1966 Dodge Charger A/XS

The 1961 Dodge Ram-Tuned engines were very powerful but their large intake manifolds made repairs and maintenance more difficult. This problem was solved mid-year 1962 with the introduction of the Ram-Charger 413 engine that had ram passages that were just 15-inches long. This was the highest state of tune for the 413 CID V8, having gained mechanical valve lifters, cast-aluminum ram-induction manifold, 25-percent larger intake and exhaust ports, and various other upgrades since 1961.

1962 Dodge vehicles dominated the dragstrip, with the Ram-Charger 413 Dodges earning four National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) records. Dick Landy, in the SS/S class, achieved a quarter-mile time of 12.71 seconds. In the SS/SA class, Bill 'Maverick' Golden covered the quarter-mile in 12.50 seconds. A compact Lancer with the 413, nicknamed the 'Golden Lancer' and owned by Dode Martin and Jim Nelson, made a record 12.26-second run.

Jim Nelson in the AA/D class achieved an 8.59-second run and Norm Thatcher in a specially-prepared Dart with a modified Ram-Charger engine achieved a Class B Production record of 167.3 mph in the Flying Mile at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

For 1963, the 413 was joined by the Max Wedge 426 and Dodge restarted its NASCAR racing program however, failed to score any victories. The later 426 single four-barrel carburetor versions were primarily intended for stock car racing and street use, while the two Ramcharger dual four-barrel carb setup was intended for drag racing.

For the 1964 season, the Ramcharger continued to perform well at the dragstrip although not as well on NASCAR ovals. To resolve this, Chrysler re-introduced the hemispherical segment heads for the Ramcharger resulting in the 'Hemi-Charger' available solely for competition use, in Dodges and Plymouths. The 'Hemi' took the Ramcharger's crown of being the engine to beat. During exhibition runs during the summer of 1964, a pair of Dodge 330 two-door sedans with supercharged Hemi engines achieved standing start quarter-mile speeds in the 135 mph range.

Roger Lindamood and the 'Color Me Gone' Dodge 330 won the NHRA Top Eliminator title at the Winter Nationals in 1964 and Ramcharger-powered Dodges took the top four positions at the Super Stock Invitationals in York Pa. A Ramcharger-equipped rial dragster set a new national NHRA record in the AA/D class for unlimited displacement rail dragsters with a 190.26 mph run at the Hudson, Conn. dragstrip.

Dodge continued its success at the dragstrip into 1965 with its 426-CID 'Hemi-Charger,' although the competition was heating up with the Ford 427 Thunderbolts, the Pontiac GTO, and the brief Factory Experimental or FX era. The 1965 factory altered wheelbase Dodges and Plymouths were the first 'official' Funny Cars, introduced just prior to the Winternationals. Although they had not been built to be 'funny cars,' they were built to be NHRA Factory Experimental cars but were denied by the NHRA to be included in the FX class. Thus they needed to be raced as an Altered or in one of the Dragster classes. So in 1966, the National Hot Rod Association added five new classes for Funny Cars, including the Experimental Stock (XS) class, for 1964 and later highly modified stock cars.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2020