So just a couple weeks after buying my 68 Coronet r/t, I drove it up to Oreilly's to get some parts. I used to work there back in high school and know all the people that work there really well. So they all know I'm a mopar nut. Well as soon as I walked in a guy that is also a mopar fan as he used to have a 71 challenger many years ago, says "What are you doing with a Coronet?" I said.. "uhh driving it man, thats my dream car". He says "Why? A Coronet's a family car its no muscle car, and they are ugly." lol I said "Umm dude thats a 68 Coronet R/T original 440 4 speed, they didn't make anything with much more muscle than that." he says "psh whatever" just being totally rude and insulting. So I was like ok I never liked this guy much so I'm going to make him look stupid as hell lol. So I said "Ok let me ask you this, do you like 68 Super Bee's?" He goes "uhhh yeah!" I said "Dude they are literally in every way except for the name are the exact same car". lol He laughed and said "Umm no they are not!" I said "would you like me to show you a picture?" He said "No I know what I'm talking about I grew up with these cars, they might be the same like a challenger and a cuda are the same" I said "Dude you may have grew up with these cars but I actually own these cars. And I live and breathe these cars. And I spend pretty much all my spare time either working on or studying these cars. A Super Bee and a coronet are literally the same car. You can exchange literally every part from a Super Bee to a Coronet of the same year." I said "here is a picture of a 1968 Super Bee." He doesn't even look at it, he just turned around and went to the back lol.

Well I got the parts I needed and went outside and he's standing there looking at my car. I said "So you still think there is a difference between this car and a Super Bee huh?" He said "Yes completely different cars." Then he goes on to make himself look even more stupid by saying "Well, too bad this has a 440. All the Super Bee's came with a 383 which had a ton more power than the 440".. lmao I'm thinking *face palm* lol But I said "Ummm no... just no. Pretty much everything you just said was completely wrong. First off Super Bee's had engine options for 383, 440 and 426 hemi. Second the only reason the Super Bee was made in the first place was to make a cheaper version of this car. Which is why it is literally the same car it just didn't have the R/T trim and interior. Third... where in the world do you get the idea that a 383 had anywhere near the power or torque of the 440? Again that is a big no." lol "He says, I know what I'm talking about the 440 was no match for the 383." lol I just laughed and said "Well you just keep thinking that and let me know when you get a 383 and we'll line em up and see. But I gotta go work on a car so you have a good day."

Then I left.

I never did like that guy much. He was always pretty much just stupid and pretty rude lol. It felt good to school the old man and make him completely eat his words lol. It's odd.. this guy is not the first person that has felt the same way on this issue. I've actually met a couple people that say they like a super bee and don't like a coronet.. and are completely ignorant to the fact that they are literally the exact same car. I guess they think that just because the Super Bee has a really cool name and the Coronet doesn't that automatically makes the car look way better? lol if they decided to call the Coronet a cooler name like a Dodge Hornet or Raptor or just some really cool name, I bet the Coronet would be a lot more popular and well known. I mean the challenger, barracuda, roadrunner, super bee, and dart... those are all really cool names and they are all more popular than coronets. Coronet isn't a very cool name I'll admit. But it is one hell of a cool car if you ask me. And at one time was one of the meanest cars on the street.

Usually I'm a nice guy and try not to make people look or feel stupid when it comes to being ignorant about things like this. I'll usually just nod my head and smile lmao. But when a guy wants to insult me and be rude... you better believe he's gonna get it full force lol. I mean I even have people ask what year my Charger is (when I'm driving the Challenger ) lol. I'll kindly say 73. I've even had people ask why I don't paint it like the general lee .. here is another good one I get when I'm in the challenger. What year is your 'Cuda 68 69? lol The coronet... people usually don't even know what it is. I usually get "man thats a cool car.. what is it? lol I've been doing a lot of work on the Roadrunner, everytime I call Autozone. They ask what I'm working on. I say 1970 Roadrunner, they say "umm who makes that?" lol


Good times lol

 

You can't fix stupid.

 

No unfortunately you can't. But you CAN beat it with a stick! lol

 

i worked for oreilly's and auto zone. i have met a few people that couldn't even tell me what type of engine they had in the vehicle. then call me stupid and worthless because i can't tell them what they have under the hood when they are on the phone and not at the store.

