Pictures of my Charger 500 from days of yore.

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang..
Just got an email from Gary Beineke ( www.71wingcars.com ). Thanks Gary for taking the time to scan these.  Gary used to own my Charger 500 back in the day.... Man, "BubbleBee" has had many lives... Here's a picture collage of her in the days...

1. Fall of 1980 - check that Superbird wing.............



2. 1981 - tear down



3. 1981 - Pam sanding



4. Quarter replacement, 1982



5. 1982-84



6. 85-86..



7. back to stock... 1994



8. misc shots...



9. When Pete owned it, Daytona conversion........ front



10. When Pete owned it, Daytona conversion...... rear



11. Currently with me..........   The day I got her..



12. With six pack on her I recently put on her.......



13... too be continued...........

My plans are to get her mechanically and structurally (AMD) strong and tight. Then I'll convert to a 4-speed and paint back to the Y2 yellow / black "500" stripe. I may even go so far as to add air...  

[Aero426]

Cool pics Troy,  nice that Gary was able to help you out with the history.

[hemi68charger]

Cool pics Troy,  nice that Gary was able to help you out with the history.

Gary told me this too...

"The history of the car started as a local guys street car/drag car.  He sold it to Emmett and he continued to drag it from time to time.  He sold it to Yenouskas in Billerica, MA who street raced it, painted it green/yellow then blue/white, then I bought it, then Pete, then you. "

Anyone know any of these guys?

Also, on a side note. Got a call from a guy Sat. morning saying he wanted to trade me two NASCAR Sprint Cup road racing cars for the Daytona, one own by Joe Nemechek. As much as I love NASCAR and would love to own a peice of history, I had to pass.......... Can't rightly take the car to the local Sat. night street meet sites... But, for him, "nothing ventured, nothing gained"

[tan top]

      !! awesome  stuff troy  ! that you have  photo graphic  history    , BumbleBee  deffo has a past   
thanks for sharing  

[nascarxx29]

  well documented thru the years
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,12875.0.html

[Hemidog]

Love the 80s stance with the superbird wing! 

Does it say "metal god" on the wing in one of the pictures?

[694spdRT]

It is nice you got photos that show the history and changes your car went through. I love seeing that stuff because it just can't be recreated and every year you can add to the legacy.

I am happy to have a pretty good photo history of my '68 as it has been in the family since '76. The '69 is a blur from '91 back.

[Magnumcharger]

Wow! What a history!
I see it was given those accursed "half-panels" which were all the rage in the 1980's! (My Charger got 'em too!)
But the bodywork turned out nicely despite those panels!
Kudos to the bodyman in question.

Funny thing how each owner had their own interpretation of how the 500 should look! Quite a variety!

[moparstuart]

Wow! What a history!
I see it was given those accursed "half-panels" which were all the rage in the 1980's! (My Charger got 'em too!)
But the bodywork turned out nicely despite those panels!
Kudos to the bodyman in question.

Funny thing how each owner had their own interpretation of how the 500 should look! Quite a variety!

I had a set of those 1/2 panels put on my 69 runner .  They were made by a company called cross CANADA   and they fit like ass.  Flat panel with no curve at all to them .

[Richard Cranium]

Wow! What a history!
I see it was given those accursed "half-panels" which were all the rage in the 1980's! (My Charger got 'em too!)
But the bodywork turned out nicely despite those panels!
Kudos to the bodyman in question.

Funny thing how each owner had their own interpretation of how the 500 should look! Quite a variety!

I had a set of those 1/2 panels put on my 69 runner .  They were made by a company called cross CANADA   and they fit like ass.  Flat panel with no curve at all to them .

You are correct. Those early patch panels were simply horrid. Having seen Gary's car several times, his were no exception. 

[Magnumcharger]

Same here Stuart...Cross-Canada body panels. Made by a bunch of minimum wage monkeys. I put ONE on my '69 Runner...was so shitty I hand-fabbed the other side, with MUCH better results!!

[billssuperbird]

 

[BigBlockSam]

very cool 

[70Sbird]

Troy,
I'm Jealous! there seems to be no record of my car before I bought out of the DSAC club newsleter in 2001. I would love to know what was going on with my Bird during the first 30 years of its life!
Cool pictures! and a great indicator of what's underneath "BubbleBees" paint

[hemi68charger]

Troy,
... and a great indicator of what's underneath "BubbleBees" paint

 I don't even wanna know. You can definitely see the evidence of the Sherman quarter halves put on from the inside of the trunk..   ...........  I'm already geared to replace the complete floorpan (more because I want the practice) and eventually the trunk floor and both quarters. It'll eventually go through the motions similar to Allen's C500. But, I'd like to do a lot of the work myself. I have some local mentors...

[Bob T]

Great pics, what very cool history shots    Your 500 has certainly had a lot of lives lived already.

Years ago I had a V8 flatbottomed old K Class race boat, it was 28 or so years old when I first brought it, we chased it everywhere then pulled it down and rebuilt the motor and repaired the body. While we we're deciding on the paint colour the son of the original owner tracked us down and we had a meeting with him and his Father the owner/builder/driver. He was a really neat guy, big too 120kg and told us of the race history, glories and crashes. It had a 1973 National Title and he had a huge wipeout in it months later and quit it after that to get his health back. He kindly provided us with old build and race photos so the decision to finally paint it in race livery was a fitting tribute to him and that time.

Isnt it great to get hold of old photos     sorry about the hijack