1968 Dodge Charger R/T - 440 Cubic Inches of American Muscle Car Legend 

My Dad bought charger after he got back from Vietnam. And he still has it.

These weren't competition with the Mustang. This was for the likes of the Pontiac GTO. These were muscle cars. Mustangs are pony cars in competition with Firebirds, Camaros etc.

R/T stands for Road/Track, a designation that's used for performance-focused models in the Dodge lineup.

Absolutely wonderful. Yet again this where us petrol heads / car guys need to appreciate that it really is not about absolute outright speed and dynamics, but the joy of basic engineering and the delight of hearing the machine giving us a sound track like these kind of vehicles can offer.

"The man from Toronto" had a nice one

For its day, the Chrysler Torqueflite automatic was one of the best auto transmissions. It could handle the Hemi. It's too bad so many of these classics today are so corrupted. I was fortunate to work for the Chrysler at the time and bought a '69 R/T SE. Beautiful car - probably the best design Chry. produced in the 1960s.

A lot of cars wound up with RV engines. They were a cheap replacement if your original motor went bang or if you were swapping a slant 6 car or whatever. The R/T got you heavy duty suspension, bigger brakes (drums with optional front disks) and a few things as standard equipment like the clock.

This car was the most fun I ever drove. It was the first car I had that had shoulder straps in addition to lap belts, although they were a separate attachment. Top end was only about 120 but you got there really fast. 12 MPG.

I actually owned a 69 R/T in 1970. I raced it at Fremont drag strip every Friday night, champion drag strip in south SF and raced it in several national NHRA sanctioned events at Fremont. An R/T had a beefed op tortion bars and an extra leaf in the rear. We ran a 780 double pump holly carb, Lakewood traction bars and Firestone wrinkle wall slicks 8” wide. The car ran consistent 12.10 to 12,30 at near or slightly above 110 mph thru the trap. It was a 4 speed with factory hp2 Eng equipped with anti pump up lifters. It spun 6500 rpm and never ever had a problem. It was a consistent winner for 2 straight years. Never lost to ANY of the hemi cars. There extra 500 lbs just made them to heavy. I consider it one or maybe the greatest muscle car ever!!!

What a timeless beauty! No modern car comes even close to it.

Always nice to see a diverse selection of cars being reviewed

The 1968 Charger was always my favorite. Back when I was a teenager, 1992, you could pick one up for about $8,000. I got a 1968 Plymouth Satellite for $1,300 instead. Hard to believe they where a dime a dozen back then.

Most beautiful Charger of them all.

how times have changed , when i was a teen in the very early 80's, those dodge chargers could be picked up for not a lot of money . A guy round the corner on the next street up from our house, only bought American muscle cars, he had an orange dukes of hazard dodge charger , and he slso had the mustang GT fastback, and some others i don't really remember , but i remember those two cars he had. The dodge charger , he did a rear wheel burnout, down the bottom of our road outside the stone trough pub. The Car produced enough rubber to make a large round ball of rubber larger than a shotput ball. That sound of its engine was absolutely glorious .

I had an orange 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. I sold it and immediately knew I had made a mistake. The sound of the exhaust was memorable. 50 years later and I still think about this car.

The yanks went from gross to net hp figures at around the same time manufacturers moved to regular unleaded petrol requiring lower comp ratios and lower power outputs. I think the smaller steering wheel would make a difference the steering feel. The tachometer with the clock in the centre is rather cool for 1968

Stunning car. From Bullitt to Dirty Mary Crazy Larry to the Dukes of Hazzard, my most favourite car of all time.

The 68' Charger is my favorite Mopar muscle car, 1 year only tailight set up which looks AWESOME 🔥

Absolute beast of a car. Old, dangerous, noisy and fast. Perfect for American films, a less useful in the UK. But that exhaust note! Gotta love it

Wow. That 440 Magnum sounds glorious. What a fantastic car. Somebody is a very, very lucky boy owning this. In my opinion, the only American muscle car to have.

Probably the best car you ever had on this channel!

Converts petrol/gasoline into noise. Love it! ❤️

Possibly the best car journalist, by far the greatest variety of car models & ages, I am hooked.

