1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee Superbee Restored Numbers Matching 383 Ramcharger on 2040-cars

I have finally decided to sell my 1970 Superbee after years of debate. I bought the car 1992 in original unrestored condition and restored it since. I am selling it only because I have acquired a 70 RT Challenger which I'd like to restore and keep for life. I'm not terribly excited about selling my Bee but I have three muscle cars now with only a two car garage. I'd like it to go to someone who will really appreciate it and I think the new owner will really enjoy driving this car considering the special things I have done to it. Please don't ask me what my rock bottom price is...it's the price I am starting the auction at. If I am ever forced to sell at a lower price, there is a line of co-workers I would offer it to first. I am listing the car with no reserve because I know how frustrating it is bidding on something you really want but never know how close you are to the reserve price. I am hoping to post a you tube video in a couple days so buyers can see the car up close and hear it run. Watch for the post update on the video. In this ad, I will attempt to be as descriptive as possible and brutally honest as I can about the problems. Please call me at 805-797-6394 or 805-524-2681 with any questions. This is a big investment and I highly recommend you come out and see it in person (or someone you trust). I will take time off work to meet anyone who makes the effort to come out to southern California to inspect it.

ADMONITIONS: This sale is 100% final and the car is sold "as-is." For those who have never owned older classic cars, it is unfair to compare them to modern cars. Anyone who says their old car doesn't squeak, vibrate, rattle, drip oil, etc. is lying to you. I'm being as honest as I know how so that I can avoid a phone call two weeks later from a disappointed buyer. Having said that, I judge my car way harder than others do. I point out things I don't like or want to fix and most people never noticed until I pointed it out or think I am being too anal about my car. This car NEVER fails to get lots of positive attention every time I take it out but I cannot stress enough that this car is not an ultra perfect trailer queen like you might find at Barrett Jackson.

SHIPPING: Buyer is responsible for arranging shipping. Once I hand over the keys and paperwork, any damage found on the car is between you and the shipper. I don't mind taking the car a couple miles for loading onto a trailer but I can't deliver it any farther than that. If you are shipping the car out of the US, please look into transportation prior to bidding. I know there is a HUGE profit to be made in sending muscle cars overseas (Or money to be saved if you are buying from overseas) so you will need to find someone who can deliver the car to the dock for you.

PAYMENT: I prefer wired money into my bank account. That is safest for both of us. Anyone can print out a fake cashiers check these days. I will however accept a cashiers check under certain conditions. If I meet the buyer beforehand and he shows me proper photo ID, Or if we go to the bank together and I can see it came from his bank versus some unknown source. The last option would be for me to hold the cashiers check in my bank for 3 weeks to ensure it was not later retuned as fraudulent. I am also open to the use of an escrow account but only if the buyer pays for escrow related charges. Wired funds are the best option though. I need the payment to occur in 7 days or less but I don't mind holding the car a bit longer for transportation arrangements as long as we communicate. 

Once the deal is final we can finalize the transfer of payment. Please don't buy the car if you don't have payment ready in advance. Ebay charges me a big chunk of money to sell a car and I still get charged if you can't finalize the deal. Financing is not always so easy so better to get it set up in advance.

RIGHT TO CANCEL AUCTION: I decided to advertise the car locally in addition to this ad. If someone buys it locally, I will cancel this auction. If there is a bid on this auction, I will consider it sold and cancel the local ads. If you believe you want the car, then I'd advise bidding early rather than holding out. I have cheated myself out of things I wanted by playing the 'bid at the last second' game.

Furthermore, once there is a bid, the 'buy it now' price disappears. Please don't ask me to pull the ad and sell it to you on the side at a higher price. That's not fair to the person who has already stepped up and placed a bid on it.

THE CAR: This car is a genuine numbers matching Superbee. This car is a hardtop and not the coupe. The hardtop has roll down rear windows but the coupe has pop out windows (also known as a post car). The hardtop is less common and more desirable. I found three factory build sheets which are included (see pics). The VIN also breaks down as an authentic superbee model. The fender tag is correct and still intact. The car is currently registered and has a clean title. If the buyer is in California, they can have the cool personalized plate. If out of state, I was going to keep the plate for a buddy of mine with a superbee. It won't matter if you have a title, bill of sale, and registration card which I will be providing. I tried to keep the car as original as possible, preferring to use original stuff when ever I could. There are many features on this car which could have been ordered on the car but were not. I also improved the car in a few areas with non original upgrades and note them in the description below.

