Rare B5 Blue 1971 Charger Super Bee 340 For Sale Found After Decades

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with everything to do with 1971 Dodge Chargers. They came in so many cool varieties such as R/Ts and Super Bees and were available in the coolest colors like Citron Yella, Plum Crazy Purple, and Green Go. Over the years, I’ve owned two 1971 Charger R/Ts and two 1971 Charger Super Bees, so needless to say, they’re one of my favorite Mopars ever built. The prospect of finding another 1971 Charger Super Bee For Sale is always exciting.

Years ago, about 8 years back, a good friend named Dean Meneghetti told me about a B5 Blue 1971 Super Bee he’d seen sitting in a driveway in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It had reportedly been there for a long time, since at least the 1990s. Intrigued, I looked it up on Google Maps and sure enough, there it was, right out in the open. During some of Google Maps’ drive-by captures, it even had a mattress on top of it before eventually being covered up with a cheap indoor car cover. The idea of a classic like a 60s gto or this Mopar sitting exposed for so long was disheartening.

Screenshot from Google Maps showing a neglected blue 1971 Super Bee under a cover in a driveway

Another Google Maps view of the blue 1971 Charger Super Bee with mattresses on its roof

I drove by numerous times over the years hoping to see someone outside to talk to about the car, but there was never anyone around. I stopped by a couple of times and knocked, but nobody ever answered the door, so I resorted to leaving a note with my name and number. In 2018, while towing my 1971 Charger R/T project through the area, I decided to stop by again, hoping that having the Charger in tow might prompt someone to answer. I knocked, and a younger boy answered. I asked if his parents were home so I could inquire about the Super Bee, but he said they weren’t. Still no luck.

On my way back down the driveway, I stopped and took a quick peek at the Super Bee under its cover. The first thing I noticed was the 340 Magnum call outs on the hood. This immediately grabbed my attention, as I knew that 340 Super Bees were fairly rare, with only 307 total being built. I didn’t want to loiter too long, so I did a quick once-over of the visible parts and left. I noted it had a blue bucket seat interior, a black vinyl top, and was a column shift automatic. Seeing a rare variant like this, even in rough shape, felt similar to the excitement a collector might feel spotting a rare 71 gto or a 1969 plymouth roadrunner convertible that needs a home.

View of the engine bay showing the 340 Magnum callouts on the hood of the project 1971 Super Bee

Side profile of the blue 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee showing its condition after sitting for years

Over the next few years, I continued to drive by whenever I was in the area, but I never saw anyone outside the house. Then, in June 2023, while browsing Facebook Marketplace late one night, I came across an ad for a 1971 Charger. The photo used was a generic Google image of a restored blue 1971 Super Bee.

The ad listed the location as Abbotsford and the description read: “VERY RARE 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee. 340, 727 auto, all original. NEEDS FULL RESTORATION. Been sitting for years. Have papers. I might change my mind tomorrow, so if you want it, act now. Serious inquiries ONLY. PRICE IS FIRM!! Do not contact me if you aren’t interested in buying it.” The urgent and slightly erratic tone was certainly… notable.

Screenshot of a Facebook Marketplace ad listing a rare 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee 340 for sale in Abbotsford

I immediately knew this had to be the same car I had been pursuing for years. The asking price was higher than I thought the car was worth given its condition, but I decided I had to try and contact the seller. I messaged him, explaining that I owned a yellow 1971 Super Bee myself and was highly interested in his blue one. He replied, gave me his phone number, and told me to come after work the next day. Sure enough, the address he provided was the exact address of the house where the car had been sitting.

When I arrived at the house the following day, the seller turned out to be a somewhat shadier individual, riding a mountain bike. He explained that he and his ex-wife had divorced years prior and the car had been sitting in her driveway ever since. He mentioned falling on harder times recently and needing to sell the car to buy a daily driver. This is the reality for many classic cars listed as “royal bobcat gto for sale” or “70 pontiac gto convertible” that appear after years of neglect.

