[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Jerry H.

Just found this thread and I'll add my experience with the Superbird. In 1970 I was 17 and working part time as a 'gopher' for a very small town Plymouth-GMC dealership. He had maybe 6 or 7 new Plymouths and 5 or 6 new GMCs in stock at one time. I came to work one afternoon after school and this pointy nose, orange, Road Runner looking car with a big wing on the trunk lid sitting in the front ready to be dealer prepped. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a 440 4bbl car with an automatic on the column and a bench seat. Rally style wheels and white letter tires.

I took the car in the detail bay and pulled all the plastic coverings, etc., washed it and checked it out to get it ready for sale. As in all of the Chrysler products in those days, the paint was very iffy. About 1 in 3 cars had to have some paint work done, 1 in 5 required a complete repaint. Evidently Chrysler paid for it under warranty. When I was finished with it pulled it out and parked it with 3 other cars in a special covered display area and forgot about it.

After a few months of anguishing there the owner called me and told me to move it to the regular front line with the other new and front line used cars, hoping that by moving it someone might notice it and it might generate some interest. The office was only about 25 feet from the street with no curb. And if you have ever driven one of these cars the biggest problem is the nose. It's hard to gauge the distance in front. You can probably see where this is going. As I was maneuvering this 'Bird around I bumped the nose on the concrete building. The owner comes out ranting and raving about how he can't sell the car and now I've wrecked it and he surely won't be able to sell it now. I was scared to death.

When he cooled off he realized it was just a scratch and no problem to touch up. But that car sat around for another 5 or 6 months! I still remember the family that bought it and the lady that drove it to work at the local zipper plant every day.

GR8 story & glad you survived!

My take: The few times I've been behind the wheel of a '69 Daytona or '70 Superbird it always seems odd that you can see the end of the hood, but not how much extra nose is beyond that, eh? Really though, piece-o-cake for anyone who grew up around (and drove) true '60's & '70s American Full size cars and parallel parked them - like my 1st car: 1968 440 New Yawker.

The two below will be auctioned tomorrow, Saturday 11 April, 2015 @ the Houston MECUM auction. Advertisement today stated coverage would negin telecast @ 2pm Eastern Standard Time. Check your local listings.

Originally Posted by Alvin

These two will be FS here next week April 9 - 11, 2015

- 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona/4-Speed

- 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird/4-Speed

[muscle_collector]

as cool as they are too look at, I really don't think they are great all around driving cars. I had both of them over 100 mph and you kinda felt like you were floating. they were really hard to guage distance on the fronts. the Daytona I bought with 45k original one owner miles on it. the superbird had 60k original one owner miles on it when I bought it. the superbird sold new here in Tulsa.

[The Boss]

DAMN Gary - you've got all the cool cars!

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

as cool as they are too look at, I really don't think they are great all around driving cars. I had both of them over 100 mph and you kinda felt like you were floating. they were really hard to guage distance on the fronts. the Daytona I bought with 45k original one owner miles on it. the superbird had 60k original one owner miles on it when I bought it. the superbird sold new here in Tulsa.

Yeah, heard that really is a problem until you get over 150, then towards 200 and then they "settle right down" and stick like glue?

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by The Boss

DAMN Gary - you've got all the cool cars!

I love the way Gary plays off all the killer chit he has!

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

as cool as they are too look at, I really don't think they are great all around driving cars. I had both of them over 100 mph and you kinda felt like you were floating. they were really hard to guage distance on the fronts. the Daytona I bought with 45k original one owner miles on it. the superbird had 60k original one owner miles on it when I bought it. the superbird sold new here in Tulsa.

Yeah you would have both the Daytona and Suprebird wouldn't you. And of course they're both in the colors I want. Damn you!

I've come to the conclusion that if I sold my T/A's I'm building a Superbird clone. I don't care how I do it, or how people feel about it, I need to own one of these cars!

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by The Boss

DAMN Gary - you've got all the cool cars!

Admit it Chris, it's the green grass you're jealous of. When's the last time you saw THAT?

[muscle_collector]

they are gone now as I have been selling off large amounts of my collection over the last few years. I now have no mopars , no fords, and no American motors left.

