Daytona/Superbird Stock cars

[FastbackJon]

Wondering what the general consensus is concerning the '69/'70 Daytona and Superbird stock cars. Did the race teams use actual production Daytonas (out of the 503 built) for example? Doesn't seem like they could since that number was supposed to be the number offered to the public for sale. So did Chrysler build additional Daytonas for the race teams that weren't counted in the 503 total? Or did the race teams take regular Chargers and build the Daytonas themselves (incl window plugs, A-pillar trim, nose and wing, etc)?

[Aero426]

Production Daytonas and Superbirds were not used for stock cars.   They have literally nothing to do with the race cars except the production numbers to make them legal.

The majority of Daytonas were updated from existing Charger 500 race cars, many of which had been updated from 1968 Chargers.  Some stock cars were new from Nichels Engineering in 1969 ands 1970.    Petty's cars were all new for 1970.    The Dan Gurney and Ramo Stott Superbirds were new cars for 1970 built at Nichels.    

[pettybird]

Production Daytonas and Superbirds were not used for stock cars.   They have literally nothing to do with the race cars except the production numbers to make them legal.

The majority of Daytonas were updated from existing Charger 500 race cars, many of which had been updated from 1968 Chargers.  Some stock cars were new from Nichels Engineering in 1969 ands 1970.    Petty's cars were all new for 1970.    The Dan Gurney and Ramo Stott Superbirds were new cars for 1970 built at Nichels.     

if the gurney car (especially) was built at nichels when did PE take over that duty?  wasn't that part of the deal to return, or did he just get the parts side, and not fab?

i know less about this than i'd like.

[Aero426]

Production Daytonas and Superbirds were not used for stock cars.   They have literally nothing to do with the race cars except the production numbers to make them legal.

The majority of Daytonas were updated from existing Charger 500 race cars, many of which had been updated from 1968 Chargers.  Some stock cars were new from Nichels Engineering in 1969 ands 1970.    Petty's cars were all new for 1970.    The Dan Gurney and Ramo Stott Superbirds were new cars for 1970 built at Nichels.     

if the gurney car (especially) was built at nichels when did PE take over that duty?  wasn't that part of the deal to return, or did he just get the parts side, and not fab?

i know less about this than i'd like.

1970 was the last year for the Nichels contract.   Petty came back to Chrysler with the provision that they would get the car building and parts business starting in 1971.

[Ghoste]

Even if Petty had the fab side, would all teams be obligated to buy from them?

[Aero426]

Even if Petty had the fab side, would all teams be obligated to buy from them?

Moving forward from 1971 on, if you wanted a brand new Chrysler race car or parts, yes.

The good news for Lee Petty was that he got the deal he always wanted.   The bad news is that it was 1971 and Chrysler pulled their support for all but the two Petty cars.  With a glut of existing 68-70 chassis still running and factory money drying up,  not a lot of new cars got built.   A lot of old stuff got updated and kept running. 

The Kit Car program came along later and all went through Pettys.   But I don't think their deal with Chrysler was ever anything on the scale of what Nichels and Holman-Moody did in the boom years. 

[Ghoste]

So Gurney and Stott would have been free to have the car by either source?

[Aero426]

So Gurney and Stott would have been free to have the car by either source?

Well for 1970, the only source was Nichels.     Ramo did not pay for his Bird, but he did work at Nichels during the time his car was being built.  He said he did not know which car would be his.   That would be a form of quality control.