Challenger vs Charger Drag Race: Hemi Swap 1970 Dodge …

A Hemi-swapped 1970 Dodge Challenger and a carbureted 1973 Charger running a 361 big block face off at Irwindale’s eighth-mile strip, with fuel injection, manual-versus-automatic, and drag radials all in play. Both cars are genuine owner builds, driven by their respective creators. Watch to find out whether modern engineering or classic displacement wins the day.

Two old-school Mopars pulled up to the line at Irwindale’s eighth-mile, and on paper it looked like a mismatch in the making — a modern Hemi crate engine against a genuine 1970s big block. What actually decided the race wasn’t just horsepower. It came down to fuel injection against carburetion, a manual gearbox against an automatic, and drag radials against street tires, three separate technical arguments playing out simultaneously in a single quarter-mile pass. The car that came out ahead had every reason to lose, and the one that should have dominated never really had a chance. Here’s why.

A Modern Hemi Swap Against a Genuine 1970s Big Block

The matchup pits a 1970 Dodge Challenger, driven by its owner and the channel’s creator under the handle No Bolts Left Behind, against a 1973 Dodge Charger belonging to fellow YouTube builder @NightWrencher, a mechanic and welder known in the community for hands-on project car content. Both cars are genuine period Mopars rather than modern reproductions, which means every advantage either driver holds had to be built into the car through deliberate mechanical choices rather than bought off a shelf as a complete package.

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Meet the Cars: A ’70 Challenger and a ’73 Charger

The Challenger runs a 5.7-liter Gen III Hemi V8 swap — Chrysler’s modern, fuel-injected small-block Hemi, the same basic architecture found in current Ram trucks and Charger/Challenger models, dropped into a chassis that predates it by roughly three and a half decades. That swap brings fuel injection, contemporary engine management, and a level of tuning precision the original 1970 powertrain never had access to, but 5.7 liters is a relatively modest displacement by classic Mopar standards.

5.7 Liters of Fuel-Injected Modernity

Facing it is a 1973 Charger running a 361-cubic-inch big block — one of Chrysler’s B-series engines, smaller than the famous 383 and 440 variants but still a genuine period big block, fed by a traditional carburetor rather than any form of injection. That’s a meaningful displacement advantage over the Challenger’s 5.7-liter swap on paper, and it represents the classic all-motor, old-school Mopar approach going up against a more modern hybrid of vintage chassis and contemporary drivetrain.

361 Cubic Inches of Old-School Carburetion

The venue matters as much as the cars. Irwindale’s eighth-mile strip is a prepared surface, meaning both cars get significantly more usable traction than they would running the same pass on the street — a detail the description specifically calls out, since tire selection becomes a much bigger factor on a track built for grip rather than a public road. That prepped surface is also what makes the Challenger’s drag radials, versus whatever the Charger is running, a genuine variable in the outcome rather than an afterthought.

Why Irwindale’s Prepped Surface Changes Everything

Transmission choice adds another layer of contrast: the description frames the race explicitly as manual versus automatic, meaning one driver has to manage clutch engagement and shift timing by hand while the other can focus entirely on the launch and stay in the throttle through each gear change. In a race this close on paper, a mistimed shift or a slipped clutch can be the difference between a win and a loss regardless of which engine is actually stronger.

Manual Versus Automatic Adds a Human Variable

What the video ultimately frames as the real story isn’t which specific car wins, but what the win reveals about competing build philosophies — fuel injection and modern displacement-per-liter efficiency against old-school big-block torque and carburetion, a debate that’s been running through Mopar circles since fuel injection first started showing up in period-correct restomods. The description is explicit about this framing, noting there’s “no nitrous, no twin turbo, just all motor classic V8 muscle car horsepower” on both sides of the line.

What Mopar Fans in the Comments Actually Care About

Comments on the video reflect genuine investment in both build directions rather than a one-sided rooting section. One viewer writes, “I’m a Mopar man to my heart and I love both cars it doesn’t matter who wins,” while another zeroes in on the Charger specifically, predicting “that poor charger never had a chance” against the Hemi swap regardless of its displacement edge — a reminder that in Mopar circles, loyalty to the brand as a whole often runs deeper than loyalty to either specific model.

Two Owner-Built Cars, No Shop Prep

Races like this one matter to the channel’s audience precisely because both cars are real, owner-built projects rather than shop-prepped exhibition cars — No Bolts Left Behind’s entire channel identity is built around documenting genuine wrenching and racing rather than polished manufacturer content, and a head-to-head between two owner-driven Mopars at a legitimate drag strip is exactly the kind of grassroots content that built the channel’s following in the first place.

Modern Reliability Versus Period-Correct Purity

There’s also a generational angle worth noting in the build philosophies on display. The Gen III Hemi swap represents a growing trend among Mopar owners who want classic sheet metal without giving up modern reliability, fuel economy under cruising conditions, and the ability to source parts from a current dealer parts counter rather than hunting down increasingly scarce period-correct components. The 361 big block, by contrast, represents the purist’s approach — keeping the drivetrain era-correct even when that means dealing with carburetor tuning, points ignition compatibility issues, and the shrinking supply of NOS and quality reproduction parts for engines Chrysler stopped supporting decades ago.

A Friendly Referendum, Settled on the Track

Both approaches have vocal defenders within Mopar ownership circles, and this race functions almost like a friendly referendum on the question without either side needing to say so directly. Whichever car crosses the stripe first, the video’s real value to its audience is in showing both build philosophies executed well by owners who clearly know their cars intimately — not a marketing exercise, but two genuine gearheads settling an argument the way muscle car culture has always preferred: on the track, in their own cars, with nothing hidden under the hood.

Watch the full video and tell us what you think — comments are open below.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.