It's been a long time since Dodge had a musclecar. Although the company's new truck is no pony car, it has definitely been accepted as a sport truck. In fact, the Dodge pickup has jumped ahead in the street scene with the release of the new 345hp Hemi powerplant. In 1968, Plymouth (a Mopar-owned company) had a line of musclecars that fit the pocket book of many hot-rod enthusiasts. This machine sported a 383ci engine that had the intake, heads, cam, and exhaust manifolds from the ever-popular 440. The above combined to produce 335 hp and was the highest horsepower 383 ever in production. If that wasn't enough, you always had the option of ordering the 426 Hemi package for an additional $714. Try buying a Hemi for that price today.
The large B-body was actually used as Plymouth's luxury chassis, but stripped of most of its amenities, the street thumper was lighter than its compact brother, known as the 'Cuda. Of course, this meant no more luxury; the vehicle was delivered with no carpet and many other items that we would consider necessities by today's standards. To top it all off, this car, called the Super Bee, had a 150-mph speedometer.Thus, the Super Bee was not only fast, it was made to withstand a beating.
The rouged body and tough suspension would out pull and drive almost any vehicle the police force had in service; this made the car a favorite among moon-shiners. The Dodge Super Bee was identified by a cartoon character - one that did not require royalties for Warner Bros. The little bee with a helmet, fat tires, headers, and a stinger was placed on the back of the rear quarter panel just in front of the rear bumper. Based on the Coronet, the Super Bee had heaver suspension components, larger brakes, and a different-styled hood.
The Super Bee styling has driven Kenne Bell and Snugtop designers to throw the new Dodge truck back to its pony car roots. Both of the restyled trucks have their own interpretation of the old Plymouth. Snugtop's award-winning '02 Quad Cab was shot with the original Sublime Green color and has the classic striping, which sports the Snug Bee just bellow Snugtop's new fiberglass bed lid. Snugtop's rendition is more like the 383 version of the Super Bee with its 4.7L V-8.
Kenne Bell's truck, designed by Performance West Group, has the '70s B5 Chrysler Blue paint as the base and houses Kenne Bell's Rumble Bee. Bell's '03 Ram has Dodge's new 5.7 Hemi powerplant topped off with Bell's Supercharger, making this rendition closer to the special-order 426 option. Bell's Blowzilla supercharger brings the 5.7L Hemi up to 517 hp and 562 lb-ft of torque. Both trucks are not only reminiscent of the past; they also signal Mopar's continuing pursuit of bringing power to the streets.
Truck: '02 Dodge Quad Cab
Paint: Santini in Westminster, CA
Color: Sublime Green by Dupont, with black stripe
Exterior: Shaved tailgate, Sir Michaels handle relocator and roll pan, Street Scene bumper and grille, PIAA headlights, Snugtop Snug Lib SL tonneau
Wheels: Kaotik's 22x9-inch from MHT
Tires: Nitto's 404-series 305/45R22
Engine: 5.7L Hemi with Kenne Bell Blowzilla supercharger and Doug's headers
Paint: Mike Face Auto Paint in San Bernardino, CA
Color: B5 Blue Spectraflair with white stripe
Exterior: B-Cool billet grille, Sir Michaels roll pan, Gaylord tonneau, '69 Super Bee styling inspired the Design Tooling six-pack hood
Suspension: Hotchkis 2/3 drop
Wheels: Oasis' MI Penstar 24x10-inch
Tires: BFGoodrich's G-Force 305/35R24