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How many 69 Bees with 4 Speed and Factory Air?

dspur

dspur

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I’m approximately 80% complete with restoration of my 69 Super Bee. It has 4 speed and factory air, D21 and H51 (fender tag pic prior to restoration attached).
I am restoring the original ac, have already had the heat ac box restored as well as the compressor.
One thing that confused me when I bought the car was the turquoise engine, and I have since determined it is the 330 horsepower version and this was to fit the ac compressor under the hood etc, or I assume so.
Anyway it is matching numbers for engine, trans, radiator core support and VIN. Quarter panel was replaced so that stamp is gone.
Also has the L31, fender turn signals but they are missing. Haven’t decided whether to install repops or not.
Anyway, I realize this is unusual to have a four speed and factory air and I’m curious as to how many were produced with this combination. Any help on determining this would be greatly appreciated.

IMG_4580.jpeg
 
Cool car!

There's no way to know that number as the factory didn't track combinations like that. You can know four speeds or you can know a/c. You can't know both.

People will try and give you guesses but that's all they are.....guesses without foundation or logic.

Yes, 1969 a/c cars got the 330 horse turquoise engine.
 
69Coronetrt said:
Cool car!

There's no way to know that number as the factory didn't track combinations like that. You can know four speeds or you can know a/c. You can't know both.

People will try and give you guesses but that's all they are.....guesses without foundation or logic.

Yes, 1969 a/c cars got the 330 horse turquoise engine.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
 
69Coronetrt said:
Cool car!

There's no way to know that number as the factory didn't track combinations like that. You can know four speeds or you can know a/c. You can't know both.

People will try and give you guesses but that's all they are.....guesses without foundation or logic.

Yes, 1969 a/c cars got the 330 horse turquoise engine.
Click to expand...
Any idea where I can get the number of four speed Super Bees for 1969? I saw a post on social media regarding 4 speed 1968 Chargers and it was a low number, like less than 300 out of the thousands of chargers produced that year. Got me curious…. I would be interested to know how many 69 Super Bees ac cars there were as well.
Thanks much.
 
Fair amount of 4 speed bees produced.

Very few AC 4 speed cars.

I've seen one 68 and there was a 70 on FBBO a few years ago.
 
dspur said:
I’m approximately 80% complete with restoration of my 69 Super Bee. It has 4 speed and factory air, D21 and H51 (fender tag pic prior to restoration attached).
I am restoring the original ac, have already had the heat ac box restored as well as the compressor.
One thing that confused me when I bought the car was the turquoise engine, and I have since determined it is the 330 horsepower version and this was to fit the ac compressor under the hood etc, or I assume so.
Anyway it is matching numbers for engine, trans, radiator core support and VIN. Quarter panel was replaced so that stamp is gone.
Also has the L31, fender turn signals but they are missing. Haven’t decided whether to install repops or not.
Anyway, I realize this is unusual to have a four speed and factory air and I’m curious as to how many were produced with this combination. Any help on determining this would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 1847370
Click to expand...
Hardtop or coupe? WM23 should be a hardtop. If so, 7363 4 speeds were produced with a 383.
 
I always heard that the A/C cars got the turquoise engines with the smaller 4 barrel (non magnum) camshaft, presumably to keep the rpm's down for the A/C drives. When researching my 66 Charger I found that the 383 four barrel usually came with 3.23 gears, but if you ordered A/C you got 2.94 gears, perhaps with the same reasoning.
 
qkcuda said:
I always heard that the A/C cars got the turquoise engines with the smaller 4 barrel (non magnum) camshaft, presumably to keep the rpm's down for the A/C drives. When researching my 66 Charger I found that the 383 four barrel usually came with 3.23 gears, but if you ordered A/C you got 2.94 gears, perhaps with the same reasoning.
Click to expand...
My factory A/C 440 GTX has the same camshaft that was used in those 383 A/C cars, dealer installed by the original owner. Smoother idle and higher torque works better with the A/C at low speeds. I used to own a comparable GTX with the stock high performance cam, and the difference is noticeable.
 
qkcuda said:
I always heard that the A/C cars got the turquoise engines with the smaller 4 barrel (non magnum) camshaft, presumably to keep the rpm's down for the A/C drives. When researching my 66 Charger I found that the 383 four barrel usually came with 3.23 gears, but if you ordered A/C you got 2.94 gears, perhaps with the same reasoning.
Click to expand...
The cam would not be a function of RPM. The engine will spin at the same rate regardless of the cam.

It depends on the year. In 68 and 69, a/c cars got the turquoise 330 horse. For 1970, they got orange 335 horse assemblies.
 
Last edited:
68BabyBlue said:
My factory A/C 440 GTX has the same camshaft that was used in those 383 A/C cars, dealer installed by the original owner. Smoother idle and higher torque works better with the A/C at low speeds. I used to own a comparable GTX with the stock high performance cam, and the difference is noticeable.
Click to expand...
In a similar vein, the standard 440 in the big Chryslers got the smaller cam and was rated at 350 HP. The TNT engines got the magnum cam and were rated at 375 HP.
 
dspur said:
Any idea where I can get the number of four speed Super Bees for 1969?
Click to expand...

WM21: about 3,427 383-4 four speeds shipped for sale in the US.
WM23: about 7,363 383-4 four speeds shipped for sale in the US

WM21: about 588 383-4 cars with a/c shipped for sale in the the US
WM23: about 1,190 383-4 cars with a/c shipped for sale in the US

Shipping numbers for cars sent to Canada or Export are unknown.
 
qkcuda said:
In a similar vein, the standard 440 in the big Chryslers got the smaller cam and was rated at 350 HP. The TNT engines got the magnum cam and were rated at 375 HP.
Click to expand...
The same dealership that owned my GTX ordered a New Yorker four door for a customer. When it arrived, the factory had messed up, and installed a TNT 440 in place of the standard engine. The customer rejected it, and it had to be deeply discounted before being sold.
 
I had a customer at my dad's Sunoco station that bought a New Yorker with the 440 TNT engine in it. No matter how much I tried to convince him, he would not put premium gas in the car. I cringed every time I filled it up. I guess he figured I was just a kid trying to get him to buy more expensive gas.
 
69Coronetrt said:
WM21: about 3,427 383-4 four speeds shipped for sale in the US.
WM23: about 7,363 383-4 four speeds shipped for sale in the US

WM21: about 588 383-4 cars with a/c shipped for sale in the the US
WM23: about 1,190 383-4 cars with a/c shipped for sale in the US

Shipping numbers for cars sent to Canada or Export are unknown.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
dspur said:
Any idea where I can get the number of four speed Super Bees for 1969? I saw a post on social media regarding 4 speed 1968 Chargers and it was a low number, like less than 300 out of the thousands of chargers produced that year. Got me curious…. I would be interested to know how many 69 Super Bees ac cars there were as well.
Thanks much.
Click to expand...
There should be some info at ‘SuperBee registry’, haven’t been on that site for awhile.
 
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