1970 Plymouth Superbird Hemi 4Spd, 3,800 miles,owned since '73,1st time offered

Price: - Item location: Middletown, Maryland, United States
Description:

1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird

This is the first time I am offering for sale my 1970 Superbird that I have owned since 1973. This is an extremely rare Alpine Whit, White bucket interior, Hemi 4 speed with 3,797 original miles on the car. This is not the original Hemi motor or transmission that came with the car. However, it is a TRUE Hemi 4 speed. The following was an article posted in the Winged Warrior / National B-Body Owners Association special feature car that tells you the details of the cars ownership:
I bought my SuperBird in 1973 as a rolling chassis from the original owner's son. It had no engine or transmission, but it was a real Hemi SuperBird. It had a headliner, original door panels and seats.

As a brand new SuperBird, it had sat at a Leesburg, VA Chrysler dealership until late 1971. The original owner, James Earl Brown of Clinton, MD, traded a 1961 Ford Fairlane in for it and paid about $4,100 for the Bird. Mr. Brown had raced the car at M.R.I. and blew up two engines. So the Bird was sitting in Brown's grandma's yard right off of Route 301. I had a trucker friend looking for a winged car for me and he was the one who saw it there.

After my friend told me about the car, I drove down there and asked if it was for sale. The grandma gave me her son's phone number. So I called Mr. Brown Sr. and ended up buying the car from his son. I also got the original MSO for the car and the title in the original owner's name, however I had to turn the title in at the Motor Vehicle Department.

The car then sat in my father's farm field in Frederick, MD from 1973 until June 1, 1988. At that time, I took it to Windom, Maine to a place called "Hemi Heaven". It turned out to be Hemi Hell! After two years and a total of $28,000 later, I brought the car back. It was June, 1990. They had assembled the engine, upholstered the seats and painted the body. The engine, a 1970 shortblock, came out of Maine.

I was aggravated by the experience so I let the car sit for about 10 years, but I was still buying parts for it all along. In 2000, I took the SuperBird to Chuck Dodson, a friend of mine. Chuck has been doing cars for about 40 years and he worked on it all during that winter. He actually was normally a Ford man and didn't really want to get into Chrysler products, but he wanted to help me out of this mess. I helped at Chuck's shop and we assembled the car there in the fall of 2001 and finally rolled it out done. Chuck spent about 80 hours buffing out the paint Hemi Heaven had applied and basically had to redo everything they had already done.

The Bird has a Janak reproduction nosecone because the original cone was rotted out, but I still have it. It also has NOS fender scoops and grille. A friend made the grille frame and Lou Miles made the parking light brackets out of stainless. Another friend made the rear window trim for me.

He had to rebuild the little rain troughs under the cowl area that divert the water out near the fresh air ducts. This is a trouble area on old Mopars that most owners blame on leaking windshield wipers, and it's often really the cowl troughs. The trunk floor was also replaced because the tail lights leaked. Here's a little tech tip: when sealing up the tail lights, you should use 440 glazing tape instead of the factory foam.When the car was finally done, I took it to a couple of local shows and then to our National Meet at Pigeon Forge and the Darlington meet in 2002. It has won several places in its class.

This SuperBird is an original 426 Hemi 4-speed, 3.54 Dana. It is documented to be one of only two Hemi 4-speed Birds painted Alpine white with a white bucket seat interior. The other white on white Bird was owned by Jack Werst.

My Bird originally had a custom-made nerf bar type front bumper because the car couldn't be sold or registered in the state of Maryland without a front bumper!Anyone who owns a SuperBird is all too familiar with that old problem of everybody coming up and telling you what a nice"SuperBee" you have. I solved that problem with a couple of stickers on my window....one tells you what the car is and one tells you what it isn't!

The following is an update since this article was written, the car has had a freshly rebuilt motor, built by Larry Shepard who is one of the top Hemi engine builders in the US. The transmission was rebuilt by Passion Transmissions in PA. The rear was redone by DTS in Detroit MI. The clutch and pressure plate was custom made by Rochester Clutch & Brake Co in NY. The car has been updated with electronic ignition for trouble free driving. This car was also featured in Mopar Collectors Guide in 2006 (page 27).

However, there are a few minor known problems that the car has. They are gasgauge not working, oil pressure gauge not workingand a vacuum leak for the headlights. NOTE- The motor has 60lbs of oil pressure at idle so the oil pressure gauge is the issue NOT a motor issue.

If you come to see this car you will not be disappointed. Sadly, I am selling due to health reasons. The vehicle is being sold as-is. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.