Dodge Charger 1966

by

Model number: AMM1067

Review of the model:

Dodge Charger! Even the name sounds cool. Let’s have this strait – This car is for the serious man, who wants to stand out! And be the leader of the rebellion. This statement was send in other words by Dodge marketing department to the potential buyer who needed a car that was a bit different. But they were not alone in the Jungle! Corvette, Mustang, Oldsmobile Toronado etc. were the other animals out there….

The Dodge Charger was a bit different car; Luxurious interior, sleek lines on the exterior and if you chose the big 426 cu. Inch. Hemi with +425Hp. You get some “fast wheels”.

Auto World from Ertl had given us the opportunity to own a 1:18 scale model of this brutal street race car. This model came in a beautiful Champagne metallic (Sandstone poly) color with the matching interior.

Auto World model cars different sometime in detail richness, but this Charger have it all you can whish for. As so many other Auto World model cars, this Dodge is heavy and the impression when you hold it in you hand - or hands due to the weight, 2 kg incl. the box – this is a well build model car in the 100 Euros price range.

The paintwork is impeccable as well as the fitting of the parts. This is not a model you have to spend hours on to upgrade. You can just use it out of the box! Furthermore I’m sure you will be surprised, how many well made details you will get for the money! The interior was what that sells the car to me. You have four fine bucket seats, seats belts, and carpet on the floor and even rubber mats in front of the front seats. The back seats can be laid down and the center console armrest too! Just as on the real car. If you need a place for your documents just open the glove compartment!

No real model muscle car if the motor is missing. Don’t worry – Open the hood and the “little” Hemi 426 are reviled with all the right details and stickers. The hinges on the hood is spring loaded too. In 1966 the chrome trim on the car came down to a minimum compared to a few years before. But you can be sure all the chrome on this model is in the right place and shines like a gem.

Charger and you will think of front and back lights! All Chargers stands out when it comes to lights. The backlights are a wide red bar that fill all the backend of this fastback. Beautifully molded with small chrome letters and in the right light condition the model nearly lights up! But the funs don’t ends here. The front lights on the real car is concealed in the grill in the day and only come “out” when the lights is turned on! This model has all the function, as the head lights can be turned by hand – very well done Auto World!!

The model has all the right emblems place were they shall be. They are mostly tampon stamped in high quality – even the small ones! And back on the deck lid a highly detailed medallion shaped emblem is placed – one of the best I have seen on a model car.

Remember back in 1966 the fan shaped hubcaps was in high fashion (just think of the small Hotwheels some of us played with in our childhood. The wheels and hubcaps are all well made. White wall tires were out fashion in 66. So a fine blue stripe is present on the tires here instead.

One of the details, who will make it a good model, is the glasswork on a model car. They are surely made of plastic. Auto World models all have the best realistic looking glass both on lights and as the windows. On this Charger it all very well made. The rear window is a piece of art by it self – It looks as its mounted from inside ad have a concave appearance, just as on the real car.

This model is so well made and they have given all the parts the best attention. So are you a fan of one of the first muscle cars. Auto Worlds 1966 Dodge Charger is one of the best models! I can highly recommend this model to you!
 

I will give this model 6 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some movie clips for the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

Partly by Matthew Litwin

At the Chicago Auto Show on February 20, 1965, Dodge pulled the covers off its latest styling study: the Charger II. It was a sleek fastback with crisp, full-length contours sculpted into its flanks, along with a pair of sharply scalloped, simulated quarter-panel air ducts. A canted front end housed a full-width grille, while the long-hood/short-deck body enveloped a cabin--with four bucket seats and a full complement of round gauges--that oozed sporty luxury.

The Charger II garnered positive feedback in Chicago and met with similar responses as the car traversed the show circuit. So strong was the public and media reaction that Dodge pushed it into production largely unchanged.

Based on the Coronet platform as a single hardtop model, the new-for-1966 Charger now featured a vertical--versus canted--front end housing a full-width grille with hidden headlamps and a revised "wall-to-wall" taillamp. Little else changed from the concept car, to the point that even factory literature stated, "...the fabulous new fastback that made it all the way from the designer's drawing board to your driveway with all the excitement and all the fresh ideas left in."

