In the September 1977 issue of "Winged Warrior" David Patik had gone to a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer and documented how much each all the available Superbird parts cost from a dealer in 1977, as well as which Superbird parts were no longer available. IIRC he also did this for Daytonas too.
I have had a 1970 Collision Parts catalog from Chrysler Parts dated February 1970. I recently picked up a 1970-1971 Collision Parts catalog from Chrysler Parts dated March 1971. The Collision Parts catalogs have exploded pictures of all Mopar cars. The pictures tie to parts numbers and the list price of the parts. The catalogs are interesting on so many levels. They show a slight price increase from 1970 to 1971 for 1970 parts. By today's standards the parts are incredibly inexpensive. Many things stand out, for example a Challenger Shaker hood is $ 132.00-while a Challenger Fiberglass Fresh Air hood is $ 225.00.
The Collision Parts Catalogs do not show any exploded drawings or costs of Wing car parts.
My questions are: Is there anywhere that shows the list cost of Wing car parts in 1970? Or was the only way to find the cost of wing car parts in 1970 to go to a dealership, stand at the parts counter, and have the parts person look up the cost on the very simple computer terminal there? In 1970 what was the capability of the computer terminal at the dealer, was it linked by region or was it national?
I had the 69 collision book not any prices just images 69 charger 500 parts
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=77108.0
Daves list i got from 77 newsletter few posts down
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=26247.0
I was quoted $700. for a complete Bird Nose Assy in 1977.
EVERYTHING, ready to bolt on and go... :coolgleamA:
I had found a Bird with a nose smashed up for $600.
Could barely afford the car at that time! Had to pass!
Just passed my driving test in 77, Star wars was doing the rounds and I was still a lowly apprentice in my fourth year outta five!
£40 a week wages and a 'nice old' guy at work found me a 1966 Mark-1 Cortina 1500-GT at £100.
$700 for a nosecone even at 2 dollars to the pound, that was scandalous lol...
Best dollar to pound rate was 1864...10 Dollars to the Pound! :scratchchin:
Mint 1500GT Cortina now worth £30,000 so a NOS nosecone should be around $100,000 or so? :shruggy:
If I remember correctly back in 1976 when I started buying Superbird replacement parts
the guy at the parts counter would look up the part number in the parts book.
Then he would turn the light on his ( microfish ) machine and slip the most recent
price page for that part number and give you a price.
Back then my dealer only got parts delivered once a week.
Sometimes the wait was painful!
My first 3 pictures show invoices from Mertl Motors my local dealer.
These were for parts for the Superbirds I owned at the time.
The last picture shows an invoice from Dave Patik.
The most interesting item is the "fastback" or NOS rear window plug for $115.00!
Dave was way ahead of the rest of us way back then!
MJ
Thanks MJ!
David Patik has the dealer price for a bare cone in 1977 at $ 722.00.
This was before Don Danielewicz bought all the Nichels parts up and offered up the bare cones for $ 375 in 1977.
I am curious what it cost in 1970 for wing car parts for several reasons. First, there had to be a few cars with accidents immediately. How much did those cost to fix? Second, there was at least one 1969 Road Runner converted with Superbird parts in 1970, the Roy Brinson car. Roy went to a C/P dealer and bought the parts and converted it in 1970. Where did that car go to? How much did it cost him to do it? Somehow it made some financial sense to him. Third, just what did Plymouth charge for parts when the cars were new? We know the price difference between a 440+6 RR, GTX, and Superbird. How did Chrysler price the parts?
With the collision Parts Catalog I could pretty much find the 1970 list price for parts to convert a Superbird to a Road Runner.
Base big numbers:
Front Bumper $ 51.40
Front Bumper Brackets $ 17.00
RR Hood-bare $ 85.70
Front Fenders $ 122.20 ($ 61.10 ea. bare)
Inner Fender Shields $ 15.30 ($ 7.65 ea. Coronet price)
RR center Grill $ 18.50
RR side Grills $ 15.60 ($ 7.80 ea. Plus brackets and more)
Fr. Parking Lt. Assembs. $ 11.90 ($ 5.95 ea.)
Plus wiring and a lot of smaller trim-it adds up.
Aside here: Here is another reason that the Urban Myth of converting Superbirds to Road Runners has some major holes in it. Let's take a 440+6 car because it is easiest to convert. Superbird base cost $4,298, 440+6 option 114.05: dealer sales price $4417. Road Runner Hardtop base cost $ 3034, 440+6 option $250, PS $ 105, PDB $ 71, Perf. axle package $92, Vinyl top $ 96: dealer sales price $ 3648. This is a $769 dollar difference, plus the cost of conversion parts, labor, and paint. Then inventory the extra parts?
By the mid 1970's the DSAC and WW clubs were up and knowledge was being shared. But in 1970 the information seems to be much harder to find.
Fender scoops were $ 14.58 ea. over the counter in 1977, I wonder what they were in 1970?
My quote at the dealer for a Bird cone was for an assy. Not just the outer shell.
Headlights, wiring, etc. all there. Ready to attach to the frame rail extension brackets...