My '71 383 ragtop was a great car for the day. It had all the goodies of the day SlapStick auto, front disc brakes, pedestal mounted 8-track, A/C and more power than a teenager should have. That car scared the crap out of me more than once at 150+ (speedo pegged out at 150 but still had more peddle) there was no control felt like the front wheels were off the ground. Yep night and day difference but love them both
I know what you mean. I had a 71 340 'Cuda. Most cars in the 60s and 70s were very unstable at high speeds. That's why extensive window tunnel tests had to be done on our retro-styled Challengers to make them road-worthy at 150-173 mph speeds. If you haven't seen it, check out this design discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7FplBsfhqg
On the other hand the 68-70 Chargers were just the opposite - felt like a brick around town but get it over 100mph and you could take your hands off the wheel - it became very stable like it was actually designed for those speeds.
The 1968-1970 Chargers were very sleek, but Dodge still had to modify them for NASCAR. In 1968, the Charger 500 had a flush front grill (no hideaway headlights) and a flush rear window. In 1969-1970, they went with the more radical and aerodynamic Dodge Daytona. See photos, below.
