RE: Challenger T/A history
The Challenger T/As were the first cars to utilize different size tires. The Trans Am cars also had the inner fender opening lips rolled just like the hemi cars did. The passenger's side fender is unique to the T/A. It shares the wheelwell lip characteristics of the hemi car, but lacks the hole for the antenna. The antenna was relocated to the rear passenger quarter (the engineers believed the lack of metal in the fiberglass hood would interfere with the radio reception).
The hood is unique in itself, as only two known non-T/A cars exist with the hood as a factory option. El Hemi did sport a T/A hood for the longest time, but it originally had a dual snorkel hood. A build sheet was found for a specially ordered triple-black R/T with the hood in another car, but is believed to be destroyed in the eighties. The last surviving car is a red R/T in New York.
T/As weren't really specially ordered machines, but if a "rare" T/A would be considered, it is the one KNOWN to exist with a factory sunroof. The other T/A rarities are the two-tone Trans Ams, and the WSS-T/A, which is believed to be a dealer conversion.
The 1971 Challenger T/A exists only in an airbrushed ad, some oddball parts and a rumor some were built.
-There is an ad for a 1970 T/A, that is yellow, and it was in the rain...Sound familar?
-There are some oddball aircleaners that are basically the garden variety four barrel dual snorkel unit, with the snorkels blocked off, and the lid traded for a rubber gasket to mount to the bottom of a hood...Makes sense, considering one could order a hood for his 383-4V challenger and swap it out. It is plausible that the aircleaner was made only as a replacement part in 1971 for Joe Blow and his 1970 Challenger, but it certianly fans the flames for the debate of the '71 T/A's existence...
-There is a rumor that a handful of '71 T/As that were built, but after Sam Posey and Dodge pulled out of SCCA, the T/As were converted back to 340 R/Ts for obvious reasons...
The wheels available for the T/A were BLACK steelies with either polished or brushed trim rings (depending on the amount of PCP in the assembler's bloodstream), and the 14" (someone back me up here, 15s were Hemi-only, right?) Rallyes. No Magnum 500s or wheel covers.
The T/A 340s had TA cast on the side of the block. The valvetrain was revised (again, running off of memory, can't remember), more beef was added to the main webbing (four bolt mains HELLO!), heavier-duty connecting rods, and yes, the all umbiquious Edelbrock intake! The T/A 340s also had the 7-blade clutch fan (usually reserved for cars with A/C (or maybe they all had the clutch fan by then...) good for at least 15 horsepower! I am not going to mention how Ma Mopar copied the heads off of the SBC for the new motor, but I will mention that the mill was topped by three Holleys.
A preproduction mule exists, it has the T/A's motor, but a bumblebee stripe and a snorkel hood. I remember seeing pictures of it with drafts of the "duck tail" spoiler
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, sorry if I have anything wrong here!
Kelly
The rear suspension had increased camber in the rear for the G60 tires. The T/As had the fast-ratio box...I want to say the things had bigger torsion bars but I am not sure here.