Offered with a range of engine/transmission options and sporty accessories, the car generated a great deal of optimism in spite of its late release. The Charger had fastback styling popular with Corvette and Mustang buyers, "personal" bucket seats like the Rivieras, race-inspired gauges, and body contours that provided a sense of speed. But sales crawled to a rather disappointing 37,344 units in its first year. Just as troubling, as a race car, the Charger captured only a handful of wins on the NASCAR circuit due to its lack of stability in high-speed corners, prompting Chrysler to issue a rear deck-mounted lip spoiler as a dealer option.

It got worse for '67: Charger sales, in spite of a revamped engine lineup and NASCAR championship headlines--David Pearson won the '66 title in Cotton Owens's Dodges--fell a staggering 58 percent (to 15,788 units). Speculation persists that adapting a pony-sized fastback roofline to intermediate cars provided an awkward profile, with pundits pointing to the similar fate of AMC's Marlin to support the theory. Regardless, it was a bleak year for the new leader of Dodge's Rebellion.
The Charger would find sales success with the advent of the vastly racier redesigned '68 B-body. This shift in attention, both when these models were new and among collectors today, has left the first-gen Charger lagging in terms of demand. Despite being bolstered by high-output V-8 options and related go-fast gearing, the 1966-'67 fastbacks have remained a comparatively affordable, and perhaps rarer, alternative to many of the later Chrysler B-body muscle cars. Let's take a closer look at the attributes of this mid-decade Mopar performer.

ENGINE
As a top-tier Coronet, the Charger was prohibited from receiving the corporate Slant Six, and even the fuel-sipping 273-cu.in. V-8. In spite of the mandate, the 1966 Charger received the 230-hp 318 as its base engine. Fitted with a Carter two-barrel carburetor, the V-8 was part of the A-series of engines featuring a polysphere-style cylinder head design. Those looking for more output blended with a hint of fuel economy could have optioned the 265-hp 361, a Carter two-barrel carbureted V-8 from the corporate B-series.

Sprightly as the 361 was, it didn't tickle the go-fast senses like the other options, starting with the high-output 383. Another "low-block" B-series engine, its Carter four-barrel, enlarged cylinder bores, higher compression and other upgraded internals, produced a more muscular 325 hp. Topping the power chart was the 426 Street Hemi, the new-for-1966 detuned production version of the "Race Hemi" now fitted with dual-Carter AFB carburetors mounted inline and running 10.25:1 compression that, on paper, had a factory-rating of 425 hp and 490-lb.ft. of torque. The Hemi also carried an entry fee of $877.55--over a quarter of the Charger's base sticker price.
When the '67 Charger emerged, there were noteworthy mechanical changes. To start, the A-series 318 was canceled and replaced by an LA-based 318 of the same power rating. Meanwhile, the 361 had been retired between model years and replaced by a 270-hp version of the 383 featuring a Carter two-barrel.

The real performers came with the return of the 325-hp 383 and the 426 Hemi engines, along with the newly-developed 440 Magnum. Though the basic engine architecture had appeared a year prior, it received a significant jolt of power due, in part, to a redesigned intake manifold, Carter AVS four-barrel, more aggressive camshaft and redesigned cylinder heads with larger intake/exhaust valves. Although it was rated for 375 hp, the Magnum 440 cost $564 less than a Hemi while providing a comparable 480-lb.ft. of torque.

What to watch for: Thanks to five decades of thrashing, most of the Charger's engine lineup has proven to be unquestionably durable. Both the 318 and the 383 spent years as Mopar workhorses; the 383 would later be offered in Magnum tune for performance applications, showing more of its potential. The Magnum 440 also has an extensive history of making plenty of power and doing it reliably. As for the Hemi, Chrysler product planners knew that this engine was intended for competition use, even when sold in production "Street Hemi" guise. Thus, the replacement warranty was limited to just 12 months or 12,000 miles, and extended to the original buyers only. While it's possible to find numbers-matching Hemi Chargers, it's pretty rare. Engine output, their basic key dimensions and ID codes that can be found within the Charger's VIN

TRANSMISSION
Like other base configurations of the era, a column-shifted three-speed manual was issued as Charger's standard equipment both years; however, its use was limited to the 318 engine. The most popular option was the TorqueFlite automatic with a floor-mounted shifter and console, followed by Chrysler's four-speed manual. The linkage for the four-speed shifter was provided by Inland, and clutch size varied with engine displacement: 10.5 inches with the 318, 361 and 383; 11 inches with the 426.

