You may have seen this car on a rare Sunday at the cruise night at Sam's Club in Seekonk. Or on the September cover of Mopar Collector's Guide. Or read about its builders in Hot Rod magazine.
Take a good look -- it's the only one of its kind.
The winged 1970 Dodge Charger Daytona was on the drawing board at Chrysler Corp. but was never built by the company. But it was believed to have been put together at a Detroit-area dealership as a promotional vehicle. Years later, all that was left were photos. Recently, Dayclona Enterprises, out of Sharon, Mass., decided to clone the two-tone watermelon green beauty, the latest in a series of striking Mopar B-bodies the company has produced.
Dayclona is Providence native Mike Goyette, a master fabricator/builder, and the husband-wife team of Pam and Gary Beineke. The company name reflects the cloning of Daytona models from the muscle car era. When they're not building cars, they are a specialty shop fabricating parts for Mopar classics.
The Dayclona gang got hold of those photos, and, through computer technology, meticulously mapped out the car.
They found a Charger body in Texas and handcrafted the steel rear wing and installed a 440-Six Pack V8, which, it's believed, the original mystery car had. There was no clue about the interior, so Dayclona put in power steering, windows and power disc brakes.
"The finished product is nothing short of incredible," gushed Mopar Collector's Guide magazine.
The car is owned by Goyette. Pam Beineke, who does the body work, has a white '71 Daytona and an orange '71 Plymouth Superbird. A '71 Dodge Super Bee has also been built by the crew, all clones.
The car toured the national Mopar shows this summer and has made its way to Seekonk. "We like to take 'em out and exercise them," says Gary Beineke.
