Plymouth Super Bird

           

    

I think it's time for a Mopar injection.

I've always loved Plymouth Super Birds; they have all of the ingredients to make the perfect muscle car. Let's run through the necessary elements for muscle car hero status:

Lots of Power? Check--the Super Bird came with the stock 440, the legendary 440 Six Pack, or the epic 426 Hemi. Power was not a problem.

Unique Styling? Check--aside from some of the Corvettes of the time, the Super Bird was the only car to combine sleek, aerodynamic contours with the alluring brutality of muscle cars.

Competition Heritage? Check--the Super Bird's unique streamlining came from Mopar's desire to eke out an aerodynamic advantage in NASCAR racing. By today's standards, parts of the Super Bird's aerodynamic package look a little curious--the nearly upright windshield, for example--but compared to the massive brick-like sedans competing in the series at the time, the Super Bird and its Dodge Daytona cousin were slippery, dominant competitors. NASCAR's King, Richard Petty, drove a Super Bird--and somehow, the Super Bird always looked best in his day-glo blue colors.

Scarcity? Check--The Super Bird was only produced in 1970, and fewer than 2,000 were made. According to www.musclecarclub.com, only 93 were made with the all-conquering Hemi engine.

About 15 years ago, Car & Driver ran a feature on a gentleman who had bought his completely original Super Bird in the early 1980s for a pittance. This was back before muscle cars had begun their ridiculous appreciation, and it didn't occur to anybody at the time that these cars were in any way special.

The only problem with the car was that the paint on the roof and the ridiculously high spoiler had been scuffed. You see, he'd been using the car to haul sheets of plywood, balanced precariously on the roof and the spoiler.

While that's pretty funny, just thinking about that story makes me shudder. It's a bit like eating lasagna off the original Mona Lisa.

I'd love to own one of these, but I'd have a slightly better chance of owning a Space Shuttle. Only serious collectors can afford one now. The real pity is that the skyrocketing value of these cars mean they are only rarely driven.

These photos are from www.musclecarclub.com--always an excellent resource for classic muscle car photos and information.

--Chris H.

Comments

[Dennis Teal on May 26, 2009 at 07:16 PM]

As a 16 year old in Southwest Oklahoma I was car crazy. My girl friend, my wife now, and her parents were in Lawton and I saw a "Bird". A Super Bird that yellow, I think, and beautiful. When I got home and told my parents I needed that car, they were not at all enthusiastic. I ended up with a Buick GS. I would love to have the GS restored, but can you imagine the thrill of owning the Bird today? Not to mention the return on investment. My story!!!

[Aleks Ristic, Toronto on December 20, 2009 at 03:43 PM]

An intersting creation.

I've long had a fantasy about winning a lottery so I could re-create some of the old cars I like by fixing to them pinched, stramlined nose-cones with grafted in flush lights and updated styling cue's to present them as they might have been made in a later time.