Oddly optioned cars and Dealership demonstators?

-
I didn`t have a clue what I had ! bought a new 68 form S barracuda fastback in 1968. gave $3256 for it in Tulsa, Tink Wilkerson Chrysler-Plymouth. the window sheet info said 330 h.p. roadrunner engine, along w/ the other stuff. paperwork said the only diff between it and the roadrunner 383 was the exhaust manifold on the drivers side. which didn`t mean anything to me at the time. only one I`ve ever heard of ! I floated the valves on it "showing off" at a little over 80 m.p.h. in low gear once, (by mistake) also outran a new hugger Camaro (CHEVY ADVERTISEMENT AT THE TIME) and a volkswagon thru the Ozark mountains. we were all racing, was no contest. I have never seen or heard of anyone having a barracuda w/ that option. no power anything, had disc brakes on the front. traded it in at " grand Spaulding dodge " in ok city in 69 for a 440 4 speed coronet rt. I have often wondered who got that car, and where it went. They said it sold in three hrs., when I was back in for a timing adjustment the next day . no brag- just fact, believe it or not.
surprised no one caught this : grand Spaulding dodge in okc ? NOT!-- traded it in at Jack Clark dodge at main and Chartell, in okc .
 
I believe mine was ordered as a street racer. 71 Duster 340 in Sassy Grass, V24 hood and go wing It has what I believe was a weight reducing method by not ordering certain things. Bench seat, rubber floor, auto on column, drum brakes (less drag), manual steering, No radio and steelies with dog dishes. But oddly it has the A88 interior décor package and AO1 light package!
 
Bought a 66 Belvedere II gas cap from some guys who had a station wagon.
I flagged them over and bought the gas cap.
It was an aqua blue green metallic 3 seat wagon.
383 4 bbl.
Bench seat.
Factory four on the floor.
I was pretty stunned.
 
Bought a 66 Belvedere II gas cap from some guys who had a station wagon.
I flagged them over and bought the gas cap.
It was an aqua blue green metallic 3 seat wagon.
383 4 bbl.
Bench seat.
Factory four on the floor.
I was pretty stunned.

...my 66' Valiant Station was ordered (and delivered to Vienna, Austria) with 273-2bbl, 4 on the floor, bench seat, front disc brakes, sure grip rear axle, rallye package and a few more HD (police) options.

i37172-jpg.1714917971.jpg


Some pictures and more Info:

1966 Plymouth Valiant 200 Station (special order car)
 
When Dodge was coming out with the Little Red Express trucks there was talk about outfitting them with W-2 heads. Of course they didn't end up doing that BUT... At the time I was turning wrenches at the local Exxon station. Every winter a bunch of gypsys would rent a few houses near by and would come in for gas. One day 3 of them came in driving a Little Red. I asked to check under the hood and while I was doing my routine I noticed the motor had a Holley aluminum intake with the telltale round W-2 runners. It also had exhaust manifolds. I'm not sure what was going on there but I know what I saw. The motor was not well kept and I don't believe they cared about what was under the hood. I saw the truck drive by once or twice after that, then it was gone.
 
Not A Body , but I did have a 1971 Roadrunner, super track pack, Air grabber ,Blue with black stripes and Halloween interior,,lol
 
Someone on here has a sweet 70 valiant 4 door with a 318, 3 on the floor and 8.75 one legger with 3.23 gears. Hd brakes, rubber floor mats. Its awesome
 
Last edited:
This summer I made a deal on a 71 Dart from a member here that I thought was kinda cool but when I decoded the broadcast sheet,it was really interesting.

It's a 71 Dart Swinger,318,auto,but was a factory promo car built on the first day of production and is Curious Yellow w/black vinyl roof,tinted glass(no A/C),F/R bumper guards,dual side mirrors,deluxe wheel covers,and all the trim you could handle and then some...grille moldings,belt moldings,wide sill moldings,wheel lip moldings,door edge moldings,and last but not least,the deck lid moldings.
Inside has the light package,pedal dress up,AM radio,and some other miscellaneous gadgets.

IMG_1875.JPG
 
Oof, not a Mopar but a friend of mine, an old Master Mechanic for Cadillac, worked on a 74 Coupe de Ville that had a factory 4sp manual trans in it. He looked up the VIN and sure as ****, it showed that code on the build sheet. He also owned 1 of 2 made 2002-2003 (?) Duramax Diesel short bed pickups. It was a special order with the short box and had a unique wiring harness PN for that chassis length. Thats how he found out it was unique as no one had the harness. It hydrolocked twice on him, both times they replaced the entire motor under warranty. GM finally had a recall on the M.A.N designed injectors that tended to crack.
 
