I know this isn't about Datsun, but I had to let you know. My friend that is doing up a VH Charger fired her up to day for the first time since he bought her. When he bought it it was supposed to have a worked 318. He got onto the previous owner and got the details about the donk and yes it has had a stroke job 383 cubes. It lite up and scared the crap out of both of us. This thing is going to be truely awesome. Then he insulted my Datsun. My coupe was parked behind it, it back fired a bit and he turns around and said "Look puppies" I think that is called Mopar Madness.

I knew a wrecker back in the early 80's who paid $200 for a crashed Charger late one Saturday afternoon, on the Monday morning when he popped the hood to record the engine and chassis numbers he could hardly believe his luck, it had a 340 in it.

Mopar for the win!

Thanks for the info. Mopar made a 383 big block & I think you can get a stroker for the 360 that pushes it to something like 383 cubic inches.
Awesome will probably be puting it mildly.

Sidedraught, the 340 engine was an original fitment & went by the option code E55.
The original intension was to use a 4 speed manual & the hi-perf version of the engine but only a very few got built before the supercar scare blew up in the media.
Chrysler quietly sunk the whole project & emasculated the E55 performance car program by fitting auto's, quiet exhausts & turning them into luxury liners.
They would have given the other two players in the 'big three' a run for their money at Bathurst too, but it was not to be.

It sure would have. If they had run 340T/A engines with the four speed new process gearboxes, I suspect the fords and holdens would have had their arses handed to them.
Although, the E49's advantge was that with the lighter 6 up front they were far more nimble in the handling dept. The phase III with it's big heavy engine had a higher top speed, which translated into wins on the Long fast Aussie racetracks. In NZ where the tracks were shorter and tighter the falcons couldn't get a look in. Ford even sent Alan Moffat and his phase III out here to end the charger's domination. He failed. If they'd built the HiPo 340 chargers, they wouldn't have been as sucessful here in NZ as the 6 cyl monsters were. Although motor racing history over there is OZ might have been written much differently.
I think to be fair much of the blame for the Aussie mopars faults can squarely laid on the Aussie Govts local content laws. They were forced to use the grossly inadequte borg warner driveline componentry, which was nowhere near up to the task. And other rubbish like the Email built carter carburators, and alternators. I've also read that the Aussie made pistons used in the small blocks weren't as good as the US ones.
Over 35 years later, the once much unloved mopars are really starting to gain the appreciation that they rightly deserve.

[img]http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/1200wag/vh01.jpg[img]
I sold this a year ago to help buy my place.
It still hurts today but thankfully she's gone to a good home.

I used to get frustrated at the way people saw these fantastic cars. A lot of people would say they wouldn't handle, and a high percentage of those had never even driven one. After owning this and several other chargers and Pacers, I think them to be a much better car than their Ford and Holden Counterparts of their era.

It's just a shame that Chrysler USA couldn't provide funding to develop subsequent models after the VH.

In comparison,old Datsuns to Mopars..there is really no comparison.Mopar is all about factory musclecars n style in steel n chrome,Datsun was really only about transporting the general public in flimsy panels with plastic interiors..err musclecars....? sorry

1200wag 's car. she looks real nice man.

Cheers wolki101.

I have to agree with all of you blokes. If the backside didn't drop out of the supercar market, the E55 would have been a market winner. I have only had the privlage of driving an E55 once, my brothers. I had a bog stock XB GS ute and I thought that was pretty good back in 79 until I drove the 55. What a car! I don't think a lot of these young fellas about these days have ever experienced cars like those. I am not putting any of them down or their cars, I am just saying that there was no feeling like true heavy metal muscle. Damn I miss those days. I suppose an oldie like me must give way to the new tech high tech. IT IS ALL GOOD THOUGH!!