'1968' ~ 'The Way Mopar Should Have Been'

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69 Cuda 440

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1968

There were 'way' too many Chevrolet {car and engine} combinations.

Even the General Motors cousins {Oldsmobile, Buick and Pontiac} were
'playing' with trick combinations.

And Ford, was 'quietly' doctoring up some new performance units.

Mopar had the;
318/230 HP {Valiant, Barracuda and Dart and B-Body cars}
340/275 HP {Barracuda 'S' and Dart GTS}
383/300 HP {Barracuda 'S' and Dart GTS}
383/330 HP {B-Body 'standard' 4-Barrel}
383/335 HP {Road Runner and Super Bee}
440/375 HP {GTX, Coronet R/T and Charger R/T}
426/425 HP Street Hemi
426/500 HP Race Hemi {BO-29 Barracuda and LO-23 Dart}

Missing, was a 'nice' mixture of Optional HP combinations for the
340, 383 and 440 as well as an Econo-Performance 318 4-Barrel
for the Valiant and Dart GT.
 
add the 318/230 HP {Valiant/Barracuda and Dart} was no slouch, ~same HP as Commando 273 but with more torque and 2 less barrels.
 
"Too Many Chevy's for 1968"

Camaro
* 327/210 HP
* 327/275 HP
* 302/290 HP {Z-28}
* 350/295 HP {SS 350}
* 396/325 HP {SS 396}
* 396/350 HP {SS 396}
* 396/375 HP {SS 396} > Also available with L-89 Aluminum Cylinder Heads

Add in, that the Camaro was also available
in both a Coupe and Convertible, expect in the Z-28.

Both the Z-28 and 396/375 HP 'L-78' were available with
4-Speed Transmissions 'only'.

And, several Dealerships were offering {off-site}
427 conversions in the Camaro SS 396.

Nova
* 307/200 HP
* 327/275 HP
* 327/325 HP {'L-79'}
* 350/295 HP {SS 350}
* 396/350 HP {SS 396}
* 396/375 HP {SS 396} > Also available with L-89 Aluminum Cylinder Heads
* 427/425 HP {'L-72'} > COPO #9738

The 327/325 HP 'L-79' was a 'Special High Performance' package,
and was only available with a 4-Speed.

A 'limited' amount {50} 396/375 HP 'L-78' Nova's were 'specially'
built with a T-H 400 Automatic Transmission to qualify to run
in the NHRA. These cars were shipped to Fred Gibbs Chevrolet
in Kansas City, Missouri.

The ['COPO' 9738] 427/425 HP 'L-72' was an T-H 400 Automatic
Transmission only package.
 
And of course there were more Chevy dealers building outlandish cars--Baldwin/Motion, NIckey, Yenko, to name a few. Besides Mr. Norm's & Rockville Center Dodge (N.Y.) what other Mopar dealerships were there that catered to high performance?
 
68 Dart GTS 440 cars (7) not sure on the HP
68 Dart GSS 440 cars (40?) not sure on the HP
 
I still would have like to have seen a 318 with the 340 componets, timing chain/gear, camshaft, windage tray, intake & T-quad carb, along with 71 360 heads.

This would have been a great engine for the Demon Sizzler & the Duster Twister cars.

I'm thinking 14.90-15.00 range.
 
i would have liked to see a aluminum intake/hot cam option for the 340 through the years along with the 6 pack option on all 340 cars.
 
the only reason they built a "high performance " anything was to sell more " regular" cars to the general public??? BUT,,, they hit a big one with the 69 383 runner, wasn't production that year 85,000 of those?????
also, if direct connection "add on parts" were available, maybe they figured the gearhead tyoes would do their own mods!????
lets remember, the musclecar craze only lasted a few years back then, and t he insurance co and govt stepped in and killed it off! then the hippy movement made fast cars " not nice", then the oil embargo comes in!???
 
davescuda said:
68 Dart GTS 440 cars (7) not sure on the HP
68 Dart GSS 440 cars (40?) not sure on the HP
Click to expand...

Dave

Good Call,

The {7} 1968 Dart GTS 383 {w/440 conversion} was rated at 375 HP,
and specifically classed for SS/EA in 1968 {8.70 to 9.49 Wt/HP}.

The Mr. Norms {GSS 440} cars, I believe were listed as 440/375 HP
packages as well.

These '68 Dart GTS 'specials' were not permitted to run Stock Class.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
Dave

Good Call,

The {7} 1968 Dart GTS 383 {w/440 conversion} was rated at 375 HP,
and specifically classed for SS/EA in 1968 {8.70 to 9.49 Wt/HP}.

The Mr. Norms {GSS 440} cars, I believe were listed as 440/375 HP
packages as well.

These '68 Dart GTS 'specials' were not permitted to run Stock Class.
Click to expand...

Ha,

Did you read the article. A kid is posting a restoration build on a 68 dart that looked like a 72. (I forget what sit it was on.) He was Striping it down and found that the back of the dart had a 72 brazed on it. A member noticed the colors on it and said to the kid that it look like charlie Allen colors. So he had the Kid wet sand the paint layers down to find out that the Kid had Charlie original 68 GTS 440 Dart.
 

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An Argument

There could have easily been a 318 4-Barrel in a 1968, possibly
called the 'Compact Economy-Performance Car', available only in the >

* Valiant 'Sport'
* Dart GT 'Rallye'

* 10.0 -1 Compression {Flat Top Pistons}
* Hydraulic Camshaft > .430"/.440" Lift ~ 260* Duration ~ 32* Overlap
* Cylinder Heads with > 1.88" Intake Valve / 1.50" Exhaust

* Single-Plane Intake Manifold {ie; 273 Commando}
* Carter AFB {570 CFM}
* Dual Exhaust

We know that the 1968 318/230 HP 2-Barrel was over-rated on HP,
as the NHRA re-factored them correctly to 195 HP.

