Troy Bergeron’s Well-Documented, Matching-Numbers 1969 Daytona
Of all the iconic NASCAR vehicles through the years, the high-winged Mopar warriors of the 1969 and 1970 seasons stand out, thanks in part to their bullet noses and the ridiculously high rear wings. They were also the first cars to top 200mph in competition.
After two years of competing with the long-nose Fords and Mercurys, NASCAR essentially outlawed these high-speed machines after the 1970 season. In those years, NASCAR required that a certain number of competition cars had to be available in production form to the public. In 1969, that meant Dodge had to produce at least 500 Charger Daytonas for sale to the public. The following year NASCAR raised the number, which meant nearly 2,000 Plymouth Superbirds were produced.
The Daytonas were built in Hamtramck at the Dodge assembly plant but were sent to an outside vendor to make the modifications – extended nose cone, rear wing, and redesigned rear window glass to improve airflow. The folks who count such things estimate that there are fewer than 100 ’69 Charger Daytonas left on the road today. That puts Troy Bergeron’s well-documented, matching-numbers 1969 Daytona in rare company.
The Daytona was built off the Charger R/T platform and came with the iconic 426c.i. Hemi or the 375-horsepower 440. Of the 505 Daytonas built, just 70 were powered by the Hemi. Troy’s red Daytona sports the 440 along with a four-speed transmission. The 440c.i. big block features a single Carter AFB four-barrel carb, 10:1 compression ratio, and factory high-performance exhaust manifolds. The four-speed is controlled by a Hurst shifter and sends power to a Dana 60 rearend housing 3.54 gears. Four-wheel drum brakes (aided by a dual master cylinder) handle stopping chores and are mounted behind 14-inch factory road wheels wrapped in F70-14 redline tires.
The interior is best described as functional black, as the bucket seats, rear seat, center console, and side panels are covered in black vinyl. The dash features a 150mph speedometer and a full tach with a small clock in the center. One of the options for this car is the Music Master AM push-button radio. The window sticker for Troy’s Daytona lists a price of $4,438 – a decent chunk of change in 1969. He has the ownership history since new, as well as a coveted OE Gold award from the Mopar Nats.
More than 50 years after Mopar’s winged warriors roared around NASCAR super speedways, Troy’s 1969 Daytona is cruising the streets of his California neighborhood looking better than ever, though generally at much slower speeds.
Photos by Steven Bunker
