Hi Bill,
You are correct, I always get those two switched. I do know that the B-pillar ties the frame better than the pillarless coupes, and that was why the 440 6-packs and Hemi cars tended to have them. The sure-fire way is to look for the boxed front frame perch, which only appears on the Hemi/Six-Pack and Convertables. But these are Mopar, so I have learned to never say never. In conversations with several of the racers of the era, I know that they prefered the Pillared coupes because of the added rigidity, and the decreased (albeit minor) in weight with the deletion of the crank mechanism. The fixed glass was also easier to replace with lightweight glass. No it is not a 100% way to tell a BB from a SB, but at a casual glance when you see a car in a listing or something, or in a junkyard, etc it is a beginning. You are correct about the VIN as I stated, it will always tell you exactly what you are looking at. I know the Coronet R/T's and GTX's weren't raced nearly as much!
because of the added weight restrictions that they carried due to most of them being 'well optioned'. I have seen some stripped out Coronet R/T's and GTX's but they never came that way.
I have never personally seen the 71 Charger or the 71 Monaco with the headlight washers, but the two service manuals that I have for those cars give a section on them and a troubleshooting guide. Now service manuals are known to be wrong on things, so maybe it was a misprint. I don't have access to parts books for the two cars from 71, but I do have a 73 book. I have also seen parts for sale on eBay for the systems. Particularly the Charger. Maybe someone could look it up in a 71 parts book? I know that the vast majority of Plymouth Furys/Dodge Monaco/Polara of the era went into Police/Taxi service, which is why I stated fleet duty. As to the Fury I vs. the Fury II, I am unsure as I specialize in Dodges more than Plymouths. They are fairly rare today, when was the last time you saw one?
Just my pennies,
Charles.
From: Bill Watson <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 2005/01/24 Mon PM 02:34:34 EST
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Riding the Coupe
Actually, a hardtop had NO "B" pillar. A 4-door model with a "B" pillar
was called a 4-door sedan, while a pillarless model was called a 4-door
hardtop. Check any Chrysler Corporation brochure, parts book or service
manual. Chrysler did call the pillarless 4-door a Special Sedan during the
1950's and early 1960's,
Your 1973 Chrysler Newport is a 4-door hardtop, if it has no "B" pillar
(VIN - CL43). If is has a pillar, it is a 4-door sedan (CL41).
The 1968-70 B body coupe was a 2-door hardtop with the roll-down rear
quarter glass replaced by a flip-out glass. The B pillar in the coupe added
no strength to the body but was there as a place to attach the flip-out
glass.
Whether or not a car has a B pillar is no way to determine if the car has a
big block engine or small. Both the Road Runner and the Super Bee came as a
coupe ("21" - flip-out glass with "B" pillar) and 2-door hardtop ("23" -
roll-down glass with no "B" pillar). The Coronet R/T and Satellite GTX
both came with big block engines and both were pillarless hardtops.
The only true way to tell a 1968-75 Road Runner from its siblings is the
second digit in the VIN. A Road Runner has "M" for the second digit, while
the base Belvedere/Satellite was "L". The Satellite/Sebring hardtops were
"H", the Sport Satellite/Sebring Plus was "P" and the GTX "S". Similarly,
the Super Bee was "M". Only the Road Runner and Super Bee were "M", and
"M" was used only for the Road Runner and Super Bee..
The 1970 Fury Gran Coupe was based on the Fury II 2-door sedan while the
1971 Gran Coupe was based on the Fury III 2-door formal hardtop and the
4-door hardtop. The package included upgraded interior, vinyl roof, Sport
Fury grille, larger base V8 engine and A/C. They were hardly fleet models
as they retailed for about $2,000 more than the base Fury I. .
The headlamp washer (sales code J24) was available only on the 1971 Plymouth
Sport Fury and Imperial LeBaron, the ones with the hide-away headlamps. It
was not available on the 1971 Dodge Monaco as it did not have hide-away
headlamps.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
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