Whenever a factory muscle Mopar is rediscovered, it tends to get the Chrysler faithful riled up and on the edge of their seats. And when that car is a ’70 Dodge Super Bee, well things can go from baseline zero, to sensory overload in a snap. Factor it this Bee packs one of the most muscular Mopar mills of all-time, a factory installed 440 six-pack, and an overload is almost assured.

When Mopar lover Rob Porporino laid eyes on this barn find for the first time he went right to DefCon 5. It was a red alert for sure.

Rob is one of those guys that just can’t shake his muscle car infatuation, as he grew up in the midst of the muscle car wars of the ‘70s. He’s always on the lookout for top-tier Dodge and Plymouth supercars to rescue. Over the years he’s owned and restored several top end A-, E- and B-Body rides, and he’s always interested in grabbing up another to keep the good times rolling.

So Many Bee Keepers

This Super Bee has had quite a journey over the last 30 years. Back in the ‘90s a gentleman known as Jim bought the car at a swap meet in Georgia. The car had sat for some time before he got a hold of it and was showing its age. The Dodge was complete and boasted a nearly rust-free body and still possessed its original drivetrain, showing just under 42K miles on the odometer. The new owner then had the car cleaned up, body work done and then painted its original B5 Blue in Glasurit base/clear. Then the work stopped. In 2003 the car was sold again to another Mopar enthusiast. This new owner did a little bit of work on it and then pushed it aside in his barn for the next 15 years. It was then passed along once again to his buddy Mitch Foster who put it in his large collection of classic rides.

A few years later Rob got a call from a good friend, Wayne Shaddinger, about a possible project car he had found out about. Wayne had recently taken a ride out to Mitch’s place to check out a few Mopars that could be for sale, including that particular six-pack Super Bee. Rob got the word that the car was in excellent shape and had major potential. So, he worked out a deal, pulled the trigger and bought the Bee from the collection. The Dodge was then brought back to New Jersey for a full restoration, with Rob taking the lead, helped along by his posse of Mopar buddies.

Bee Real

What Rob bought was one of 15,506 Super Bees built for the 1970 model year. Of those, only 1,268 were lucky enough to be equipped with the V-Code 440 six-pack engine. This particular car was born with a 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission and the Super Performance Axle Package with a Dana 60 rear packed with 4.10 gears out back. Up top, the Bee came with the N96 Ramcharger fresh air induction hood, one of the most sought-after factory performance pieces you can get on any Mopar. Factory installed black C-stripes give the Dodge a sporty look that compliments the paint.

The car was already skinned in a coat of high impact B5 blue, and Rob was going to do his best to bring out the best in the paint and keep the body work to a minimum. The V-code engine was complete, though there was no guarantee that it was put together properly or that it would even run for that matter. There was no build sheet with the car, though it did come with its original fender tag still attached in the engine bay. The rest of the car was all there, just waiting for a new lease on life.

Bee-Coming A Showstopper

Rob then dug in and the B-Body rescue commenced. The sheet metal was handled with kid-gloves, as Rob wanted to work with the paint already on the car. It was painted 20 years prior, though it was never wet sanded and buffed. So, Rob and Wayne worked on the skin, carefully trying to bring the luster on this older paint job. “Wayne and I wet sanded through the tuff clear coat after all those years and it took us four days. The car looked like glass once complete,” states Rob.

Then Rob had his buddy James Tait over to check out the Dodge. He’s another one of the Mopar faithful, a collector who owns several ’70 Super Bees as well as quite a few other Pentastar muscle rides. “James knew the car I had was special and pushed me to bring this car back to correct factory standards,” states Rob. So, there was little or no deviation in the restoration from those born-with options.

The 440 powerplant was then torn down and inspected. The pertinent pieces were sent over to Gary Verdina at G&S Performance Engines in Little Ferry, New Jersey for a complete rebuild. Machine work was completed at Tester Motorsports in Oakridge. Next, all the related parts were laid out for reassembly. New 10.4:1 compression pistons were added to the rotating assembly and a custom cam was installed to add a little more thump. The original 906 heads were rebuilt, and the all-important trio of original Holley two-barrel carbs were sent out to All American Carburetors in Orange Park, Florida for their complete restoration.

The heater box was completely torn down and built from the ground up. The dash was fully taken apart, the frame blasted and painted, and the Rallye gauges were rebuilt to stock. Rob added a fresh set of seat upholstery to the gutted interior, along with a set of new door panels, headliner, and carpet. Mara Plating in Newark, New Jersey handled the re-chrome on the bumpers. One deviation from stock is that the car received an aftermarket set of Rallye wheels, 15x7 front and 15x8 rear. They are shod in fresh Goodyear bias ply rubber, F60-15 fronts with fat L60-15’s out back. Rob did this because he wanted the aggressive look of the big meats out back without deviating that far from the vintage look.

Rob finished the restoration in 2025 and didn’t waste a second getting this car back on the streets and out into the public eye. “After an 18-month restoration, the Bee performs even better than it looks! It drives amazingly well and the power at the throttle is fierce,” says Rob. The large and in charge Dodge is certainly a sight to see, as the one year only front end and grille treatment is the calling card for this unique Mopar build, which now shows just under 44k miles on the odometer.

The Ramcharger hood and mighty mill underneath it makes this a Mopar for the ages and receives adulation wherever it goes, drawing in eyes like flies to molasses.