Story
1970 Dodge Super Bee 426 Hemi
The 1970 Super Bee was Dodge's Coronet-based budget muscle car, offered as a pillared coupe or hardtop. A 383 Magnum was standard, while the 426 Street Hemi sat at the top of the factory engine list. The Hemi option cost $848 in the reviewed Dodge mid-size price table, making this one of the rarest Super Bee combinations of the model year.
Factory specifications describe a 426-cubic-inch V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers, dual Carter four-barrel carburetors, 10.2:1 compression, 425 horsepower at 5,000 rpm, and 490 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. Buyers could pair it with an A833 four-speed manual and Hurst shifter or a heavy-duty TorqueFlite automatic. Axle equipment depended on transmission and package: reviewed references list 3.54 gearing for the four-speed path, 3.23 for the automatic, and optional performance ratios including 4.10.
The Hemi cars retained the Super Bee's Rallye suspension and heavy-duty brake foundation. Front disc brakes with power assist were available, while the standard interior used a vinyl bench seat and Rallye instrument cluster; bucket seats, console, and tachometer were options. A Ramcharger outside-air hood was also available, but none of these visible pieces proves the engine installed at the factory.
Period model-line records total 15,506 Super Bees: 11,540 hardtops and 3,966 pillared coupes. Secondary references report only 36 Hemi cars, split between 32 hardtops and four coupes; that Hemi total remains reported until a factory ledger or authoritative registry extract is captured. For an individual car, a factory Hemi claim starts with the R engine character in the VIN and must be reconciled with the fender tag, broadcast sheet, invoice, body stampings, and drivetrain numbers.