Car of the Week: 1970 Plymouth Superbird

[dodgechargerfan]

Even though he wasn’t looking for such an iconic car, Mitch Gehrke didn’t have much trouble rationalizing his decision a few years back to write out a sizable check for his 1970 Plymouth Superbird.

“I guess it was just something I couldn’t refuse,” he says. “I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance to buy one.”

The then-boyfriend of Gehrke’s sister had bought the Superbird to flip it and make some money, and Gehrke was more than happy to have the chance to take it home. He traded his Super Bee on the Superbird and hasn’t regretted it since.

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[thrashingcows]

Of the two mopar wing cars, the superbird is my least favorite. Much prefer the Daytona.

 

[Dr.Jass]

I agree. Parts of the Superbird are better: the location of the grille and the sweep and shape of the wing uprights. Plymouth got those right, but they just didn't have a shape as sexy as the Charger with which to start.

 

[Stretch]

I agree with both of you.

Why do you see so many more Superbirds than Daytonas? Were the production #'s higher?

 

[dodgedifferent2]

was it not Nascar that mandated x amount of cars?
and didnt Nascar mandate more cars in 1970 production to meet the minimum requirements for nascar eligibility?
Daytona started in 69 and only had to have 500 production cars which most were sent direct to nascar teams?

 

[Dr.Jass]

DD2 is correct.

In 1969, NASCAR mandated at least 500 cars be built to homologate the cars. Hence, there had to be 500 Daytonas made (the memory's fuzzy, but as I recall there were 503, with two or three of them actually having a '70 VIN, one possibly being a Six Pack car). There are also approximately 500 Charger 500s.

In '70, NASCAR ordered one unit per dealership. The generally-accepted number was 1,935 cars for many years, but 1,920 and 1.971 have been tossed around as well.