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Longgone

Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
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Here`s is an authentic 1969 Plymouth ad touting the unbelievable potential of the early 340`s. Times are recorded with an average Joe, and one of the best, Ronnie Sox (a testimonial to his driving skills). Check out the #`s the stock 340 turned on E-70 tires and a 3.91 gear.

plymouth ad 1969- 340_001 (Medium).jpg
 
That looks about right to me. I haven't been able to get my Duster to the track yet, but I'm hoping to see high 13s with just the suspension mods, tires, carb and headers.
 
My cousin bought a new 340 Swinger Dart in 1969, 4-speed, 3:91 suregrip, he would run it in pure stock @ Lions Drag Strip. It would run 13.80's in show room spec. When they say pure stock they mean stock! This guy can shift a 4-speed. He is the reason for my Mopar habit. These cars were the most overlooked cars ever made! GIANT KILLERS!
 
Yep the 340 is a strong runner and definetly under rated at 275 hp. More like 325 is closer. Ron
 
My stock 68 Dart GTS 340 -A/T ran 14.30`s consistently and I suck at cutting a light, so I`m sure with a good driver it could have done better. The combo of an A-body with a 68-71 340 is pretty hard to beat!
 
Yea I can believe those numbers. Contrary to popular belief, A ton of horsepower under the hood is only good if you can put it down on the pavement (a problem I'm having with the Demon). Back in the early 70's a friend of mine had a 71 Challenger T/A 340 6 pack 4 speed. That car was consistently in the high 13's, BONE STOCK, and nothing within 50 square miles could take him on the street. He'd take off like a cut cat and the big block Mopars and Chebbies would usually go up in a cloud of smoke as soon as they saw him leave including my 14 flat 69 road runner. The only car that came close was a 68ish chevelle SS 396. The Challenger had the perfect weight to horsepower to traction ratio with the 340 and that little bugger would rev out. :burnout:

P6020033 (Custom).JPG
 
I think I have that article in a book too. Dosen't it show where they just bolted on some headers and an intake and dropped times by over a half second more to the low 13's.
 
I remember back in 1970 when Mark Coletti was piloting a Duster 340 in stock automatic and turning 12 flat ets for national records. I believe his father owned Coletti Chrysler - Plymouth in Hillsboro Oregon. A guy named Twig Zieglar was his engine builder. I got my Duster 340 to run mid to high thirteens with a 3 speed and 4.30 gears. It also had an Edelbrock LD340, Holley 780, headers and Riddler cam from Coletti Chrysler-Plymouth. They never revealed the specs on the cam, but I suspect it was the cam from the 68 four speed 340.
When I was tearing the dash apart I found a time slip with an E.T. of 13.59 at 104.77 mph. Well its thirty four years since I had the car on the track. A complete rotisserie restoration on the car was finished this spring. It now has a Kiesler 5 speed with 3.55 gears, complete engine rebuild with Crane 454 lift street and strip cam, TTI headers and H pipe, Edelbrock Performer RPM and 600cfm carb. I'd like to take it to Wisconsin International Raceway sometime to see how she'll do. It seems faster out of the hole now than it was back in the day.
 
I think in the early years of the 340, NHRA factored them at 315 HP, instead of the factory 275 HP. This is one of the most overlooked engines, until you raced one! Many a chevy or ford guy found this out the hard way.
 
Mopar Muscle built a 340 to stock 1970 specs and dynoed it about 3 years ago. I remember it made 281 hp but the AVS carb was very lean. So they swapped an Eddy carb on and got 321 hp I believe. Ron
 
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