Third Charger’s the Charm

“According to my wife, we practically drove around Sweden four times searching for the perfect Charger,” Peter Medin comments on his quest for the ultimate Dodge project car. Did he succeed? The answer is yes.

“Initially, I was interested in another Charger, a blue one. But Petter Dahlström at So Cal Classics told me to wait for this car to arrive in Sweden because it was worth it,” Medin says.

Considering Medin had been searching for several years – so long that he had to settle for a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner to curb the worst of his cravings – he followed Dahlströms’s advice.

A wise decision. Once the car arrived in Sweden, Medin could confirm that the green 1970 Charger was in excellent condition.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to prioritize rust- and dent-free bodies over rust buckets with backyard-built engines. This car was worth the wait.” Medin purchased the Charger in 2010. Reportedly, it had only one previous owner, who lived in Oregon. Once home, Medin drove it for a few years before the itch to modify struck.

“At that time, the Charger had a vinyl roof, a compass and a CB radio in the cabin, with an antenna mounted on the fender. The car had its original wheels and hubcaps, making it look as though it had been imported straight from 1974. Given its condition, the Dodge hadn’t seen much mileage, and the only work I’ve done to the interior is reupholstering the driver’s seat and removing the compass and radio.”

As for the interior, Medin currently has just one wish: a full bench seat in the front. On the other hand, seating three up front works just fine thanks to the so-called buddy seat and column shifter.

“From experience, I’ve learned not to throw anything away. My first Charger, which I bought in 1982, was supposed to be turned into a street racer. I cut away and discarded a lot of parts back then. That’s not something you’d do today.”

The conversation shifts to the fact that this 1970 model isn’t Medin’s first but his third Charger. The first was purchased over 40 years ago.

“Yes, that’s right. I bought my first Charger in 1979. I was 20 years old, and it was a dark green SE with a white vinyl roof from 1969. The car had slot mags and hi-jackers because, well, it was 1979. Under the hood was a 383.”

The car ran great, of course. It was the first car Medin could do proper burnouts with. However, his frame of reference was limited at the time, as the Charger was only his second American car, following a 1964 Dodge Dart with a “rather worn-out 318.”

“It felt like moving from a hay cart to a limousine,” Medin says with a smile.

He owned the Charger for about a year before selling it in favor of a Mercury convertible. “Fun, you might think? Not really!” Medin exclaims. But back then, swapping cars was common, with little thought put into it.

A few years later, it was time for Charger number two.

“I bought my second Charger right before finishing my military service. It was 1982, and the car came from Tärnsjö, about 130 kilometers north of Stockholm. The Dodge wasn’t fully assembled, so it made for a memorable late-winter trip.”

Medin wasn’t quite dressed for the journey, either: loafers, jeans and a Catalina jacket. And with no heater in the Charger, it got cold.

“By the time I reached northern Stockholm, I thought I might freeze to death. Luckily, the car had a manual transmission. The shifter lacked a boot at the base, so I could at least warm my fingers slightly on the heat coming through there.”

Cold or not, the Charger Medin had bought was a beast – another ’69, this time with a 440 engine and the aforementioned manual transmission.

Simultaneously, Medin also owned a Plymouth Duster. It was white with a red stripe, resembling an inverted Starsky & Hutch Torino in terms of color and lines. It had a Six Pack scoop and slot mags. This was when his interest in street racing really took off.

“I remember when my passion for street racing truly ignited. It was when Swedish drag racing legend Jöran Persåker lived on Lidingö and worked at Konsum in Torsvik. We met, and he gave me a ride in the Speedwin ’Cuda on Stockholmsvägen. That’s when I decided to turn the Duster into a street racer.”

However, it was with the Charger – lightened, with moved-in wheel wells and nitrous – that Medin raced on Kymlingelänken. He even participated in Stockholm Open (street race, biggest in Europe) for three consecutive years in the mid-’80s. One memorable moment was outpacing the Hoffman brothers, who had fitted a pro stock engine into a Corvette, only to lose control late one night.

“Those three years in SO had mixed results, but the Hoffman story is a fun one. I owned Charger number two for five years before moving on to Porsches and BMW M cars. But the Charger bug has stayed with me ever since.”

Back to the present – what makes the 1970 Charger the coolest and finest of the trio from 1968 to 1970?

“The reason I went with a ’70 is simply that I couldn’t find a ’69 in good enough condition. But in my opinion, the 1969 Charger is the best-looking model.”

What about the engine and powertrain? Up front is a 440 cui V8 with a fairly mild supercharger – a 6-71 – that produces 10 psi, or about 0.7 bar.

“Micke Bhem in Smedjebacken built it. He’s assembled a ton of engines over the years. With 651.8 horsepower and nearly 900 Nm of torque, it’s a perfect engine for cruising to get ice cream. It runs so smoothly, it’s almost ridiculous. It feels like driving my first Charger with a 383,” Medin says with a grin.

Smooth drivability was one of Medin’s goals, along with a V8 designed for pump gas. The compression ratio is 8.0:1.

Behind the 440 sits a prepped 727 transmission and an 8 3/4 rear axle with “getaway gear” ratios. Medin has a 3.55:1 gear set lying around but no motivation to install it.

“If I try to do a burnout in first gear, I immediately hit the rev limiter. I can’t shift quickly enough; the needle just shoots across the tachometer. This happened recently, and a friend who lives a bit away told me it was pretty loud. Yeah, I have a column shifter, and this time, I forgot it was in first, not second.”

Medin laughs and adds, “Of course I have a column shifter. It’s a muscle car!”

Switching to a floor shifter? “I don’t understand the question…”, Medin says with a smile…