar torsion-bar suspension up front and leaf springs in the
back. New styling touches for base and R/T Chargers included a vertical center
divider in the grille and horizontal taillights.
1969 Dodge Charger: Background
The really distinctive new Chargers were the 500 and the Daytona, both
creatures of the so-called "aero wars" of the day being waged by Ford and
Chrysler as they sought dominance in NASCAR stock-car racing. As it turned out,
the recessed grille and inset flying-buttress rear window that looked so great
on the '68 Charger was an aerodynamic washout on 190-mph high-banked ovals. To
create the 1969 Dodge Charger 500, Chrysler engineers began by plugging the nose
cavity of an R/T with a Coronet grille (and nonretracting headlamps) moved up to
the front edge of the bodywork. Meanwhile, they quelled lift by flush mounting
the rear window.
Dodge manufactured 392 of these cars for street use in order to homologate the
Charger 500 for racing purposes. Race-prepared 500s went on to claim 19 NASCAR
wins, but specially designed Ford Torinos and Mercury Cyclones won 30.
1969 Dodge Charger: Modifications
Back to the wind tunnel went the Chrysler engineers, who came back with the
radical Daytona. This 1969 Dodge Charger wore a pointed 18-inch extension to its
nose (including pop-up headlights) that cut drag and added downforce. Not only
did the Daytona keep the 500's rear window, but it further reduced lift by
mounting a horizontal tail stabilizer on towering vertical extensions that rose
from the deck. With 503 produced to satisfy the racing rulesmakers, the Daytona
made its track debut late in the '69 NASCAR season-a bit too late to turn back
the Ford onslaught. Still, the Daytona proved itself to be capable of 200-mph
racing speeds.
Competition editions of the 500 and Daytona all came with 426-cid race Hemis.
Those destined for retail customers could be ordered with the tamer Street Hemi
or the 375-horsepower 440-cid Magnum V-8. Either way, they were the ultimate
expressions of the 1969 Dodge Charger.
1969 Dodge Charger: Specifications
- 1969 Dodge Charger 500 Hemi
- Wheelbase: 117.0 in.
- Weight: 3671 lb.
- Price: $4641
- Engine: ohv V-8
- Displacement: 426 cid
- Fuel system: 2 x 4 bbl.
- Compression ratio: 10.25:1
- Horsepower @ rpm: 425 @ 5000
- Torque @ rpm: 490 @ 4000
- Representative performance
- 0-60 mph: 5.7 sec.
- 1/4 mile: 13.48 sec. @ 109.0 mph
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