— BARE BONES HEMI® ENGINE-POWERED MUSCLE CAR
— ONLY 38 HARDTOP 4-SPEED HEMI ’69 SUPER BEES PRODUCED
— ULTRA RARE “X9 – V9X” OPTIONED CAR!
With the HEMI engine, 4-speed gearbox and 4.10:1 rear gears, getting the rear tires to break loose is an effortless adventure for this 1969 Dodge Super Bee! The car screams and driving it flat-out was something owners definitely did when these potent machines were new … and still do today!
Super Bee was the “budget” mid-sized member of the Scat Pack, Dodge’s line of muscle cars, and they were based on the Coronet series and were “no-frills” in presentation. Dodge Scat Pack cars were “the cars with Bumblebee stripes” and the Super Bee featured a minimum of trim. Standard equipment included HD suspension, HD shocks, HD brakes, 4-speed transmission with Hurst floor shift, Charger Rallye dash, a domed hood and a rear Bumblebee stripe, in either black, white or red color. The base Super Bee was a pillared coupe car (with pop-out rear windows).
Two different engines were available for the Super Bee package, the standard engine was the “Magnum” version of the 383-cid 4-barrel V8, delivering 335 horsepower @ 5,200 rpm. The 383 engine design had “wedge” design cylinder heads and the Magnums featured 10.0:1 compression ratio, better-breathing cylinder heads from the big-brother 440-cid mill, hotter cam, improved exhaust manifolds, a crankshaft wintage tray, a single four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts.
More serious enthusiasts and racers chose the optional 426-cid HEMI engine for their needs, and this monster cranked out 425 ponies @ 5,000 rpm and used a mechanical camshaft, 10.25:1 compression ratio forged pistons, 284°/284°-60° duration, 484-/475-inch lift mechanical camshaft, and a pair of Carter four-barrel carburetors, all good for an impressive 490 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm. The 426 HEMI engine had cross-bolted main bearing caps, tri-metal bearings, roller timing chain, shot-peened, hardened crankshaft and wintage tray. Basically, a de-tuned race engine for the street!
BUDGET MUSCLE MACHINE FROM DODGE
The pictured black-hued 1969 Super Bee Hardtop is considered one of the finest examples of the ’69 HEMI Super Bee on the planet. It had a base price of $3,138.00 and came with the E74 $830.65 426 Hemispherical-headed engine option. A big Dana 60 rear end was factory-ordered as it is an A34 Track Pak (4.10:1 ratio) option car, at the extra cost of $256.45. The 4-speed gearbox (extra-strong HEMI spec) was an additional $197.00. Outside of the AM radio ($61.55), there wasn’t much in the way of things on this particular car that didn’t scream out “pure performance.” Red Line rubber helps offset all the black on the car, and the Super Bee model also had a “blacked out” grille treatment to add distinction to its front end. These B-body Dodge vehicles ran on a 117-inch wheelbase, 15-inch wheels standard on Super Bee models.
V9X STRIPE OVER X9 PAINT
This rare ’69 HEMI Bee is perhaps the rarest of the breed in light of its all-black presentation. If viewed from a distance, the black tail stripe isn’t even noticeable, and that begs the question: why did the original buyer order a black car with a black Bumblebee? Whatever the reason, it sure created an unusual variant of the 1969 Dodge Super Bee!
YEAH, IT’S GOT A HEMI!
When this Super Bee was built, the 426 HEMI engine was the only optional powerplant. It featured large, complex cylinder head castings, double rocker shafts, forged rocker arms, huge valves (2.25-inch intake, 1.94-inch exhaust) with cylinder head ports designed to inhale and exhale huge gulps of air! As featured here as a production 1969 example, they featured black wrinkle finish valves covers and fresh-air induction.
426 Street HEMI engines came standard with a pair of inline Carter Aluminum Four Barrel (AFB) carbs, # 4139S (front), #4140S (rear).
INNOCENT-LOOKING APPEARANCE
“Plain Jane” best describes the Dodge Super Bee for ’69, especially when equipped with a minimum of options. This HEMI engine-powered 4-speed car has a serious no-nonsense appearance from every angle.
TWIN FUNCTIONAL SCOOPS STANDARD EQUIPMENT
HEMI Super Bee cars came standard with these air scoops, which were functional and fed air to the monster under the hood!
NO FRILLS INTERIOR
Standard bench seat adds to the “taxi-cab” appearance of the Dodge Super Bee interior; however, the 4-speed Hurst Shifter and Charger Rallye instrument panel served notice that this was a serious muscle machine.
GRILLE IDENTIFICATION
The grille has a chrome Super Bee logo emblazoned on it, it being the front identifier as to what model Coronet the car was.
SUBTLE BUMBLEBEE STRIPE
The Bumblebee stripe was normally of a contrasting color, so when someone ordered a black car with a black stripe, it was a rarity and this adds to the uniqueness of this feature car. This is the way it was ordered from the factory!
M46 Simulated Air Scoops on the quarter panels were cosmetic, a $35.80 option.
A reproduction 70-amp battery was sourced during the restoration on this car, and is faithful to the original as fitted to HEMI engine-powered cars, as are the battery cables and hold-down hardware. Orange over-spray on the negative cable is consistent with factory procedure circa 1969 model year.
This feature car is fitted with authentic “Super Sports Wide Oval” Firestone rubber (Red Stripe G70x15) and is missing the stock hub caps, with the stock lug nuts were replaced with chrome acorn lug nuts reminiscent of the 1969 1/2 “Six Pack” Super Bee models.
This view shows the Dana 60 center section as well as the beefy rear leaf springs, which featured six leaves on the driver’s side and seven on the right (to deal with the rotation of the crankshaft). The undercarriage detail on this example is spectacular!
RAMCHARGER AIR INDUCTION
The HEMI Super Bees in ’69 came standard with this functional Ramcharger dual hood scoop system, complete with cable to close the system in the event of snow, rain conditions or dust storm.
There’s nothing quite like the rumble of a HEMI engine blasting by on a country road!
Renderings from the 1969 Dodge ordering book showing the Hardtop and Coupe versions, “Red Line” tires as included in the list of standard equipment.
PART OF THE DODGE SCAT PACK
“You’re sitting watching the Christmas tree, when this thing with scoops on the hood throbs up. There’s crazy on the rear and some kind of bee. Goodbye: it’s Super Bee. The scoops scoop. With its new Ramcharger Air Induction System, the vent opens and a sudden rush of cool, dense air is rammed through the carburetor. The engine gets the message loud and strong. You might say Ramcharger turns a hot mill on by cooling it. Standard with a HEMI and optional with the 383 Magnum V8.”
Here’s the 1969 Dealer Promo Film for the new Coronet line:
Author: James Maxwell