What Makes An R/T An R/T? Comparing 1968 Dodge Charger Models With The Dealer's Data Book 

I miss my 68 R/T terribly. She was a blast to drive

When I was a senior in high school in 73-74 my friend had a 68 GTX Plymouth 440 magnum automatic and I loved that car.

I had a 68 r/t when I was in my 20s that's the best looking of the second gen Chargers fore sure. Got a 70 R/T SE now that needs a lot of work man I miss the 68. Thanks for the video.

I bought a base model '68 Charger in 1987, just after high school graduation. $800. Though only 19 years old at that point, the car was already a basket case. Barely drove home. For the record, my dash had the Fratzog emblem. Over the years, I swapped the original 318 for a 440 HP, as well as an 833 4-speed. Later, a swap on the front to larger Mopar Performance torsion bars, late-model 11-3/4" "cop" disc brakes, and MP Hemi B-body springs under the rear. All of this combined to make a car that was an absolute blast to drive. The secret to the 4-speed was specing a HD diaphragm-style 11" clutch in place of the standard Borg & Beck style used by Chrysler on all its muscle-era cars. It's hard to describe how fun these cars are to drive, not to mention you make friends everywhere you park the car - or at stop lights.

Jamie, thanks for the great content. Always educational, which I appreciate. Keep up the good work!

Hey Tom I still have the 1968 rt red charger that once sat in your yard . It sits in a heated garage not yet started on it but maybe next year I'll have the time when I retire . Its going to look great. Thanks for helping me Tim have a good day.

The hemi and 440 Chargers were fast. Mine just had a 383, 4 speed,373 posi. Not as fast as the big blocks but still fairly quick. It's all I could afford as I was 19 back in '68. Chargers were not cheap.

I"m an old guy and remember when all those mopars were new, Remember getting out of the Navy in 1967 and was quoted under 4k 440 4speed brand new out of the box. Decided couldn't afford it due to insurance price at the time. LOL

You covered most of it, Jamie. I think you only omitted the braking system differences (and options). I've always been a one-Mopar-budget here, so unless I give up my '68 GTX a Charger won't happen, much as I'd like it to at this stage of my life (62). - Ed on the Ridge

Excellent video. I am trying to get my 69 R/T ready for this summer. Thank-you for the inspiration to keep working on the car.

I could listen to that engine all day long.

Man they got it so right with the 68. I check on your subscription number pretty much daily. Glad to see it keeps going up

Another great video! Chargers are awesome cars!

Those 68 Dodge Chargers , Are absolutely 💯 beautiful !!!!!

Good tutorial! Learned alot.

i love the style of your videos. editing and such

The wheel covers on Tom's are coolest ever made :⁠-⁠)

Back around 1990, I lent my brother $1200, but took in his '69 Coronet R/T. 440 column shift. Pretty much stock, other than a Holley double pumper, and headers. I didn't care for the Burnt Orange paint. I didn't think he would pay me, to get his car back. Back then I thought it was a rocket. It would also burn through a full tank of fuel in under an hour, when driven in a unacceptable manner.

You forgot to mention, that they both are awsome cars. Thanks for sharing bro.

Brilliant! Informative.

That really was interesting. I remember a friend had an RT with a 383, must have been a replacement engine, as this was back in 70. Thanks for doing this one!

When I was a kid in the 70’s and there were cheap R/T’s, and muscle cars in general, everywhere I wouldn’t have looked twice at a non R/T. Now older, and realizing the value of all walks of life, I understand them to all be the same car and just as cool. My ideal now would be a 383 column shift a/c car. My only real qualification now is lack of rust

At the start of the '68 production run, 4-speed cars got the Inland shifter, and those are what appear in the factory service manuals for that year. During the production run they changed over to the Hurst (cueball) shifter, so some '68s have those.

I adore the old white wall tires. Very rare. Very Bullitt Charger look

😊 Nice way to brighten up this day. Late to rise it's a retirement thing 😅. Just sitting here looking out at my MX- MERCURY Montego Acapulco blue. So here's the truth of this car. Knowing full well I am probably never going to find my Road Runner Again. This is to be second best option. So I think we should talk before spring gets here. I will check your options for this.

The Charger is a beautiful car but my all time favorite is the 68/69 Road Runner. My first muscle car was a basket case 68 RR with a 400 and 727. A few years later I found a 69 RR 383, 4 speed, matching numbers Calif built, Calif yellow and black plate car. Loved that thing. Had to sell and miss it to this day.

