1969 Dodge Super Bee

Dodge's 1969 Super Bee is the embodiment of American Muscle with its high profile 440 Six Pack, 4-speed manual transmission, and stump-pulling 4.10:1 gears in a bullet-proof 9 3/4-inch Dana rear end.

Based on the mid-sized Coronet hardtop, there was nothing fancy about Dodge's Super Bee. Inside, the family type bench seats came standard, while buckets were an option. Such amenities as air conditioning, disc brakes, fancy road wheels, and wheel covers were omitted from the option sheet. The idea was to save the change for pure get up and go.

The 426 Hemi was the top engine option. However, the blue collar choice was the much cheaper 440 that was very "trick" with a high flow Six Pack, consisting of a trio of two barrel Holleys atop an aluminum Edelbrock intake manifold.

To the muscle car masses, the Six Pack name helped popularize their chosen engine, which was a very potent package. Bone stock, it developed 390 horsepower at 4700 rpm and 390 lbs-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm, enough to propel the nearly 4000 pound Super Bee to a quarter mile ET of 13.6 seconds @ 105 MPH, digging on stock G70 x 15 "Redstreak" tires.

Add slicks and a few tricks and the weekend drag racer could easily trim a second or so off this ET. Dodge was sure thinking of the drag racer with their new Bee. The fiberglass hood could be lifted completely off, once the four chromed hood pins were pulled. Most racers set the hood on top of their Bee and had ample room to change spark plugs, set timing, or adjust the Holleys.