It is hard to believe that someone could walk into their local Dodge dealership in 1970, slap down the money for one of America’s most iconic muscle cars, and then only drive it for 5-years. That is the story behind this 1970 Dodge Super Bee. The original owner parked the car in a barn in 1975, and that is where it remained until very recently. It has now been dragged out into the light of day and is looking for a new owner. It will need to be someone who will restore this potent classic to its former glory. The Super Bee is located in Pratt, Kansas, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding on the Dodge has been about as intense as you would expect for a car like this. A total of 53 bids have been submitted up to this point. This has pushed the price along to $20,500, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
Below that heavy layer of dust is a Super Bee that is finished in Sublime with a Black vinyl top. The seller is offering the car for sale on behalf of his mother. She is also the car’s original owner. She does not recall any accident damage and says that the paint is original. There is rust present in the lower rear quarter panels and the trunk pan. However, what can be seen of the floors looks extremely promising. The seller is a bit contradictory on the state of the frame. At one point, he states that he is unsure of the condition of the undercarriage, but then says that the frame is solid. That Sublime paint is in surprisingly good condition, and under the heavy layer of dust, the same is said to be true of the vinyl top. It would appear that the original owner had a craving for performance because she chose to order the vehicle complete with the N96 Ramcharger hood. This is still present and seems to be nicely preserved. The reality is that we’ve seen our share of Super Bee project cars over the years here at Barn Finds. This car appears to be one of the more promising examples when it comes to rust problems. That being said, it is still a classic that will require a lot of work before it is in any condition to terrorize the tarmac once again.
If your budget didn’t run to sticking a Hemi under the hood of your 1970 Super Bee, then there was nothing wrong with opting for a 440ci Six-Pack. That is what we find with this car, and it was backed by an A833 4-speed manual transmission. Throw the A33 Track Pak into the equation, and this would have been one fire-breathing monster in its heyday. With 390 hp to play with, the Dodge would have stormed the ¼ mile in a neat 14 seconds. This is the point where we get to the good news/bad news part of the story. The original 440 is included in the sale, but that original brace of carburetors is long gone. Sadly, the same is also true of the transmission. It isn’t clear why the Super Bee was parked in 1975, but the fact that the engine has been pulled might provide some sort of a clue. Given that the vehicle was only 5-years-old at the time, you would have to wonder whether some form of mechanical malady laid this car low. The seller doesn’t mention anything, so it’s fingers crossed on that count.
When you look at the interior, you can see what I meant about the floors looking promising. Beyond that, what you see is an interior that will require a lot of work. This car came fitted with a bench front seat, and while it and the rear seat aren’t currently installed, they are present. They will need new foam and covers, and the seller suggests that sandblasting the seat frames would be a good move. This is one of those interiors that will require a trim kit if it is to be returned to its former glory. This will add about $2,500 to the cost of the restoration, but the end result should be well worth the expense. On a positive note, the Rallye gauge cluster looks like it might be okay, and the owner chose to include a factory tachometer as part of the package. They also decided that 3-speed variable wipers and a Music Master AM radio would be worthwhile additions.
We’ve seen some pretty sad B-Body project cars appear over the years, and plenty of those had deteriorated beyond the point of no return. This 1970 Super Bee doesn’t look that bad, and even though it will take a bit of work, it does look like it is a sound base from which to start. That begs the question; Is it worth the effort? I would say that it could well be. If this was a full numbers-matching car, then once restored, it has the potential to be worth more than $70,000. The lack of original carburetors and transmission will hurt it a bit, but a figure of more than $60,000 is well within reach. That makes it seem worth it in my books. It’s also why there has been so much bidding interest on this classic. It appears that there are plenty of people who want to own a muscle car that commands respect wherever it goes. I can understand that.
1 of 1 in the brown over green paint?
I built both versions of the AMT/Monogram model kits when I was a kid. I’ve always loved the way these looked. They always looked angry just sitting there. This one clicks all the right boxes for me, just wish I had the extra cash flow laying around. I can count on one hand the amount of these I’ve seen in person in the upper Midwest, none that I can remember being 4 speed equipped. Very cool find in my book, I know there a lot of people that think they’re ugly but just a cool car. All these years of people digging and stuff like this still pop up, just crazy.