What a car. Absolutely fantastic looks. Sounds like the same kind of fuel economy as a land rover my parents owned in the 80's!

Looks great on those Keystones instead of the oversized wheels you see on many these days

This has always been a dream car of mine, along with the Hemi 'Cuda.

Hi American here. First the Dodge Charger R/T was the muscle car version of the charger. The Mustang was a pony car which is a totally different class of automobile. Actually the first 3 years of the mustang didn't have any high performance versions except for the Shelby GT 350. Not all these cars are created equal. You could get a inline 6 or smaller V8s like the 318 or 340. The R/ T was only available with the big block high performance 440 magnum or 426 Hemi V8s. The automatic transmission was actually quicker than the 4 speed manual being Chrysler's legendary drag race proof Torqueflite 3 speed auto. Third the horsepower and torque ratings were actually underrated for insurance reasons and NHRA racing restrictions back in the day. Third these cars are very quick if you're a good driver. The 426 Hemi version could do 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds and 13 seconds in the quarter mile. Problem is getting all that power to hook up for a good launch off the line. Me personally I like the Pontiac GTOs and Chevrolet Chevelle SS cars more.

Great to finally see this James. Excellent work sir! Thank you very much indeed. Ali

These cars are the pinnacle of 60s and 70s American muscle mate, but I will say, with more modern equipment such as steering, suspension, braking and even engines and gearboxes one could have an absolutely road ruling masterpiece. Also, they don't weigh in quite as much as you'd think. For instance, a 69 charger which is the year after this gorgeous 68 and the iconic general Lee car when equipped with a 7 litre or legendary 426 hemi V8 weights in at 3,650 pounds. (Not sure about the kilogram conversion there.) So they actually weight pretty on par if not a tad less than a modern dodge challenger and likely many other modern motors. Loved the review though, what a genuinely cracking example of a genuine piece of American automotive history!

These cars , as always not only reminds me of Bullitt , but also of Vanishing Point, although that possibly was a Dodge Challenger, a sister car to this . As ever with MOPAR stuff, great soundtrack

My dream car. I love it. And it certainly feels good to know that it's JayEmm approved.

Supposedly the Mustang used in Bullitt had to be significantly breathed on and worked over for the chase scene in the film. The Charger on the other hand was pretty much stock.

A '69 440 manual in black is my dream Charger. Few cars look as mean and imposing as it.

What an icon...might be one of the cooest cars ever!

Great video, Ali! The car looks wonderful and hope you are enjoying it and getting it out often

Easily the best car you have had on your channel mate. Well done. One of the coolest looking cars ever. Love it. thx!

Simply one of the best looking cars ever, and my favorite year of the Charger.

Great car. The 8 track in my 455 Trans Am didn't work either,just had a Rolling Stones tape in it like your man's Who tape. The best music came outta the back end anyway!

Mustang competitor was the challenger not charger. 1st gen charger was a luxury grand touring style car with 4 bucket seats. 2nd gen dropped the luxury part and was mainly offered with 383 440 rb big blocks and also the 426 hemi rb big block as a big powerful boaty car without the luxury part of the 1st gen

It's refreshing to have an Englishman not get embroiled into the half truths of 375 HP Gross 440 4 barrel ratings, and to see a 17 foot car for what it is. Chrysler Corporation was cash starved world wide, and the lack of eye ball vents, through flow ventilation and cohesive model development ensured the first Barracuda and Chargers never hit the sales big time. Because they were just seen as Valiants and Coronets. Thankfully, emotive movies, the Dukes of Hazard and the Challanger in Vanishing Point, make these cars hugely loved. And not just a Hugh Jelly. I could bore you with the details, but your drive covered it. The A833 four speed transforms the 440. Drag racers find the 727 Torqueflite to be a pretty good way of controlling burnout inducing wheelspin. Love your channel. 🙃DownUnder Dean

No working speedo proceeds to go passed speed camera. You legend.

I love your channel. Love to watch those UK cars as well. Thank you for showing THE GREATEST muscle car ever built. I love the 69 a lil bit more than all the other years. Those hideaway lights were the best still in my mind for all those American cars from that era.

Thanks for this, its my favorite car of all time.

Hell yes, love the randomness of the cars you drive!