Beautiful color!!🥰

Great content.

Good info. I like the reference book you have. However, pretty much anything was possible back then. You could special order almost any option. Money talks. Also they mixed and matched shit on the production line to keep things moving along. I found a 68 Newport wagon many years ago that had a 440hp in it from the factory. Also my 1974 challenger had a big block A-833 in it and nobody could explain why. I bought that car from the original owner in 1978 so I know it was unmolested. I argued with the guys at the dealer when I ordered parts from the direct connection catalog for it and the front input bearing was much bigger than what they sold me. I had to bring my bearing in to prove it to them. They still said this was just not possible but got me the correct bearing anyway. I have other mutant mopar stories. I'm just tired of typing. Lol

If I'd only had a way to forsee the future I'd kept all the Chargers I had, 2 68's, 2 69's and 1 70, Oh the pain......the pain......my only hope now in my old age would be to win the lottery! At least I have the pictures and memories! Funny how strange life can be, when I was a teenager my dream was to have a 68-72 corvette but it was impossible then for someone with my wages and age, I satisfied my craving with the coke bottle shape of the Charger's and had one from 1978 to 1996. Crazy how the Corvette's are worthless now compared to a Charger, I have plenty of Corvette's now but all my memories as a teenager and young adult were made with charger's, just weird I couldn't obtain what I wanted then and have it now but want what I had then and now it's unobtainable. 🤔 Awesome comparison and video Jamie!👍

My 1970 500 Charger that started life as a 318 with a 904 Trans and a 291 rear gear came will a lot of the heavy duty stuff bought it used in 1973 for $1500 Finally upgraded the entire drive train A 360 POLICE INTERCEPTOR Engine Holley 600 CFM small 1/4 race cam and headers 727 Trans 391 gears. Sold it in 1987 for $ 3K When our 1st Daughter came along

Love the 68' with the hubcaps!

Yeah....I wish I still had my 70 R/T it was a nice car.... good content and thanks.

Im happy with my 70 Chrysler. It has a 440, front disks and a sure grip from the factory for a quarter of the price of a R/T Charger.

WOW this is a great video I can relate to.

My Dad bought a 68 Charger brand new back in 1968. He ordered it with the 383 motor and 727 torqueflite since my Mom couldn't drive a stick shift. When the car came in my Dad noticed that the dealer was charging him an extra $80-90 than what he was told the car would cost. The dealership ordered the 383 High Performance on accident. They didn't charge my Dad for it, and he accepted the car. Unfortunately the last time I rode in a 68 Charger, I missed my first day of kindergarten because my Mom hit a 69 Camaro head on and totalled the Charger.😓

Hello mate great informative video cheers Chrysler made chargers here in Australia too they look a lot different to American ones but still look great the E49 was the race R/T version.MOPAR👍

My 69 (originally green exterior and interior) had 383 2bbl. 727 column shift and 3 23 suregrip. It did have the tic toc tac and walnut simulated steering wheel...it was non R/T as well. And hood mounted turn signals (wasn't sure if they all had that) and sway bars on back but idk if it was original sway bar. Was this a run of the mill optioned car or did it have anything unique for a non R/T.

Love the "air quotes" 😂

Back in the early 1980`s I was a mopar guy just like you and I worked at AAMCO Transmissions...I got old though...and that sucks. :(

Love the Chargers !!! Good video!

My friend has a 70 Charger with a Hemi in it. One of 27 that came to Canuckastan. He was offered $ 200,000 g for it. He was told to go pound sand...😎😁

Beautiful cars fun times infirmative videos. I was11 in 68. By then was already a Mopar fanatic. I'd bug my dad to drive by the Mopar dealers in Centralia and Chehalis so i could get a glimpse of the new models.. especially b bodies. I thought they were the coolest. In 68 my neighbor bought a new Super Bee 383 4 speed. I thought it was the coolest car ever. I ended up owning it for a short time in the early 80s. Sure wish I'd kept it😢

Man gotta love that Mopar rumble 😍😍🤤

Great vid! I would also add the letter designation in the Vin on R/T models was "s" as in xs29 as opposed to xp29 for base charger

Dang dude.... I love your videos.....

Thank you! Yes, it is kind of annoying when the 'experts' come around. My 1972 Rallye Charger is a year that they didn't do R/T. And it is spelled right, lol.

