A Story of Two 1966 Dodge Chargers
“When I was 15 years old, I saw the commercial for the new 1966 Dodge Charger during the Rose Bowl. That car was a winner! My friends were buying other makes and models but I was going to join the “Dodge Rebellion” and become a Dodge Boy. I ordered my silver ’66 Charger with the 383 engine as I could not afford the extra money needed for the new street HEMI® setup. The car arrived in March 1966 but it had to sit for another month until I turned 16 and took my driver’s license test in April.”
“After driving to the police station with my mother to take my driving test, the police officer got into the passenger seat to begin my test. The first question he asked me was, “I see the speedometer goes up to 150 MPH … will this car go that fast?” I replied, “I don’t know, officer.” He said, “Good.” I passed the driving and parking test and got to drive my car home with my mother in the passenger seat.
“In 1993 I got the ‘car bug’ again and found a southern 1966 Dodge Charger with a 318 poly engine and an automatic transmission. Bought it for just a little more than that first
’66 Charger. Restored it and had it for five years…”
“I had that car all the rest of high school and through college … I remember watching the odometer turn from 99,999 to 00000 — something that doesn’t happen any more. After college I traded it in on another Dodge Charger and then traded that one in on a 1979 Dodge Colt.”
“In 1998 I bought a 1966 Dodge Charger 426 HEMI V8 with a four- speed manual transmission. Sold the Charger with the 318 to help pay for my son’s college but then bought it back after he graduated.”
“Acquired a vanity plate for the 4-speed Charger: ‘MR HEMI’ and one for the 318: ‘MRS HEMI’. Then we swapped the 318 for a 426 HEMI V8 crate engine. I was so proud that I had an automatic in that car so my wife would not have to worry about a clutch.”
“Both cars look alike and we have fun driving them to shows.”
— Cameron in Indiana
