Dodge
Published on October 19th, 2016 |
by BajaBusta
1971 Dodge Charger 318 Test Drive
1971 brought a restyled Charger with a Pontiac-like grille and high beltline. Styling covered a two inch shorter wheelbase and three inch shorter length.
The six Dodge Charger models in 1971 included a base, hardtop, 500, SE, R/T, and Super Bee, a Road Runner imitation which became Dodge’s street racer. It replaced the Coronet Super Bee with a standard 300HP 383 and floor mounted 3 speed manual. Optional engines were the 440 six pack and the 426 hemi.
The base V8, the 318 engine was still rated at 230 horsepower, gross, in 1971, with its normal Carter two-barrel carburetor; in 1972, that would change to 150 horsepower, net, at 4,000 rpm. That would continue to be the 318’s horsepower rating for some years to come. The base-base engine, the reliable but under-tuned slant six, continued to put out 145 gross horsepower in 1971, as it nearly always had; in 1972, when they changed to net ratings, the figure dropped to 110 horsepower. The 318, through its life, generally had a Carter two-barrel which was good for reliability and economy, while the slant six breathed through a single-barrel Holley; in both cases.
1971 was the last full performance Charger, though the Charger 340 would remain with quite respectable performance.
Word Source: AllPar
Tags: 1971, 1971 Dodge Charger 318, Bud Lindeman, Car and Track, Charger, Dodge, Dodge Charger, Review, road test, Roadtest, test drive, Testdrive
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