My favourite muscle car since watching bullet I was rooting for the baddies

A '78 block actually had thinner cylinder walls and terrible heads. It's hard to know if this was built properly and with the appropriate original power. Great video as always.

I agree with what you said about performance and handling. I've recently (1yr ago) acquired my dream muscle car, a '69 Plymouth Roadrunner, it's a beautiful car and sounds great but not as fast as I thought it would be. So, I'm planning for some engine work this Winter. 🤔

The headlight doors are normally upgraded to electric from the old Vacum which makes them more reliable

I just stood in silence and admired the beauty of this beast. Thank you jay em, thank you

Had a 68 years ago, you are right about the size, they take up the same space as a LWB Transit van, i sold a 70 Mustang Mach1 to buy the Charger, ended up wishing i'd kept the Mustang, the Charger was a glorious thing but just too big, the driving experience was underwhelming TBH, sadly just didn't bond with it, only had it two years, sold it in 2006, my last yank was a 72 Firebird Formula 400, cracking car, not too big, handled pretty well, looked great, comfortable, just ticked more boxes for me than the Charger.

Definitely more cars like this

The first car that I bought at age 18 upon high school graduation was a Dodge Charger R/T in Plum Crazy (purple) with white top & interior, and the 440 Magnum engine. So fast. Could spin the tires for blocks (not that I ever did that...). Cost in 1976? $500. Beside awful gas mileage, the only other down side (for me) was that guys were always trying to steal it. One morning my father came out the front door of the house and found a guy sitting in the driver's seat. He was able to break into the car, but he didn't know how to start it!

Also btw nobody really realizes this but italians also used to state gross hp ratings in their cars up until around 1966-1967. which is why ferrari 3l sohc colombo v12 has 300hp meanwhile the 3.3l dohc one also has 300hp when it should have been higher. Difference is sohc is 300 gross hp and dohc is rated at 300 net hp. The 3l sohc colombo should be actually making around 260 net hp or so

Jay this video was excellent! I only subscribed a few weeks ago but this one stands out for me. Really like your honesty and understanding if what cars like this were and ARE. Watching you tour the lovely English countryside while muttering about left hand drive just makes me want to move up the timeline for my next trip over. Plus hearing you say Brakes! Come on, come on made me laugh out loud. Thanks again! I"m off to watch that Jensen video which I somehow missed!

I seen one of these at Morrison's a couple of years ago back. 1969 with the black body. Best year and colour combo!

One of my trifecta of American cars that I love. Oddly, they are all from around the same period - 68 Charger, 69 Camaro, and the 1970 Challenger.

Fast and furious movies helped this car's reputation for the younger audiences that haven't seen Bullitt or Dukes of Hazard

Nice! More of that, please!

These cars actually handled pretty good with tight steering when new. The problem with both A and B body chrysler products is they lose their ride quality rather quickly over time. The steering gearbox gets sloppy and the torsion bar suspension just gets sloppy. I had a used 65' Barracuda and a 69' Roadrunner all did the same thing. My grandmother had a 68 Coronet, did the same thing, my mother had a 73 Dodge Dart A body, same thing. Yet my uncle had a 65 Fury and that car just stayed tight with almost 200k miles on it.

Gorgeous and musical!

Such an iconic car! Love it! 😍🔥🔥🔥

Had to flashback to childhood moment when I saw that steering wheel. Im certain my father had one exactly like it in a late 70s celica gt. Good video as always.

Of all the things I never thought Id see. Jay in old Charger about tops the list, or very near. REALLY enjoyed the vid :)

Most beautiful car to ever come out of Detroit! If it had a little more gear and a shift kit in the 727 you’d really feel the difference. The difference between the Charger R/T and regular Chargers is R/T’s engine selection was only 440 magnum and 426 Hemi. Also you got beefed up suspension and larger brakes. And don’t forget optional bumblebee stripe. Mopar or no car!

just discovered this channel and damn youre a great presenter. subbed!

This is my favourite of all the muscle cars.

Oh that sound !!!! You'd never have the stereo on !, James another Great Video !

Back in the 80s american muscle cars were relatively cheap - I bought a Pontiac Firebird bullnose in near mint condition for just £1400! Wish I still had it....

