Winged Warriors/National B-Body Owners Association
Trivia Page

Compiled by Sue George
Photo by Sue George


In 1961, a Dodge powered car set a world closed course speed record when it ran a lap at 181.561 MPH. It was the first car to turn in a 180 MPH lap at Daytona.

Roger Lindamood's "Color Me Gone" Dodge Charger drag car got it's name from a popular song of that era.

In 1965, white was the color most preferred by Americans on their new Dodge cars, with medium blue running a close second.

Don White, Keokuk, Iowa USAC driver and winner of the 1967 USAC Stock Car Championship, is the brother-in-law of Ernie Derr, all-time record holder in stock car racing history. Both drove Dodges.

The famous "Dodge Fever" girl was Joan Anita Parker, a farmer's daughter from New York state. She won the Dodge commercial job over more than 400 other candidates.

Dodge's famous Hemi engine was unvieled at Daytona in February, 1964.

Chrysler Corporation cars cleaned house at the September 14, 1969 Talladega 500 race taking the first five finishing positions. The Nichels Engineered #99 Daytona, driven by Richard Brickhouse, won the race.

SuperBird and Daytona headlight assemblies are one and the same. However, almost every other part unique to these winged cars is not shared between the two models (i.e. wing, nosecone, rear window, windshield pillar trim, trim frames, etc.).

Plymouth called their new for 1970 high impact orange "Tor-Red", while Dodge named it "Hemi Orange".

The only options available on a SuperBird were a choice between a 440+6 and a 426 Hemi over the standard 440 4bbl engine, a bucket seat interior in black and white over the standard bench seat, and a Torqueflite automatic transmission over the standard 4-speed. Daytonas, on the other hand, could be loaded with any choice of Charger R/T options.

Chargers were never offered as convertibles.

Cal Gas, an LP gas distributor in Memphis, TN gave their salesmen four propane gas powered SuperBirds to use in their travels across the country as a promotion gimmick. The cars each had two 45 gallon tanks mounted in the trunks and "Cal Gas Propane Powered" decals for advertising. The cars were expected to tick off 400,000 - 500,000 miles before retirement.

The Daytona was almost named the "Probe" because of a probe device (pedostatic tube) that was mounted on the leading edge of the first blunt nosecone on a prototype Daytona. It was used to measure wind velocity and flow while the car was being driven at the proving grounds.

The first Dodge to carry the R/T designation was the 1967 Coronet model.

All SuperBirds were required to have vinyl tops so as to avoid the high cost of finish work to the roof area around the rear window conversion area before paint could be applied.

The 1968 SuperBee was available only as a coupe.

Chrysler called their popular engine a 440 TNT, while Dodge called it the 440 Magnum and Plymouth referred to it as a 440 Super Commando.

Winged cars almost completely dominated the February 22, 1970 Daytona 500 race winnings. Out of the top 10 positions, a winged car finished in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th!

Did you know that the Denny's Restaurant chain offers a "SuperBird" Sandwich?

Power steering, front power disc brakes and hood pins were required factory equipment on all SuperBirds.

NASCAR required car builders to insert safety cables mounted to the frame, up through both uprights and the horizontal stabilizer after a wing came apart in a wreck during a race.

Dodge dealerships had access to a spray-on simulated vinyl roof that could be applied to the Charger 500, which was not available with a factory- installed vinyl roof. The spray was available in black, white, beige, blue and green.

Only one Daytona, #22 driven by Dick Brooks, competed in the 1971 Daytona 500 race.

Plymouth called their 1970 high impact green paint Limelight while Dodge referred to it as Sublime.

Chrysler had to buy back every SuperBird sold in the state of Maryland (due to a front bumper requirement) and they were shipped and resold in Florida.

The difference in the early 60's long ram and short ram intake manifolds is measured by the inside length of the runners and is not in relation to the exterior size of either.

Don White, well-known Daytona race car driver from Iowa, never raced a real Daytona. The Daytona race car was fabricated in the shop from his Charger 500!

Even though the sound effects would indicate otherwise, the General Lee Charger on the Dukes of Hazzard was an automatic transmission car.

There is almost 36 feet of vacuum hose in the headlight system of a winged car.

The 1969 Dodge Charger 500, predecessor to the Daytona, was a special- bodied vehicle produced in limited number for NASCAR racing. Just one year later, the "500" was only an appearance package on a standard 1970 Charger body.

The Road Runner was offered as a convertible for the first time in 1969.

The 1965 Belvedere I Super Stock was a 3,200 pound production car with aluminum front fenders and hood and a choice of the standard 365 bhp wedge engine or the optional 425 bhp Hemi engine.

