What are the differences between the 68 and 69 Superbee?

[Bart K]

I am still waiting on pics. As soon as I have them, I will share them.

Still no pics yet, but I had a buddy (Larry) go by and take a look. His wife is not well and he did not have time for pics. He says the car looks very straight, the only rust (other than some surface rust on the frame) was a small bubble near the rear window trim and the same on the windshield. No quarter panel or rocker rust. I mentioned previously that the car had been stolen, and when he got the car back, I guess some dings had to be fixed and he chose to go with a Corvette silver than back with the original silver color. From what my buddy tells me, the original color is still in the door jambs, trunk and engine compartment. Speaking of the trunk, no rust and the original spare and jack are in their original place. I am told that the car was running when it was parked. The engine was never opened up, but the carb and rear end gears were changed for racing. The original owner does rear end rebuilds for a living (and other gear boxes as well) and he believes the original pumpkin is still there, but it currently has 3:91 sure grip gears in it now. I would go back to the 3:23 sure grip if I buy the car. The car has about 55k original miles on it, but it shows 63k because when he was running 4:88's and 3:91's, the trans gear was not changed, so the odometer is showing more miles than actual. He has the original wheels and Superbee badges as well as some other NOS items he bought back in the day including new wheel lip moldings. The bumpers will need to be re-chromed or replaced. This is a Silver car with what my buddy Larry describes as a pearlish white interior. He says the back seat looks new and the front seat has a few splits where the thread has rotted and I guess the carpet is also still good. He says it does not smell like any critters have gotten inside. One big issue is that apparently when the car was stolen, they took the fender tag, so that sucks. The owner also does not have any original paperwork, but he does have one picture from back in the day. My buddy Larry has agreed (actually wants to) see if he can get the car running, so he will drop the fuel tank, blow out all the lines, change all the fluids and get some tires and a battery for the car and see if she will light off. It will be much easier to ship a running car if I buy it. I have no idea when he can get back for pics. The owner (this is a one owner car) said he would pull the cover and they would wash it before pics. It has the original 335 HP 383 and it is an automatic on the column. I am thinking to offer him 18k and see where it goes from there. Any opinions? Yeah, I know it would be easier with pics, but that is not an option right now. Oh yeah, he says the dash has one small crack in it.

 

[oldbee]

IMHO- start at 10k and work your way up.. No fender tag might just mean you’re getting a story that may be stretched a little?

 

[Bart K]

IMHO- start at 10k and work your way up.. No fender tag might just mean you’re getting a story that may be stretched a little?

That is always a possibility, but not likely in this case because my buddy Larry who went and looked at the car for me has known the original owner since he bought the Superbee new back in 67 or 68. I know he has turned down 17k already, so we will see where it goes from here. I promise pics as soon as Larry can get them. This also brings up a question Larry and I had. If we find the broadcast sheet, is it possible or legal to get a replacement fender tag? Does anyone even do that kind of thing? The original owner said he did not even notice it was gone until my buddy Larry asked him about it. He said he did not remove it and suspects is was taken when the car was stolen. One last piece of info, the car has not been registered since 1991, so it has ben sitting for 27 years.

 

[PP1RT]

Don't do the fake fender tag thing. Just makes for more trouble down the line. You can't verify the options unless you have the build sheet. If you have the build sheet that is better than the fender tag anyways. Jmho.

Sounds like a cool Bee. Good luck!

 

[Bart K]

Don't do the fake fender tag thing. Just makes for more trouble down the line. You can't verify the options unless you have the build sheet. If you have the build sheet that is better than the fender tag anyways. Jmho.

Sounds like a cool Bee. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestion! I hope we can find the build sheet. I was thinking it may be under the back seat. Any other places I should look???

 

[GetX'd]

You might look behind the glove box liner. I agree with Oldbee that $18k is pretty rich for what you’ve described so far. Not trying to burst your bubble cause I can tell you’re pretty stoked about the possibility of owning this car. The adrenaline can get your mental motor running in high gear and we tend to overlook what it’s going to cost to bring it up to your desires. Just becuase he turned down $17k once doesn’t mean the car is worth more. I would also start lower try to keep things in perspective. I wish you good luck as well! Keep us posted.

 

[BeeKool]

That is always a possibility, but not likely in this case because my buddy Larry who went and looked at the car for me has known the original owner since he bought the Superbee new back in 67 or 68. I know he has turned down 17k already, so we will see where it goes from here. I promise pics as soon as Larry can get them. This also brings up a question Larry and I had. If we find the broadcast sheet, is it possible or legal to get a replacement fender tag? Does anyone even do that kind of thing? The original owner said he did not even notice it was gone until my buddy Larry asked him about it. He said he did not remove it and suspects is was taken when the car was stolen. One last piece of info, the car has not been registered since 1991, so it has ben sitting for 27 years.

Not sure about your state laws, but some states charge more to re-register a vehicle that has gone delinquent with its tags.
The almost 30 years may cost you upwards of 500 dollars or so.
I'm sure each state is different but some thing to consider

 

[Bart K]

You might look behind the glove box liner. I agree with Oldbee that $18k is pretty rich for what you’ve described so far. Not trying to burst your bubble cause I can tell you’re pretty stoked about the possibility of owning this car. The adrenaline can get your mental motor running in high gear and we tend to overlook what it’s going to cost to bring it up to your desires. Just becuase he turned down $17k once doesn’t mean the car is worth more. I would also start lower try to keep things in perspective. I wish you good luck as well! Keep us posted.

Thanks for the reminder of restraint. I know emotions can run away with us sometimes!

 

[Bart K]

Not sure about your state laws, but some states charge more to re-register a vehicle that has gone delinquent with its tags.
The almost 30 years may cost you upwards of 500 dollars or so.
I'm sure each state is different but some thing to consider

Thanks for that information. I will do some research for that and see what I may be in for!

 

[Bart K]

First pictures of the 68 Superbee. My buddy Larry is not computer fluent, so I am walking him through downloading them from his camera and mailing them to me. He has about 25 more pics, so more to come!

 

[BeeKool]

Do the fishing poles come w the car?

 

[Bart K]

Do the fishing poles come w the car?

I asked that question! He said they have been on there all 27 years the car has been parked, but I think he plans to keep them ;-)

 

[BeeKool]

Looks good thus far.

 

[SuperBee1]

Here's my '68.
It's numbers matching 383 auto with 61000 org. miles
Got all the paperwork back to the day it was bought.

 

[Bart K]

Here's my '68.
It's numbers matching 383 auto with 61000 org. miles
Got all the paperwork back to the day it was bought.

View attachment 627152

Sweet ride man!!!

 

[Bart K]

Ok, more pics, not sure how many I can attach to one message. I guess I will find out! Ok, I found out that the limit is 10. Sorry some of the pics are a little shaky and blurred, but this is what I could get. More pics on the next message.

 

[Bart K]

Even more pics.

 

[Bart K]

Last pics I think....also, apparently the original wheels and tires plus some NOS exhaust pieces and wheel lip moldings go with the car.

 

[GetX'd]

A good wax job and it’ll be just like new....

 

[Bart K]

A good wax job and it’ll be just like new....

Hell yeah!!!