We need more back story on this car!!
If you insist!
I was active duty Air Force stationed in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The fellow I worked for was from Ahoskie, NC and was teaching me all about factory hot rods. I had a 1971 Camaro in High School, but it wasn’t with me. I saved some money to buy another car and he helped me search for something. We spotted the taillight of this Dodge under blankets and boxes in a guys carport, so stopped to inquire.
The car had belonged to a friend of his that bought it new to race. He had installed an AC electric fuel pump, Moroso Cool Can, Accel dual point distributor and Super Coil, installed a “purple” cam, and swapped out the six pack for a 2x4 tunnel ram setup that required modification to the original fiberglass hood. He also installed a Mr Gasket in-line shifter, a smaller diameter steering wheel, different front seats, and slotted aluminum wheels.
The fellow that now had it had removed the tunnel ram and put on a single four then swapped out the rear axle - all to try to make it more streetable for gas mileage. At least he still had the original D60 rear in his shed. He drove it for awhile when it just quit running. He thought it had been parked there since 1978.
We finally convinced him to sell it. He was concerned that he’d have no place to store his boxes! But he finally signed the title over and I called a tow truck.
Back at the base garage we started to investigate and found a bad meter in the dash. I shorted those wires together and it started right up!
Back then it was hard to find parts for Chrysler’s. It sat while I played with my SS 396 Chevelle and a 1970 383 Roadrunner and tried to find things like original seats and a six pack for the Bee. During this time my truck was stolen. The fender tag to the Bee was in my tool box in the truck because I had been cleaning out under the hood to strip off the black paint. That made me so sick, I stopped doing anything with the Bee. Then I received orders to go to Germany, so I sold everything but the Bee which I towed to my parents place and stuck in an old garage on the property. It sat there while I served overseas, did my time for the first gulf war conflict, returned to the states, finished my career, retired, got married, and raised two boys. It’s been 38 years since I bought this Bee and need to do something with it!
I bought a trailer and retrieved the old Bee. Filthy from the barn life and a destroyed interior from critters, it’s still as solid as the day I parked it. Now I just have to decide which path to take - get it running again or do a full restoration. At least I have correct seats for it now!