 

Oh man the stories I have from when I worked there lol. Went through exactly what your talking about many times lol. I once had a guy and his girlfriend come in right at 9 pm (closing time) and asked me to look up some parts. I started reading off his options and giving him prices and warranty options, He just looked at me with a **** eating grin and said "Fetch" and flicked his hand at me. His girlfriend or whatever hanging on his arm started laughing. talk about getting pissed off man. I gave him a look that probably burned, then I said "First off, I'm not a dog, you DO NOT tell me to fetch. If you want to have that attitude you can turn around and leave. Second there are a few options here, I have no clue which one of these you want, I'm not going to "Fetch" anything until you tell me exactly which one you want! He changed his attitude real quick lol. He apologized and very kindly asked to hear the options again. lol

Another time I had a dealer call. He asked for a set of spark plugs I asked which ones he wanted. He said I don't care anything BUT autolite. We were super busy had lines going down the aisles. Well I was trying to get the people in my line cleared out real fast and answered a couple phone calls. Then I ran back grabbed some Autolite plugs off the shelf for him and took them to the driver. For whatever reason when he said anything but Autolite the name stuck in my mind and thats what I grabbed. And the hectic craziness from being so busy didn't help at all either.

Well next thing I know I answer a call about 15 minutes after I'd sent the plugs out. It was him again. He said hey are you the one that sent me these spark plugs? I said man we are super busy your gonna have to be a little more specific. He told me the vehicle and I said oh yes that was me. Is there a problem? He said "HELL YEAH THERES A F*CKIN PROBLEM! I TOLD YOU TO SEND ME ANYTHING BUT THESE PIECE OF F*CKIN **** AUTOLITES!

This guy was just screaming at me and cursing me out like no other. I finally got him to stop and listen to me. First I apologized, then (trying to keep my cool) I kindly explained that we were extremely busy and that when he specifically said no Autolites the name stuck in my head and I just grabbed those, an absent minded mistake (we've all had these). then I told him I would send a driver over with the correct plugs and he could send those back. No big deal. It would take a whole 20 minutes tops to have the driver run over some different plugs. But this wasn't good enough for him. He continued screaming and cursing at me. Telling me he was a professional and that he shouldn't have to deal with f*ck ups like me... Yeah I got pissed about this point. But I was always very good at keeping a very professional and customer friendly attitude. I told him, look man you might be a professional but I am too. And I don't have to listen to you scream and curse at me. If you curse at me one more time I'm hanging up the phone and you can keep those plugs. (wanted to tell him to shove them up his ***) Then he starts getting more hostile. He says do you want me to come up there so we can have us a little chat?! I said man I don't care what you do. Then he says I'm a f*ckin professional! and went on to keep screaming and then I hung up lol. Well I went and told my boss what happened and he said well if he shows up just try to keep him calm and get him taken care of. But if he starts threatening you just call the police. You don't have to listen to anyone scream or curse at you, if that happens again just hang up as soon as they start that crap, if they don't want to work things out in a civilized manner then they can shove their problems where the sun don't shine lol. I said ok no problem. My boss was just walking out the door to go home for the day.

I had never seen this guy so i had no idea what I was looking for. Well about 30 minutes later we are still busy as ever, I notice this guy covered in grease just giving me the stink eye from hell standing at the end of the counter. I had to run to the back of the store grab a hose. He followed me behind the counter (I saw him in the corner of my eye) I acted like I didn't know he was behind me and just continued all the way to the back of the store. Then when I got back there I grabbed this thick metal pole we used to get hoses down with and turned around and slammed it down in front of me. He stopped and asked if I was the guy that he'd talked to. I ignored it and said you are NOT supposed to be behind the counter you need to go back up to the front of the store now! He ignored that and started yelling at me telling me he's a professional blah blah blah blah.. I interrupted him and said I already told you I would work this out, i apologized for my mistake, I told you I am also a professional, no one deserves to be screamed and cursed at for an innocent mistake. (I was getting very irritated and really raised my voice) I said, NOW IF YOU DO NOT GET BACK TO THE FRONT OF THE STORE RIGHT NOW I AM CALLING THE COPS! I just stood and stared at him for a second and he put his hands up (palms toward me as if to say I mean no harm) and turned around went back up there and ended up leaving. I called my boss and explained what had happened and my boss just said ok well he can go somewhere else from now on. If you see him again tell him he no longer has an account with Oreilly Auto Parts and that he is no longer allowed in the store and that you will call the cops if he doesn't cooperate. lol I was like hell yeah! lol. I never saw him again. My boss ended up calling him the next day letting him know not to come back.

I had lots of crazy things happen when I worked there. I actually enjoyed helping people find parts and had a lot of people that specifically asked for me. But what I couldn't stand was the b.s. drama between all the coworkers. That will drive a stress level off the charts.

 

I have always used autolite plugs with good results. If he wants crappy plugs sell him some over priced Bosch platinum

 

My brother told me a story of a guy who came in to get a belt.
then went prompmptly out side turn on the engine and tried installing it with the engine running!
well after a few attempts and then the motor finally eating the belt and spiting it out the bottom if the engine bay!
Runs back into the store yelling you sold me the wrong size belt screaming and crying how it almost took his fingers off!
You can get the picture of stupid!

