New cars

[horace]

New 69 cars

Some of you younger fellows wished you could have bought B bodies new. We had hard choices to make. Back in 69 we had to decide between Olds, Pont, Chev, Ford, Ply or Dodge, now 3 of those choices are gone lucky you. Let's just say you eliminated your choice down to MOPAR. Assuming you want an intermediate sized muscle car that leaves a choice of Road Runner, GTX, Charger, Charger R/T
Coronet R/T or Super Bee.
Great pick any of them, but let's assume a Coronet. That leaves us the RT or Super each with 2 body styles each. Going Super Bee means coupe or hardtop with a decision of 383, 440 6 Pack or the fabled hemi. Chosing a 383 would mean either a Magnum or with a/c 330 horse. Luckily there was only a bi choice on transmissions 4spd or automatic with or without console. The rest of the driveline offered a critical miltiple choice. We had standard major rear end configuration to contemplate: 3.23 axle, 3.23 sure grip, 3.55 performance axle pkg, or 3.91 high performance axle pkg. (There were other pkg available but w/ the larger engines & 4 spd). Putting the power to the trail were F70x14 or 15 tires in white wall, red line or raised letter tires. Had enough, we ain't started yet. Stop it w/ power disc or drum or drum w/ power
We had 21 agonizing color choices 22 for Ply, plus solid or painted roofs or 5vinyl roofs incuding the floral roofs. Lets do solid, that gives a total of 7 interiors in either matching or contrasting picks. To stripe or not to stripe red,black or white bumble stripeAfter that you're still not off the hook, what do you like bench seat or bucket. Going buckets leaves the mandatory decisions 1)console 2)center seat with armrest or 3 bucket only.

Lots of decisions to make even hoods power bulge or ram air sccops. Down to the wheels: hubcaps, wheel covers, mag wheel cover or deep dish wheel covers besides road wheels. Even back then we could pick out radio delete, 8 track am radio, an-fm monaural or am. This might be the only area new cars excel with more interesting options.
Now really AREN"T YOU GLAD you could buy one of our retreads instead of making these paintaking choices down endless option list we made in 1969. It was difficult but we did it!

 

[Osyman]

Was the gtx the only car offered in only 440 or hemi it's entire existence?

 

[1badgtx]

Yes the gTx was only offered in 440 and 426...In the later years when the gTx was not offered you could order the gTx package which was stickers and emblems...I,m not sure if a diffrent engine was offered then..But the vin numbers on these cars was not RS..
Petty Blue 67 gTx

 

[ChargerRTguy]

Back in the day, I remember my brother going to differenet Dodge/Plymouth dealerships when he was looking for a Roadrunner. Actually wish is was like that today, you could really customize your MOPAR the exact way you wanted it down to the very last detail. You don't really have that many choices these days.

 

[OhioMopar]

Was the gtx the only car offered in only 440 or hemi it's entire existence?

No, the Charger R/T and Coronet R/T were also only offered with the 440 'base' engine and the optional Hemi.

 

[rp23g7]

May be off topic, but, me and a friends older friend were talking cars the other day, hes about 65-70, doenst really know much about car models.

Says he went to trade his 68 Vette in at a Plymouth dealer in mid 69, to pick up a Road Runner.

He was describing it to me, fiberglass hood without hinges, 440 six pack, 4 speed, black steel wheels, really high geared rear, kinda a raised suspension.

Ummm, i think you had a A12 RoadRunner. Whats that?, Ummm a special mid year edition that Dodge an Plymouth had, maybe 3000 made.

What happened to it? UMMMM I slid into a parked car about 50 mph, why, was it special

UMMM yeah, probably a $60-70,000 dollar car now if its in good shape.

 

[Cranky]

A lot of us had Nam to worry about too. My draft number was 105 and yeah, I got drafted in early 71. Figuring that I would be drafted somewhere along the timeline of 69 or so, I held off buying a new car and just kept driving my 66 Belvedere which had a 383 in it anyways and was faster than most other 383 equipped cars. Hey, you forgot about getting floor mats or carpeting in the Road Runner and other models too....

 

[kidsixpack]

Interesting thread for sure! Todays choices are to simple. Back in the day you could do all kinds of nutty combos that made your car unique. 25 years from now the owners of Mustangs, Challengers, and Camaros will show up at shows with identical cars. Doesn't happen too often with our old ones!
KID

 

[696pack]

Interesting thread for sure! Todays choices are to simple. Back in the day you could do all kinds of nutty combos that made your car unique. 25 years from now the owners of Mustangs, Challengers, and Camaros will show up at shows with identical cars. Doesn't happen too often with our old ones!
KID

They better buy up all of the plastic body and interior parts now and store them away because any old beat up 25 year old car will have a bunch of brittle cracked up junk on them.

 

[70Fish]

Add in the wing cars, too.

No, the Charger R/T and Coronet R/T were also only offered with the 440 'base' engine and the optional Hemi.

 

[Coronet 500]

When my neighbor bought the 1970 I have now, He got the buckets and console so his wife would have a flat place to put her cup of tea.

