Dodge Charger 1970 R/T Hemi 426

Dodge built 9,509 Charger R/Ts for 1970, and only about 112 of them left the factory with a 426 Hemi under the hood. This Burnt Orange car has one, backed by a Hurst pistol-grip four-speed and the Super Track Pak option that came with a 4.10-geared Dana 60. Read on to find out why the option almost nobody wanted in 1970 became the one everybody chases now.

Of the 9,509 Dodge Charger R/Ts built for 1970, most buyers walked away with a strong V8 and a good-looking fastback. A tiny fraction walked away with something else entirely, an engine so expensive and so demanding that barely more than a hundred people in the country ever ordered it. Finding one today feels less like buying a classic car and more like finding a needle that was already rare when it was made. What made the option so unpopular when it was new is exactly what makes it priceless now, and the answer has as much to do with insurance agents as it does with horsepower.

The Engine Only 112 Cars Got

Records show only 112 Hemi-powered 1970 Chargers were built for the U.S. market, roughly split between four-speed manual and TorqueFlite automatic cars, with surviving production records disagreeing on the exact breakdown, plus another 12 built for the Canadian market for a total run of around 124. The 426 Hemi under the hood was officially rated at 425 horsepower at 5,000 rpm with 490 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, backed by dual Carter carburetors, 10.25:1 compression pistons, oversized 2.25-inch intake valves, and free-flowing cast-iron headers feeding a 2.5-inch dual exhaust.

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Why Rarity Turned Into Legend

The Hemi’s unpopularity in period is exactly why it is coveted now. A documented production run under 120 cars makes surviving examples some of the most sought-after muscle cars from the entire era, commanding prices far beyond a standard R/T. It is a reminder that the options nobody wanted when new are often the ones collectors chase hardest decades later. The engine cost several hundred dollars on a car that was already expensive, and the insurance surcharge that followed a Hemi onto a young buyer’s policy did more to limit sales than the sticker ever did.

What Super Track Pak Really Committed You To

The Super Track Pak on this car was not a comfort option. Ordering it committed the buyer to a 4.10:1 final drive in a heavy-duty Dana 60 rear axle with a Sure Grip limited-slip differential, plus upgraded cooling to cope with what those gears do to engine speed. The result is a car that launches ferociously and runs out of usable road at highway speed, turning several thousand rpm at a cruise with no overdrive to save it. That is precisely why it was ordered by people who intended to race, and precisely why so few Super Track Pak cars survived in original form.

The Pistol Grip and the Case for Three Pedals

Behind the Hemi sits a Hurst pistol-grip shifter working a four-speed manual, and there is a good argument that this is the only correct way to experience the engine. The pistol grip itself is one of the great tactile details of the era, a contoured handle that fits the palm and makes the long throws feel deliberate rather than vague. More importantly, the Hemi’s power arrives high enough in the rev range that being able to choose your own gear matters. The TorqueFlite was an excellent automatic and was ordered in real numbers, but the manual is the enthusiast’s car.

A Restyle That Split Opinion

The 1970 Charger restyle divides opinion to this day. Dodge kept the widely admired 1968-69 body but wrapped the front end in a full-loop chrome bumper that encircled the grille, revised the taillamps, and added a new side scoop treatment on R/T models. Some see it as an elegant refinement of an already great shape. Others think the loop bumper added visual weight the car did not need and prefer the cleaner 1968 nose. Either way it was the last year for this generation, with the far more polarizing fuselage-styled 1971 Charger arriving next.

440 Magnum, Six Pack, or Hemi

The Hemi was the top of a three-engine performance ladder, and the other two rungs are more relevant to most buyers. The standard R/T engine was the 440 Magnum at 375 horsepower, a torque-rich big-block that was cheaper, easier to tune, more docile in traffic and only a step behind on the street. Above it sat the 440 Six Pack at 390 horsepower with three two-barrel carburetors, which for many drivers was the sweet spot of the entire Mopar lineup. The Hemi cost more, demanded more maintenance, and rewarded a driver willing to wring it out.

Burnt Orange and the 1970 Palette

Burnt Orange sits squarely in the 1970 Chrysler color philosophy, an era when the corporation was throwing genuinely loud paint at the wall alongside names like Plum Crazy, Go Mango, Sublime and Panther Pink. Against the loop bumper and the R/T’s blacked-out details, it reads as period-correct in a way a conservative color never could. Original paint codes matter to collectors here as much as drivetrain codes do, because a car that has been repainted out of its factory color loses a measurable slice of its value no matter how good the work is.

How a Real Hemi Car Gets Verified

Verifying a real Hemi Charger is a serious exercise, and it should be. The fifth character of the VIN identifies the engine, but a VIN alone is not enough given what these cars are worth. Buyers look for the broadcast sheet, the fender tag, matching block and head casting numbers with correct date codes preceding the build date, the correct K-member and suspension pieces, and ideally registry documentation tracing the car back through its ownership history. With a production run of roughly 124 cars worldwide, every genuine example is essentially a known quantity, tracked, discussed and argued over by people who have been following these cars for decades. That scrutiny is a feature rather than a burden. It means the market for real Hemi Chargers is unusually transparent, that fakes are exposed quickly, and that a properly documented car carries a level of confidence almost nothing else from the era can match. Burnt Orange paint, a pistol grip in your right hand, 4.10 gears underneath and 490 lb-ft waiting at four thousand rpm. Barely a hundred people said yes to that combination in 1970, and every one of them turned out to be right. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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