Questions - Bodies in White

[RallyeMike]

1) Is there any accounting or educated guesses as to how many Charger 500, Daytona, or Superbird bodies were sold/given to racers?

2) I suppose these cars have no VIN#?

3) Did any Charger 500's survive as examples of the day (that were not crashed, junked, or later rebodied as Daytona's, 3rd gens, etc.)

[CornDogsCharger]

I would be interested in knowing to, because this has always been a "gray" area and I'm not sure if there is a definite answer.

Justin
"CornDog"

[tan top]

I would be interested in knowing to, because this has always been a "gray" area and I'm not sure if there is a definite answer.

Justin
"CornDog"

  wondered about this before ,  wonder if they were just second generation body in white  shells , & the aero parts were supplied sepperate kit form  , I believe good race car chassis was rebodied into the current  year body style also !  

I await to be corrected !!

[Aero426]

1) Is there any accounting or educated guesses as to how many Charger 500, Daytona, or Superbird bodies were sold/given to racers?

2) I suppose these cars have no VIN#?

3) Did any Charger 500's survive as examples of the day (that were not crashed, junked, or later rebodied as Daytona's, 3rd gens, etc.)

1.  By the time of the '68 Charger, it was no longer the typical practice to strip a car for circle track build.    Too much work, too much cutting and pasting of the unibody to modify.     The early cars built by Nichels Engineering for the "factory" supported teams in 1964 and 1965 were tear downs, probably with VIN.    The practice may have extended some into 1966.   The one exception would be the car that became the #88, said to be a Charger 500 theft recovery.    The John Soares Superbird on the west coast "may" have been built from a Superbird, or from a Road Runner street car.      Anything else considered a front line factory car would be from body in white.    One body could be a short track car.  The next in line a wing car.     Nichels had a supply of perhaps 8 or 10 bodies in the shop sitting there waiting to become.

2.  No factory VIN numbers on Nichels or Petty built cars.   They do have a simple chassis number.     Mine is P-69.  P for Plymouth, 69th chassis in sequence.     DC-xx is a Dodge Charger.        

3   No Charger 500 race cars are known survive intact in original form.    No 1963-'64-'65  Dodge or Plymouth cars either for that matter.  

[Aero426]

 wondered about this before ,  wonder if they were just second generation body in white  shells , & the aero parts were supplied sepperate kit form  , I believe good race car chassis was rebodied into the current  year body style also !  

You pretty much have it here.    A lot of cars built in 1968 and '69 were updated as Charger 500 and then Daytona. Then backdated as conventional '69 Charger for 1971.  For the Daytona I am sure Nichels had a kit available with the parts necessary.    If a car was built in mid-1969 or later,  it could have been shipped from Nichels new as a Superbird or Daytona.    

The simple answer is the cars were all built from component parts.   They started out having no identity.    Once they left Nichels, you probably would never hear anyone refer to a car by a chassis number.     If there was a Nichels chassis plate on the firewall, when a car got the 1971 style body,  the plate probably came off with the discarded firewall tin.    Nobody cared.  

[odcics2]

 Both  of the Petty Superbirds were built at Nichels, as Birds.
The construction technique was an evolution from earlier designs.

The REAL #43 was found and restored to look like the #40.
The REAL #40 is MIA....   

[RallyeMike]

Interesting stuff. Thanks, guys.

[nascarxx29]

.Not bodies in white.But Ive seen odd ads mentioning street daytonas possibly used for race
    Iowa 69 daytona ad with or without engine and transmission for racers.And over 300 units to choose from 

[62 Max]

This tag was on my bird when I bought it in 1982,people questioned it so I took it off !

[tan top]

.Not bodies in white.But Ive seen odd ads mentioning street daytonas possibly used for race
    Iowa 69 daytona ad with or without engine and transmission for racers.And over 300 units to choose from 

that's interesting  , wonder what that was all about  that's a lot of daytonas   

This tag was on my bird when I bought it in 1982,people questioned it so I took it off !

  thats interesting too 

[Aero426]

.Not bodies in white.But Ive seen odd ads mentioning street daytonas possibly used for race
   Iowa 69 daytona ad with or without engine and transmission for racers.And over 300 units to choose from  

I think what you are seeing here is a marketing come on, not necessarily aimed at real racers.    If you were serious about running a Charger,  if you had the money, you'd get a proper race car new or used.   If you didn't have the money, you probably would not buy a new car and strip it.    You would find something distressed for the shell only.   Because nearly everything else is going to be tossed.   Also, where are the tracks you can compete in a Daytona near Des Moines Iowa?  

Yeah, they have 300 different cars of all types on the lot.  Not 300 Daytonas available.

[Aero426]

This tag was on my bird when I bought it in 1982,people questioned it so I took it off !

How does your car compare to the Vitamin-C auto show circuit Superbird?     Is there anything different on the build sheet?