Speedvision’s American Musclecar series is a favorite among musclecar nuts the world over. We advise that you seek out the episodes, some going back many years, and enjoy the history and little known facts you’ll learn in every half-hour show. One of our favorites is the one on Mopar’s wing cars of 1969 and 1970. Namely the NASCAR Aero Warriors known as the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird.

Yes, any good Mopar lover knows the story of these cars note for note. They were built to homologate a wild aerodynamic body shape for NASCAR, that would meet the racing organization’s minimum production requirements. But not many people realize how much trouble Mopar had turning their race car shape into a running street car for sale to the public. Or the difficulties of safely adapting such a fast car to the race tracks of 1969 and 1970 with existing tire technology.

It’s a fascinating story that Speedvision tells through the eyes of those who were there. The engineers, the new car dealers, the racers behind the wheel – they’re all here, their stories immortalized on video tape.

One of our favorites is how Dodge snookered the NASCAR officials into believing they built more street Daytonas than they actually did. The assembly line workers drove the same cars around the back of the holding yard building to the front, over and over again, seemingly showing off upwards of a thousand cars. Only 503 Daytonas were ever built though.

Then there are the dealers who show up here with their stories of having these crazy looking vehicles on their lots, unsold, for years. You have to remember, nobody wanted these cars. And the dealers had to do some pretty creative things to move them out the door.

It’s all here in a great episode that deserves your full attention. One of Ma Mopars greatest racing tales, well told. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDf16zpGZc