1970 Plymouth Superbird. Geoff Stunkard

      

      CarTech®, Inc.

      838 Lake Street South

      Forest Lake, MN 55025

      Phone: [phone] or 800-551-4754

      Fax: [phone]

       www.cartechbooks.com

      © 2018 by Geoff Stunkard

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the Publisher. All text, photographs, and artwork are the property of the Author unless otherwise noted or credited.

      The information in this work is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. However, all information is presented without any guarantee on the part of the Author or Publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of the information and any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Readers are responsible for taking suitable and appropriate safety measures when performing any of the operations or activities described in this work.

      All trademarks, trade names, model names and numbers, and other product designations referred to herein are the property of their respective owners and are used solely for identification purposes. This work is a publication of CarTech, Inc., and has not been licensed, approved, sponsored, or endorsed by any other person or entity. The Publisher is not associated with any product, service, or vendor mentioned in this book, and does not endorse the products or services of any vendor mentioned in this book.

      Edit by Wes Eisenschenk

      Layout by Monica Seiberlich

      ISBN 978-1-61325-487-5

      Item No. CT657

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Stunkard, Geoff (Geoffrey F.), author.

      Title: 1970 Plymouth Superbird: in detail / Geoff Stunkard.

      Description: Forest Lake, MN: CarTech, [2018]

      Identifiers: LCCN 2017034659

      Subjects: LCSH: Plymouth automobile. | Plymouth automobile--History. | Automobiles--United States--History.

      Classification: LCC TL215.P65 S88 2018 | DDC 629.222/2--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017034659

      Written, edited, and designed in the U.S.A.

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

       Front Cover:

       John Balow of Muscle Car Restorations restored this FY1 yellow Superbird, which was seen during the reconstruction of Bristol Motor Speedway. It was formerly a pace car at a short track and is powered by the 440 U-code engine.

       Frontispiece:

       The reason the cars were built was to get this driver, Richard Petty, back into a Plymouth. Seen here at the fall race in Talladega, King Richard would have certainly won the World Championship save for a devastating and race-missing accident at Darlington in mid-season. (Ray Mann Photo, Courtesy Cal Lane)

       Title Page:

       The 1970 Plymouth Superbird was considered the most flamboyant Road Runner of them all when the dust finally settled on the model’s tenure in 1980. (Steve Netkow Photo)

       Table of Contents:

       A group of Superbirds and Charger Daytonas roll down to the front stretch. They returned to the storied banking of Talladega in 2015 for a special reunion, one of a number of events that focus on these unique cars.

      DISTRIBUTION BY:

       Europe

      PGUK

      63 Hatton Garden

      London EC1N 8LE, England

      Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

       www.pguk.co.uk

       Australia

      Renniks Publications Ltd.

      3/37-39 Green Street

      Banksmeadow, NSW 2109, Australia

      Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

       www.renniks.com

       Canada

      Login Canada

      300 Saulteaux Crescent

      Winnipeg, MB, R3J 3T2 Canada

      Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

       www.lb.ca

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Evolution to Aero

The Post-War Boom and the Townsend Era

The Need for Speed

Wind Tunnels