Oh that I may get my greasy hands upon one… the 1970 426 Hemi V8 Plymouth Superbird. AAAAAHHHH… Can we have a collective sigh here?!
With only 135 of the rumbling renegades outfitted with the 426 Hemi, it is unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity to own and drive one of these Ball Bustin’ Beauties! But, a man can dream right?!
This long bodied monster was Plymouth’s solution to bringing Richard Petty back to Team Plymouth for the 1970 NASCAR season. Plymouth execs listened and answered the call…BIG TIME.
In classic Petty Blue, The King’s car can be seen now at the Richard Petty Museum in North Carolina. The 1970 Superbird was a modification of the Plymouth Road Runner. From the factory it came with 3 available engine options, the most powerful of which was the 426 Hemi V8 which pounded out a steel splitting 425 hp.
The modifications were numerous, but the most noticeable were the long sloped nosecone, rear facing fender scoops, and a GINORMOUS rear wing.
My Uncle tells a story. It’s a great story. He had come home from Vietnam and was moving out West to California. He had everything he owned in the back of a 1972 Chevy C-10 driving across the Mojave. It was the middle of the afternoon, and he was relaxing in to his desert drive at a high speed and took a look in his rearview mirror to make sure nothing was close behind. He noticed that there were no vehicles visible for what must have been 2-3 miles back. In fact, he couldn’t see anything back there.
Less than a minute later, he retells, his truck was nearly blown off the road by a passing vehicle going over twice his speed. As a former drag strip racer (Dodge Dart) he estimated that the speed of the vehicle that blew past him was north of 180 and very likely closer to 200 mph. The only thing he saw as his eyes grew focused on the road was the 24″ tall wing sticking up above the rear deck.
Mesmerizing. If his details were accurate, this could be nothing less than a track certified 426 Hemi Superbird. Unreal.
Here’s an orange beauty that came up for sale this last year after some money laundering scumbag had it seized from his private collection: http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2014/09/12/marshalls-seized-muscle-car-auction/
It seems like every year a few of these hot beauties come up for sale. Maybe some day I will be able to scrape together a few pennies to pick one up… Until then…
What is your dream ride?
Living the Modified Life…