1970 Coronet R/T Clone - What Is Not Correct?

This Coronet R/T clone/tribute/rebadge/etc. popped up and I was curious what restoration points aren’t correct. It looks like they did a really nice job on the bodywork (in pictures of course) and the paint looks sharp. It has a rebuilt 440 and a 4 speed, undercarriage was painted body color and looks really clean. There are several things that aren’t ‘right’ for an R/T, it started life as a Coronet with a 383, not sure what model.

So far I have seen the tail panel and taillights are Coronet/Superbee, the side scoops are not body color, the hood scoops are not body color, and the badge on the scoop is for a challenger (?). What else isn’t R/T correct? The price is very reasonable for a car in this condition, regardless of correctness.

The rear stripe is crooked on one side too. Oops!

A few more pictures:

the side scoops are actually door scoops form a 1970 Charger

Might be easier to list what is correct.

It's not a Coronet R/T so no matter how much of one they put on this car it's not correct anyway, so stop worrying about it.

I mean just under the hood, the exhaust is incorrect, the valve covers are in correct, the electronic ignition is incorrect, the ballast resistor is incorrect, the radiator is incorrect, the fan shroud is incorrect, the battery is incorrect, the battery hold downs are incorrect, the trans cooler is incorrect and that's just what I can see.

If I was looking at it I would judge it based on what it is and whether I thought it was worth what they were asking, but I would never judge it based on what it isn't and never will be,

Sniper -

Understood. The mechanicals being factory correct are not as important to me as external mistakes. If I ended up with this car it would be cool to have a Coronet 500 or whatever it was with a souped up drive train than a poorly done clone, if that makes sense. It seems like this car would have been easier to clone into a Superbee.

The car has a strange spoiler on the trunk lid too.

I suppose it would depend on what you intended to do with the car.

Outside of the Mopar circle, most people would have no idea it isn't an RT someone simply upgraded so they could drive it. These days, that is pretty acceptable from most people. If the intent to to drive it hand have fun, it would be a great ride, if the price is right for what it is.

If you intend to take it to Mopar shows and claim it as an RT or just enter it under the modified class, you are not going to have much fun. The Mopar purest will go crazy complaining about what is wrong with it, you won't get a moment of peace. I personally would drive the wheels off of it and enjoy it immensely, but I would not even consider entering it into any Mopar show, in any class there.

The general public would accept it with open arms and you would get thumbs up every place you took it. The Mopar people will hate it and they will hate you for ruining their purest viewpoint. As someone has already stated, it will never be an RT. Can you bear that response? That would be what is in your future.

Honestly, those quarter scoops and rear spoiler kill it for me: it would drive me nuts if it was my car.
Otherwise, it looks like a pretty nice driver.

Poorboy -

You’re right about car shows. People are very good at finding all the incorrect parts…my 67 Belvedere II had a 383 instead of a 318 and people picked part every little incorrect detail at the few mopar shows I entered. It’s kind of fun for attendees to test their knowledge. I had a real roadrunner and it was a wonderful car, but I realized the enjoyment for me comes from driving it to cruise-ins, hot rodding backroads on a sunny day, and entering open shows like the Rod Run to the End of the World in Ocean Park, Wa.

I’ve mentioned before that I built the car I wanted when I was in my late twenties, by the time it was functional it did t really suit my needs anymore. I would like more creature comforts, a better heater, decent brakes, more cruising friendly gear ratios, etc. In that vein I realized that because of the age of these cars and the availability of parts the difference between a tribute and a real one after a rotisserie restoration with new sheet metal, paint, glass, interior, etc is not as great as it was when they were newer. Any car needing that level of restoration is basically a new car. I totally appreciate a correct restoration of a real car, don’t get me wrong, but for a cruiser hot rod I think a modified lesser model makes sense.

Topside -

The side scoops and spoiler (is that from a modern challenger?) are not my cup of tea either. If I did purchase this car that would be my customization…remove that stuff. I really like the color, oddly enough. It’s unique and cool.

What other non R/T modifications can you see? If it was a Superbee it would have a C stripe correct?

440-6 and a 4 speed it should have a dana 60. I see this all the time where people put in a bigger motor and a 4 speed and leave the 8 3/4. I would have to get rid of the side scopes and rear spoiler. If you are considering buying i would beat him up on what is not correct. Looks like they left the original fender tag.

There are different schools of thought. There is factory correct. And there is what you like correct. Just because it isnt factory doesn't mean squat to me. I like detail and quality work. In this case the pictures appear it's a really nice car. If it was mine? I'd paint the side scoops and spoiler body color. I kind of like the spolier. It would get the valve covers painted engine color. The radiator painted black. And lose the auto parts store battery holdown. Thankfully it doesn't have 20" wheels. We have a saying. I don't build by commitee.
Doug

Well, removing the spoiler and quarter scoops probably means repairing & repainting the quarters & trunk lid and blending into the doors, as I'd bet they're bolted on. $$$
Might dodge (pardon the pun) some of that if you like the '69 quarter scoops and if they cover the holes left by removing the Charger door scoops.
A '70 Super Bee could have either a rump stripe or a C-stripe, but I don't know on an R/T; check the Hamtramck_Historical site for that.
You can also compare standard equipment & features between the 2 models there.

Sharp car! i’d get it just because the interior color LOL.

At this moment I wouldn’t care a lot how much correct is on the looks, but on the price.

If correctly priced and I can pay for it, I would correct everything is “wrong” to my taste.

(and yes, if building a clone, would go with a SuperBee clone)

They call this a clone ? I though a clone is just like the real thing, that tail panel looks really lame along with many other things

Thank you…that’s an great idea. I love doing research on stuff like that.

I couldn’t find the tail panel in any brochures or old photos. After more research it looks like the letters on the tail panel are from a 68 Coronet grill.

The VIN is WM21N0G which appears to indicate the car is a Coronet/Medium (trim class), 2 door sedan, 383 hi. Perf., 1970, assembled in St. Louis. That would indicate it was possibly a Superbee. It also seems like this supports that. 1970 Coronet info

If it’s a Factory Superbee, better to get it back to its original look and condition, keeping the drivetrain upgrade.

Now I get why it got the Rallye cluster. Was part of the Superbee package and just optional on 70 R/T.

If you’re saying that the car in question has a vin starting with WM21…… I think that car has bigger issues unless my eyes are deceiving me, as it sure looks to be a hardtop and that would have a vin starting with WM23 🧐

Don't think.

Good eye…and a good question about the VIN. Hmmm….makes me wonder.

That, and the crooked stripe. Stripe's an easy fix provided they didn't clear over it, but if they did, I'd walk away on that alone.

Whoa - WM21 VIN is a deal-killer for sure.
Coronet HT rebodied with SuperBee VIN and (poorly) dressed as an R/T is nuts.

They’re asking $32k which makes sense when you look at all the inconsistencies. I like the car but I don’t like VIN swaps! Thanks for assistance!

Does vin on dash match fender tag ? Do you have pictures of both you could show ? Is it for sale at a business or private ? Too bad they just didn’t leave original vin/fender on car. Someone put a lot of time and money into it and would have made a nice hot rod with a few changes.

I don’t have any pictures of the vin/fender tag…it’s listed online and when I asked the broker a few questions I didn’t get a response.

Link to ad

Beautiful color combo.

Hard to believe after the body & paint coming out that nice they'd let a drunk monkey put the side scoops & tail stripe on. Hope he didn't do any of the mechanicals.

You may not care about a VIN swap but it would make it a tough sale in the future if you want to get rid of it. I know I wouldn't get involved with it.