This 1970 Dodge Super Bee may be in rough shape now, but it left the factory with some desirable options, certainly enough that someone will bring this project muscle car back to life. The Super Bee is an original Plum Crazy car that was equipped with a 383 big block, four-speed manual, and Ramcharger hood. While it currently has an era-correct drivetrain under the hood, it is not numbers matching. The body shows plenty of cosmetic issues that will need repair, but the floors in the cabin and the trunk remain surprisingly intact. I’m sure there is an expensive body shop bill awaiting the next owner, but it certainly seems like a deserving candidate for restoration. Find the purple Super Bee here on eBay with a suggested opening bid of $8K and no action yet.
The seller doesn’t detail whether the purple paint is the original application of Plum Crazy, but given the large amounts of paint flaking off and surface rust poking through, I’m guessing it was (poorly) repainted at some point. The body sports issues similar to my junkyard find Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth project, where it’s evident body filler was used in places where the paint has flaked off. The dark tint, mismatched wheels, and paint flaking off in chunks likely indicates this Super Bee has not been treated as a collector car for the last several years. The seller doesn’t explain whether the body will need whole panels replaced or simply new metal cut in, but perhaps our bodywork experts can weigh in on what this Bee will likely need to look better than it does today.
The interior is a mess but the floor is largely intact; the same goes for the trunk. Both front buckets are included and the backseat isn’t terrible; however, expect to find a good upholstery shop for all of them. The seller makes no mention of the center console, and it doesn’t appear to be anywhere in the car. The dash is cracked quite badly and will need to be replaced if those sorts of things annoy you. The seller notes the Super Bee was also equipped with a factory-installed Tic Toc Tach. While it’s certainly not a prerequisite, it’s always nice to see a manual transmission in a muscle car like this, and I have to imagine this Plum Crazy Super Bee was a desirable ride when it was new – the first owner certainly built this the way many enthusiasts would choose to today.
While the lack of an original engine is a bummer, at least it still has a semi-correct drivetrain in terms of the engine model and the era it was originally constructed. Obviously, buyers looking to maximize their potential returns should perform their due diligence to ensure that the engine numbers do correlate to the correct timeframe of when this Super Bee was originally made, but just knowing there’s a suitable engine under the hood that isn’t locked up is a big win for the next owner. While the rust is concerning and the bodywork won’t be cheap, there’s a lot to like here in terms of a vintage muscle car that’s equipped with the right options and colors to justify future improvements.
Personally, I’d restore the body/interior, sourcing the missing components, remove the tint, replace the bumble bee stripe with a white ‘C’ stripe instead, and then ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!! Good luck to the next owner! :-)
This is one of my favorite Mopar models, this will need at least the left floor replaced, both quarters, door skins, trunk lid, at least. (expert body man’s opinion) Best color! big block and a 4 spd. ! bring it! I would have no problem changing it up a bit with white stripes and seats.
You have to wonder why someone would paint the inner fender wells and then not replace the shocks that you painted,or not have masked off the booster .. Maybe its not really a Plum Crazy Bee after all ?
The plum crazy paint aka “statutory grape” was notorious for peeling off. MOPAR switched from Dupont to PPG and the paint still failed under warranty. There probably is not a single car with original plum crazy paint.
Love the factory color names in 1970
Dodge had
Sublime
Green Go
Go Mango
Banana
Panther Pink
Plum Crazy
Hemi Orange
Plymouth:
Limelight
Sassy Grass Green
Vitamin “C”
Lemon Twist
Moulin Rouge
In Violet
Tor Red
Ford went totally bonkers with:
Original Cinnamon
Bring ‘Em Back Olive
Three Putt Green
Anti-Establish Mint
Last Stand Custard
There She Blue
Young Turquoise
Hulla Blue
Good Clean Fawn
Counter Revolutionary Red
Knight White
Freudian Gilt
History Onyx
Liked the Ford color.-There she blue- except it was in a plum crazy 70 B!
Thanks for that! I always thought my ’70 340 ‘Cuda was Hemi Orange, Tossed that one aside in 1983. (Sigh)…
The plum crazy paint aka “statutory grape” was notorious for peeling off. MOPAR switched from Dupont to PPG and the paint still failed under warranty. There probably is not a single car with original plum crazy paint.