Thanks for posting another great vid. Some interesting things to note: I have found that early production '68 Chargers got the bullseye emblem while later ones got the fratzog. My '68 still had the original fuel and vapor return lines with factory undercoating still present. The fuel line was 5/16 and the short hose just pushed onto the original 3/8 sender. Turquoise was the correct engine color for '68 440 magnums. The 727 was specific to '68 440 mags, receiving two 4 pinion planetaries, higher ratio kickdown apply arm, & added clutch capacity & special input shaft.

Would love you to do a video of the Chrysler 300 our son has a 1971 440 .we are sure there’s only a handful of them in England . Last time we took it out someone shouted out “it’s a boat” definitely get loads of smiles per gallon.

Great video, nice job. I am no expert and have no idea what could or could not have been special ordered and like your friend I have never seen some of those things in that manual, sales brochure or whatever that was. I do know that back then you could for sure order what you wanted. In my grandfathers case he ordered his overly stripped. He was a strange but demanding man but he would brag sometimes how he got his way ordering cars. He wanted the cheapest car he could get other than the engine which he would pay up for if he didn’t like the base engine. It would come with nothing or nothing upgraded, manual everything, no radio, no mats, no trunk liner. Due to his cheapness and loving blue on blue color choices he had rare one of one (or one of very few) cars. He drove his cars year round and even though he always garaged them they had typical rust belt bottom rot on them from the salt on the roads in the winter. So I don’t know either what is right or wrong in that brochure but I suspect some of that information is wrong just based on what I have seen over the years. I do know my grandfather getting stripped cars for cheap and what he got away with on the price so I would never say never on what might be out there.

Hey Jamie what is the story on the trunk lids that in early 68 like mine the inside holes are cut out but later they stopped this .

Cool video

I lol'd at the "terrible Inland shifter" comment 9:07

Cool video man. Much more interesting than yesterday's ford, 😂😂

I had a 68 R/T same color with black stripe on the back. I loved that car. My lottery number was 5. (Draft) My wife sold it while I was in training, she sold it for$240.

Hey Jamie, happy new year buddy! Hey, you did miss something but it’s not very important. You said that the clock was standard on the dash I think the blackout plate was standard. The clock was an option. I’m just saying I’m not nitpicking your videos or your knowledge! I love you man!

I have seen some 68' R/T Chargers with the R/T logo on the small dash cluster button. Was that correct for the late 68' Charger R/T or was that added by the owners?

brother had mid 70's pontiac catalina stock 455 & quadrajet when you tromped on the pedal pushed you deep into the seat wonder how it compare to these rt

Geesh man I love that sound.

Love your channel man, my 1967 dodge dart gt come out with a 273, 727 trans, what size rear end do you think it has,when I drive it it seems to be geared low, I don,t know, and also looking for upper control arm with the ball joints in it seems, like i have called everywhere, but no luck,chassic performec, chassic industes, going thur the front end, to make sure its still safe I had the for about 18 years, restored it but not the front end, just new inner and outer tie rod ends, let know THX, AW.

We talked about the high cost of Chargers that are total rust buckets. I have been looking for year's, Recently I found and purchased a beautifu originall 70 RT SE that is all # matching and no rust. The body paint is weathered but I'm not going to touch it I'm leaving it as it is. It has a cool luggage rack on the trunk. I'm so happy and can't wait to drive it around town.

Hi Jamie, do you happen to know how often or why blinker deletes we installed on the hood? My 68 R/T has metal inserts. Not sure if that was an option?

Hey Jamie is That emblem in your car from a road wheel (magnum 500)

My ultimate dream mopar the 68 ps I watched your cross country trip with the purple charger and it was a pretty cool ride Along

I can’t wait for a in-depth review of the greatest charger ever the 1981 charger 2.2 😆

Would love a video like this o the 1968 coronet 440 , RT and 500. Mine is a 500

I thought I had the engine color correct. I got the Chrysler Turquoise 383-440 Big Block 1962-71 made by Bill Hirsch. I know the Hemi orange did not show up until 69 for the 440. I also upgraded the suspension and steering so it drives and handles better since I do try to drive it when I can. Since it does handle so much better I kinda wish the bucket seats were wrap around bucket seats because sometimes it is hard to stay in the seat. Other than that the car is what it was when my parents bought it new in 68. The paint and body was redone in 92 and the engine and transmission rebuilt last year. I would like to see what the proper turquoise color should look like as this is how i remember it before the engine was rebuilt.

