Re: [FWDLK] Riding the Coupe

[Mike Apfelbeck <moparmike72@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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.

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