- Local time
- 3:04 PM
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2021
- Messages
- 11,815
- Reaction score
- 78,507
- Location
- central Illinois
Dodge '62 Dart . . .
Why do you think they omitted the flush backlight glass, one of the main reasons for the aero program in the first place?Two 1970 Daytona Chargers,both photographed in 1970.
View attachment 1640081
View attachment 1640082
Datonas were 1969 only, correct? Neither of these look to have the nose cone either. Adding a wing and fender scoops is much less aggressive than cutting out the rear glass, adding the plug and rebuilding the entire nose. I imagine they liked the look of the wing and just didn't want to go nuts on the car.Why do you think they omitted the flush backlight glass, one of the main reasons for the aero program in the first place?
Yes and no. They were produced for sale for 1969 only as you say. But there were prototypes for the 1970 model year. They did have the nose cone as well. The top one was known as the 'watermelon car' due to it's show paint, the second one was purple. I think Chargervert has a thread about building a replica of the purple one which also had a sunroof.Datonas were 1969 only, correct? Neither of these look to have the nose cone either. Adding a wing and fender scoops is much less aggressive than cutting out the rear glass, adding the plug and rebuilding the entire nose. I imagine they liked the look of the wing and just didn't want to go nuts on the car.
Two reasons, I believe that these two, and possibly a third car were built to be show cars. The Daytona already met Nascar's homologation rules and the body was approved to race for three model years. So they didn't have to meet the specifications needed to compete. The second reason is that the company who did the conversions to the original Daytona cars was busy making the parts to build 1935 Plymouth Superbirds at the time that these cars were built. I'm guessing that the rear window plug conversions couldn't be fit into the schedule. The original Daytona prototype press car didn't have the rear window conversion done to it either, so I'm guessing that it wasn't a priority for press vehicles. The green 70 Daytona was seen at a Dodge performance event at a local college with other Dodge high performance cars. I believe that because of the Nascar rule changes,and the new for 1970 federal bumper crash standards, that these two cars were sold off before the new crash standards went into effect. All the Superbirds had to be built before January 1st of 1970. The Doctor who bought the purple car stated that he purchased the car through a Maryland dealership but he had to go to Detroit to pick the car up in person. The paper temporary license plate is on the car in the photo. He stated that the paper license plate was issued so he could transport the car from Detroit back to his home in Maryland.Why do you think they omitted the flush backlight glass, one of the main reasons for the aero program in the first place?
They both had nosecones. The only Daytona specific parts that these two cars didn't have was the rear window plug conversions and the A pillar wind deflectors.Datonas were 1969 only, correct? Neither of these look to have the nose cone either. Adding a wing and fender scoops is much less aggressive than cutting out the rear glass, adding the plug and rebuilding the entire nose. I imagine they liked the look of the wing and just didn't want to go nuts on the car.
I'll have to look again on the PC.They both had nosecones. The only Daytona specific parts that these two cars didn't have was the rear window plug conversions and the A pillar wind deflectors.