 

[horace]

Here's the 1969 break down for engines 440-4bbl were standard in in GTX , Coronet RT, Charger RT. 440 6 bbl or A12 was optional in Road Runner or Super Bee The Hemi was optional in Super Bee, Road Runner, GTX, Coronet & Charger RT. 383 Magnums were std in Super Bee or RR except w/ factory a/c which then made the 383 4 bbl a 330 horse blue engine. Chargers had the optionof 383 auto 330 hp or 4apd 383 magnum 335 hp

 

[terzmo]

The R/t was also the same engine options...440 Base motor or hemi option

And I don't believe the charger...even the charger R/T should be included with the GTX or R/T as the GTX and R/T were specific vin numbers and the charger R/T was an option off a base charger. The RS 23 and ws23 was ONLY offered in an L code or J code. No other cars in the WS or RS code. Chargers had a small block on up....maybe even a 6 cyl.

 

[horace]

WRONG, a Charger RT was a XS29, a Charger XP29. Rt was a model not an option including diff tires susp etc as was a Coronet R/T or GTX! I included the XP29 because In my opinion they look like they're going 100 mph standing still. Most of the 68-9 Chargers my dad sold were either 383-4 or RTs. I stated above the the Coronet & Charger RT had the same engine opt. Sure a std Cor or Sat or Belv had the same opt as a XP29 Charger but it was the look, the idea.
Source 1969 Dodge prices, Ross Roy Data book & I LIVED the era

 

[Ron 73]

Back in those days we did have many options as compared to today, Watching B-J is a joy now. Im glad i wont be here to see the B-J auction in another 25-30 years, its hard enough riding along trying to find pretty and unique on the highway now. They are far and in-between as compared to the old days. No one had to look twice as you passed a car on the highway to see or know just who manufactured it..

 

[696pack]

WRONG, a Charger RT was a XS29, a Charger XP29. Rt was a model not an option including diff tires susp etc as was a Coronet R/T or GTX! I included the XP29 because In my opinion they look like they're going 100 mph standing still. Most of the 68-9 Chargers
my dad sold were either 383-4 or RTs. Maybe a secret desire I stated above the the Coronet & Charger RT had same engine opt. Sure a std Cor or Sat or Belv had the same opt as a XP29 Charger but it was the look, the idea.
Source 1969 Dodge prices, Ross Roy Data book & I LIVED the era

You are right about the Charger but wrong about the R/T and the GTX. An R/T V.I.N. begins with WS and a GTX begins with RS. ALL different models in the same body family have different prefix letter to completely identify them, including the Super Stock models that the second digit was O. This is one of the WONDERFUL things about Mopars, they identify not only the engine in the V.I.N. but also the exact model.

Something else I noticed a few days ago that was overlooked in this thread regarding engine choices that I thought I would let it slide and see if anyone else picked up on it. The original poster did not make this year specific but later in this thread there were engine choice questions asked, however the first of these questions were again not model specific either so I thought I would add this.

1. Beginning in the 1970 model year engine choices became much more mixed with models than in previous years.

2. Super Bees, R/Ts, Roadrunners and GTXs where now ALL available with the 440-6.

3. Another thing that is commonly overlooked is that the Superbird (a RR model) was the only RR to ever have a 440-4 available and also standard. More than once people have found that they own a FACTORY produced Superbird when they thought that they had a standard RR.
How does this happen?
Well, back in the day the factory had a hard time selling the Superbirds because they were so radical looking for a street car. In fact, they FORCED them on dealers telling them that if they didn't take at least ONE they would not sell them or greatly reduce how many of the more popular regular RRs they could order. Many of these dealers ended up with these cars on their lots as new cars two years later. Many of the dealers ordered new regular RR front and back ends and sold them as std. RRs so they could get rid of them.

4. In later years it got even more complicated with the drop of the Coronet 2 door line and mixing the Charger Super Bee and the Charger R/T all in the same body style. Same with the sister Plymouth line. However they were ALL still identifible in the model portion of the V.I.N.

The Chevy boys don't have this luxury and their cars such as Camaros only I.D. the cars as either a 6 or V8 and no specific models for RS, SS and so on.
Only the later Chevelle SS396s were I.D. in the V.I.N. as an SS with the 396 but they didn't identify the h.p. of the 396, so you didn't know years later if it left the factory as a 325, 350 or 375 h.p.
The Mopar boys are so concerned about fake cars but they have it MUCH easier than the GM guys. They have been faking and getting away with it for 30+ years because of all of this. This is why I have alway put MY faith in the V.I.N. which is a Federal crime to tamper with where as the fender tags, broadcast sheets, protect o plates, build sheets, etc. are not LEGAL identifiers for a vehicle so legally these GM cars can be faked and passed off as something they were not from the factory with no legal consequences. There are probably more 67-69 Z28s in the market place today than GM ever built because of this.

