http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-passenger/1969-dodge-daytona-rare-finds/ar-AA9QEe0?ocid=spartanntp
"Credit Chrysler technician Greg Kwiatkowski" who "met Larry Rathgeb, supervisor of the Special Vehicles Group during Chrysler's stock car program in the '60s and early '70s; Larry still worked for the company.
"We'd talk on and off about the winged cars," recalls Greg. "At the time, I had a street Daytona and a street Superbird. I'd go over to his house and on occasion would buy stuff from him: documentation, race tires, memorabilia. One day, he mentioned the No. 88 car in the Talladega Museum wasn't the real thing; it wasn't the car that set the record."
http://aerowarriors.com/88daytona.html
What I don't get is why they would go through all the trouble to rebody a 69 Daytona as a 74 Charger. Why not just build a 74 Charger out if a 74 Charger?
Quote from: bull on December 19, 2015, 11:25:21 PM
What I don't get is why they would go through all the trouble to rebody a 69 Daytona as a 74 Charger. Why not just build a 74 Charger out if a 74 Charger?
Because building a brand new '73 Charger would take a lot more money and time than updating the body skin on the existing car. By 1973, the factories had stopped sponsoring the teams. Everything was being paid for out of pocket. They would usually source the new body from a salvage car to keep the cost down. The older factory sponsored cars kept racing for years this way. Nothing was thrown away until it was completely raced out. That's why so few of the cars exist today.
Especially if you had a chassis that worked well.
Quote from: Ghoste on December 19, 2015, 11:36:19 PM
Especially if you had a chassis that worked well.
Exactly. The same driver cut down his other Charger race car into a Dodge Aspen because he liked the way it handled. Had that Aspen been wrecked bad enough, the same fate may have awaited the #88.
Is the wheelbase the same between 69 and 74?
I recently saw this Charger in the World of Speed museum and noticed it was listed as a 1975, which had me scratching my head. The plaque hints that it was a 74 that was raced in 75. Maybe it's a rebody too.
Quote from: bull on December 20, 2015, 01:57:34 PM
Is the wheelbase the same between 69 and 74?
Yes, the wheelbase is identical. Once the car has the 71 and up windshield frame on it, it could even be updated to a 78 Magnum without changing the windshield header.
Quote from: bull on December 20, 2015, 02:21:34 PM
I recently saw this Charger in the World of Speed museum and noticed it was listed as a 1975, which had me scratching my head. The plaque hints that it was a 74 that was raced in 75. Maybe it's a rebody too.
I "thought" the Vandiver Charger on the west coast was a replica. Ray Evernham owns the survivor Vandiver 74 Charger that came out of Florida. I don't know the history of the one in the museum you posted the pic of. Obviously, the 1975 notation on the sign is an error.
Quote from: Aero426 on December 20, 2015, 09:24:10 PM
Quote from: bull on December 20, 2015, 02:21:34 PM
I recently saw this Charger in the World of Speed museum and noticed it was listed as a 1975, which had me scratching my head. The plaque hints that it was a 74 that was raced in 75. Maybe it's a rebody too.
I "thought" the Vandiver Charger on the west coast was a replica. Ray Evernham owns the survivor Vandiver 74 Charger that came out of Florida. I don't know the history of the one in the museum you posted the pic of. Obviously, the 1975 notation on the sign is an error.
I thought, due to Petty's influence, that the 3rd Gen Charger body was actually allowed to run for 5 years after it was released, up until '79. This was a deviation from Nascar's stated policy of only allowing model years 3 years old in completion. So in Nascar lingo, there were '75-'79 Chargers, they were just bodies as '74s.
Semantics I suppose.
Very cool, hopefully they will rebuild the original 88 with the pieces laying around White's shop.
Would NASCAR require them to state the calendar year for the car though or would they not still allow them to call it a 74?
Quote from: Ghoste on December 21, 2015, 12:23:48 PM
Would NASCAR require them to state the calendar year for the car though or would they not still allow them to call it a 74?
They were always called by the actual model year of the car. The 1974 Charger was eligible to race one additional year through the end of 1977. It was grandfathered that extra year until the new Dodge Magnum became available.
Quote from: 68pplcharger on December 21, 2015, 11:11:59 AM
Very cool, hopefully they will rebuild the original 88 with the pieces laying around White's shop.
It is. Everything you saw in the link, and more. :2thumbs:
Here's the original story from 02.
http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/mopp-0201-1969-dodge-daytona/
Ryan