The 1966 Dodge Charger was a fastback spinoff of the Coronet with a handful of touchups and disappearing headlights. 37,344 were assembled in the first year, with four engine choices—all eight-cylinders. The 426 eight-barrel V8 was the cream of the crop, but the trusty 318 and the mid-level bog-block, the 383, did the sales heavy lifting.
For one year only, at its debut, the Dodge Charger could be optioned with a 361 cubic-inch V8, which about 16% of buyers opted for. That's not too bad—one in six muscle Dodges came with the 5.9-liter engine. By contrast, the 318-cube (5.2 liters) and its 383 big-inch bigger brother were built in 12,514 and 12,328 copies, respectively.
With the Hemi only installed in 468 examples (the Coronet stole the hemispherical-heads glory that year), the engine options ended at four possible plants. In 1967, the 361 was ditched in favor of another Mopar icon, the 440 cubic-inch RB eight-cylinder motor that would earn fame in the R/T package (again, premiered by the Coronet).
The Road/Track package was the performance variant offered for the Charger, Coronet, and later the Challenger. From 1967 onwards, it came standard with a 440-4 V8 (the Six-Pack triple two-barrel carbureted version made landfall in 1970). The first-gen Charger may have used Mopar’s biggest big-block engine’s benefits. Still, it wasn’t offered with the R/T option simply because the model didn’t provide the Road/Track add-on until 1968.
Photo: craigslist.org
So, seeing a 1966 Charger with a 440 in it is a bit of a headscratcher, particularly if said motor hides behind a massive hood scoop that even the Hemis of the 1970 E-bodies didn’t sport. This leads to the logical conclusion that the car is not original – something that its owner openly shares with anyone interested in paying $15,000 for the neat fastback.
The car was pulled from a 23-year slumber in the fall of 2023, and the owner notes that it invested over 3,000 dollars in parts alone (labor costs are not considered). Although the one-of-none 1966 Dodge Charger 440 is not true to factory specs anymore (as it was born with a 383, a two-barrel, and a three-speed Torqueflite automatic), it is in very good condition.
It's not impeccable, but it's a turnkey driver despite its inevitable age blemishes on the original interior (minus the carpet and a gas pedal heel repair on the floorboard). As for the nice part, the 440 is said to come from a 1968 car (model unspecified), and the Mickey Thompson valve covers would suggest that the V8 is not exactly a factory-spec unit.
The 83,000-mile muscle car is located in Norridgewock, Maine, and the seller also points out that the livery was refreshed around four decades ago (by the way, the paint job doesn’t look bad at all).
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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