383 | Muscle Car Fan

Young woman posing by a classic red Dodge Charger with racing decals.

Dodge Charger General Lee vs. The Blonde

Nobody can agree on the exact specs of any single General Lee because The Dukes of Hazzard chewed through somewhere between 200 and 300 Dodge Chargers over its 1979-to-1985 run, with only about 18 surviving in driveable condition. Stunt coordinator Al Wyatt Sr. built the fleet around lessons learned from an earlier film, and the welded-shut doors that became the character’s signature trait were pure structural necessity. Read on to find out why a genuine survivor is rarer than winning a drag race.

A classic green muscle car parked on a plain background.

Which year is this Roadrunner?

by Kiril

A green Road Runner sits against a plain background, daring Mopar fans to name its exact model year from the details alone. Plymouth built this car across three closely related seasons, and the differences are subtle enough to trip up even seasoned collectors. Read on to find out which year this one actually is.

Close-up of a vintage Dodge Challenger grille and badge.

1971 Dodge Challenger 383 – vintage road test

by Wes

This 1971 Dodge Challenger looks almost stock — no R/T badge, no scoop, nothing to give away what’s underneath. That’s exactly the point. Built to dodge 1971’s brutal muscle car insurance surcharges, it hides a 383 four-speed combination with a Hurst pistol-grip shifter under an unassuming exterior, and this vintage road test puts it through real acceleration and braking runs to prove the disguise. Watch to see why some of the smartest muscle car builds were the ones that never announced themselves.

Red classic muscle car with a large engine scoop on the hood.

This Guy Lives Sideways In A Blown 1968 Hemi Dart!

by Wes

Bob Welling served as a Marine in Vietnam, came home a died-in-the-wool Chevy guy, and still ended up chasing down a piece of 1968 Mopar history decades later. What started as a simple fix for an engine rattle turned into a full supercharged Hemi build — one so powerful that hitting the throttle at highway speed sends the rear end sideways. Read on to find out how a tribute to Dodge’s rarest factory drag cars became Bob’s daily street cruiser.

A classic 1970 Dodge Challenger muscle car in a studio setting.

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE in Panther Pink & 383 Engine Sound

by Wes

Ken Katarynchuk drove his 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE hundreds of miles from Canada to Carlisle Events wearing a factory Panther Pink paint job most Mopar buyers never dared to order. Under the pink and magenta stripes sits a 383 four-barrel V8 and a 4-speed manual — a combination that has kept this car light, quick, and unmistakably his for nearly two decades. Watch to see why a stuffed Pink Panther riding shotgun might be the most honest tribute this Challenger could get.

800 HP Dodge Charger 605 cid / 9.9 L

by Ross Mills

A naturally aspirated 605 cubic inch Mopar big block making 800 horsepower sounds like it belongs under a modern turbocharged hood, not a classic Dodge Charger. Stroking a factory B/RB big block to this size takes it well past anything Chrysler engineers built at the factory, and it puts this Charger in the company of other 605-inch Mopar builds chasing the same big-inch, no-boost philosophy.

A dusty 1970 Roadrunner Convertible at auction in a workshop.

Rare 1970 Roadrunner Convertible at Auction

by Wes

A genuine 1970 Plymouth Road Runner convertible — metallic green, 383 V8, 4-speed manual — headed to no-reserve auction as part of the Rietz Mopar Collection sale in Mansfield, South Dakota. Convertible Road Runners were rare even when new, and survivors this complete rarely surface. No reserve means it sells to whoever bids highest, no matter the number. Watch to see what a car this scarce actually brings under the gavel.

Classic purple Dodge Challenger parked on grass with a scenic background.

$50 Prison Car, 70 Challenger RT 383 Restored By A Muscle Car Fan

by Pat C

A 1970 Dodge Challenger RT with a numbers-matching 383 started its second life with a $50 bill of sale from a seller in prison and a title that was never transferred. What followed was a sixteen-year, one-stall-garage restoration that survived job changes, lost interest, and a race against a newborn’s due date. Read on to find out what’s under the hood now.

Classic red 1970s muscle car cruising down the street with driver inside.

383 Stroker Chevelle Runs Up On a 2009 Mustang GT !!

by Wes

A 1970 Chevelle running a 383-cubic-inch small block crate engine lined up against a 2009 Mustang GT running little more than a cold air intake and a tune — and the Chevelle’s front end came off the ground before either car had gone ten feet. The comments turned into a full small-block-vs-big-block debate. Watch to see how the race actually finished.

Close-up of a modern Mopar 6.2L HEMI engine with detailed components.

NEW Mopar Crate HEMI Engine Kits

by Wes

Mopar’s Crate HEMI Engine Kits let owners of any 1975-or-earlier Mopar bolt in genuine modern HEMI power — 383 horsepower from the 5.7-liter kit or 485 horsepower from the 6.4-liter version — without chasing down custom wiring or tuning. Each kit ships with an unlocked, pre-calibrated PCM that sidesteps the usual factory security headaches of a late-model engine swap. Debuted on two complete builds at the 2016 SEMA Show, the kits have owners of everything from Dusters to Aspens asking if their own project qualifies. Watch the full rundown of what’s included.

Young woman posing by an orange vintage car outdoors.

The General Lee vs. The Pretty Girl

by Kiril

Behind the orange paint and Confederate flag roof was a genuine 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, one of roughly 300 identical cars destroyed making a single television show. The hero cars carried a 375-horsepower 440 Magnum V8 backed by a four-speed manual, while lesser 318s and 383s handled routine driving scenes. Stunt drivers saved the 440-powered cars for one job only: the jumps.

1968 Dodge Charger in rough shape rescued and restored.

ABANDONED 1969 Dodge Charger Sitting for 20 Years

by Wes

A 1969 Dodge Charger SE sat dormant for more than twenty years before Dylan McCool’s Backroad Garage helped move it to a new home, and the metallic blue paint and black vinyl top are still holding up better than anyone expected. It’s a documented factory 383 car, though the engine currently installed isn’t original. Viewers couldn’t stop comparing it to the General Lee — see why this rescue struck such a nerve.

1968 Dodge Dart GTS 440 V8 Four-Speed at Passing Lane Motors

by Ross Mills

Dodge built the 1968 Dart GTS around a 340 small block, offered a 383 to buyers who wanted more, and flatly refused to put a 440 in the car on its own assembly line. Roughly fifty of them got one anyway, through an outside shop working under Dodge supervision. A clean, documented example is one of the harder cars in the Mopar world to verify. Read on for what to check before you believe the ad copy.

Woman signaling racers at a drag strip with two cars ready to race.

Almost Vintage Mopars Against The World Video Ubly Dragstrip

by Pat C

A homemade video shot at a small Michigan dragstrip in 2001 captures something the big-budget car shows almost never do: what grassroots Mopar racing actually looked like when nobody was performing for a camera crew. Pat Muscle Car Fan’s footage from Ubly Dragstrip is a time capsule of a scene that shaped how an entire generation of Mopar owners learned to race.

Posts Tagged: 383