It’s entirely possible that this car got repainted under warranty or just sometimes the last 50 years when it was an old car with crummy paint I don’t think that somebody who is doing a half assed paint job would remove the carpeting to get overspray on the transmission tunnel.
Love the factory color names in 1970
Dodge had
Sublime
Green Go
Go Mango
Banana
Panther Pink
Plum Crazy
Hemi Orange
Plymouth:
Limelight
Sassy Grass Green
Vitamin “C”
Lemon Twist
Moulin Rouge
In Violet
Tor Red
Ford went totally bonkers with:
Original Cinnamon
Bring ‘Em Back Olive
Three Putt Green
Anti-Establish Mint
Last Stand Custard
There She Blue
Young Turquoise
Hulla Blue
Good Clean Fawn
Counter Revolutionary Red
Knight White
Freudian Gilt
History Onyx
Super B , and the b is for bondo and a lot of it , wow .
Right on Tom !! Holy Skim Coat Batman!!
If this car were cheese it would be SWISS for sure !!
Still love it though! Sad but cool for sure, and I’m a GM guy!
I am so over these rusty over priced Mopars. The market is about to have the bottom fall out, so maybe these will end up in the crusher like the neighbors wished for them decades ago.
SMDA……Totally agree about the market. Finally someone who knows what is happening and understands it.
Well if the bottom of the market doesn’t fall out first, I am pretty sure the bottom will fall out of this car anyway!!!
Then don’t look at them or post negative comments about them ! The market will change as the generation that remembers them dies out , its happened to pre war cars and will continue with newer cars as years go by. Making comments about ratty Mopars because you don’t like them isn’t going to change anything ; and there are plenty of ratty Camaros , Mustangs , etc going for big bucks these days too – do you post negative comments there too ? Maybe you should check out the prices junk VW buses sell for these days !
Agree – of note they made over a million Mustangs in 1965. It has a lot to do with the demand of some cars. By the way it’s not a console car by the lack of brackets which usually don’t rust off.
Bonie, yep. You are right, not just the Mopars, lots of over priced hype out there. Mopars are just the poster child for a far bigger problem. The crowd mentality that clouds sound judgement, and the lure of instant riches that spoils it for almost everyone. When I was young, fathers and sons worked together in a garage after supper because old cars were cheap. The bonds of affection were palpable. I do so wish it could be that way again. AMC Fan is also right, the prices can’t hold because the poor younger generations have been given a losing hand that very few will be able to win. That is more important than any of this. That is really the discussion we should be having here.
lol History Onyx, thanks for the laugh
I hate that the options tag is on his dining room table.
If I were to guess I would say this car was painted fixed up and “restored” in the early 1990’s. Looked great for 7-10 years and as they do started falling apart.
Then it wasn’t a show car anymore it was an old car and the owner wouldn’t sell it and continued down to the thing you see here. No doubt was going to restore it again.
The cars we all have tucked in a nice warm garage a large percentage of them will one day end up looking just like this. The market is already changing and the next generation isn’t into cars like you are. In the next 5-10 years if there is a BF website (may then be called estate find by then) Fantastic cars never offered on the market will be showing up.
Some cars look great in Plum Crazy, and this is one of them.
what about the nicest color of the bunch “sea foam blue”
Really fun car to drive, hope someone gets it on the road with giving up life savings
57′ Chevy’s are still high in demand, why not other later muscle cars of the 60′ and 70′ ? I do agree that some cars are way over priced and not affordable for most interested in them. So, what i’m trying to say is, when the crazy prices start to drop, the interest will rise. The rare and one-of-a kind will always demand the high prices, but the daily drivers or parking lot show cars will come down to being affordable, once again. I do enjoy my parking lot show car.
Many of the people that complain about prices either wish they had bought cars when they were still $500, held on to their cars or are mad that they are priced out the market. Very few are actually potential buyers they, they just come here to gripe as a form of entertainment. They aren’t willing to open their eyes to the reality of the market and adjust. Sure, some cars will drop in value, but many won’t, at least not significantly. It’s the marginal quality and orphan cars that will take the biggest hit, not the muscle cars and many other makes and models which are still well represented in popular culture.
