The Dodge Challenger Message Board

can any one tell me what this car ran in the 1/4 mile 1971 challenger 340 4 barrel carb 4 speed with a 8 3/4 rear and a 3.23 gear raito? Thanks for any help.

In real life or one of the magazine test cars provided by the factory?

In real life I would guess high 14s? Anyone disagree?

I agree Dave.

In 1971 my Stock 340, Automatic, 3.55 posi, Duster in absolutely stock trim would run 14.5's at about 94 MPH. With very minor modifications, I believe the best I got out of it was 13.9's at about 101 MPH. This was done without the benefit of headers or racing tires.
The current NHRA F stock Automatic record is held by a 1972 340 powered Duster.
ET 10.89 @ 120.03 MPH.
Yes the 340 is a screamer.

Yes but the F in F Stock stands for F'in Far From Stock!

If your Duster ran mid 14s it had about 240hp at the rear wheels? Sounds about right for an automatic and production line 340. Add the extra weight of the Challenger and that works out as high 14s so not a bad guess I made.

I agree the 340 has a lot of potential and the factory power level is just the start.

You're right Graham.

Oh, and Dave will find that out on the Nats this year...

Your right Dave about drag racing "stock" cars not being "stock" as the came from the factory,but you can get the parts to make your 340 into a potential 10.8 car, from your local Mopar dealer, so that should make it pretty close to stock. I have a customer that currently holds the SS/A record for both MPH and E.T., and while there has been a ton of trick work done to his 68'Cuda, he has a terrible time finding engine componets built to the same specs as Mother Mopar did in 1968, to keep the NHRA tech boys happy.
Ahh, the fun of drag racing.

The secret is in the cam grinds. They spec out the same lift and duration. But the cam lobes have a VERY square look to them! They may only have the same duration and lift as the factory cams but they get max lift just after the duration begins and it held at max lift until just before the end of the duration spec. VERY fast opening/closing rates. Most cam grinders deny they even stock these grinds.

Plus of course the intakes and exhaust manifolds are extrude honed and there is a lot of cheating going on with hidden nitrous systems etc.

One thing that I forgot to post on the 340.
The NHRA never believed the factory rating of 275HP. They re-rated it to 325HP.
The SS/A '68 Cuda I mentioned in my previous post has no nitrous, hidden or otherwise. Alyn and the owners of other SS/A and SS/AA HEMI guys do their best to squeeze everything out of the HEMI without resorting to a fog system. Modifications, lots, stretching the rules, yep, but in the eyes of the NHRA, these are still "STOCK" cars. I luck out this year, as there's going to be about 15 or so of these monsters at our local drag strip for a 2 day bash in May. I'll take my digital camera and will post some photos for the group