Had a ‘68 with the 318 V8 with A/C! It was cool and I was cooled. With 70 series studded snow tires it could handle bumper deep northern Minnesota snow with no problem. Wish I still had it now or one like it.

I have always loved how the wing curves run from the front/back all the way & cross over on the doors. 😍 I also find the fact that Bill Hickman was a complete drunk and usually did his work in such a state. And after all you can't beat a cross plane cranked V8

A dream car of mine If I won the lottery there would be one in my garage

These were fantastic cars! Like so many things, the 60’s were in many ways the greatest decade of all time

Fantastic car, my favourite one would be 71 vanishing point challenger but charger is right next to it. Not many cars come cooler and with more spirit that this.

There are too many cars on my wish list ahead of any classic muscle car but I still like them plenty, especially around that late 60's era. The only one that could compete for the podium on my list is the old C2 stingray coupe. That design is timeless, one of the very prettiest pieces of metal for the road.

I love the 68 with a 426 street hemi

When this car was made, gasoline was 15 cents per gallon in the US. You could get regular octane and super octane that was a few cents more.

My dream car

Morning what a beast of a car they are wicked and go like stig they are beautiful car and worth a lot of money.

Love that car, love that version! Never drove one, but it's dayum good looking!

Awesome car. Would love to see it a bright colour or a burgundy. Nice video. Keep up the good work.

My Nr 1 dream Muscle car. Currently I have a 1984 Camaro.. when I close my eyes it is a Charger 🙂

Kicking goalsJames I didn’t quite expect to see one of my top 3 dream cars 😍 on your channel. Now if you could just do a vid on the…. Gordon-Keeble GT I’d be what’s the word 🤔 Mega impressed 😁

Thanks J!, Ripe for a restomod? It didn't actually make the sound I thought it would, but great to see one on your channel! 🙏

Great, honest review. Was afraid it'd be a bashing session on its imperfections, but sometimes perfection is boring, which this car is anything but!

When it comes to Consistent good content you’re one of the best in automotive videos

Don’t care how it drives I want one

JayEmm First time ever that the opening credits match the car! 😅🤣😂

I never get tired of seeing these hulking beasts cruising down tiny European roads. Love the muscle car stuff JayEmm, and spot on with your analysis.

If you EVER get the chance to review an old V8 Vantage X-Pack, I assume you will jump at the opportunity! In fact, please do a review of any old V8 Aston... My favourite being the 7.3 litre RS Williams version that would spin the rear wheels in the damp in third gear - at 70!!! Even in automatic form!

Such an beast of a car. Thats how cars should be !!

As a Dukes of Hazzard fan this is just a dream car. I want it!!!!!

One of the best-looking cars of all time. Just so perfect from every angle. Those coke-bottle hips... ooh yeah.

4:33 Navigating that roundabout at 10-15 mph looked terrifying :)

Beautiful Car!!!

@7:00 the one good thing about that period was it made the turbocharged car + a tune feel like a major fuss because so many cars could go from 200hp to 450 by just removing a restrictive plate or some other equivalently minuscule task that takes seconds and suddenly you’ve got a beastie.

Do you have a release schedule or do you just spit them out as you go? Good work here, carry on!

Absolutely glorious

You always have variety when it comes to cars. I've always wanted a charger in black

Lovely 🙂🇺🇸 They were a big part of my yoof….. I had a 250cu Maverick 6 pot, then an Aussie Falcon/Fairmont 351 Coupe…… followed by an Olds Cutlass supreme with a gorgeous 260cu V8……. A friend had a 69 vette with a 427cu manual and a 350cu Camaro as a daily. Another friend had an AMC Javelin 360cu V8 and a Cadillac Sedan DeVille 1960(?) followed by an ugly 74’ Coupe DeVille Etc etc Chelsea Cruise was a regular…… also, High Beech - Epping and Southend…. 🙂🇬🇧

I had that same steering wheel (or maybe slightly smaller diameter) on a couple of old Subarus. The OEM wheel was terrible and the Mk1 Legacy went from bland to offering a road and steering feel feedback that made it a true joy to drive, a hidden gem. I could tell if I drove over a quarter or a nickel and place the car to the mm. I wish my GR86 had anywhere near as good feel.