BODY: The car had major rust issues and I spent more money fixing them than the car is worth. I replaced both quarter panels, the trunk floor, dutchman panel, and dozen of rust spots were cut out all over and welded in. The results are great. The car has never seen a drop of water since. I use a duster then spray a detailer wax on it and wipe with a micro fiber towel. The shine is just as good as the day I got it painted. The paint is about 6 years old but you would never know it. The right front portion once had minor body damage and I had to have the frame rail straightened before painting. Typical with older cars. In my opinion, the gap on the right front fender is a bit big. No one notices it but me. I someday plan to remove the right fender and see if I can pull it in tighter but everyone tells me I am being too anal. 

The door hinges are rebuilt and have no slop which is common. I spent days getting both doors perfectly aligned. They open and close nice and the windows roll up and down nice. Obviously the windows are tighter with the door closed due to the friction at the back edge where it touches the rear quarter windows. Keep in mind most cars this age are so bad you have to open the door to roll up the window and then slam the door afterward. Not this car. 

I keep the car garaged and covered with a super soft indoor car cover. The amount of body filler in this car is very small. Just skim coats for block sanding to get things looking good and straight. There are no filler chunks anywhere. Car was stripped to metal so no old paint to cause problems. The paint is base color with several clear coats on it. There are a couple chips which I hope to cover in the you tube video. The front nose center bumper was dropped during assembly and the chips can be seen in the photos. That is by far the worst and I was hoping to repaint it with the fender tag. The painter provided extra paint in small jars which should still be good once stirred up. It goes with the car. 

This car was originally light blue metallic (B3 Blue by code). The color is about as boring as it gets so when I stripped the car, I had every inch stripped and switched over to "Go Mango" orange, a color option for that year that I would have ordered if I bought it new.

The grilles are fantastic. They were faded so I cleaned and lightly sanded them, then painted them just like original. They look like new. The driver side had a bow in it so I bonded a metal strip to the underside to keep it in proper shape. You could never tell unless you removed the grille. Since these grilles are rarer than hens teeth, replacing them is really not an option. The finish panel on the rear end is also in amazing condition. You probably won't find one in such good condition. There is a thin red stripe on all superbee tail panels (regardless of body paint color). The red stripe looks good but isn't perfect. I purposely left it alone because there are so few real super bees out there that are correct like this one is. 

The door wind wing frames were rechromed. The tail light bezels were repaired at big expense and rechromed (no one makes new ones). All stainless trim was polished before reinstalling. The windshield is new since the old one was so badly chipped and scratched up. 

One area the painter screwed up on (in my opinion) is he failed to paint underneath the rocker panels. He prepped them and primed them but stopped the paint line at the bottom of the rocker. You can only see it if you lie down and look under the car. There is plenty of extra paint to finish that and I always planned to but never got to it. 

The car came with undercoating. My goal was to clean it all off and put on a thinner coat of undercoating to make the underside look good but also for protection. The wheel wells were stripped and shot with new undercoating. The rear trunk area and tank has also been covered with new undercoating. The area remaining is basically under the main floorpans.

ENGINE: Original 383 in the car. The last 6 of the vin is stamped on the block near the oil pan. It had to bored .040 over but it nice and solid. Has about 5000 miles on it now. I have had several cams over the years but the one in it now is the original molar grind. It is mild compared to other muscle cars but it sure idles smooth and drives great. It has tons of vacuum for the power brake booster. The intake, heads, valve covers, and exhaust manifolds are all original. The rocker arms are performance roller rocker arms which are way better than stock. I switched the original Holley for a Edelbrock. It is way smoother, more drivable, more fuel efficient, and I am very pleased with how the car drives now. I did not hook up the choke on this carb because I drive it in sunny California where it never gets cold enough to be needed. It starts right up and warms in a minute or two. The original carb is included for those who don't mind the constant tuning issues. The list number stamped on the carb is correct for this car. I also switched the distributor to a stock spare I had when I recurved it. It is curved a bit less performance and more for economy. You will notice in the pic I don't bother using vacuum advance. I find with the current setup, I can get 15 mpg and it drives very smoothly under all conditions. The original distributor is included and also has the correct numbers stamped into the body for the purists out there.

There is a slight drip of oil that is coming from under the motor in the rear. I can not tell if it is the valve covers leaking at the back edge and running down or at the rear of the pan. The drip is minor though and does not need to be dealt with unless it really bothers you. I find a few drips after a drive but I just learned to keep a sheet of cardboard under it. This does not mean the motor needs to come out or that it is a sign of a bigger problem. It means that there is seepage around a gasket which is a nuisance rather than a problem. 

I decided to replace the motor mounts with a schumacher style that has metal reinforcement. It is internal so they look stock. These new motor mounts are unbreakable. I never had issues before but I did this as insurance. If an original style mount ever broke, the engine would rise up and smash the fiberglass air box. No longer a concern.

