In 1968 Road Runner came as a coupe or hardtop. The coupe had a production run of 15,702 units. The hardtop was added later in the model year and saw production of 15,349 units. For 1969 a convertible was added. 1969 prodcuction figures : coupe - 33,743 hardtop - 48,549 convertible - 2,128 1970 was the last year for the coupe and convertible, and production softened a bit : coupe - 16,716 hardtop - 24,944 convertible - 824 SuperBird hardtop - 1,920 Bill Vancouver, BC ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Apfelbeck" <moparmike72@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>; <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005 5:24 PM Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Riding the Coupe > In the first year of production(1968), the Roadrunner was available only as > a coupe, complete with a "B" pillar and swing out rear windows as befitting > a car marketed as a no-frills affordable muscle car. The following years, > Mother Mopar would build it as a hardtop(and I've heard there may have been > convertibles too) with as many frills as you wanted. The coupes were > considered better for drag racing, the bodies were stiffer, a hardtop B > body running sub 12 second et's would tend to wrinkle the rear quarter > panels after a while if you didn't stiffen it up with a full roll cage or > at least some reinforcement in the rear floor area. The second digit in the > vin told the price range, "L" for low price, "M" for medium price, and "P" > for premium price. > > > Mike > > At 11:34 AM 1/24/2005, Bill Watson wrote: > >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. > > ************************************************************* To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
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