Actually, a hardtop had NO "B" pillar. A 4-door model with a "B" pillar
was called a 4-door sedan, while a pillarless model was called a 4-door
hardtop. Check any Chrysler Corporation brochure, parts book or service
manual. Chrysler did call the pillarless 4-door a Special Sedan during the
1950's and early 1960's,
Your 1973 Chrysler Newport is a 4-door hardtop, if it has no "B" pillar
(VIN - CL43). If is has a pillar, it is a 4-door sedan (CL41).
The 1968-70 B body coupe was a 2-door hardtop with the roll-down rear
quarter glass replaced by a flip-out glass. The B pillar in the coupe added
no strength to the body but was there as a place to attach the flip-out
glass.
Whether or not a car has a B pillar is no way to determine if the car has a
big block engine or small. Both the Road Runner and the Super Bee came as a
coupe ("21" - flip-out glass with "B" pillar) and 2-door hardtop ("23" -
roll-down glass with no "B" pillar). The Coronet R/T and Satellite GTX
both came with big block engines and both were pillarless hardtops.
The only true way to tell a 1968-75 Road Runner from its siblings is the
second digit in the VIN. A Road Runner has "M" for the second digit, while
the base Belvedere/Satellite was "L". The Satellite/Sebring hardtops were
"H", the Sport Satellite/Sebring Plus was "P" and the GTX "S". Similarly,
the Super Bee was "M". Only the Road Runner and Super Bee were "M", and
"M" was used only for the Road Runner and Super Bee..
The 1970 Fury Gran Coupe was based on the Fury II 2-door sedan while the
1971 Gran Coupe was based on the Fury III 2-door formal hardtop and the
4-door hardtop. The package included upgraded interior, vinyl roof, Sport
Fury grille, larger base V8 engine and A/C. They were hardly fleet models
as they retailed for about $2,000 more than the base Fury I. .
The headlamp washer (sales code J24) was available only on the 1971 Plymouth
Sport Fury and Imperial LeBaron, the ones with the hide-away headlamps. It
was not available on the 1971 Dodge Monaco as it did not have hide-away
headlamps.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: <cpollock@xxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005 6:49 AM
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Riding the Coupe
> Hello All,
> Mopar-ese from that era was the sames as most car manufacturers. A two or
four-door hardtop had a pillar between the doors. Or on a two-door you
would find a pillar between the driver's door glass and the quarter panel
window. On some hardtops (such as the Superbee and Roadrunner) this was
used as the hinge point for the window to pivot outward.
> A two or four-door coupe did not have the pillar. My 73 4-dr Newport did
not have a pillar between the windows, and the VIN number coded it as a
'coupe'. Most 4-dr Chryslers, Plymouths and Dodge C-bodies were pillar-less
coupes. Most Roadrunners and Superbees were Hardtops because of the extra
structural rigidity that the pillar added. It is actually a fairly good way
(not 100% accurate of course) of telling a real Big Block car from a dressed
up Small Block car. This would happen when someone took a 68-70 satellite
and turned it into a 'RoadRunner' by adding a big block and deleting the
comfort options.
> The VIN always tells the truth though, unless it was removed (a federal
offense by the way), from the dashpad.
>
> Anyway,
> Just my pennies,
> Charles.
>
> PS- Terry and Andree, the 71 Fury Gran Coupe was a fairly rare model, as
most went into fleet duty. I have never actually seen the headlight washer
option live in person, though all my books point to it's existance. It was
also available on 71 Chargers and Monacos. Not sure what else you could get
it on, but it was dropped across the board by 72, so it was a 1-year-only
thing.
>
>
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