SuperBird Pace Car

SuperBird Convertible Paces The Race

This SuperBird Convertible served as pace car at a recent SCCA event held at the Miami Homestead Speedway.

SuperBird Convertible

There never was an OE convertible SuperBird.  Research indicates that there are at least a dozen now.  This particular car was built from a Satellite convertible.

Resto-Mod Cars

Resto-Mod Muscle Cars are the rage today, as was clearly evident in the October 2009 Barrett-Jackson Auction from Las Vegas.  These high performance collectibles are highly desirable because original vehicles can be priced “off the scale” or original cars can be very difficult to drive and maintain.

Resto-Mod Muscle Cars are updated versions of originals that can be fitted with Original Equipment (OE) or fully modernized technology including anti-lock brakes, better seats and seat belts.  These modern parts can make the car much more enjoyable and safer to drive than if the car were fully built with all OE components.

Reproduction Cars

Reproduction cars are available in many different configurations.  It is possible to have a brand new old car.  Carroll Shelby through his Shelby Automobiles Company has, from time to time, come up with some old chassis and ends up delivering a new automobile with a new vehicle identification number.  The Shelby saga and legend has been the source of many books.  From a resto-mod and reproduction standpoint, Shelby products can definitely qualify.

Superbird Convertible

It has been a while since I have gotten the story about this unique SuperBird.  If memory is correct there were a lot of original Superbird parts and a fairly good convertible body.  Everything was combined and then painted with Plum Crazy purple.

Unique Front and Rear

Uniqueness associated with the front and rear of the SuperBird are documented and they are unique.  This wing car has a number of adjustment points in addition to the special support members to carry wing forces into the vehicle frame. 

Front and rear modifications are a great deal more than simple  bolt on parts.

OE Remembrance

Original 1970 Superbirds and 1969 Dodge Charger Daytonas were a tough sell back then.  These cars were unique and after the high performance cars of the 60’s there was simply a lot of big engine high performance iron.  I remember the first Superbird I saw on the dealer’s lot.  This car was very visible and going back and forth to college I would pass the car.  I am absolutely certain that the dealer had to substantially discount this car to sell it.

ZL-1 Camaro

From 1968 to 1971 I worked during time off from college at Rosenthal Chevrolet in Arlington, VA.  In 1969 Chevrolet produced 69 ZL-1’s.  Rosenthal had two of them.  One sold and one was parted out.  The parted out car had the all-aluminum 427 engine and special automatic transmission removed and the powertrain was replaced with something less exotic.  These unique cars will be the focus of a future article in the Automotive Tribune. 

However, the point is, that we simply did not know how fantastic these ultra high performance cars were to become going forward. 

SuperBird Convertible

This unique car was built by Jay Vitagliano.  It features a 440 CID feeding power to a torqeflight transmission.  The car is very drivable and is a total attention getter at parades, automobile events, and just going down the highway.

Every Superbird Gets Attention

SuperBirds always get attention.  They are a remarkable piece of history.  This unique SuperBird convertible is history.

Automotive Tribune would like to thank Jay Vitagliano for sharing these photos and information about his SuperBird Convertible.