Steve R
Might be right on a few points Steve but I don’t see the next gen of enthusiasts coughing up what it takes to buy these muscle cars, fixing them up and enjoying them with kids family and jobs with NO security that could be lost at the blink of an eye.
They have their own Mustang Shelby’s and Challengers that are far and away superior to the cars we had.
Saw an article (Hemmings 2019) on the muscle car show last July at Bowling Green Ky. Lots of pics. One thing missing are people in the grandstands. I attended a show with my son at the same complex in Oct of last year. Import Alliance. There had to be 4000-6000 cars on the ground. Nothing old and domestic. It was an amazing event if you look outside the bubble and are a true enthusiast of anything on four wheels.
The bottom is coming. Many do not see it and at their age will never.
I agree, I wish I had bought a whole barn full of these things 40 years ago when no one wanted them. Not to love mind you, very little to love (they were a fright to drive) . What I would love would be the cold hard profit today. As AMC pointed out, new cars are so much better in almost any way you measure it. Not bad mouthing those who love these, just saying I myself, have moved on to greener pastures. I may be old, but I a’int dead yet. I friend of mine turned 60 recently and his wife said he needed a car to remind him he was still young. 70 grand later, what did he buy? Something like this restored? Nope, high end Corvette, all shiny and new. Let me tell ya kiddies, it is a thing to behold. Fastest thing I have ever driven, sleek, powerful, comfortable with all the latest gizmos, plus darned comfy on my wide saggy behind. Oh now, he could have bought this and tossed 50 grand into it for the same money, but would it be the same? Would my saggy behind be just as happy? Would he have a warranty? Could he have taken his wife to the Texas coast to get some sun and have it be as reliable? I have a hard time thinking about traveling 2000 miles in something like this and have it stay put together or being as comfortable doing it. Okay Troy s (with the little s), are you going to label me a muscle car hater? I am not, back in the day I owned a few, but I think 50 years of progress is worth something. For myself and most of my peers, we see other ways to spend our money. Besides, will this car EVER have heated seats? So nice on a chilly day. Warms my soul just to think of my toasty butt.
Who, tints windows on a Super Bee? Car’s probably ghettoed out w big speaker holes and a cut dash, nauseous just looking at it, 20 inch rims anyone?
y is there 440 on hood scoops
Because someone swapped a 440 into the car.
I am a Mopar guy.
But this is just another piece of junk on a fishing trip
I think we have several commenter’s who continue to bad mouth the old muscle cars not only the high prices but their very existence, changing their name from time to time. I see a pattern, not trying to be Colombo or anything, but I sense it. And that’s fine.
I actually liked it better when people rolled their eyes at the very sight of my old Chevelle or complained about Bill from down the street making a quick test pass in his ’63 Galaxie drag car…all 850 horsepower of it in front of the neighbor’s.
As for the purple people eater, I like the car for what it was, not so much for what is now.
Reply to SMDA, I agree with you wholeheartedly, I too am in my late 50s, grew up around muscle cars as a kid, and owned a ton of mid 70s Luxo cruisers w big motors, never owned a real muscle car, but I do own a 73 Grand Prix w a 455, and a 2018 E43 Mercedes, 6 cylinder 400 hp, now the Pontiac moves my emotions, with the big boaty, though it does have a sway bar, ride, it glides, and turns heads, and even with everything rebuilt, likes to run a little warm w the ac on in traffic, while the Benz goes 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds, they’re 2 different cars that are 45 years apart, and I wouldn’t want to give either of them up, for different reasons, if you could take one with you, into the next life, I’d have to choose my Pontiac, even with all it’s inefficient ways, I’ll love it and never sell it, I will replace the Benz w a new one if I’m still able to afford it, so
Lots of work on this car but considering what it is it’s worth a couple years in the garage!! Geeze its rusty!!!
Oh man that thing must have been absolutely glorious when new. It pushes all the buttons for me with the color combo and the 4-speed. It was definitely a factory purple car as evidenced by the FC7 paint code on the fender tag. Gonna take a wheelbarrow full of Bens to make it look like new again, though. I hope the new owner can follow through with such a large project.