 

In my becoming old age of 65, I've met all kinds of morons over the years. I worked in parts/ hardware/ hydraulics cable/ chain/ etc for nearly 15 years.

Some kids show up in the early 80's with a 69 RR. This was before they were "worth much" and this one was a horrid, rusty beater. They want to buy just about every replacable front end part under the thing. Finally I asked them,

"Ya know we can get and sell you all this stuff, but I have to ask, is that car really worth it?"

One says, "Oh, YEAH, man, that's the FIRST YEAR they made Roadrunners!!!!"

So I said, "that IS a 69?"

"yep."

"Well, you DO know the first year was 68?"


Guy comes in with a nice old about a 62 'Vette, wants some of the large air duct under the hood for the heat/ defrost system. I went out with a tape to measure it. Crowd gathers.

Some guy guesses "this a 327?"

Owner says "Yep."

Guy says "yaaaaaa, ya cun always tell these 'Vette engines, cause THEY'RE JUST A LITTLE SHORTER than REGULAR Chivvies!!!!"

 

Yup there are a lot of very stupid people out there for sure. Gort I've never heard of anyone attempting to change a belt with a car running! That would have been great to witness! lmao

And man if only I knew vette engines were shorter than the rest when I restored my 40 furd pickup. It would have gave me a ton of hood clearance when I decided to put that bird trap air cleaner on it! lmao.. And the roadrunner guy at least he had one thing right... that is worth fixing lol.

If only I had a dime for every time you got to see the stupid come out in people lol.

 

here ya go. wouldn't try this on any other car though.

 

Hey thats awesome! Next time I see a guy with a VW and I want to make some money lol. This just might come in useful lol.

 

Althouh I don't have any stories form automotive stores. I do have a stupid person story. The other day I responded to a wreck. Let me set this up. this is a 4 lane hwy with a center turn lane. There is a gas station on one side and a Waffle House on the other. I got out and started talking to one of the drivers. She said was pulling out of the gas station, making a right turn to head East. She then says she was trying to get to the center lane to turn right. She was going for the center lane to turn right. She was going to the CENTER LEFT TURN LANE TO TURN RIGHT. I'm thinking to myself, That don't make no sense! A reasonable person would just pull out to the closest lane. I ask her to point in the direction she was trying to go. She points east, which would mean that she would in fact be making a right turn, on a two way road, in America, where we drive on the right side of the road, which were the two lanes closest to her. She had TWO to choose from, right there! So I stop and process this for a second. Then I ask her why she was trying to go to the center lane if she was making a right turn? I mean I heard of people going to the center lane to make a left, hell Ive done it myself a few times. I asked her which direction the other car was coming from she said it came from the West (Headed East), going straight!

I processed this and pondered what sense of logic one would have to go to the center lane to make a right turn out of a parking lot. I look at the damage to the cars, hers has the front bumper ripped off, the other guys right side is smashed in.

I talk to the other driver. He gives me the straight answer; I was driving along and she pulled out and hit me from the side.

I go back to her and she is talking about insurance likes its the other guys fault. I'm like wait, you pulled out in to moving traffic and got hit, scratch that hit some one else (remember her front bumper is gone), and you think your not at fault! Here is your sign and your ticket!

 

Lol this is awesome. How old was she? And what color was her hair? lmao

 

some people just shouldn't be allowed to drive. a few years back i had a 1980 datsun 210. one day i was driving to see my wife back when we were still dating. i was in the lane nearest the sidewalk on a 6 lane road. the idiot in the center lane decided he was going to try and make a right turn into a parking lot thus totaling out my car. of course he didn't have insurance and tried to blame me. he was about 6'4"-6'6" tall and out weighed me by 2-3 hundred pounds. i got in his face and told him flat out he was at fault. he walked over to his truck til the cops got there.

 

Yup everyone should have insurance for sure. Bummer he totaled your datsun. Aside from all the old mopars, I'm a pretty big fan of old school imports from the late 60's all the way to the really early 80's. I would have been a mad **** lol. I have my 76 celica gt liftback. Would like to get my hands on a early 70's 2 door datsun 510. Neat little cars. I don't believe I would have backed down from that idiot either. I'm like a momma lion and her cubs when it comes to my cars lol.

 

so am i plus i had just gotten out of the Marines so i was still a bit cocky. and some customers can be real jerks. i had a guy come in buy a duralast gold battery go out and install it himself then come in and start to yell and scream at me because the battery was dead. i go out to test it and found the problem almost immediately. he had left the little black cap on the negative post. he started to apologize really quickly after i pointed it out to him. i had another customer do teh same thing when iwent out and found the problem his girlfriend asked him waht the problem was he told her not to worry about it.