CHASSIS
For 1965, the 119-inch wheelbase unit-body Dodge 330 and 440 were retired, and the 117-inch wheelbase intermediate-sized unit-body Coronet, Coronet 440 and Coronet 500 debuted. Its basic architecture would remain unchanged through 1970, even with the Charger's introduction.
Key underpinnings up front were a subframe and K-member, both acting as the foundation for the Torsion-Aire independent torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shocks and an anti-roll bar. The K-member also provided mounting support for the engine. Under the back half of the Charger was a pair of multi-leaf springs, along with shocks that retained Chrysler's 8¾-inch differential, or legendary 9¾-inch Dana 60 when the 426 Hemi engine were optioned with the four-speed.
Putting it all to the road were 14-inch steel wheels, shod with bias-ply tires. Four-wheel drum brakes were mandatory for all models in 1966.

BODY & INTERIOR
To shave development costs, the Charger was fitted with doors, hood and front bumper from the Coronet.
The Charger's not-so-subtle sporty flair was prominent throughout the interior for both years, thanks largely to front and rear vinyl bucket seats and a full-length center console. The rear seats could fold forward, providing more storage space, and there was a healthy dose of brushed aluminum panels trimming the console, as well as the door and rear side panels. Four round instrument clusters housed the speedometer, 6,000-RPM tach and additional gauges. An optional electric clock would have been located in front of the console-mounted shifter. Slight interior alterations for '67 included a new upholstery pattern, while the forward section of the center console was shifted to the option chart. A racy three-spoke, woodgrain steering wheel was standard for 1966.

ENGINE
In base form, Chargers were delivered with a two-barrel 318-cu.in. V-8; however, the option chart was sprinkled with torque-heavy big-blocks, including a 383 and the 426 Hemi in 1966.

BRAKES
Drum brakes were standard equipment in 1966. Disc brakes were optional in '67, though standard with the Hemi.

TRANSMISSION
Charger buyers could, in theory, have selected the standard three-speed manual, optional four-speed manual or optional TorqueFlite automatic both years; however, some engine selections had specific transmissions assigned to them.

INTERIOR
The term "sporty personal car" was briefly used to describe the Charger when new, spurred in large part by its standard four bucket seats, full-length center console and race car-inspired gauges. Little remembered was its flow-through ventilation.

CHASSIS
Riding on the Coronet's 117-inch B-body chassis introduced in '65, the Charger used the same basic front torsion bar/rear leaf sprung suspension systems as its siblings; however, heavy-duty parts were optional, or standard with 426 Hemi.

BODY
Though the Charger II concept car and the first batch of regular-production Chargers were initially well received, the slippery fastback hardtop design quickly became polarizing and had an immediate sales impact, prompting a dramatic change.


                                                                                                                                                    Technical specification:

Model year 1966
Assembly United States: Lynch Road Assembly, Detroit, Michigan (1966)

Body and chassis
Body style 2-door fastback
Related Dodge Coronet
Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Satellite
Plymouth GTX

Powertrain
Engine 318 cu in (5.2 L) 2bbl A V8 (1966)
361 cu in (5.9 L) 2bbl B V8 (1966)
383 cu in (6.3 L) 4bbl B V8
426 cu in (7.0 L) 2×4bbl Hemi RB V8
Transmission A230 3-speed manual
A833 4-speed manual
TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic

Dimensions
Wheelbase 117.0 in (2,970 mm)
Length 203.6 in (5,170 mm)
Width 75.8 in (1,930 mm)

Old brochures of the car

Video of the real car from YouTube

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic June 2018

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