The 1971 model year was the pinnacle of the muscle car market, at least at Chrysler. It would be the last year for both the 426 Hemi V8 and the 440 6-Pack. This Charger R/T is one of just 98 that are said to have been built with that 440 and an automatic transmission. And it was once owned by celebrity Sylvester Stallone. Restored in its original Citron Yella color, this beauty looks to have few (if any) flaws and maybe just 38,000 miles. It will be available here on Mecum as part of their auction in Kissimmee, Florida on January 4-15, 2023.
The Dodge Charger emerged in 1966 as something of a large pony car based on the Chrysler B-body platform. It got off to a slow start, but the second generation of 1968-70 sold like hotcakes. The cars were redesigned again for 1971, having a slippery fuselage shared with Plymouth. Due to rising insurance premiums and the detuning of engines to run on unleaded fuel and produce fewer emissions, many powerhouse engines did a swan song in 1971. The Chrysler 385 hp. 440 cubic-inch V8 with triple 2-barrel carburetors would be gone for 1972. But not before fewer than 100 would go into Charger R/Ts with the A727 automatic.
This car was once purchased by Sylvester “Rocky” Stallone for his son who at one point commissioned a thorough restoration. It later ended up in the Wellborn Musclecar Museum which has consigned it to Mecum to sell. The Dodge comes with not one, but two broadcast sheets and the powertrain on this car is numbers matching. It’s also equipped with the A36 Performance Axle Package with 3.55 gears. Since it’s a 6-Pack, it also has the Ramcharger hood with hold-down pins.
Inside the car, the houndstooth bucket seat interior with a console looks hardly used. Power steering and brakes are/were needed to maneuver and stop this powerful automobile. The Rallye wheels sport Goodyear Polyglas GT tires which we’re told were standard fare only in 1971. This is a remarkable automobile that will attract plenty of attention. Which it should as the auction is expected to fetch between $125,000 and $175,000 for this piece of automotive history.
The 71- 74 Charger shared no body panels with the 71-74 Plymouth . Other than drivetrain parts , they shared very little .
Sharp Looker. IMHO, too bad its a slush o matic. Good luck, bring a wheelbarrow full of cash.
Cheers
GPC
The 727 is no slushbox. It’s every bit the performance gearbox as the vaunted, magical 4-speed.
IMHO it would look better if it was gunmetal gray
I think it looks great in that shade of yellow. I don’t get this current fad that everything looks better in shiny gray…
Day dreaming about this car will never get old , I know 1st hand because well I’m old lol & spent plenty of time when i was young going over magazines looking at 1/4 mile times & horsepower numbers of all the muscle cars. Definitely a top shelf car!
Please don’t leave disparaging remarks about A727 transmissions. They are quicker and lighter than your 4-speed and they don’t miss shifts and break valve springs or wear out the crankshaft thrust bearing. Your 4-speed crankshaft probably has over .010 crankshaft end play by now.
So a few corrections here:…..Chrysler Corp. did build a few 440-6 bbl. equipped cars in 72’……I personally viewed one at Chrysler’s @ Carlisle some years ago. The car was a dark green GTX, with Gold interior, 4speed. It did not have the Air Grabber optional system. There was one other I saw advertised for sale, different colors, but a factory original 6 bbl. Plymouth. The Air Grabber would have been optional on the above Charger, only the Hemi cars in 69’-71’ model years got the Air Grabber standard….nice car, but I need a 4 speed….
They built 6 bbl Fury’s, I saw one years ago and though it was pretty cool for a land yacht.
Emissions kicked into gear in ’71, which affected everyone. ’70 was the last true muscle car year, imo! I had a ’70 Torino 429CJ C6 in hs but considered it a boat (anchor) lol, this was another boat, imho! My earlier hs cars was a ’67 Stang 390GTA & ’70 Nova SS350 4spd (built up in hs auto-shop). The boats were great at drive-ins, esp with a front bench seat hehehe!
Nothing really changed until ’73 at Chrysler. ’71’s and ’72’s with 440’s/Hemis/6BBL’s would run right with the ’70’s. The numbers on paper were mostly BS.
I’m curious about the hidden headlights. I know they were optional on the 1971 Super Bee (now a sub-brand of the Charger with the Coronet being 4-door sedans only) but don’t know if that was also the case with the 1971 Charger R/T.
IOW, were hidden headlights now a stand-alone option on both the Super Bee and R/T, or was it possible to get them on ‘any’ 1971 Charger, even a lowly base coupe?
The whole 1971 Super Bee and R/T thing was stange. AFAIK, performance options were almost identical between both cars, with the only difference being that the Super Bee started with a 383-4v while the R/T got a 440-4v as the base engine. But it was now possible to get the R/T’s base 440-4v in the Super Bee, too.
I’m going to guess that the similarities between the two cars was a big reason that both the Super Bee was discontinued for 1972, with the top performance Charger now being called Rallye (just like the top 1972 Challenger was changed from R/T to Rallye, as well).
Hideaways were a separate option and available on Super Bees and R/T’s and 500’s (maybe base models too?) but, were standard on the SE.
Correction. Dodge called their N96 hood Ramcharger, not Air Grabber. I owned a 70 RR in FE5 when it was just 3 years old. Air Grabber was on the decals. Drove that thing every day.
I’m a Mopar guy my whole life and will never change. I had a 1970 charger 500 loaded power everything windows door locks seat.it had 383 mag. A/C run so good dual points never had one problem with this machine I wish I had kept it sorry for letting it go there better looking car.
@RD
You’re welcome.
Bought a solid 1973 charger SE with a cracked 400ci block in 1981 when i was 19 years old.. Dropped a 440 out of a junk yard for $175. Kept breaking driveshafts after that. Threw in a dana rear end and a custom drive shaft with bigger yokes. 727 torquflight upgrades and running high 12 second 1/4 mile weighing in at 3,800 lbs. Nothing but torque! What a great car!
Car looks like it’s moving…..while it’s sitting !
No wonder very few wanted to race, while sitting at the Red Light.
You were beat…..before it turned Green ! lol
Charger Power !!
“Yo Adrian, I did it!”
Slushbox??? 727 was first trans proven to shift faster than ANY manual….FACT
I know of one 71 Charger that was a automatic with a slant six motor. I was working at the dealership when it came in. It never had any power. It was gray bottom with a white vinlyn top.