Richard Petty's once lost NASCAR
Plymouth Superbird is heading to
auction and the sky's the limit
Fox News,
by
Gary Gastelu
Original Article
Posted By: StormCnter,
8/3/2019 2:44:38 PM
The Plymouth Superbird may have been a one-year wonder, but it remains a classic today. The aerodynamically-optimized muscle car was built for NASCAR’s superspeedways, where Richard Petty and others competed in it during the 1970 season before it was effectively banned from competition the following year. Petty won 18 races that season driving Superbirds and Plymouth Road Runners, but finished fourth in the standings behind season champion Bobby Isaac, who used the similar big wing Dodge Daytona on the fast tracks.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Mass Minority 8/3/2019 3:58:07 PM (No. 141853)
What a phenominal car. I remember these birds from my youth. They had to be available as a standard model in order to be eligable for the NASCAR circuit so Plymouth forced every dealership to take at least 2 of them. Nobody wanted them and dealers would do almost anything to get rid of them. HAd an uncle that had one, and a cousins boyfreind showed up in one once.
My first car was a 1970 Roadrunner. Man I miss that car sometimes. Was unbelievable. One of the wierdest transmissions out there. It could do 0 to 60 in about 5.1 minutes, but 60 to 120 in like 6 seconds. At seventy MPH on the highway when you punched the gas pedal the tires chirped. It got 8 MPG around town but 17 MPG at 80 on the highway.
I wish they still made American Muscle like this but I think that era is forever gone. Engineers and government regulators have modeled and caculated aerodynamics and performance down to a set of specs that has made every car in the country look and perform pretty much the same. And high performance is no longer a selling point. You want that kind of thrilling ride you have to pony up for a super expensive european model.
Or pay through the nose for an antique piece of American History like this. Saw a showroom SUperbird go for $250,000 at an auction a few years back. Not bad for a car that sold for $3000 or less brand new. (despite the $4200 Sticker price)
Sad really.
7 people like this.
These things were selling for as little as $2000 brand new back when. One dealer I know had one of his mounted on a pole and used as a catchy sign for his dealership. You are correct, #1, they couldn't give them away. One thing was, IIRC, you wouldn't get the 426 Hemi in them, but only the 440. And then there was the insurance cost.
My brother and I had a '69 Road Runner - sweet car. Only a standard 383, 4-speed, but it could fly.
3 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
DVC 8/3/2019 4:27:25 PM (No. 141870)
In 1975 during the "energy crisis" American cars with giant motors were just junker gas hogs that nobody wanted. I was in the parking lot of a 7-11 in Daytona Fla and a guy drove up a winged 'Bird or maybe Daytona. Dented nose, one headlight stuck up, driver's door and front fender primer black, overall, just a ratty old car at that point. People forget that a 5 year old, hard used American car in those days was pretty old and beat. The guy who got out was a skinny guy, long hair, no shirt, flip flops and cutoff jeans.
I clearly remember telling my friend, "I could buy that car for $1500 or less, no doubt - and some day those old winged Chryslers will be really worth something." And I knew I was right, and I was right.
But, I was in grad school and living on $3200/year grad student salary working for the university. Not a
chance I could have come up with $1500, basically half a year's total living cost. But my father had an unused garage space in a storage building about 80 miles away where I could have put it inside up on blocks. Heck that was 10 months apartment rent at that time. Just impossible, no matter what.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Sigh.
3 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
DVC 8/3/2019 4:34:30 PM (No. 141878)
#1, Those cars are NOT gone.
You can buy a brand new 2019 Chrysler Challenger Hellcat 6.2L V8 with 717hp, and it gets 13 mpg in hte city, 22 on the highway. 0-60 in 3.4 seconds.
That will beat the pants off of the hottest of the 1970s muscle cars, actually.
About $60K.
4 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Iconoclast 8/3/2019 5:50:16 PM (No. 141930)
Guy in my area has one of these. See it on the road a couple times a month. Always makes me smile. I remember “ back in the day “
1 person likes this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
bad-hair 8/3/2019 6:08:17 PM (No. 141943)
Flashbacks to the movie "Joe Dirt".
1 person likes this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Grounded 8/3/2019 7:50:30 PM (No. 141997)
Back in the day when NASCAR drivers actually drove automobiles and not race cars.
3 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 8/3/2019 9:37:50 PM (No. 142042)
TK fondly remembers his '69 orange Road Runner and still tells the story of a lonely night drive through the desert when he was a young cop on the LAPD. He was being very cautious on his speed and surprised by the flashing lights coming up behind him. The chippy just wanted to take a look at the car, and after TK ID'd himself as law enforcement, the two of them had a good look under the hood. The chippy asked how fast it would go, but TK said hadn't let it out yet. The hour was late, the road was empty, so TK let it out full with the chippy clocking him. He did 130mph. The one and only time. I love the smile on his face whenever he tells that story.
He had to sell it during the gas shortage, as well as being the father of infant twins it was hard to put car seats in the back. We both sure wish he had it today!
2 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
texaspast 8/4/2019 12:20:38 AM (No. 142087)
Lordy, the early Roadrunners were the stuff of my dreams. My dad for some reason bought a 1968 Roadrunner for my mother (a school teacher) to drive 25 miles to work every day. I remember longing for the day I would turn 16 and could drive it! That 383 ci engine was 'nominally' about 300 hp - but for some reason Chrysler vastly underrated the hp of that small-block 383 they put in the Roadrunner and and other Dodge-Chrysler cars. Mom's had straight pipes with glass pack mufflers. Dang, it sounded good. Can you imagine your first grade teacher driving that to school? One little problem, though: that Holley 4 barrel carb on hers had a slightly bent governor arm - if you floored it, the little governor arm went too far forward for the spring to pull it back - so you are screaming down the highway with the throttle wide open and letting off the gas pedal had no effect! Mom did this passing a car on the way to work - it was a thrilling ride, I tell you. Fortunately, mom had the presence of mind to turn off the ignition BEFORE trying to stop it with the brakes or throwing it out of gear. Sadly, dad also had the presence of mind to sell the car not long after I turned 16. I got to drive a 1964 Dodge Dart with a straight 6, push button automatic transmission, that wouldn't hit 80 if you pushed it off a cliff. I STILL want a 1968 Roadrunner. I remember the Superbird that sat in our local Plymouth dealer's showroom for months (lime green). Don't know what they did with it.
1 person likes this.
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