Cars can be more than just a complex machine, they can be a part of your family and represent great memories from your life. Henry George Jr.’s 1969 Dodge Super Bee is an exact replica of a car his father purchased new and raced for many years. This clone represents so much to George and he enjoys racing it every chance he gets.
George’s father walked into a Dodge dealership in 1969 and purchased a Super Bee that had some interesting documentation with it…little did he know that he had just bought a piece of Mopar history. The car in question was actually the Dodge prototype car for the lift-off hood Super Bee and was issued a new car warranty by Dodge even though it had over 2,600 miles on it. George’s father named the Super Bee “Street Cleaner” and went on to race the 440 Six Pack car from 1969-1973.
George was fond of the Super Bee and drove it to high school, it was his ride to prom, and he even had his wedding pictures taken with it. After learning how rare the car was, George pulled it out of service and purchased this 1969 Super Bee to create an exact replica of his father’s original car.
“In 2002 I purchased this Super Bee with the intentions of making an exact replica of dad’s car. A friend of mine actually started the build with this car for his son and that’s where I found it. It turns out, his son really wanted a Honda and refused to drive this car so he covered it up and set it outside. The car sat for over 10 years and when we pulled the cover off the roof was so rotten you could put your fist through it. Needless to say, he sold me the car at a reasonable price and I got to work,” George explains.
Over the next five years, George painstakingly restored the Super Bee with the help of several friends and their businesses. A 528 cubic-inch Mopar Mega Block was used as the engine’s base and was topped off with a set of B1 heads, plus a Pro System SV1 carburetor. Dynamic Converters built the 727 transmission and torque converter that delivers the power to a Moser rear end.
“It was a lot of fun building this car and it brought back a lot of memories. I really enjoy the sport of drag racing, specifically index racing, because of how competitive it is and the people I get to be around. We can race hard all day against each other, but when it’s all said and done we have no problem sharing a meal together,” George says.
There’s something to be said about taking the time to build a clone of a car you already own — it shows just how deep a bond you have with the machine. For Henry George Jr., it allows him to keep enjoying a car that means so much to his family without putting the original in any kind of peril.
