Posted on 08/22/2016 7:52:42 PM PDT by MtnClimber
No car sums up Chrysler's utter insanity during the muscle car era better than the Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, and its Dodge companion, the Charger Daytona. These so-called "Aero Cars" were designed as NASCAR racers first, street cars second, and they're among the most outrageous things to come from Detroit.
Road & Track contributor Steve Lehto wrote the book on the Aero cars, and he found us an example of a Superbird at the Woodward Dream Cruise this past weekend. Along with a fellow Mopar expert, Lehto tells you more than you ever thought there was to know about the Superbird.
(Excerpt) Read more at roadandtrack.com ...
Videos at link.
That’s one ugly car....that I wished I owned.
Came home from overseas and my brother took me to a race in Rockingham. Richard Petty won driving a 67 Plymouth Roadrunner, color, Petty blue. Had to have one, so I bought the car. A couple years later, wife told me she was tired of being the first one off at the stoplight and made me trade it. I did so love that car.
car ping
A friend of mine went for a ride in one when he was in high school. He confirmed the $10 bill on the dash rumor. His wife heard the story for the first time when he told me they topped out at 190 mph.
Wife had a problem withere being First ???
Can only imagine what happened to Her!
Almost as bad as the cars from "UFO":
I sure miss my 69 road runner fun car long handled slow shifter
Great series got them all on DVDs and the lady outfits we’re awesome
Yeah, me too. Gotta love the miniskirts and purple hair.
Thanks.
I wasn't the driver.....But the driver...drove that baby perfect....
It's a long story.
We all... three of us...survived,.,,No injuries.
Drove it back to town...
He missed one detail; in the trunk there is a set of steel u-channels which form the support for the wing. Early test models without them would end up with wrinkles in the quarter panels from the 300+ pounds of downforce the wing would generate. The support ties the frame rails to the underside of the top of the quarter panel, where a large (12” x 24” approx) “washer” sat supporting the wing.
The video doesn’t give a full picture of the engines the Superbird could have. It came standard with the 440 cu. in. Plymouth engine, while the 440 2300 Holleys carbureted six barrel engine was one rung up the ladder. The top optional engine was the 426 duel quads Hemi. I saw one of the first examples of the Superbird at Dick Green Chysler-Plymouth on Gratiot on the east side of Detroit in about 1969 on my sting-ray bike. It was yellow with white quarter panel letters and was unlike any car I’d ever seen at my young age. Pretty cool stuff for a budding Mopar man.
Interesting. I like how you could adjust the wing angle.
You’re right. Plymouth made the GTX. My brother had one with the 440, 4 speed with solid lifters. What a great car.
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