Car: Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six-Pack
Year: 1970
What makes it special: When Dodge finally got a legitimate pony car to race in the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans American Sedan Championship in 1970, it built a muscle car version for the street that was even wilder than the competition model. SCCA rules required Dodge to sell production editions of the track car, and Dodge responded with the Challenger T/A. The race cars ran a de-stroked 305 cu in version of Mopar’s 340 cu in V8. It had a 4-barrel carb and some 440 bhp. Street T/A’s stayed with the 340, but upped the ante with a trio of 2-barrel Holleys atop an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold.
What made it famous: Despite the “Six Pak” carburetion and a host of internal reinforcements, the T/A’s mill carried the same 290 bhp rating as regular 4-barrel 340’s, though true output was near 350 bhp. Feeding it air was a suitcase-sized scoop molded into the pinned-down matte-black fiberglass hood. Low-restriction dual exhausts ran to the stock muffler location under the trunk, then reversed direction to exit in chrome-tipped “megaphone” outlets in front of the rear wheels. TorqueFlite automatic or Hurst-shifted 4-speed, 3.55:1 or 3.90:1 gears, manual or power steering were available. Front discs were standard. The special Rallye suspension used heavy-duty everything and increased the camber of the rear springs.
Why I would want one: If you wanted the closest thing to a Trans-American racing car as possible from Dodge, the T/A was for you
Fun fact: The T/A was among the first production cars with different sized tires front and rear: E60x15’s up front, G60x15’s in back.