Yep I got me a Bee 🐝. You can buy it while i hold the engine hostage.
Do bid it up then pray u get the numbers matching engine.
“1970 Dodge Superbee project car – rare muscle car model that came with the 440 6 pack (relatively few produced) and front bench seat with N96 Ramcharger hood.Original V8 motor is taken out and available but the 4 speed manual transmission and the 3 two barrel carburetors ARE MISSING. Front and back bench seats are available (just not pictured) but only the frames are usable, will need blasted and reupholstering, along with the car interior and of course restoring / finding much of the parts needed to beautify this classic frame. ”
FYI…for an extra 500 i can inflate the tires too 😂😮😞😡
Maybe blow the dust off too!
For a car left alone after only 5 years of use this specimen appears to have been ravaged for whatever reason over the past 45 years.
So sad that this happens.
The seller couldn’t find a faucet and a hose and wash the car off?
Kevin,
Additional photos on the ebay auction page show the car after it’s been cleaned off.
Something not kosher about this car, and it’s story.
I thought so too. Can’t say I knew too many “mothers” with kids who bought these cars new, much less had the money to. Seller didn’t say, but I’m guessing she’s now gone? How did I guess that. No, the whole background doesn’t sound good at all. Too many questions on this one.
I knew a few gals that bought the muscle cars back then. They were single and working. Not mom’s at early ages. Besides this car you could race to the grocery store with 6 kids and still have room for groceries !
Hey….my Mom bought a 70 Challenger R/T with a 383 magnum, slapstick auto, in Candy Apple red with white ragtop and white interior. And at 44, she was squealing those tires aplenty!
Hi, first post but have read for a while. I had a 69 Roadrunner convertible, bucket seat column shift car. The daughter bought it in 1969 but didnt like it so the mom took the car and the daughter got something else. I purchased it from the mom, and it came with a 20 year old vintage loaf of bread that got lost in the trunk years ago. I got the car in 1995 and the mom had it the whole time. 83k original miles.
Moms do occasionally own and sell vintage A-bodies.
Too much money for what’s left. Part of an engine; no transmission, parts scattered over God-knows where. GLWTS. It’ll take someone with mighty deep pockets to not only buy this, but make sense of whatever’s left of it.
If you put a hundred grand into restoring it you might see $70k at auction.
Why restore it? If it can be bought at a reasonable price, do what is necessary to make it road worthy, then drive it.
Personally, I think the seller is fishing and the reserve will be set too high. The seller doesn’t come across as particularly honest based on how the ad has been written. I have a feeling the car will be going back into the garage to rest a while longer, at least until the owner gets serious about selling the car.
Steve R
Amen. Key word, MIGHT. Oh, $100K resto PLUS the buy-in/acquisition cost.
Said another way…..”Hey you want to fast way to lose $60 grand?!”
How can anyone tell the “sublime paint is in surprisingly good condition?”
I am trying to imagine why anyone would remove an engine unless there was something wrong with it…. it’s not exactly fun work. Looks like whatever they were looking for they found after removing one head, and it was enough to stall the project.
The syntax of the ad reminds me a bit of an off-shore scam….
GLWTS!
greg v.
That’s not particularly uncommon. More than a few people get sidetracked with family and career obligations. Almost daily there will be at least one car featured on this site that has sat for decades. I have one friend that bought a 33 Willys in high school, started to swap in a small block Chevy, then met a girl. He stored the car on his parents covered patio. It’s still there and he’s nearly 70 now. Everyone knows at least one person with a similar story, they are that common. The reasons are pretty straight forward, when the explanation is convoluted you can pretty much guarantee it’s a flipper selling the car.
Steve R
Inmo. I still believe that the mopar guys have the best weed.you would have to be stoned as heck to pay this much for so little.