In 1966, Dodge came up with the "Join The Dodge Rebellion" slogan to maximize it's performance appeal.

The Chrysler Historical Collection was established in 1969. In Chrysler's poorest years, it was partially or completely closed off and had funding withheld.

A mid-year 1974 Satellite Sebring was offered called the Sundance. It was available in Aztec Gold or Spinnaker White with a canopy vinyl roof, premium wheel covers, gold/white/black upholstery and a sun burst decal.

The 440+6 engine was not available in the Daytona.

In 1967, driving Hemi Belvederes, Richard Petty won 27 Grand National races, 10 of them consecutively, and the National Championship.

Winged cars took the first three positions at the August 23, 1970 Talladega 500 race.

Only seven colors were available on the SuperBird: Alpine White, Lemon Twist Yellow, Limelight Green, Blue Fire Metallic, Petty Blue, Tor-Red and Vitamin C Orange. A couple of SuperBirds, probably specially ordered by Chrysler insiders, left the assembly line with Burnt Orange Metallic paint.

Singer Neil Sedaka's "Emergence" album has a song on it titled "SuperBird".

Pete Hamilton's SuperBird's nosecone was painted red so that it could be distinguished from Richard Petty's SuperBird when coming into the pits.

Almost all of the Daytonas and SuperBirds were wrecked on the new car prep line because the cars were too long for the conveyor line. At the end of the line, the conveyor would disconnect and that car would stop while the following car rear-ended it! Chrysler replaced most of the nosecones with new pieces, and some lead work was allowed.

Dick Landy raced two 1967 Dodge R/Ts in the Super Stock Class with Dodge backing. One was equipped with a 440 Magnum and the other was a Hemi engined car.

Chrysler had originally planned to install fiberglass nosecones on the first racing Daytonas and then found out that fiberglass began disintegrating at speeds above 120 mph. A polyurethane nosecone was designed for installation on the street Daytonas, but the government wouldn't allow it. Thus, sheet metal nosecones were ultimately used.

Legend has it that a SuperBird was buried on the Berkeley University Campus on "Earth Day" in 1970 in protest of air pollution.

Because the SuperBirds did not sell well, several dealerships converted their SuperBirds back to Road Runners by removing the wings and nosecones and installing 1970 Road Runner front ends. The tell-tale sign of one of these dealer conversions is the smaller SuperBird rear window and window plug left intact.

NASCAR driver Buddy Baker in the #88 Charger Daytona became the first driver to officially break the 200 mph barrier on March 24, 1970.

Goody's Headache Powder Company campaigned a #43 Richard Petty Daytona as a pace car in the mid-late 1980's at major NASCAR races. Richard Petty never drove a Daytona; the only winged car Petty raced was a SuperBird!

Contrary to popular myth, the front fender scoops on Daytonas and SuperBirds are to allow tire clearance while cornering, not to supply cooling to the brakes.

There is no identification on the exterior of a Hemi SuperBird to indicate that it is Hemi-equipped.

Several of the first Daytonas off the assembly line at Creative Industries had holes drilled through the sides of the front fenders due to workers misinterpreting fender scoop installation instructions.

1970 was the last year for the Coronet SuperBee. In 1971, SuperBee became an option package on the Charger.

In August, 1969, Creative Industries was so far behind in parts and assembly of Daytonas, they offered a 50 cents per hour increase to workers to speed up the line so they could meet the September deadline of 500 units completed.

General Lee's horn, on the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, was purchased after Executive Producer Paul Picard and Producer Gy Waldron heard it on a passing car on a Georgia highway, chased the car down and got into a bidding war to get it!

There was a distinct difference in the appearance of the two Sox & Martin drag race SuperBirds. The one running in C/MP had a SixPack hood scoop; the one running SS/F had a stock hood.

The original press release drawing of the new 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was shown to the public for the first time on April 15, 1969. It was a very fuzzy drawing, done on purpose because the actual final design wasn't known by Chrysler at the time.

In 1969, only the Dodge SuperBee and Plymouth Road Runner were offered with the 3X2bbl carburetor set-up. It was a mid-year offering which also included a fiberglass lift-off hood.

1969 SixPack SuperBee exterior colors were limited to Dodge's Hi-Impact colors (R4) Bright Red, (F6) Bright Green, Bright Yellow and (V2) Hemi Orange.

In 1969, Kelsey Hayes 15" cast-center mag wheels were offered as an option on W23 Chrysler performance cars for a short time. They were recalled and replaced with Magnum 500 wheels when it was discovered that the centers would pull out of these wheels.

The 1969 Dodge Charger 500 uses a 1968 Dodge Coronet grille.

[1973 Yellow and Black Dodge Charger]
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