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HomePick of the DayThis Bee stings with 440 V8 power

This Bee stings with 440 V8 power

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Midway through the 1968 model year, Dodge upped its ante in Detroit’s blooming muscle car game with the Coronet Super Bee, equipping its “intermediate” sedan with a 335-horsepower, 383cid V8 engine, floor-mounted 4-speed manual transmission with Hurst “Competition Plus” shifter, heavy-duty suspension, dual exhaust, power-bulge hood and “bumblebee” body stripes around its tail end.

According to The Standard Catalog of American Cars, Dodge’s bee hive for 1968 included 345 coupes (with or without B pillars), 9 convertibles and a pair of hardtops equipped with 426 Hemi engines instead of the 383.

The Pick of the Day is one of those 1968 Super Bees, being offered for sale on ClassicCars.com by its private owner in Salem, Oregon. 

According to the seller, the car was sold new in Indiana to its first owner, who kept it until 2007. The second owner restored the car, and inserted a 440 V8. The seller bought the car in 2013.

As part of the restoration, the original 383 engine was rebuilt and is included in the sale. Since obtaining the car, the seller has added a March Performance power-steering system.

“The Superbee has been kept mostly original with a repaint retaining original color in 2014, power steering added in 2015, AM/FM antique radio changed in 2018,” the seller reports. 

“Garage kept, car just had $3,800.00 in maintenance, repairing and replacing items needing attention. Everything is in good working order and this car has all maintenance up to date and is not in need of any repairs what so ever. 

“This car has the Tic-Toc-Tach option and has the original A833 4 speed manual transmission that works great and still is very tight. This car was rated for a top speed of 137 mph and acceleration from 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds, a ¼ miles drag time is 14.3 seconds.”

The car is for sale for $40,000. To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

 

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Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

5 COMMENTS

    • I agree. And for the record the Super Bee was only available as a Coupe in 1968. No Hardtops, no Convertibles. First came the Inland Shifter then later the HURST 4-Speed. There is a lot of inaccurate information on the Internet as well as in print.

  1. I always loved the looks of the ‘68 Coronets/Super Bees. It was the first car I got to drive when I got my permit In 1975. It was a ‘68 Coronet my brother-in-law shoved a 1st gen. 392 Hemi into with a 4 speed and hardest clutch I ever pushed in. Loved that car.

  2. Ok- a repaint; a not factory available (for ’68 Bees) non stock engine; an upgraded audio system; a modern, aftermarket power steering setup, and the abhorrent ’70’s van wheels in place of the painted factory steelies with chrome lugs or dog dishes… this is now considered "mostly original"? That’s like "almost pregnant", it is or is not, there is no "almost" (thanks, Yoda!).
    I wonder if this is even a real Bee, given the ease of faking one; I know of three "cloned" ’68/’69 Bees in my area (apparently, the astonishingly ugly ’70 Bee with those tragicomic loop bumpers is only worth cloning as a Hemi car); all three were originally 318 Coronet bench seat autos, now they’re, well, fake. I’d love Mr. Govier’s opinion on that, btw.
    For the record, one of my absolute favorite bits of automotive journalism was the "Car & Driver" article reporting the road test of a ’69 440 SixPak SuperBee by some recruited, purported moonshine runners. The bit about the chicken feathers in the grille, and one of the locals allowing that it was quicker across a bridge than his buddy’s supposed real ‘shine runner was pure Americana. And no doubt great press for Dodge, although I suspect real moonshiners would spec a police package 4dr in a drab color, rather than a loud, gigantic hood-scooped eye-popping billboard for lawlessness like a SixPak Bee.
    Anyway, I love that bodystyle, but I’m not convinced that this one is real.

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