I am a lover of all things MoPar, and all cars unusual. The Superbirds and Daytonas have always caught my eye, even before they really shot up in value, simply because of their truly unique styling and distinguishable look. A nice Superbird is certain to bring six figures pretty much anywhere these days, and even a project Superbird will bring quite a lot. Sought after by collectors, these cars are often for sale but never affordable. This 1970 Superbird is in excellent original condition, and can be found here on eBay in New York with bidding at a low $99,600 as I write this and no reserve!
1960s and 1970s blue MoPar B-bodies are the sole reason for my love of blue, cars and Chrysler products. Growing up around a B5 blue Coronet with an orange 318 under the hood has made similar color combinations my go-to favorite. This Plymouth is painted Petty Blue with a beautiful orange 440 sitting under the hood. To quote the seller, “No Hemis [cars] were painted Petty Blue.” This car is equipped with a 400 Six Pack, making it one of seven Petty Blue Six Pack Superbirds. Though the engine bay is far from masterfully restored, it is mostly original and shows its age. In this case, that may only increase the value!
As if the 440 Six Pack option isn’t already cool enough, this Superbird is also equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission. According to the ad, this Plymouth is “1 of 308 V-Code 4-speed Superbirds produced in 1970.” Both the engine and the transmission are the correct, numbers-matching drivetrain which does nothing but raise the value of this car. Note the pistol grip shifter! The odometer reads 48,010 and although the seller makes no mention of the odometer’s accuracy, I believe it. If the interior has not been redone, then this is a low-mileage car that has had a good home.
Say what you want about the enormous wing on the rear of this car, but it wouldn’t have the history it does without it. Love it or hate it, the nosecone and wing are what make this car special. This Superbird comes with the original build (broadcast) sheet and a copy of the original bill of sale and registration. The seller states that this car is “Vehicle no. 715 of the 1970 Superbird Nascar program.” With 7 days left in the auction, I suppose it isn’t surprising that bidding is “only” at $99,600. I would be curious to see what this car sells for, because it will definitely sell. This is an excellent example of a beautiful car that was instrumental in the history of both Chrysler and NASCAR, and it will surely find a good home.
that’s the stuff dreams are made of.
I don’t want it, but it sure is pretty!
They never put an orange 318 in anything except police cars. LA 318’s were blue, old polys were red.
Not questioning your color facts, because I don’t know, but what does a 318 have to do with this car?
Sorry to disagree with you here Mike, but LA 318s were red-orange until 1970. While you’re correct that police LA 318s were orange, regular LA 318s were red-orange prior to 1970. Not only that, but the Coronet I mentioned has been in my family since new, never been restored, and the engine has always been red-orange. It has been rebuilt once by someone I know, and it was red-orange when he pulled it. Thanks for reading!
Mike,
I have an all-original 1968 Barracuda with the red-orange 318 engine. Just turned 55,000 miles last month.
Couldnt give these away once………….that pistol grip shift is THA BOMB!
I’ll never forget seeing one of these for the first time! My dad was working at a place not far from where they where assembled. Being about 7 or 8 yrs old at the time it was for sure the most mind blowing thing I’d ever seen on the road, that particular one was bright green.
I guess we’re about the same age. I remember when they came out too and instantly fell in love with them. Our school was having a raffle and one of these was the grand prize. I guess due to the dealers not being able to sell them. Tried talking dad into buying some tickets. His response “who the hell would want one of those ugly ass things?” I’ll bet he wished he would have listened to me back then.
Same here. I also had a slot car version which was by far the fastest! ;)
A dentist in my home town had an orange one, parked in a garage barely wider than the vehicle, and I’d always look up the driveway in case the door was open so I could get a glimpse of that crazy wing. I’ll probably never own one, but they are the stuff of dreams.
The King of all Detroit muscle cars. Long live the King!!
Plymouth should’ve made a version with another similar wing on the front.
I am of the age that I remember them new but only ever recall seeing one ever actually driving around. Have seen many at car shows though. I think this car is a good deal at 100 grand. I have driven many 4 speed Cudas and Challenger with the short pistol grip but the tall one in these are pretty harder to navigate.
Rochester NY is where this bird is domiciled. You would not believe the collection this gentleman has. This is one of many rare Mopars he has along with a flock of rare GTOs, Cudas, Boss 429 Mustang, etc, etc,etc. Google “Rochester Auto Museum” Have fun.
P.S.
Every car is driven on a regular basis.
Beautiful car…coulda bought this same car in 1974 for $1,500.00 but my girlfriend at the time didn’t want me to bring her to the prom in it…so she made me buy a 73 Lincoln Mark…and no, she is not my wife now…
“girlfriend”…”made me”?
My girlfriend told me not to by a 3rd gen trans am. I did anyway, and now shes my wife and hates that car lol
My wife gave me a fit when I said I was getting another Corvette. I didn’t know she could ever be that much of a hater. It’s a C5 convertible, Yellow/Black top and leather. She hates the thing, but hey, I didn’t buy it for her!
Car like this in this condition is easily a six figure car. But the true value can be easily lost in the details. I wish they would detail what mostly original means… I’ve had vehicles with light interior that didn’t look that nice after 10K miles. What’s with the orange or red paint on the underside of the hood? Was the factory that sloppy? The build sheets look pretty ratty for being found un a 40k mile car. Were the gaps from the fender to the nose cone really that big from the factory? Could this have been a pieced together car? I would feel a lot better if there was more detail in the ad. Or have a professional look at this one, the no reserve might not be a good thing on this one. Just looking for the biggest sucker. Hurry before this one gets away.
