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1970 Dodge Super Bee

1970 facelift of the budget muscle Coronet. WM21 (coupe) and WM23 (hardtop) bodies. Standard 383 four-barrel; optional 440 Six-Pack and 426 Hemi.

The Super Bee was Dodge's budget muscle car — built down to a price by giving the buyer the powertrain (383 N-code four-barrel standard) and not much else. For 1970 it received a substantial facelift, gaining the divided 'rotary loop' grille, prominent hood scoops, and either bumblebee tail stripes or a longitudinal C-stripe along the body side. WM21 was the post coupe; WM23 was the two-door hardtop. A convertible Super Bee was not offered.

Designer — the 1970 Coronet / Super Bee facelift was developed in the Dodge Studio under styling chief William (Bill) Brownlie, Dodge's chief designer through the 1968–1976 muscle era and the same studio that produced the 1968 Charger (principal designer Richard Sias) and the 1970 Challenger (principal designer Carl Cameron). The 1970 Coronet's 'rotary-loop' twin-grille front end is the most-discussed element of that year's restyle; the public record names Brownlie's studio as a whole rather than a single sketch credit.

1970 Super Bee production is estimated at 15,506 cars total across both body styles, all engines. The V-code Six-Pack option is among the rarest engine choices, second only to the 426 Hemi.

detail shots

Front three-quarter view of a 1970 Dodge Super Bee, FE5 Bright Red, golden-hour light, dual hood scoops
Phil's V-code Super Bee at golden hour. Twin hood scoops with V21 flat-black blackout. The dual-loop 'rotary' grille is the 1970 facelift's signature element — Bill Brownlie's Dodge Studio reskin.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Side profile of a 1970 Dodge Super Bee in front of a black barn, V6W longitudinal C-stripe visible
Side profile against a black barn. The longitudinal V6W C-stripe is the alternative to the bumblebee tail option — clean horizontal beltline running through door and rear quarter.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Through-the-windshield view from a 1970 Dodge Super Bee driver's seat — gauge cluster, steering wheel, road
Driver's view through the windshield. Stock Tuff steering wheel with the centered bee logo, factory three-pod gauge cluster, AM radio. The view a 1970 buyer paid for.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Top-down view of a 440 Six-Pack air cleaner in a 1970 Dodge Super Bee engine bay
Top-down on the V-code 440 Six-Pack air cleaner — single oval lid covering the three Holley two-barrel carbs underneath. The factory Mopar orange engine paint and red plug wires are correct for the period.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Rear panel of a 1970 Dodge Super Bee — chrome DODGE callout, dual taillamps, bumblebee badge
Rear panel detail — DODGE callout band between the dual taillamp pods, with the Super Bee bumblebee badge centered. 388262 plate is Phil's.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
1991 Pontiac Trans Am GTA in foreground with 1970 Dodge Super Bee under awning behind
Both cars in frame — GTA in the foreground, Super Bee under the awning behind. Twenty-one years separating the two.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Engine bay of a 1970 Dodge Super Bee showing the 440 Six-Pack air cleaner
Phil's V-code Super Bee with the air-cleaner lid in place. The Six-Pack runs three two-barrel Holleys under that lid; the orange RB-block valve covers and the heater/master-cylinder layout are correct for a 1970 Lynch Road Coronet.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Super Bee logo and C-stripe on a 1970 Dodge Super Bee rear quarter
Super Bee 'longitudinal C-stripe' treatment on the rear quarter — one of two 1970 stripe options. The other was the more familiar bumblebee tail. The bee logo with its racing helmet was Dodge's Boss-Bee mascot.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Super Bee chrome bumblebee badge on cowl
The Boss-Bee badge on the cowl. Chrome, raised wings, racing-helmet detail. Standard on 1970 Super Bee.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission
Decorative window decal on a 1970 Dodge Super Bee quarter glass
Quarter-window decal — the kind of small late-life sticker that builds up on an original car and that plenum specifically does NOT decode. We mention it only as the kind of thing that lives next to factory documents but is not factory documentation.Phil Renato (owner) — used with permission

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