[muscle_collector]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Yeah, heard that really is a problem until you get over 150, then towards 200 and then they "settle right down" and stick like glue?

lol that could be true, but I didn't have the balls to find out.

[MikeNoun]

Chrysler made a few 3/8 scale models of the Charger 500, then played around with the wing design in the wind tunnel. This is the only surviving example.

[fiedlerh]

I remember hearing the stories of these winged cars sitting in dealership lots forever

I remember one sitting new on the dealer lot for a long time where my dad would get his 69 Valiant serviced, somewhere around Itasca, IL. Plymouth Superbird, 440, pistol grip shifter, lime green. As much as I tried I could not convince my dad to buy it. Wonder if it is still around today.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Chrysler made a few 3/8 scale models of the Charger 500, then played around with the wing design in the wind tunnel. This is the only surviving example.

That bad boy is low.

When we did the Volt it was one "count" reduction in drag for every 5mm reduction in trim height (which we found out accidentally).

K

[Alvin]

This vvvv

[Diego]

There's a lot of urban legends about how dealers would remove the spoiler and nose because they weren't selling, but I don't believe the stories to be true.

If you want to impress your Mopar friends, throw out this piece of trivia:

What was the first Road Runner with a 440-4?

Most will get it wrong. The knowledgable will say the 1972 RR with the GTX package. The truly sharp will say the Superbird. The reason for this is because the 440-4 was reserved for the GTX, so throughout the 1968-71 tenure of the RR, the GTX was the only B-body Plymouth to receive this engine otherwise till the GTX was discontinued for 1972 and made a package as part of an engine upgrade, which lasted through 1974. Otherwise, the Superbird is the exception.

[post toastie]

http://www.carsinbarns.com/Superbird...onas/pg24.html
Here's a winged car that got changed back.

[Diego]

Yeah, but no evidence that it was done by the dealership.

The conversion would have been quite labor-intensive.

[MikeNoun]

Interesting....1970 Superbirds used modified Dodge Coronet front fenders, and that Road Runner appears to have standard Road Runner fenders.

Plymouth found that adding the nosecone to the standard Road Runner end actually slowed the car down, so they opted for Dodge Coronet front fenders, which had a taper towards the front.

It's more likely that the Road Runner mentioned in the previous post was a Superbird that had some significant front end damage, and since Superbird nosecones, plus all the mechanisms for the headlights, weren't exactly commonplace in junkyards, they probably just installed a standard Road Runner schnoz.

[GT182]

The Hurst shifter in the '69 Daytona Alvin posted the link for..... https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/HA0...ytona/4-Speed/ ...... is a real work of art. I've only seen one other one besides that one, and it wasn't in a Daytona. I forget the Dodge model it was in, but I see it at a cruise night every once in a while.

2 photos of it...

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Interesting....1970 Superbirds used modified Dodge Coronet front fenders, and that Road Runner appears to have standard Road Runner fenders.

Plymouth found that adding the nosecone to the standard Road Runner end actually slowed the car down, so they opted for Dodge Coronet front fenders, which had a taper towards the front.

It's more likely that the Road Runner mentioned in the previous post was a Superbird that had some significant front end damage, and since Superbird nosecones, plus all the mechanisms for the headlights, weren't exactly commonplace in junkyards, they probably just installed a standard Road Runner schnoz.

You know Mike, Thxs for posting this. Those front fenders were the 1st thing that I noticed as wrong w that car. If it were in fact a legit car - Whose to say that it wasn't a victim of a front clip replace due to collision? No worries or matter either way IMO.

Originally Posted by GT182

The Hurst shifter in the '69 Daytona Alvin posted the link for..... https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/HA0...ytona/4-Speed/ ...... is a real work of art. I've only seen one other one besides that one, and it wasn't in a Daytona. I forget the Dodge model it was in, but I see it at a cruise night every once in a while.

2 photos of it...

Thxs, it's this image angle that really illustrates the work of art in that Hurst shifter handle.

[77 Canamman]

Those are cool cars...HOWEVER, after owning a vintage MoPar muscle car for 3 years (1971 Road Runner 383 4 speed air grabber), I will never own another one. They made me appreciate my Pontiacs that much more!!!