The kick down linkage from the carb to the automatic trans has been switched to Bouchillon Performance cable kick down. It works much better than the old mechanical linkage and is easy to adjust.

The radiator is a Griffen aluminum unit. It is very thick and cools extremely well even in high heat. Here is the important part though...it cools well when you are moving. Stopped and idling for long periods will result in eventual overheating. This is because the fan shroud does not fit tightly like a new car. There are gaps around the side and mainly around the fan blades. It's not a big deal as long as you take this into consideration and not leave it idling in park for 30 minutes at a time. Once you start moving, you can watch the temp drop in minutes.

I switched out the stock starter with a high torque mini starter. It works much better and spins the engine faster. Plus it engages the teeth on the ring gear perfectly each time but the old one sometimes didn't. If you wanted the original style, you can get a rebuilt one at the auto store for little money. 

RAMCHARGER: The car came equipped with the power bulge hood but I switched it out with an original fresh air hood. The scoops are also original as is the ram charger air box underneath and the air cleaner assembly. The hood scoops technically should be body color but I painted them black thinking it would be nice to break up the orange a bit. There is enough extra paint to repaint them orange if you desire. The fresh air set up was an option for these cars. This one works as it should and is all original parts. 

TRANSMISSION: The transmission was rebuilt when the engine was done. It works perfectly and shifts nice. I also had the driveshaft rebalanced for less roadway vibration. 

The speedometer is calibrated to the tire size and current rear end ratio. It is dead accurate or as close as it can be. I have noticed in the past year that the needle sometimes bounces on long trips at higher speeds. I believe the speedometer cable is the cause and will eventually fail. They are not expensive and I have been waiting until this one gives out.

REAR END: The car came with an 8 3/4 rear end. The main housing is powder coated. I upgraded the bearing to the green bearings which replace the older weaker style you have to adjust. I switched the 3:23 gears for 2:76 gears for better drivability on the freeway. You can't burn rubber as easily but it sure makes long trips more pleasant. Plus it helps with fuel as well. It is not difficult to change back if you want to.

BRAKES AND WHEELS: The car came with manual 4 wheel drums. They were awful and downright unsafe. I upgraded the car to 4 wheel Wilwood units with drilled and slotted rotors. I also added a power booster. The cam provides lots of vacuum to make the booster work great. This car stops extremely well. Almost as good as a new car. I put new stainless lines throughout the car for long lasting trouble free use. Downside is that the rear discs are so large, I had to change the 14" rally wheels to 15" wheels and I also had to use a 3/8 spacer between the rear rotor and the wheel to get clearance. It works great. The 15" wheels are original not reproductions and were factory options anyway. The tires are brand new BF Goodrich TA radials. The spare in the trunk is the original radial tire that came with this car. It's been on the ground a couple times but has almost all of its original tread. The jack is original too.

On the rear disc brake conversion, the kit came with separate smaller calipers which are operated by cables connected to the old emergency brake pedal. They free float by design until the parking brake is applied. I found they vibrate and rattle at stop lights (because the are free floating) and it used to irritate the crap out of me. I finally disconnected the cables and removed the calipers to eliminate the rattle. The calipers are included and they are very easy to reinstall if you want them. I never worried about it because it's an automatic so I rarely felt the need to set the parking brake. Word of warning though, the cables are still in place and zip tied to a fixed point so they don't drag the ground. If you depress the e-brake pedal, you might pull them free and they won't be secured anymore.

STEERING: The car came with factory power steering. Hoses are fresh. No leaks. Box was rebuilt. All steering gear is fresh...no slop and the car goes straight as an arrow down the roadway. Steering wheel was swapped to the optional woodgrain wheel (reproduction unfortunately). Original wheel was gone when I got the car. 

SUSPENSION: All ball joints and bushings (front and rear) are new on this car. I used the poly graphite bushings because they last forever and the graphite doesn't squeak. The ride is slightly stiffer then regular bushings but not uncomfortable at all. I put new mopar leaf springs and torsion bars in the car. I chose the six pack springs front and back for a slightly stiffer muscle car feel. New KYB shocks all around.

