Memories, Honor, In Addition To A 1969 Dodge Super Bee On Memorial Day
Tom Waters bought the yellowish Super Bee inward March of 1969 later serving a tour inward the U.S. Marine Corps. The 22-year-old returned dwelling solid to Statesboro, Georgia merely long plenty to autumn inward dearest alongside the Y2 paint, 383-equipped Mopar on the dealership lot. Tom’s payments were $111 per month.
H5N1 few months after buying the Super Bee, Tom drove his younger brother, Danny Waters, to Estill, South Carolina. Danny was on his agency to Vietnam courtesy of the U.S. Army. The memories from that trip inward Tom’s Super Bee would terminal a lifetime.
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| Vietnam vet Danny Waters drives the 1969 Dodge Super Bee his blood brother bought inward March of 1969. |
Last ride alongside brother
The trip to South Carolina in the Super Bee would last the terminal time the Waters brothers would run into each other. Before Tom made his 5th payment on the ’69 Dodge he succumbed to leukemia.
Danny received emergency larn out from the Army to attend his brother’s funeral. The solid unit of measurement attributes Tom’s abrupt illness, together with untimely death, to fourth dimension spent at Camp Lejeune (evidence of contaminated H2O supply).
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| Dodge built less than 28,000 hardtop together with coupe Super Bees inward 1969. |
Keeping the memories alive
When Danny returned from active duty inward Vietnam, his parents decided to operate along driving Tom’s Super Bee. The auto was novel dependable transportation. Despite manual steering, together with manual drum brakes, Danny’s mother became the primary driver of the Super Bee.
“Insurance paid the residue owed on the car,” said Danny. “The 5th payment sideslip is notwithstanding inward the book.”
Other solid unit of measurement members also took turns behind the wheel, equally the Mopar served duty for college commuting together with daily errands.
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| Tom together with Danny Waters’ Vietnam-era Canis familiaris tags displayed on the dash of the 1969 Dodge. |
Bent but non broken
The Dodge did suffer a few dents together with dings. Someone rammed into the quarter panel together with the right nurture corner also took a hit. Traces of a piece panel tin last seen on the side behind the driver’s door. Most of the master Y2 paint remains. Some of the damaged areas have been covered alongside dark primer. The damaged rear bumper was straightened together with the Super Bee remained a one-family-owned driver.
By the early on 1990s, Danny’s mom grew weary of the difficult steering, together with manual everything. The Super Bee had been sent to the shed.
“My mother handed me the keys when the Dodge had less than 80k miles,” said Danny. The odometer at nowadays shows merely over 87k miles.
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| The 1969 Super Bee remains by together with large master alongside 87,000 miles. |
Only original once
Dog tags for Tom together with Danny tin last constitute on the dash of the Dodge. Waters’ military machine uniform mention piece is also on the dash. Vintage Mopar and Vietnam-era stickers tin last constitute inside together with exterior of the Super Bee. H5N1 few missing interior items, such equally the headliner, carpet, together with door panels give the auto a truthful hot rod appeal. Every dent, scratch, together with decal has a story.
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| The quarter panel was patched later the Super Bee was t-boned. |
Taking it to the streets
Danny shows the auto at the occasional cruise-in, which is where I caught upwards alongside him inward Fultondale, Alabama. I noticed the Dodge clit inward amidst the nearly 200 classics, together with musculus cars. The cammed-up rumble of the exhaust together with "Joe Dirt” vibe got my junkyard radar buzzing.
“Some inquire me when I’m going to pigment it, others tell me non to,” says Danny. “What produce y'all think?”
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| Danny Waters together with the 1969 Dodge Super Bee provided a Memorial Day tribute to Danny’s blood brother Tom Waters. |
If y'all pigment it, you’re roofing upwards all those stories. Nobody else has that. Anybody tin purchase a novel car. Your solid unit of measurement together with those stories are what brand the auto special. Otherwise, its novel paint, merely similar a novel car. No heart. No character.
Finding out the even out on this 1969 Super Bee on Memorial Day weekend was a process for me. Thanks for sharing Danny. Thank y'all for your service!
Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life
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| The master 383-V8 engine late received an upgraded cooling system. |
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| Rumble Bee stripe on tail of ’69 Super Bee. |
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| Several catamenia right decals tin last constitute on the Super Bee. |
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| The Super Bee was Dodge’s “B” body, mid-sized, 2-door. |
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| Danny Waters added bigger fuel lines together with a fuel jail cellular telephone inward the torso of the Bee. |
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| Twin forward-facing scoops were purpose of the “Ramcharger” air-induction hood. |
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| Vietnam-era stickers adorn interior roof. Missing headliner provide a race auto look. |
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| Bench seat, alongside no ability options – this was a standard, low-buck musculus car. |
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| Weathered paint, wearisome mirrors, large V8. This Super Bee looks unsafe inward a practiced way. |
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| Swoopy nurture drinking glass is a sight to behold. I’ve grown to dearest the subtle curves together with blueprint cues that litter the 1968-1970 Mopar intermediates. |
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| Bumper was straightened later nurture destination collision. Scars to the body stay nether dark primer. |
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| Dodge Super Bees had a 1-inch longer wheelbase (117-inch) than Plymouth Roadrunners. |
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| Coke bottle styling rocked the automotive landscape inward 1968. In 1969, things got wilder alongside to a greater extent than scoops together with stripes. |
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| The Super Bee emblem decal packet was good received but sales of the Plymouth Roadrunner dwarfed the Bees 3-to-1 inward 1969. |
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| Worn pigment identifies the high contact areas of the hardtop Bee. |
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| Ramcharger air-induction hood was a novel selection on the ’69 Super Bee. |
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| The animated Super Bee emblems are chrome-plated diecast medallions. |
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| Dodge’s 383-V8 engine delivered 335-hp at 5,200 RPM when new. |
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| Trim tag identifies all the Mopar goodies on this ’69 Super Bee. |
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| Styling elements from the Dodge Charger melded alongside the Coronet-based Super Bees of ’68-70 vintage. |
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| Steelies together with Canis familiaris dish hub caps upwards front, forthwith steel wheels out back. |
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| 48 years worth of memories. I’d state this Super Bee has been worth every penny. |
Know an interesting auto collector or nigh a junkyard that nosotros ask to visit? Tips for our projects?
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com