Detailed info on the General Lee?

[mydartswinger]

Does anyone know what type of engine/transmission that the General was supposed to have? I know that the Duke boys built an engine and then found the Charger to put it in, but what was the make/displacement of it?

[426GeneralLee]

Chargers either had a 383, a 426 Hemi, or a 440 "Magnum". I do believe the General was suppose to have the 426 Hemi. but the show used alll the different engines. As far as the tranny, it had a 3 speed automatic, but 4 speed manual tranny's were also used.

[mydartswinger]

Thanks for the reply. I already knew which engines the Chargers originally came with from the factory. I was just wondering if it's known what the Dukes supposedly put in the General, because like I said before, they built the engine as a stock car racing motor, then began looking for a car to put it in when they found the Charger they turned into the General. Maybe I need to watch the General's birthday episode again to see if they say it on that episode, if I had the episode on tape. Thanks again.

[426GeneralLee]

No problem. Yeah, I'm not sure what the engine was that Bo and Luke put in the General....since I haven't seen "Happy Birthday General Lee" in years. But those are the 3 most likely engines.

[Eddiemunster]

Supposedly, I have heard the actual engine/tranny are the 440 4 barrell carb and 727 Torqueflight automatic. But, the plastic model I have is a 426 Hemi.

[426GeneralLee]

Here's some good info..

Make/Model - 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (Road and Track)

Year - 1969

Engine - A 426 Hemi, with an Eldebrock torquer intake. Hemi is short for "Hemispherical", an engine design that provides more horsepower than any other V8, including the 440 Magnum. Some Generals had 440 Magnums, but the 426 Hemi was shown in many episodes. The General Lee also had headers with 3" exhausts. It had a street-stock stall converter.


Carburetor - A four-barrel Holly 780 Double-Pumper.

Transmission - A Chrysler "Torqueflite" A-727, the most durable automatic tranny ever built. In some episodes, however, a manual transmission was shown.

Licence Plate - Georgia CNH 320.

[MaximRecoil]

Here's some good info..

Make/Model - 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (Road and Track)

Year - 1969

Engine - A 426 Hemi, with an Eldebrock torquer intake. Hemi is short for "Hemispherical", an engine design that provides more horsepower than any other V8, including the 440 Magnum. Some Generals had 440 Magnums, but the 426 Hemi was shown in many episodes. The General Lee also had headers with 3" exhausts. It had a street-stock stall converter.


Carburetor - A four-barrel Holly 780 Double-Pumper.

Transmission - A Chrysler "Torqueflite" A-727, the most durable automatic tranny ever built. In some episodes, however, a manual transmission was shown.

Licence Plate - Georgia CNH 320.The 426 Hemi was never shown in the General Lee on the show. The 2 close up cars from the '82-'85 seasons (one a '68 and the other a '69) both had 383's so most of the engine bay shots were of 383's. There are a few engine shots from other seasons that may show a different motor such as a 440 but no hemi's, which is the most easily identifiable motor in the world probably, what with its "foot wide" valve colvers with the spark plugs going down through the top and dual 4 bbl carburetors. The motor they had on the engine stand waiting for a car in "Happy Birthday General Lee" was a Chrysler big block (not a hemi); probably a 383 or a 440.

[Scott]

I'm not too sure about what they used in the TV show, but in the movie, they were all pretty much 440's. Several modifications were done. First, the rear ends were all "welded". Meaning what, I don't know. They were difficult to drive on the street because this mod made them peel out very easily. Of course it looked good during filming!

SEMA in Vegas sent two brand new, never ran, unfinished 572 HEMI's (stroked) in crates. Both were capable of well over 600+ horsepower. The SEMA-supplied HEMI's were fitted with an experimental Cross-Ram manifold with two huge 4-barrel carbs. Since the hood wouldn't shut like this, the manifold was scrapped in favor of a traditional hi-rise single 4 barrel setup. Originally the powers-that-be wanted to cut a hole in the hood or add a hoodscoop to accomodate this elephant, but Special Effects was very against this. Besides having to modify over 28 hoods, the original didn't have that. So that was a dead argument.

Only a couple engines in the movie were dressed up for hood open sequences. The rest were pretty much left alone---meaning nasty. Warner Brothers is in possession of the HEMI car by the way. It'll be the one used for promos, close-ups and museum displays.

[MaximRecoil]

First, the rear ends were all "welded". Meaning what, I don't know. They were difficult to drive on the street because this mod made them peel out very easily. Of course it looked good during filming!
That's a poor man's "locker". An ordinary differential in a rearend is "open" which means that power only goes to one wheel; and unfortunately, it is the wheel with the least resistance. This is great for going around corners but bad for traction. R/T cars came standard with the Chrysler "Sure-Grip" differentials (Chrysler's name for their clutch-type limited-slip differentials) which accomplish a similar goal as what welding the spider gears does; but it is a lot more "street-friendly". When the wheel getting power starts to slip, the clutches in the limited-slip differential engage and give power to both wheels. Not as reliable and effective as "Lockers" though. "Lockers", like their name implies; are locked all the time. This is as effective as welding the spider gears but is a bit more "street-friendly" because they can ratchet when going around corners to allow for the rotational speed differential of the tires.

Welding is permanent and rock solid but is better for "Jitterbugs" (AKA "Woods Trucks", i.e. trucks only used in the woods for hauling logs and the such) than it is for any vehicle that will be used on pavement. When turning a corner, the wheel to the inside turns slower than the wheel on the outside. Open differentials, limited-slip differentials and lockers all allow for this; welding does not and eventually something is gonna give or twist.

Now, this doesn't make it easier to spin the tires. Since this is to enhance traction (power split between two tires instead of one), it actually makes the tires harder to spin. When you do spin it looks cooler though, because of the two tire marks it leaves (and twice the smoke) instead of one tire mark like with open differentials.

[Scott]

Maxim...you are da man. I think that's about the same thing I got from the DOH guys, but I had a bunch of orange cars in my sight, thus throwing off my attention abilities. And, you're right...the burn outs are mo' better spinning both tires! And my boy Kevin Scott (the main stunt driver) can surely spin 'em.