INTERIOR: When the interior was gutted, I had an undercoating material sprayed on the roof and floor to deaden the vibration and tinny sound. I used a foil type of heat barrier under the carpet and it helps. The headliner is professionally installed and looks great. No cracks in the dash. Woodgrain dash looks great. I put the carpet in myself since it drops in and you trim the edges. I screwed up near the gas pedal so if you stick your head down there, you can see a small square above the pedal which is missing. My plan was to replace the carpet someday (they are really cheap) and put down a layer of thick sound deadener to make it even quieter inside. The rear seat is original and looks great so I left it alone. The front seats were redone years ago and look awesome. At the time, no one made a kit for this car so the guy had to find similar grain materials and sew it all up. It get compliments all the time on the fit and quality. The console is original but the was a crack at the back on the top (common for this console). I bonded the underside and filled the crack, then repainted it. It looks good but if you look for the crack, you can see where it once was. Door panels are original and look really good but they are not perfect. I heard reproduction ones fit poorly and found that to be generally the case with other repo stuff so I reused these. The gauges were professionally rebuilt and look fantastic. I switched the clock with the factory optional "Tic Toc Tach." The clock on the tach is quartz movement and works good. 

I took the AM radio and had it internally upgraded to modern AM/FM high output and also got the iPod jack option. The plug for the iPod is routed into the center console so you can set your play list, hide it inside the console and go cruising. The stereo has four speakers. Two hidden in the dash in the stock location and two on the rear shelf in factory cutouts. You cannot see any of the speakers and they sound good and loud when the windows are down. 

When I gutted the car, I had the dash and heater box out. I redid the heater cable control assembly but I did not rebuild the heater box. At the time, no one made seal kits for them and since mine was in perfect order and worked, I just reinstalled it. Lately, I have notice the controls are stiff. They still work but I planned to remove the heater box and rebuild it now that seal kits are available. I did the Challenger heater box and it operates WAY smoother. Once the heater box in this car is done like that one, it will be like new again.

ELECTRICAL: The dash harness was in perfect order and was reused. All other harnesses were replaced. All lights work, turn signals and brake lights work correctly, interior lights work, dash lights light up, etc. The headlights work fine however I noticed that the driver low beam is adjusted too high. I have tried to lower it but the headlight assemblies really need to be taken apart and redone the right way. This is one area I forgot about. All the little plastic adjuster pieces are available for very little cost and this is one area I planned to eventually work on one afternoon.

EXHAUST: Original exhaust manifolds bead blasted and painted with iron colored high temp paint. I used TTI 3" aluminized pipes and quality mufflers from TTI (Dynaflows???). The tips are special TTI tips that fit their 3" pipes but look stock from the back. There is a crossover pipe to balance the system. The exhaust note on this car is great but not too droney going down the highway. I have the original tips that came with the car if you want to have them rechromed. The are solid and not rusty. They get welded on to the pipes if you change back to stock 2 1/4 pipes. 

VIDEO: If you have read this far than you may be sincerely interested in buying the car. I invite you to check out a You Tube video supplement which I hope to have uploaded by the time this ad starts or soon afterward. I do not know if eBay permits inserting video links so go to Youtube, search "1970 Superbee eBay ad 261577761832" to see the car up close and hear it run. If you have trouble finding it, please let me know. Don't judge the car on my lousy film making skills, just trying to add some extra visual and audio for your consideration. In the video, the glare on the paint is so bad that it was hard to highlight the paint chips which is one of the things I wanted to do. The chips are both fenders near the front bumper, the center nose bumper section, the rear lower window in one corner and the front windshield near the lower corner. Anything else you see in the video may be only glare. Also, the car is not detailed, just uncovered and dusted for the video. Looks much nicer after a few hours of detailing. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you are looking for a fun, turn key car to go hang out on cruise nights, this car is a good choice. The things I would fix/change are fairly minor and won't stop you from enjoying the car. They are not going to cost you much compared to some of the other stuff you may run into out there. Maybe you had a car like this when you were young. You only live once and won't grow younger. Buy what you want while it's available. Don't kick yourself later because you thought you could find another one later or one a little cheaper. These cars get more pricey every year. 

If you are looking for an investment, Mopars are good for that. There are few of them alive these days. There were only 17,000 1970 Superbees ever made and very few of them exist today. A good restoration project like this costs $40,000-$50,000 so many surviving Bees have not yet been restored. On any given day, I doubt you could find more than a dozen restored cars like this currently for sale. If you are looking for a bargain, I would try Mustangs and Camaros. They made gazillions of them and on any given day, you can find thousands for sale. And when you drive your Mustang or Camaro to the car show, you can park next to the other 50 Camaros and Mustangs and blend right in with the crowd. Not so with Mopars.

I know there is a lot of information here but I try to be above board on the things I do so there are no hard feelings later. I have no doubt the new owner will thoroughly enjoy this car. There are many people who will sell you a car like this and not give you full disclosure as I have. You wind up paying the same price or more thinking you are buying perfection only to learn later you bought a basket full of hidden problems. (Ask me how I know this). With this deal, you can feel confident there are not going to be nasty surprises later.