Car of the Day for January 31st, 2010: Johnny Lightning XTraction Dodge Daytona Black

the too tall spoiler in the back was also adjustable and strong enough an average sized person could sit on it. the reason for the height was actually a rather pedestrian one. they had to sell the car to the public, and the trunk needed to be used and opened, the trunklid had the be able to clear the wing when opened. the height of this wing/ spoiler also helped with high speed drafting stability.  when sucked up behind another car thecar in front is cutting the airflow for you allowing your race car to save fuel, but this leaves dirty turbulent airflow behind your car making the back end loose. the  tall wing/spoiler is able to catch air above this turbulent layer keeping this car stable while drafting other race cars. the rear wing uprights were shaped as airfoils as well this helped with side to side stability as well.

i am sure you have a regular dodge charger auto world body and the daytona as well. look at the rear window of each car. the daytona has a shortened trunklid, and the rear window is canted out at the bottom to provide a smooth transition to the rear trunklid. better aerodynamics. the older charger design has the rear window more upright, and an inset panel between the rear roof pillars. this created turbulent airflow on earlier charger nascar bodies. this more aerodynamic window area was used on the 1968/1969 dodge charger 500 along with a more flush grille assembly from a 1968 dodge coronet, and on the 1969 daytona with the rear wing, and pointed nose. these post manufacturing modifications were done by hand to production built  charger R/T models at a company called metal crafters. no factory daytonas, or 500s came with a vinyl top. if it has one then somebody did it after the car was originally sold

also note on the picture tony has posted the chrome trim shrouds on the A pillars. these were unique to the charger 500, daytona and plymouth superbird as an aerodynamic aid. it smoothed out the airflow, and were fitted to the production cars for homologation as well. the 1969 charger daytona used early production 1970 dodge charger front fenders and hood to attach the nose cone. the 1970 charger used a loop style bumper that made the nose cone fit better than the 1969 version. the 1970 plymouth superbird had a unique aerodynamic rear glass window than the roadrunner it was built out of, and used 1970 dodge coronet front fenders, and a 1970 dodge coronet hood with a modified front sheetmetal transition piece to mate it to its nose cone. all 1970 production street superbirds came with vinyl tops, as the roof rear window modifications were more extensive than the daytona, plus 1,800 were built. the vinyl top was a faster way to get the cars built and out the door.

also the rearward facing scoops on the front fenders were a superbird / daytona only item. on the production cars these were just for looks. the real race cars had holes cut out underneath them. this was for allowing air out of the fenderwells at high speed allowing the car to stick better to the track.

the dodge charger 500 and dodge daytona were the first race cars to be designed and tested in a wind tunnel. this was done at lockheed martin in marietta georgia. this all stemmed from NASCAR putting restrictor plates on the big hemis that were stomping  Generic Mortars and Furd. they couldent get more power out of the engine, so they had to get creative. ford cobbled up a few grand torino king cobra prototypes, but this all ended when nascar issued a rule change NO alternate body styles in 1971. only 6 of the king cobras were built as a design exercize to counder the dodge plymouth assault on nascars speedways, but never saw any track time.

it must also be said that the tire technology was not up to the challenge that these cars were giving it. several racers boycotted the larger faster tracks at this time in history, as the tire carcasses were coming apart at these newer higher speeds.

just some more info on these wonderful beasts

matt

hi angel

i have one of these beauties, actually 3 of these bodys. 2 are unmolested, and one is chopped and lowered and sitting on one of my winningest chassis. it is a sinister looking car i agree. looks even better when cut down and lightened to make it perform better.

i will put mine on a forum post for you to check out.

matt

Angel; I have seen several of these in the flesh over the years. If heavy means excessive the rear spoiler is just that, as it stands two feet above the trunk deck. The nose was made of fiberglass and for racing was also fitted with a spoiler to improve downforce on the Daytona banking. These were indeed fast Mopars in their day with a Plymouth Superbird also a styling exercise that saw competition on the NASCAR and street scene, as Dodge had to sell to the public five hundred examples with Hemi powerplants that were either 440 or 426 cubic inches. Five hundred and three examples were eventually sold.  Bobby Isaac set a world closed course record of 201.104 mph and at the Bonneville Salt Flats straight-lined an unlimited class record of 217. mph.  Sadly the Dodge version was only offered in 1969 but the Plymouth version soldiered on through 1970. Pictured is the K&K Insurance car propelling Bobby Issac into the history books. God Bless! Tonymgbbrown