NASCAR legend Bobby Issac goes to the salt flats.
Later tonight. Looks good.
It is good. 
That was a badass car, driver and crew.
I built a model of that car when I was a kid.
I also remember the Superbird versions piling up at the local Chrysler Plymouth dealer. Those didn't sell well back then.
Was there a way back then to turn a Winged . pointed nose Daytona into a regular Dodge that would sell ?
Just wondering if there are some plain Dodges that were really a full on Daytona.....
as you can guess I know nothing about these cars !
I know they sell fiberglass reproductions of the wings and noses so you can roll your own from any rusty Charger or Road Runner from that era. I am surprised you don't see more of them.
I actually stood next to both of these cars at paddock at Stockton 99 Speedway when I was a kid.
Very impressive looking and sounding cars when you are 12 years old.
This one too. They all ran in the Western Grand National Series.
Saw this car at the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum in Alexander City, Alabama. Very cool has been maintained but don't think restored. Neat museum with mostly Mopars but few other cars. Worth the visit if you are ever in that area.
californiamilleghia said:Was there a way back then to turn a Winged . pointed nose Daytona into a regular Dodge that would sell ?
Just wondering if there are some plain Dodges that were really a full on Daytona.....
as you can guess I know nothing about these cars !
Yes, some cars had the wing and nose removed so they could be sold. The rear window was also different on the wing cars, but I suspect it would have been too much trouble to change that out.
stuart in mn said:californiamilleghia said:Was there a way back then to turn a Winged . pointed nose Daytona into a regular Dodge that would sell ?
Just wondering if there are some plain Dodges that were really a full on Daytona.....
as you can guess I know nothing about these cars !
Yes, some cars had the wing and nose removed so they could be sold. The rear window was also different on the wing cars, but I suspect it would have been too much trouble to change that out.
On the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, it was very difficult to make a winged car or de-wing one. The "regular" Charger had a tunneled rear window. Dodge made a metal plug and different glass to make the "Charger 500" that also featured a flush grill, but it wasn't aerodynamic enough, hence the Daytona, which was different from the cowl forwards, had the rear window plug, and the spoiler. You could in theory take the wing off, and a complete front clip, and make a pseudo-Charger 500, but it would obviously be not a "real" Charger to even laymen.
The 1970 Plymouth Supoerbird was a bit different. It was a Roadrunner underneath, again with a rear window plug but this time done very haphhazardly (hence the required vinyl top), and the fenders were shared with the ugly-but "wing grill" Coronet. Again, you could in theory de-wing one, and these would lokk a little more "normal", but you'd be looking at a Super Bee/Coronet nose on a Road Runner and/or a complete front clip again.
These differences are what makes "wing cars" so easy to authenticate (or debunk). You should read Jared Lehto's book about them if you want all the cool details. They are fascinating cars.
1969 Charger:
1969 Charger 500:
1969 Charger Daytona:
I have actually seen fake Daytonas with the aftermarket wing and the tunneled rear window.
Thanks for the info ,
A buddy of mine had the coolest chop top VW bug painted up in early 70s striped graphics and lettering ,
It was a magazine cover car and everyone loved it,,,,,,,,
But a few months later he sanded it down and painted it black ,
He said it was no fun anymore driving around a "clown car'
I imagine the owners of the pointed nose / winged Daytonas thought the same thing after a year or two and always getting pulled over by the cops........
Snowdoggie said:I have actually seen fake Daytonas with the aftermarket wing and the tunneled rear window.
and you can buy the wing here for $900.
https://aarqualityfiberglass.com/product/kit-superbird/
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:stuart in mn said:californiamilleghia said:Was there a way back then to turn a Winged . pointed nose Daytona into a regular Dodge that would sell ?
Just wondering if there are some plain Dodges that were really a full on Daytona.....
as you can guess I know nothing about these cars !
Yes, some cars had the wing and nose removed so they could be sold. The rear window was also different on the wing cars, but I suspect it would have been too much trouble to change that out.
On the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, it was very difficult to make a winged car or de-wing one. The "regular" Charger had a tunneled rear window. Dodge made a metal plug and different glass to make the "Charger 500" that also featured a flush grill, but it wasn't aerodynamic enough, hence the Daytona, which was different from the cowl forwards, had the rear window plug, and the spoiler. You could in theory take the wing off, and a complete front clip, and make a pseudo-Charger 500, but it would obviously be not a "real" Charger to even laymen.
The 1970 Plymouth Supoerbird was a bit different. It was a Roadrunner underneath, again with a rear window plug but this time done very haphhazardly (hence the required vinyl top), and the fenders were shared with the ugly-but "wing grill" Coronet. Again, you could in theory de-wing one, and these would lokk a little more "normal", but you'd be looking at a Super Bee/Coronet nose on a Road Runner and/or a complete front clip again.
These differences are what makes "wing cars" so easy to authenticate (or debunk). You should read Jared Lehto's book about them if you want all the cool details. They are fascinating cars.
The big one I always check for his how many jacks does the car have in the trunk. Chargers and Roadrunners had only a single bumper jack. But, because a bumper jack wouldn't work with the nose cone, Superbirds and Daytona's came with both a bumper jack and a scissor jack. And a lot of people who clone them don't add the extra jack.
The Beinekes got the old blueprints for what the '71 wing cars were going to look like (Mopar was already working on them when NASCAR pumped the brakes and instated the 305ci restriction) and started selling the parts to make 1971 Daytonas and 1971 Superbirds. The Mopar B-body went to an all-new body that year, so they look quite a bit different. There was even a plan to add a second element to the wing that was hinged to clear the decklid. And then the Beinekes built a full-race version to look like the K&K car and have gone land speed racing with it.
In reply to NickD :
The nose on the 71 Road Runner looks like as much air would go under the car as over it. The little lip is supposed to help but it looks like the front would be a little light at speed.
Snowdoggie said:I built a model of that car when I was a kid.
I also remember the Superbird versions piling up at the local Chrysler Plymouth dealer. Those didn't sell well back then.
When I was a kid, in the mid 80s there was a guy a ways up the street who had two of them in the backyard, hubs deep and slowly returning to the earth.
BlindPirate said:The nose on the 71 Road Runner looks like as much air would go under the car as over it. The little lip is supposed to help but it looks like the front would be a little light at speed.
The nose on the '69-'70 cars didn't really work well either. Apparently the engineers had designed a spoiler that was supposed to go out near the end of the nose cone to help nail the front down, but the styling department said it looked dorky and should be located farther back. There was a big argument and the styling department won out, and the result was that the Daytona and Superbird had tremendous amounts of front end lift as delivered. The race versions actually used a different nose cone.
What are the 2 vertical pieces of the rear wing called? For a race car,those created a lot of stability at high speed.
I always referred to them as uprights.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
TIL that the Charger 500 trunk lid is shorter than the standard Charger piece.
BlindPirate said:What are the 2 vertical pieces of the rear wing called? For a race car,those created a lot of stability at high speed.
Uprights. A lot of drivers said that the uprights were the real advantage to those wings. The plane didn't do a whole lot, but the uprights kept the car from looping or sliding at high speed.
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