Great video. Who ever gets to make a video like this?

I would love to own one

The '68 Charger is absolutely one of the best muscle cars ever made!

Junkerup patina kool

"Tick-Tock-Tach"! I like that!

Nothing against the newer mopars but I miss seeing the classic mopars running up and down the roads , says the guy who drives the 2000 rt Dakota

4 speeds, 18 spline hemi input shaft or 23 spline? I would have to count mine. You should be so glad you have yours now , have you seen the price of those beasts recently?

Chargers! 😮

Nice

With Dale's Demon being such a rare car (with the original engine). Why not put that 340 rebuild on top of the to-do list?

Interesting

One thing I never quite understood was why Dodge didn't offer the 383 4bbl in the R/T, rather than forcing you to have either a 440 or a Hemi if you got the R/T. If I'm not mistaken, I think the same was true for the Coronet R/T. In any case, they are all very cool cars with or without the R/T package.

A quick way to tell a 68 from a 69 or later is to look at the front side maker, it'll be round on a 68 on the later its rectangular. Just how i always would know at a quick glance....

In a weird sort of way, the 340 in the Demon and Duster is like an R/T in that it is more of a car package than just an engine upgrade.

In a second Gen Charger if it’s an R/T it’s gonna be a factory 440 or Hemi car. If it isn’t…it’s not an R/T. There are a ton of other differences mentioned in this video but it’s crazy the number of 383 cars people claim are R/T’s

I believe the small block cars had .086 diameter torsion bars .090 in the 383 cars and .092 in the R/Ts. I have s 68 Charger R/T 440, I always thought that one equipped with a 340 and 4spd would make a sweet driver. Maybe I'll build one someday.

So you want to know why you needed a Dana-Spicer 60 with the 4 speed? Even after we added and extra leaf and te tempered the springs with two inches of additional bow, my buddy’s otherwise stock 1968 440 GTX would bang the pumpkin against the snubber when power shifted 1-2 & 2-3. I know for fact cause as the littlest of the gang I often say in the middle of the back seat

This video makes a point that is often lost on some people. All these old muscle cars are just a collection of parts. There's no special voodoo inside one of these cars that you can't bolt right on. Or weld on, in the case of torque boxes (weld on poorly, if you're going for the factory look).

R/T Stands for ROAD and TRACK USE I would imagine it had certain Heavy Duty PARTS FOR TRACK USE

On some cars the body is cool enough! I’d drive a slant in any 3 of the years!

رائع عمل جيد

Yeah, I’ll take one of those of your hands please and thank you 😊

You spent the whole video blabbing about Chargers. Where's the weird raptor dog? P.S. You put out some of the best mopar content on the web. I look forward to when you have hundreds of thousands of subs and so much feedback that my witty but useless comments get lost in the noise.

Wish id known how much $$$ a 68 SE all option car was worth in the 80"s when i had mine, A/C , power brakes that a big cam would effect & headlights , ( 727 ) auto, power windows, hated them always getting motors out of the mopar land yachts, & power steering, # matching 383 727 323, car pavement roaster" especially w 4:88"s first first & first" 2500 TCI stall solid motor mounts, cheetah reverse manual valve body" meats 28x10.50 wished it had a locking gas cap" 3 rear ends 741, 742, 789, 904 heads 30 over forged pistons / billet rods , adj lifters double springs, clutch fan , built 2,3 gear bands in trans, but wish it was a hemi 4 speed car $$$. In B5 blue white interior/ stripe

Remember, Hemi orange engines didn't start till 69. The Chrysler Corporation Blue didn't start till 72

I think the blue color on the engine was correct for 68 and went to orange in 69.

When I was 15 back in 1984 a neighborhood kid 21 at the time had a 68 rt and I would go there every day after school help him rebuild the 440 I was in total love it was white black int black bumble bee stripe 4 speed cragars fucking beautiful he ended up having to sell it and I begged my mom to let me have a loan READY 1500$ I’ll never forget it

Cool....make sure you tighten that loose tie rod sleeve nut!

Looks like they moved to c body tie rods. A great cheap upgrade and one that was used on cars used in nascar for the added strength.

I believe that 440 Magnum should be orange not blue!

The 440 should be Chrysler blue in 68, even the hp motors, not sure when that changed, least I pretty sure, think it’s in my books

any charger is good charger lol😅

Wonder how odd it must feel to work everyday with cars made in the same era I was....