Over priced ! Seats should be in good shape unless mice are them up. As for the engine ?? What cracked block? Cracked head ? Broke cam ? They sold the tranny and the the 6 pack went on the sons race car , never to be seen again ! It’s a crying shame this car was pulled apart mechanically. Must have been parked cause gas was an outrageous 63¢ a gal for premium
Technically, the three speed wipers weren’t chosen as all Six Pack cars needed them to clear the massive air filter.
Probably had a choke go bad on the carburetor or a problem with the points ignition. People parked and even scrapped cars for the silliest of reasons then.
These cars were far from iconic back then. The new body style was downright hideous compared to earlier years.
Maybe for a Challenger but not a SBee. Too many ?’s
Some parts long gone and can’t wash the car off cause he found the faucet but the hose was long gone!! IT was a great car when new all the right boxes were checked but when your so lazy as to not wash it that tells the mentality of the owner and the arrogance of not spending the time to present the car in a good way!!
I’ll kind of play devil’s advocate on this one. With the relatively recent popularity of “barn finds” of all kinds and not just cars, some people think the dust gives an authenticity to their claims and is good marketing. I’m glad to see a dusty picture, but would have a clean pic too.
Aside from the dust, the condition is not that far out of the ordinary for cars back then that were 5 years old. We lived in Western Pennsylvania and it was not unusual for your car to have rust holes after 3 years or so due to harsh winters with plenty of road salt. Chrysler products were particularly prone to rust, but every car that was used regularly and not rustproofed developed holes over time. We’d squirt the undercarriage off in the spring, but most of the cars rusted from the inside out due to moisture and dirt getting between the panels. I’ve owned many older cars over the years and always avoid cars from rust belt areas.
Ok wait a second.
In this article, it clearly states the 3 carb set up is gone as is the transmission.
But yet the One picture of the motor provided..Maybe I’m wrong ,but is that NOT the Transmission Bellhousing, still attatched to the block? In the matching color of (said orig) block?
It would seem odd to remove orig trans, but leave its Bellhousing attatched- imo.
I’m not sure..
Even if you fixed it up, the front of the car would still be ugly.
Most of these cars barely made it five years. This goes for most hi performance cars in this era. In this case, my buddy with the exact same car offered here was on his third engine by 1975. Another friend had a 70 Super Bee that was on its second engine by 1974. Got too expensive to fix them, that’s why they got parked. Starting a family ended a lot of these projects, too
This ad stinks. Nothing squares up. GLWTS.
Maybe the insurance rates put this one to pasture after a few years? The photos of the car cleaned up on eBay must have driven the bids up to $30k++ But you gotta wonder why, in 5 years the car was fitted with slotted mags on the front, one original wheel on the right rear and one road wheel on the right rear? The photo inside the trunk also makes me wonder if the vehicle sat outside with the trunklid up, such is the rust on this survivor. The paint does look like it could clean up with a lot of elbow grease and clay bar.
As someone already stated . 5 years lifespan of a 440 4speed back in the day . Those who bought them , hammered them . No rev limiter only a matter of time boom gets parked. First comes love then comes marriage. Then comes a baby in a baby carriage. Never sell , I’m going to fix it up someday. The adds that say 440 -6 pack 10,000 original miles unrestored pristine condition. Those I find a farce .
Back in the upper 70’s I bought my first early 340 motor, after 4 years looking for one. Wanted it for my 72′ van. The way I was able to buy it was, I gave the guy $500.00 and installed the 318 that came out of the van into the 69′ Dart. Looking back now, I wish I bought the whole car for $800.00. As maybe like this car there is the 440 and the other goodies in another car and the 440 sitting with this car is an exchange. As for it sitting in 75′, I’m sure it had something to do with cost of High test fuel and Insurance. Just my thought!!!!
Seems like a well orchestrated, fictional story given the current condition of the car in having allegedly only seen five years of use. Just another lottery like sale cashing in on the highly overinflated prices of vintage tin and muscle cars as a result of the T.V. publicized auctions supported by the few wealthy elite, resulting in the hobby becoming a rich mans game. There’s a hell of a lot of work in sheet metal repairs not to mention the disassembled & incomplete engine, the missing intake, carbs, trans, and multiple other pieces of interior trim, etc., etc.