THE 440 SUPERBIRD: This Coveted Matching-Numbers Example Is Selling With No Reserve In Houston

Prepared by independent automotive journalist David Neyens

Wildly well-known from its inception in 1948, the NASCAR inventory-motor vehicle racing circuit is property to some of the fiercest racing everywhere in the earth. It pits auto producers and their racing teams from a single one more in most likely the ultimate application of the “Win on Sunday, provide on Monday” spirit. By the mid-1960s, Chrysler and Ford Motor Business ended up the only authentic major-amount NASCAR adversaries, and their shared motivation to dominance on the observe resulted in some of the swiftest and most outrageous racing and highway vehicles at any time made.

Engine enhancement achieved a zenith by 1966, with NASCAR imposing a displacement restrict on Chrysler’s 426 HEMI engine and a weight aspect on Ford’s SOHC 427 automobiles. Racers and engineers in each camps understood that raw horsepower was no for a longer time adequate to earn, dictating a new emphasis on high-velocity aerodynamics. Plymouth stalwart Richard Petty could have won 27 of 49 races in the course of the 1968 NASCAR campaign in his HEMI-driven Plymouth Satellite, but the manufacturer’s archrival Ford enticed him to swap camps to a sleeker, objective-crafted Torino Talladega for 1969.

Although the much more specialised Dodge Charger 500 from 1969 was a definite improvement for Chrysler teams, far more drastic measures have been needed to prevail over Ford. Applying the most current wind-tunnel exam knowledge attained at Lockheed Martin’s Ga wind tunnel and model testing at Wichita State University, Chrysler engineers devised a much more radical solution: the Dodge Charger Daytona. Showcasing a bullet-type prolonged steel nose cone, chin spoiler, pop-up headlamp and an outrageous but effective rear wing atop tall plane-type stabilizers, the Daytona sliced by means of the air and, in racing trim, rewrote history as the very first NASCAR competitor to break the 200-mph barrier. Just sufficient of these autos, 503 in all, ended up manufactured in time to qualify the wild Mopar to race and, when it debuted late in ’69 at the formidable new Talladega Superspeedway, the Daytona scored its initial NASCAR acquire with driver Richard Brickhouse.

Growth of a Plymouth counterpart to the Daytona kicked off in June 1969, but temporarily halted that August ahead of NASCAR announced a new 1,000-auto production necessity or a variety equal to 50 percent a company’s sellers, whichever was optimum, in get to race — giving the Superbird a new lease on daily life. Mysterious to many enthusiasts, the Highway Runner-dependent Superbird was pretty unique from the Charger-based Daytona, with no interchangeable body pieces other than the hood and entrance fenders from the B-body Coronet. A textured vinyl roof masking hid the revised rear-window seams and the Superbird’s rear wing was even taller than the Daytona’s, with the stabilizers/supports raked additional again than those of Chrysler’s automobile. Encouraged by the Superbird’s potential for pace, Petty returned to the Plymouth fold for 1970. Even though he did not gain the 1970 NASCAR Grand Countrywide championship, he did rating 8 of Plymouth’s 21 victories in 1970.

Practically four occasions extra Superbirds have been designed than the Daytona, with Superbird creation reaching 1,935 autos — all made involving October 23 and December 15, 1969. Offered its hefty pricing, specialised nature and wild seems, the Superbird was a sluggish vendor, with many of the outlandish, incredibly specialised cars normally having quite a few years to ultimately go away seller plenty. These days, individuals pretty characteristics make the scarce Superbird 1 of the most collectible and unforgettable American higher-performance automobiles at any time designed.

As with the Charger Daytona right before it, the Superbird was out there with a preference of the formidable 375-horsepower 440ci V8 motor, the 390-horsepower 6-Barrel 440ci V8 engine or the 425-horsepower 426 Road HEMI motor with a twin 4-barrel carburetor. Only 716 Superbirds remaining the manufacturing unit with the wicked but simply taken care of V-Code 440ci Six-Barrel V8 engine, including this fresh, 2-year rotisserie-restored example finished in 2021. A coveted matching-numbers automobile, this immensely collectible specimen is rarer nevertheless as one of just 408 equipped with Chrysler’s renowned TorqueFlite computerized transmission. This superb Superbird is completed in B5 Blue paint with black accents and retains all its initial overall body panels with the sole exception of the rear quarter panels. The new, time period-appropriate white interior features a no-nonsense front bench seat and column-mounted change lever. An AM radio, energy-assisted brakes and energy steering provide cruising with relieve.

Vintage Mopar pro Dave Smart has inspected this scarce, matching-quantities Superbird, and it will come to the Oct 20-22 Houston Auction with a Wise Car Validation Report, restoration receipts and a listing in the MMC Detroit Worldwide Registry.

Join us in Texas to see this pristine Superbird, and numerous other magnificent Chrysler and Ford cars, cross the auction block with No Reserve. Register to bid now to be element of the motion.

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