1971 Super Bee Dodge Charger

    Members Rides
  INDEX

    '71 Charger Super Bee
  CONTACT INFORMATION

   Ron Harris - EV2 HEMI ORANGE 383, 4-SPD

AN INTERESTING HISTORY -- 1971 DODGE SUPER BEE 383, 4bbl, 4-Speed EV2

By Ron Harris

This is my 1971 Bee. I have owned it since around 1973 or so, I'm the 2nd owner as far as I know. I was going to trace it's life before I bought it, but decided I don't really care as long as I have it now and I know the shape it was in when I got it, what with it being only a couple years old. I was only 17 and just looking for a muscle car, admittedly not caring what brand. At the time I was looking at a Camaro, nothing fancy just a plain Jane 350 Camaro and a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler (which to this day I haven't seen another in person). I was driving past the local Chrysler dealer and just caught a glimpse of the front corner of this bright orange Charger with blacked out hood and that was enough to turn around as fast as possible to go have a look. I had never seen anything quite like it, with the big BEE on the hood and Airgrabber etc.

I loved it right from the moment I spotted it, and while the asking price was $2400.00 !! I pretty much said I'd take it right there. I did have a slight problem of convincing my Dad to co-sign a loan since I was only 17. But I think he loved it too as soon as he seen it, because he was eager to let me buy it. Having never driven a standard transmission before and having 383 cubic inches instead of the 6 cylinder RAMBLER I was driving at the time, I honestly was afraid of it, and I had my Dad drive it home.

It has been subjected to anything and everything a teenager could dish out and miraculously we are both still around! Lots of trips to the drag strip, and ummmm a few street races way back, and the odd top end charge to knock the spider webs out of the far end of the 150 mph speedometer. The thought of selling it just never occurred to me all these years. It has only been driven in the nice weather and now has only mid-70,000 miles on it, I think it had 30,000 when I bought it.

It is an original 383 4 speed EV2 Hemi-Orange , Airgrabber car. I still have the original numbers matching engine but now a 440/496 Muscle Motors Stroker is in it. Edelbrock heads, Edelbrock TM-7 manifold, Comp cams solid cam and roller rockers. That's just a few of the engine details, I estimate 550 + hp. I did want to go with the Mopar Performance crate 500/575 engine but decided to go this route instead. The original 4-speed is still in it with not one problem in all these years. I have a Mcleod clutch.

Original gears were 3:23, and switched back and forth between 3:23 and 4:30's a few times over the years and finally just recently switched to half between and have 3:73's now.

I finished a complete ground up restoration a year or so ago, with everything redone. It took about 4 years with a major move from Ontario, Canada to the U.S. in between. And nothing even got lost in the move.

My 16-year-old daughter just loves it and spots all the old muscle cars that go by, it means as much to her as it does to me. It will never be for sale, it's part of my life after all these years.

A couple of the enclosed pictures are shortly after I bought it, still living at home with my parents, probably mid too late 70's. A couple pictures are maybe early to mid 80's and a few are during the restoration process and of course a few after it was finished.

Ron

'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee '71 Super Bee
'71 Super Bee

 
 Sponsors Ads

71 Rod Shop HEMI Charger
Wellborn Muscle Car Museum
Moparr Motor Consulting

Super Bee Registry

Super Car Collectible
Moparr Motor Consulting

71 Charger RT Registry

  71 Charger RT Registy
71 Super Bee

"MoparŪ is a registered trademark of Chrysler LLC"