Back in 1967, both Dodge and Plymouth had the idea to introduce affordable versions of the Charger and GTX. Dodge created the Super Bee, while Plymouth developed the Road Runner. And both ended up being super popular for a few years.
Following a slow start with 7,842 units sold during a short 1968 model year, the Super Bee moved almost 28,000 cars in 1969. Nowhere near as much as the Road Runner, which delivered a whopping 84,510 examples, but enough to turn it into one of the most popular muscle cars of its time.
Sales dropped to 15,506 units in 1970 and only 5,054 examples in 1971, the nameplate’s final year on the market, so the 1969 version remains the most common Super Bee out there. But that doesn’t mean the 1969 Super Bee is a familiar face in 2023. Many examples were wrecked and scrapped back in the day, so finding a proper survivor is quite a difficult task.
Things become even more challenging if you’re gunning for one fitted with the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI because Plymouth sold only 166 that year. The 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) “Six Pack” cars aren’t very common either at 1,907 examples produced. This leaves more than 25,000 examples made with the entry-level 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) big block, but how many of them are still in one piece today?
That’s a question I can’t answer, but these cars aren’t a very common sight either. Many of them are still rotting away in junkyards, while most still on the streets have been turned into restomods. Unrestored survivors are hard to come by, and some can get surprisingly expensive due to rare color and option combinations. Like this A4 Silver example here.
Reportedly parked in a shed in 1979, this Super Bee spent a whopping 44 years in storage. That’s long enough to turn any classic into a pile of junk, but this Mopar took over four decades of sitting like a champ. Sure, some body panels are covered in surface rust, and the paint is worn out, but the sheet metal is straight, and all the chrome trim is still in place.
The car is also missing a few bits and pieces, and the wheels are not original, but everything else is just like it came from the factory. Including the 383-cubic-inch V8 and the four-speed manual gearbox, both of the numbers-matching variety. The four-speed makes this Super Bee a rare classic, but the color combo turns it into a Mopar you won’t see often at car shows.
Yes, the silver paint is rather dull for a vehicle built in an era when Mopar offered the “high impact” color palette. And it’s not a rare color on its own. However, while most A4 Silver Super Bees were ordered with black interiors, this one was specified with blue upholstery. I can’t confirm it’s a one-of-one, but it’s definitely a rare bird. Have you seen another one like it lately? This Super Bee first surfaced on the Interwebz in April 2023 when it was purchased from a swap meet in Portland, Oregon. The muscle car is now looking for a new home in Woodinville, Washington, and it’s getting a lot of attention.