Oh no! BF Bitter Beer Face! Take a look at his collection and then post some images of your fleet. The owner is a stand-up guy who has created a lot of jobs in the Rochester area and is quite well-known. I doubt he is looking for ‘the biggest sucker”
That is not a gap between the hood and the nose. That is a rubber strip going all the way around.
As to the gaps being big, yes they were. These cars were built to race. They were placed on sale to satisfy a NASCAR rule requiring a minimum number of cars be built to qualify for racing. The nose and the wing were for racing aerodynamics. Beauty was not what Chrysler was going for as these cars were odd looking for street use.
I just had an offer on my house that my wife and I are selling. I could take my half of the profit, then finance the rest, but could I comfortably sleep on the back seat? I only have a carport though… We are selling as we have moved back to a mobile home on 4 acres, in order to build a home. I could be a real life “Joe Dirt”! (I’m alluding to the fact that a divorce would be involved.) Coincidentally, today is my tenth anniversary!
I think that this car would be fine under the carport of your mobile home. It looks like its first home was an apartment house in Modesto :-)
Happy anniversary! It was my 33rd birthday as well
why my comments no here? Me no unastand…
The first time I ever saw a Superbird on the street was about 1998. My brother’s ex wife was a CPA. She and her new husband live in a swanky golf club community near Austin Tx. we went there to pick up my niece on Friday evening. We heard a rumble coming down the street. It was dusk and a yellow superbird rolls by. I don’t think we would have been more shocked if an army tank rolled by. They are bigger in person than they seem.
Some years ago, I was idly persuing ads in the Auto Trader (Paper version!) and came upon one of these listed at $800! Even as I grabbed my checkbook, and frantically dialed the number, I KNEW it was too good to be true. Alas, as I suspected, one zero had been omitted! I couldn’t manage $8k then, and the seller had a good sense of humor, as he had been inundated by calls!! :-) This car punches all the right buttons for me…one can still dream!! BTW: Since my 70 Charger fits in my garage with minor room to spare, I’m sure that this one WOULDN’T! LOL!! :-)
The first time I saw a ‘Bird was about ’78 in Reston, VA at a church. It was orange and rusted out. It still left a lasting impression as a teenager with its monstrous wing, and I was hooked from there. They are still a fascinating car today, and you have to wonder about the dialog that went on with the design teams for Dodge/Plymouth. They have a colorful history, and for many, lots of love.
Superbirds were not styled to sell. They were styled to race at NASCAR tracks and they were good at that.
The same Superbrid featured a few weeks ago, fresh off a “reality” show?
Inquiry minds want to know.
Never seen one in-person with a tall pistol-grip – Always autos – Great find – Great dreaming.
It may not be a barn find, but I’m ok with that! Now, excuse me while I wipe the drool of my keyboard.
I’ve seen its older twin. Almost exact to spec except Rallye wheels. Pulled out of a barn in 2015 with just over 3000 miles. Very first Petty Blue car built and the 11th off the line
I drove a ’70 Challenger 383 R/T convertible. Fast as all hell……until I came upon one of these! Just plain wow! now where did I put that spare $100,000??? Lol
A Superbird with a front BENCH seat – obviously for taking the kiddos to school – very, VERY quickly!!! :)
Worked at a Chevy dealer early 1970. One of the mechanics came back from lunch with one of these, very mean sounding! Took me up on the freeway, opened it up and took the overpass at 100mph! It hugged the turn with ease! I was totally impressed! Thought my ’69 SS Chevelle was fast, WRONG!! What a treat just to ride in such an impressive vehicle!
We got one of these at the Chrysler dealer where I worked in the early 70’s as a trade in on a new car. That thing Aston the used car lot for well over 6 months without ever so much as a serious road test, I think they finally took it to the wholesale auction and lost a ton of money on it. I guess I should a bought it and socked it away. Oh well you know what they say about hind sight!
These and the dodge Daytona made mincemeat out of ford on the super speedways, just too darn fast. Looked good on the track, kinda out of place on the street.
What’s with the painted over compliance plate under hood that looks like it’s held down by self tapper screws? This one needs careful scrutiny…
Did your read the report on ebay?
Different strokes…Rare but butt ugly. these were race cars, not street cars.
One sold last night on Mecum 440 6 pack pistol grip restored @ $220K
Only thing missing is the 6 pak. Pretty sure both the Superbird and the Didge equivalent were ultimately banned by NASCAR. Anyhow neat original car.
Top bid so far $105,700.00.
5 days 22 hrs to go.
$106,600 this morning. The beep goes on.
As a testimony to ‘they couldn’t give them away back in the day’:
a friend has one of these with a hemi. Got it at a local used car lot. He got the Bird AND CASH for an old Willys Jeep with a manual snow plow.
$136,700
This same car was in the Mecum auction this year in Kissimmee, FL…what gives I wonder. Lists “high bidder” at $270,000.000 but not “sold”…so either the seller decided not to sell at that time, or it was sold and now it’s being resold? https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0117-269341/1970-plymouth-superbird/
Update:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-Plymouth-Road-Runner-/401405794697?hash=item5d75a65989:g:cK4AAOSwRwhZt87O