Attempting to load the blue 1971 Super Bee project car onto a trailer

Using wheel dollies to maneuver the stuck 1971 Charger Super Bee onto a trailer

Winching the heavily rusted 1971 Charger Super Bee onto a flatbed trailer

The car itself was super rough, significantly worse than I had initially thought from my quick peek years ago. Years of sitting outside in the weather had taken a severe toll. The vinyl top had essentially eaten away the entire roof skin, turning it into what looked like swiss cheese. The quarter panels had rotted out, and the floors were incredibly soft. He explained that a friend had locked the keys in the car years ago, preventing him from accessing the interior.

He recounted purchasing the car around 1989 from a used car lot in Surrey, British Columbia. He was cruising with a buddy in his green Super Bee when they spotted the blue one displayed on a podium out front with an asking price of around $4,000.

At the time, the car had been freshly redone with new paint and interior and was in beautiful show quality condition. He purchased it and drove it for a few years. However, one winter around 1995, he forgot to ensure the radiator had enough coolant (instead of just water) and cracked the engine block. He started taking the engine apart to repair it but never finished. After that, the car was simply parked and left to rot away over the next two decades.

Engine block with head removed showing the damage that sidelined the 1971 Super Bee

Side view of the acquired 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee project car loaded onto a trailer

Rear view of the B5 blue 1971 Super Bee securely loaded on a trailer after being found

He also mentioned that he had come across a wrecked Hemi Orange 1971 Super Bee 340 in a Surrey wrecking yard back in the 1990s. He bought basically everything salvageable off that car – doors, fenders, hideaways, spoilers, trim, and the 340 engine – and all those extra parts would come with the blue car.

Before I could even make a counter-offer on his Facebook price, he unexpectedly dropped his asking price in half and stated that was his firm bottom dollar. I instantly jumped on it and told him he had a deal. He said we could meet back up that night to exchange money and the papers for the car. Without going into excessive detail, that part turned into a bit of a nightmare, stretching into a two-day ordeal. Trying to coordinate and meet up with a guy who primarily gets around on a bicycle and barely answers his phone proved to be quite challenging.

Deflated and cracked tire on the 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee during the loading process

Heavy rust and body rot on the rear quarter panel of the B5 blue 1971 Super Bee

View showing the extent of rust and body damage on the found 1971 Charger Super Bee

Once I had finally paid for the car and managed to get it transferred into my name (thankfully, he did have the proper papers in his name), my family and I went over with a couple of buddies and my trailer on a hot summer day to load it up. The seller mentioned that we could take the car now, and he’d gather and provide the extra parts over the next couple of days.

What an even bigger nightmare that turned out to be! I can honestly say I’ve never had a car fight me as much as this one did! Getting the extra parts from him also became a separate ordeal, although I eventually managed to collect almost everything that was promised.

Since he originally said the keys were locked inside the car, I had a tow company come out to try and get into it, but they had zero luck after struggling with it for 30 minutes. Knowing I had several spare pieces of door glass at home, I decided the easiest way in was to punch out the driver’s window. To my frustration, the only set of “keys” inside turned out to be for a snowmobile. With no car keys, the steering wheel was locked, and the transmission was locked in park. Great.

View of the locked steering wheel inside the 1971 Charger Super Bee with snowmobile keys

Shattered glass from the driver's window of the 1971 Super Bee project car

Interior shot showing the deteriorated floor pan area of the neglected 1971 Super Bee

Thankfully, I came prepared with wheel dollies and a compressor. We pumped up all of the tires, which surprisingly held air for a moment, and started winching it onto the trailer. Of course, true to my luck, the second the old, dry, cracked tires touched the trailer ramps, they blew apart.

We kept winching away despite the setback and finally managed to get the car securely loaded up on the trailer. We made sure to carefully clean up all the broken glass from the ex-wife’s driveway, leaving everything spotless for her so she could have her space back. Special thanks go out to my wife Kailley and good friends Erik Teigland and Kyle Tanaka for lending a hand with the challenging loading process!

In conclusion, after years of hoping to see this B5 Blue 1971 Charger Super Bee For Sale, the opportunity finally arose, albeit with significant challenges. While the car is in very rough shape and needs a full restoration, securing this rare 340 variant after sitting for decades is a major find. It’s a true project, but one born from a persistent, years-long hunt that exemplifies the dedication of classic car enthusiasts.