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Body kits and high wings - History repeats itself.


Guest greimann

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Guest Neil
I`ve seen lots of programs on tv about the superbirds. They say the wing is strong enough to support the weight of the entire car.

 

So it's dual functional. It creates downforce, and should you flip it trying to make a corner, it will act as a roll bar. :wink:

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I like it, except for that ugly front end. I think if they made the front end look like a First gen camaro (one of the most beutiful cars by the way) that thing would look awesome

 

The problem is though they wanted to win, the first gen Camaro is not aerodynamic for a hill of beans compared to the Road Runner, or many of todays modern cars.

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There was one in the town that i grew up in. The owner also owned and operated a christian book store that was on my paper route. He kept it stored in a rickety old one car garage behind his store.

I only saw the car out of the garage a handfull of times. :?

One time was while he was washing it. It was collection day and I stopped to talk to him. This was the first time i got to see the car up close. It was as nice as any of the winged cars that I`ve seen at any car show to this day,and looked as if it had just rolled off the show room floor.

 

The owner died about 6 years ago. 3 years ago, out of curiousity I looked through the side window of that old one car garage. I could still see the same outline of the wing under the blankets and car cover that we had seen when we were nosey little kids. I guess some things never change. :D

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The owner died about 6 years ago. 3 years ago, out of curiousity I looked through the side window of that old one car garage. I could still see the same outline of the wing under the blankets and car cover that we had seen when we were nosey little kids. I guess some things never change. :D

 

Do you mean it's still there? If so maybe you could get it for a steal if the family has no clue :shock:

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The 69 Dodge Daytonas and 70 Plymouth Superbirds were built for one purpose only- to dominate the Nascar superspeedways. They did it so well that Nascar effectively outlawed them after the 70 season. The nose cone, back glass, and wing produced something no other car had at that time; downforce at both ends of the car. They did not sell well, and many sat on dealer's lots and could be had for about any price. Today junkers bring 40-50K, and a nice hemi car gets up around a quarter mil. Time's change, don't they?

 

Lot's of good reading at http://aerowarriors.com/

 

John

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Thanks, John (jt1). I was going to post the same thing. This was NOT a Chrysler stylist thing - it was done to dominate the Oval tracks. And it did-until the aero stuff was banned. Thankfully, the homologation rules meant that they sold them to the public and we now see them from time to time.

 

Me, I'd take one. Loved the 1st gen Camaro (69 being my favorite pony car body style), with the 70 Cuda VERY close behind. I had a bud with a yellow/black AAR - built up. Loved that thing.

 

I don't typically like the big (68+) Charger, but a 426 Hemi or 440 Superbird - yeah, love to have one of those! Same thing for the Chevelles - too big for my taste, but a 454 LS-6 SS would be just fine :).

 

Same thing with the larger Fords of that era. Torinos - a bit large, but with a 429 SCJ and a 4 spd - sure! My sister's 1st husband had one with an auto and 4.88:1 locker rear w/ the 429 SCJ. Also had buddies with GT500 Shelby Mustangs - Sure would like to have one of those.

 

So many cars to love, so few dollars and so little garage space!

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I sort of recall hearing on one of those "SPEEDCHANNEL" shows that the SuperBird's rear wing was also effective as a vertical stabilizer, like the tail on a Cessna or a rudder on a boat. This kept the rear end from swinging around in the turns.

 

(note how thick the verticals are AND shaped like airfoils AND are placed outboard-in the airstream-not behind the roof).

 

Downforce was good, but traction with tire rubber technology 34 years ago.....

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Trevor, that may very well be, because people who drove the car said it didn't like to turn - Richard Petty comes to mind as someone who said that. Looking at how tall it is, and not using a tubular brace, its basically a 3 sided wing so I dont doubt it at all.

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Guest silverbullet
I sort of recall hearing on one of those "SPEEDCHANNEL" shows that the SuperBird's rear wing was also effective as a vertical stabilizer

 

I must have seen the same thing I think it was the owner or builder of the cars that said everyone thought the main advantage of the wings was downforce but it really was that it kept them straight and narrow on the high speed straights thats when they would just walk away from the pack :D

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Guest bang847

dude.. I love mopars.. the first car show i ever attended was the San Fernando Mopar meet!

 

remember the dukes of hazard?

 

when i was a kid i didn't want to open doors.

i used to jump into my friend's rice mobiles but they would get mad cuz i was messing up their painted interior.

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