The 318 4-Barrel combination could be around 240 HP.

Comparable to the 318 Marine which was rated at 240 HP.
 
More 1968 Chevy's

Corvette

* 327/300 HP
* 327/350 HP
* 427/390 HP
* 427/400 HP 'Tri-Power'
* 427/430 HP 'L-88'
* 427/435 HP 'Tri-Power'

Available as a Hardtop Coupe or Convertible.

The 327/350 HP was a 'Special Performance Package' and was only
available with a 4-Speed Transmission

Automatics were available with the 327/300 HP, 427/390 HP and
427/400 HP engines.

Aluminum Cylinder Heads {L-89} were an option for the 427/435 HP
'L-71' engine.

Note; An All-Aluminum Engine {ZL-1} was in the works at Chevrolet, and to be built specifically for the NHRA SS/A Class {0.00 to 5.99 Wt/Hp}.
 
Fred,

Mopar did play with the idea of a 318 'Econo-Performance' Engine in October 1967 for the upcoming 1968 Model year.

It was to be rated at 240 HP, and was to be for the Valiant 'S' and Dart GT only.

Jerry Gross, Engineer/Tech at Chrysler tested this combination.

For some reason, it was shot down by the Chrysler Heads.

* 10.0-1 Compression
* Carter AFB 4-Barrel {570 CFM}
* Hydraulic Camshaft ~ .425"/.437" Lift ~ 256*/260* Duration ~ 32* Overlap
* Dual Exhaust
* 8 3/4" Rear
* A-833 4-Speed or A-904 Torque-Flite
 
I always thought the 340 should a been an option "across the board" for A-bodies, like the Hemi in the 66 (and later if ya knew who to ask) B-bodies.
I bet Chrysler would have built you (for instance) a 340 4-speed Valiant 100 2 door sedan if you knew who to talk to and were willing to pay up front.
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
i would have liked to see a aluminum intake/hot cam option for the 340 through the years along with the 6 pack option on all 340 cars.
Click to expand...

That would have been sweet! The 440 should have always been an option in the Roadrunner. Then we wouldn't have had to swap it in ourselves. Lol
 
1968

No doubt that '2' 340 engine packages should have been offered
for 1968.

The 'basic' 340/275 - which was refactored to 310 HP by the NHRA
to run in E/S or E/SA {10.00 to 10.49 Wt/HP} for 1968.

Clearly a 340/300 HP engine would have been great.

* 11.0-1 Compression
* 'Mechanical' Camshaft {Racer Brown ST-12}
{.480" Lift ~ 292* Duration ~ 76* Overlap}
* High-Load Rate Valve Springs
* Aluminum Dual-Plane High Rise Intake
* Carter AVS {750 CFM}

I'm sure that the NHRA would have refactored that combination
to 325 HP.

It would have been a great 'D-Package' for D/S or D/SA {9.50 to 9.99 Wt/HP}.
 
We All Know

That the 383/335 HP {Road Runner/Super Bee} engine was over-rated
by the Factory.

Even the NHRA eventually felt sorry for that combination, and re-factored
the 383/335 HP to {300 HP} a few years later, so that it could be competitive.

It would have been nice to see several 383 Engine combinations for 1968 in the Road Runner and/or Super Bee.

* 383/300 HP {383 Road Runner Engine ~ 383 Magnum}
> The properly rated 383/335 HP engine.
> 10.0-1 Compression Ratio
> 'Hydraulic' Camshaft > .450"/.458" Lift ~ 268*/284* Duration ~ 46* Overlap
> Carter AVS Carburetor {625 CFM}

* 383/320 HP {383 H-Code HP}
> 10.0-1 Compression Ratio
> High-Lift 'Hydraulic' Camshaft > .484" Lift ~ 284* Duration ~ 68* Overlap
> Carter AVS Carburetor {750 CFM}
> Cast Iron Intake Manifold {1 11/16" x 1 11/16" Throttle Bores}

* 383/340 HP {Package 'E/Stock' Option}
> 11.0-1 Compression Ratio
> TRW Forged Pistons
> Chrome-Plated Top Compression Piston Rings
> High-Lift 'Hydraulic' Camshaft > .484" Lift ~ 284* Duration ~ 68* Overlap
> .0005 Under-Sized Lifters
> High-Load Rate Valve Springs {#280 lbs.}
> Heavy-Stamped Steel Rocker-Arms
> High-Strength Push Rods
> Edelbrock Aluminum Intake #DP-4B
> Holley #3310-1 Carburetor 780 CFM
> Dual-Point Distributor
> Steel-Gear Roller Timing Chain
> High-Pressure Fuel Pump
> Shot-Peened Connecting Rods
> Select 'A' Engine Components
> High-Volume Oil Pump
> Balanced Internal Components
> Tuftrided Crankshaft
> TRW Clevite-77 Tri-Metal Connecting Rod Bearings
> Half-Grooved Main Bearings {Upper Shell}
 
I dont see the isue here. Mopar had a the automotive equivelant of a nuclearbomb with the HEMI A-bodies,pretty much killing anything else out there,what more could we ask for?
 
...i lived through the era
...not much stock that a stock 340 couldn't handle on the street
 
I found some old insurance papers in a old mopar one time - gave quotes for the HP cars with various engine combos up to the 426 - Insurance would have been much higher than the car payments.

And they are controlling us more than ever 40 years later.
 
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