In 1969, Dodge offered three mid-sized muscle cars built on the popular Chrysler B-body platform: the Super Bee, Charger R/T, and Coronet R/T. All of them could be had with a 440 cubic inch V8 (though the Super Bee only as a 6-Pack). From this trio, the Coronet has its roots as a family car with s splash of performance thrown in. This ’69 Coronet R/T has been off the road for 43 years yet is categorized now as a “yard running” project. This rusty relic is available here on eBay and from Harlem, Georgia, where the current bid is $8,500.
The Super Bee was a budget-minded muscle car along the same lines as the Plymouth Road Runner. It shared pretty much the same sheet metal as the Coronet, such as a flush rear window (unlike the Charger’s whose rear window was incorporated into a tunnel). The Charger was a sporty car with more amenities than the Super Bee or Coronet and had hidden headlights up front. The Charger and Coronet both gained muscle car status when the R/T label was tacked on. Of the three, the Super Bee sold the best in 1969 at 27,800 copies, followed by 19,300 Charger R/Ts. The Coronet R/T was the rarest of the bunch at just under 7,000 units including the only convertible in the mix (fewer than 500 were built).
This Coronet has been out to pasture since 1980. It’s had three owners and we assume the first two were before then. We don’t know why that is, but we’re told the seller has gotten it to run (but how well?). The requisite 440 V8 is under the hood, along with an automatic transmission, but no mention is made if they’re original to the Dodge. The engine was beefed up at some point with a “small” camshaft and headers.
Cosmetic issues are apparent from almost any angle you choose. At least part of the trunk pan needs work, the rear quarter panels have been chewed on by rust, and the floors will need patching or replacing. Both of the doors have been replaced as the colors don’t match the rest of the car. But corrosion may have caused that as it’s unlikely that both sides of the car could have been in an accident in the same place. The smaller production numbers of the Coronet R/T may make it more interesting today than a Charger R/T or a Super Bee. That’s if you bring this one back from the brink.
Put it back to pasture,yard art at best
Too true.
Some people go on starting those ridiculous bids knowing it’s not worth it
There’s one thing this car is still able to pass. The brink
Too many ifs. I’ll pass.
Is that a Sparkomatic shifter? Holy smokes I haven’t seen one of them since 1983 or so.
I had a new 70 Super Bee in b5 blue.Still miss it.Sad to see this car in such bad shape.
Find a Mopar that is desert solid with no engine or trans and use this drivetrain.Too far gone imo.My buddies brother restored a 70 Charger 440 SE that was in roughly the same shape and took 3 years and some help from numerous friends with varying skills.Came out beautiful.Put it up for sale with a broker and it ended up in Germany.Lot o work! That’s for sure.glwts.
A 69 RT Cornet is not that common. Throw in a 440 if its original and its even more uncommon. Definitely a savable car and yes lots of money to save it properly.
I would take this over a Road Runner or charger any day because it’s uncommon.
Floor and trunk are easy fixes. The rot around the rear window not so much.
Will it take money to fix yes but in the end it is a pretty rare car that ticks a-lot of boxes.
Food for thought
I remember finding one stripped to the bone 🦴 outside of a metal recycling yard on the street sitting on its backing plates no drums or wheels on, i was only 17 in the early 80s, man i wish i had a forklift and a flatbed back then back then nobody had a car carrier where i lived just would’ve called them and drag it right up the bed and bring it home with me 🥺☹️,it was white with no interior and no driveline except the Dana was still on there so i took what i could get before the recycling workers get there and chased me away so i got the Power Bulge hood and all the RT emblems, the car was dirty but no rust whatsoever, yeah the 80s you could get many cars for free people were just dumping them! Hope Elon Musk makes a Time Machine so we could go back and bring back thousands of them lol, Beam me up Scotty 😭😂🥹🍻🍻🍺🍺🥩🥩
(M)ostly (O)ld (P)arts (A)nd (R)ust
(S)ad (A)** (M)oron
As 60s muscle cars disappear from the used car market these
cars will be bid up and completely restored by restoration shops
who merely weld new panels & pans/quarters n’ rockers to the
stripped down shell.
Everyone that restores these cars knows it’s a complete new
panel welding job before the body shop can take it on as a newly
restored resto.
People on BF wonder aloud at the foolishness of such a purchase
but it’s necessary for restoration shops because they need base cars
for rebuilding and that’s why we continue to see these things restored
and bid on when they appear at auction sites like EBay.
The car is worth under $10k, but not more. When finished it will fetch
high dollars at auction.
Bob
Yeah, it used to be fun, now it’s all about money, the richies who buy these high dollar cars at auction don’t know a carburetor from a bottle of champagne, but they got the bucks, and one more thing to compete with the Jone’s next door
I’d love to have it. Why’s it so far away?
10 or 15 years ago this car would have been unable to be saved. Now, with all the reproduction parts on the market, you can practically build a new body off the inner structure. Beyond my skills, but there are many people who bring cars like this back to life every day. Look at some of the stuff Mark Worman’s guys restore, often all that is left of the original car is the front subframes and cowl.
They have been fixing every Barracuda they can lay their hands on for twenty years now. If you know what you are doing this Coronet can be saved. A good metal rebuild man can get it back to a solid shell in reasonable time frame. If you’re paying out the work it will be expensive. It would be a valuable beauty when completed.
The very first car I purchased as a teenager in 1974 was a 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T with a 440 and automatic transmission. I paid the huge sum of $800 for it !!!! Fun and fast is all I can say