 

[horace]

I totally forgot about Charger 500 & Daytona both XX29s, Interestingly manufacturers suggested price started @ $3843 & $ 3993 respectively. The $150 would have been a good investment. The original poster (me) referred to year 69. I did this spoof because I ordered a SB which I still own. Dodges last a long time.
Yes, 1970 opened up a whole new ball game, too bad a recession & rising insurance costs took their toll. 1970 offered arguably the best selection of colors for performance colors.
Daytonas were 1969, Superbirds 1970. (Conjecture) I think there were fewer Daytonas made the race car rules changed for to, correct me if I'm wrong there had to be @ least 1 made for every dealer.I think the Daytona to Super Bird for 70 was to keep King Richard in the Ply race stable not all dealers went along w/ the program so bigger dealers may have taken more than 1. I don't think our small community Ply dealer had a Superbird.
The $150 extra was a great investment for a Daytona.
I remember going top the Chrysler used car sales w/ RR & SBee selling w/ 2000 to 10,000 miles for $ 1900 or so all day long. Suprisingly Chal & Cudas brought considerable more $$
You're riight about the GM cars, a GM friend told me there are more GTO Judges now then 69? or & 70? whenever they wer built. He told about guys trying to make & fake Yenko Chev's.
We are both fortunate enogh to have been able to enjoy nover 40 years of Sb, RR GTX &
RTs

 

[696pack]

I totally forgot about Charger 500 & Daytona both XX29s, Interestingly manufacturers suggested price started @ $3843 & $ 3993 respectively. The $150 would have been a good investment. The original poster (me) referred to year 69. I did this spoof because I ordered a SB which I still own. Dodges last a long time.
Yes, 1970 opened up a whole new ball game, too bad a recession & rising insurance costs took their toll. 1970 offered arguably the best selection of colors for performance colors.
Daytonas were 1969, Superbirds 1970. (Conjecture) I think there were fewer Daytonas made the race car rules changed for to, correct me if I'm wrong there had to be @ least 1 made for every dealer.I think the Daytona to Super Bird for 70 was to keep King Richard in the Ply race stable not all dealers went along w/ the program so bigger dealers may have taken more than 1. I don't think our small community Ply dealer had a Superbird.The $150 extra was a great investment for a Daytona.
I remember going top the Chrysler used car sales w/ RR & SBee selling w/ 2000 to 10,000 miles for $ 1900 or so all day long. Suprisingly Chal & Cudas brought considerable more $$
You're riight about the GM cars, a GM friend told me there are more GTO Judges now then 69? or & 70? whenever they wer built. He told about guys trying to make & fake Yenko Chev's.
We are both fortunate enogh to have been able to enjoy nover 40 years of Sb, RR GTX &
RTs

The dealer one block down the street from the Dodge store I worked at was a big hipo dealership for thte small area we were in. He sold a lot of RRs in 68-71 and in 70 his sales rep told him that if he wanted any more RRs in the 70 model year he HAD to take a Superbird. He quickly sold it to a local farm boy who traded it within 6 months because he was razzed so badly by other local youngster about having a clothes hanger on the back of the car.

The GTO was a heavily cloned car until Pontiac was forced to open their sales files to the public that later was the basis for the Pontiac historical info that now allow Pontiac owners info on their cars by writing in. This came about when Pontiac owners filed a class action suite against Pontiac for installing Chevy 307 engines in Venturas without making disclosure that they were Chevy engines. The sucess of the law suite opened the door for people to get the factory info on their cars from Pontiac which also encompassed the older cars.

 

[terzmo]

WRONG, a Charger RT was a XS29, a Charger XP29. Rt was a model not an option including diff tires susp etc as was a Coronet R/T or GTX! I included the XP29 because In my opinion they look like they're going 100 mph standing still. Most of the 68-9 Chargers my dad sold were either 383-4 or RTs. I stated above the the Coronet & Charger RT had the same engine opt. Sure a std Cor or Sat or Belv had the same opt as a XP29 Charger but it was the look, the idea.
Source 1969 Dodge prices, Ross Roy Data book & I LIVED the era

A charger is a charger is a charger...no R/T or GTX had a different vin for a different engine except the ONE letter for engine designation. J or L...no prefix change..and actually the GTX was a belvedere but the top motor was 383....possibly hemi was option but I "assume" it would of have to of been upgraded to GTX

 

[696pack]

The R/t was also the same engine options...440 Base motor or hemi option

And I don't believe the charger...even the charger R/T should be included with the GTX or R/T as the GTX and R/T were specific vin numbers and the charger R/T was an option off a base charger. The RS 23 and ws23 was ONLY offered in an L code or J code. No other cars in the WS or RS code. Chargers had a small block on up....maybe even a 6 cyl.

Regarding your above post I also refer you back to this post of yours. As you (and I) have both indicated as bolded above so is the Charger R/T It has seperate prefix letters to I.D. it as an R/T as member horace indicated. If you need further proof of this look it up as it is in the front of either the parts book or the service manual as well as in the back of GGs white books for production option code book under "typical car line beginning V.I.N.s"

Also it should be noted that SOME of the early 1969 Daytonas have V.I.N.s beginning as XS rather than the correct XX prefix. This was noted by Chrysler and they made state DMV offices aware of it and it can be corrected on title work with a control number indicating the V.I.N. plate and title will not match in the prefix if changed.