Wondering what kinda wierdly optioned mopars all you folks have come acrossed in your years. Dealer demonstrator cars are some of the oddballs. There is a 68 or69 dart in my area that is a factory yellow, 4 door 4 speed 318 car. The guy who has it says it was a dealership demo car. it now has a 360 in it though factory 318 long lost. owner saved car from crusher

So oddball stuff arrived at dealers near the end of the production year- worked summers in 1968 and 1970 at a Dodge dealer in Baltimore- stuffed whatever was on the shelf into cars- many of theses "weird" combos may have a late production date...
 
I had a 70 Duster 340 bought new off the showroom floor that was a little odd. It was a two tone tor red body with black top. It had side moldings instead of stripes with a dealer installed go wing. It came with the deluxe steering wheel that included the factory tach. It was a 3 speed on the floor standard bench seat and had the 3:91 sure grip. All this with white sidewall tires.
 
20170912_135910_resized.jpg
20170825_170444_resized.jpg
IMG_0269.JPG
Think the one I'm fixing up is an oddball
1966 Barracuda Formula S 4 speed factory console, 7 1/4 sure grip, manual disc brakes retractable seat belts,and factory air conditioning ordered with just the front window tinted.
 
Plymouth dealership in Bloomington, MN had a 1970 Gran Coupe dressed as a AAR Cuda. 340 6pk, AAR hood, AAR wheels and tires, bench seat in a cloth paisley pattern, column auto, exhaust through the rear valance. It was the GM's personal ordered car and it had been stolen and stripped of the AAR parts.Car was rebuilt at the dealership and offered for sale without the 5 year/50,000 mile warranty. The AAR hood was painted body color and Gran Coupe emblems on the car.
 
a 66 4sp "S" with a 7.25? Thats almost as strange as the console on a M/T!
 
a 66 4sp "S" with a 7.25? Thats almost as strange as the console on a M/T!
Yes I wouldthink a Formula S would come with a 8 3/4. The 4 speed console is standard issue.
 
Yes I wouldthink a Formula S would come with a 8 3/4. The 4 speed console is standard issue.
I donT have my books handy but the 8 3/4 rear was a option and not part of a suspension or option package as far as I know. (In 66 A bodies)
 
Someone on here has a sweet 70 valiant 4 door with a 318, 3 on the floor and 8.75 one legger with 3.23 gears. Hd brakes, rubber floor mats. Its awesome

Sounds like mine, manual steering also.
 
Maybe the original owner was planning on putting mags on the car right away? We see people doing that a lot these days. Just go on CL (or kijiji up here) and you'll see all kinds of available "new take-off" tire and rim packages from people that upgraded their wheels on day 2.[/QUOTE]
I know if i was buying a new challenger R/T i'd upgrade everything but the wheels, then go buy better looking rollers than the factory ones, though some of the wheels they offer now are actually pretty nice.
 
Not an A-body, but one of my projects is a 1977 dodge Monaco (B-Body) 2 door, that is titled, and has a build sheet proclaiming a "Dodge-Monaco-SS" Having never heard of a "SS" mopar, (and honestly never even seeing a 2-door Monaco of this body style) I did a little research, and the SS option Monaco Did in fact exist, and it features an all white interior, side stripes, and dual sport remote mirrors. Kinda a weird critter being an odd year mopar, and odder option package.

imagejpeg_0_4.jpg
 
As it is said "Never say Never when it comes to Ma Mopar ". There were plenty of cars she built that weren't supposed to be,or were but not well known.
Over on B bodies there is a thread on Aspen/Volare' Sport Wagons.Not many made with spoilers and fender flairs,big wheels and tires, HD suspension. 360 or 318 and 4 speeds were available too. I've seen the sales ads from back then but not one in person.
 
As it is said "Never say Never when it comes to Ma Mopar ". There were plenty of cars she built that weren't supposed to be,or were but not well known.
Over on B bodies there is a thread on Aspen/Volare' Sport Wagons.Not many made with spoilers and fender flairs,big wheels and tires, HD suspension. 360 or 318 and 4 speeds were available too. I've seen the sales ads from back then but not one in person.
A friend has a Sport Wagon. Looks like this.

plymouth_volare_road_runner_sport_wagon_1979.jpg
 
I also had a '72 Duster that was a base car other than it had a 3 speed manual on the floor.
We're talking the only option it had was the floor shift.
198, manual steering and brakes, no radio, rubber mat on the floor, bench seat, standard outside mirror, steel wheels with pie plate hubcaps, etc etc.
It did have a heater, but in in Canada at least, it was standard equipment.
 
-
Back
Top