 

In the state of NC you can't drive a car with out insurance. When I catch em driving with out it I tow there mess, before they hit some one in there uninsured vehicle!

 

This is how every state should be.

 

that is how it is here in texas.

 

I was a manager at an Autozone here in Michigan for 2 1/2 years and have dozens of stories about terrible customers, so I feel your pain about ignorant a$$holes who act as if they are the all knowing parts god lol But if you asked me what the part number was to any of the Big 3 manufacturers, I knew the number and location in the store!

To be honest I never knew what the difference was between the Coronet and Super Bee was until you explained it in your post.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Not a parts store story but a good one anyway. Back in '89 I had a '70 Cuda, old drag car that I had put back on the street. I'm an electrician and was working on a job at the old NAS Memphis and because we had a good parking lot I drove the 'Cuda to work one day after being bugged by some of the guys at work. At the end of the day I went out and fired it up to warm up a bit before leaving- I was playing with it at the time and had swapped on a tunnel ram with 2 fours and it was cold natured. I pulled out and was driving through the barracks- if you've never driven on a military base the speed limit is 5 mph through base housing- patting the gas to keep it running. I made the turn onto the main road headed toward the south gate and no more than got straight when I got pulled over by MP's. Guys got out and one headed toward my door and asked for my license and told me the reason he pulled me over was because he clocked me at 25. I'm usually pretty easy going but my jaw dropped when he said that, I told him there was no way he clocked me doing that, the car was still cold and I couldn't give it enough gas to go 25. He stayed cool, went back to his car like he was going to radio it in. All the time, I never saw his partner since they got out of the car. He came back with my license and gave it back and told me to slow it down. 20 mph over and no ticket? BS! About that time I saw his partner stand up in the rear view mirror, then it dawned on me, he pulled me over so his partner could check out the car. Panther Pink 'Cuda with a cage, tunnel rammed 340 with two fours and a narrowed Dana 60 got his attention. I headed out the gate and a guy from work had stopped to see what the deal was. I told him watch this, I'll really give him something to look at. I pulled it out onto the road, hit the line lock and dropped the manual reverse Hurst into low and hammered it. You ever see how much smoke a pair of 31x15x15 Pro Tracs make during a 30 second 7000 rpm burnout? The gate was totally obliterated with smoke. I didn't drive it to work anymore.

 

5 sec VW belt change by 3 finger JOE.

 

Lol This is awesome. I don't Think I would have drove it back either lol. Panther pink is awesome btw. If I end up with a cuda.. you better believe it'll be rockin some panther pink! lol Nothin like seeing a guys face after he just lost his *** to a pink car lol!

I did something like this just a couple days ago.. Only cause I was mad though lol. I was driving by a mechanic shop in town. I saw a 71 challenger setting in the parking lot so I had to pull in and check it out. I'd never seen it before. Car was dressed up like an R/T and was top banana yellow. The mechanic was standing outside working on someones car. I was sitting in my coronet. I never got out of the car to look at it. But I asked the mechanic if he'd be interested in selling it. He thought for minute and said no. I said ok well thats a really cool car man I don't blame you. Then I asked him if it was a real R/T. He stops what he's doing and looks at me like I'm just an idiot and rolls his eyes and says yes! I have a 70 cuda sitting in the other bay thats a real car too! The guy was just as rude as he could be about it... And I was just completely nice and cool. The guy wasn't more than 8 to 10 feet from me so I know he clearly heard what I said and how I said it. Anyways it pissed me off so as I pulled out I decided to leave him with some smoke too lol. I stomped on the gas and dropped the clutch.. it left some good smoke for em lol. Of course I don't have a line lock to keep it in one place.

 

Never herd of a story of another guy claiming to be a Mopar guy talking crap about another Mopar... I see it all the time with chevy guys and I know because my brother-inlaw is one.. He is a Chevelle guy,, hates camaros and novas,, My other buddy is a camaro guy hates chevelles..

I look at all mopars and never talk crap of the body style.. I have owned a 70, 69, 68 coronet and now I own a 67 R/T.. out of all of them I like the 67. to me its easier to work on.. Really meaning the inside like the dash area its easy compared to 68 and up cars in a b-body

 

No problem... I actually just learned a couple days ago that a 440 wasn't offered for the super bee in 68. I always thought they offered the 383, 440 4 bbl, and 426 for 68. I guess you learn something new every day lol. As far as Coronet's and Super Bee's go yeah they are exactly the same. Same with a Roadrunner, Satellite, and GTX. The Super Bee was supposed to be the affordable muscle car. It was strictly meant to be a mean ride with few luxuries to save on cost. Where as the Coronet R/T had the muscle and luxury. Differences between the 2... I think the interior is different. The R/T emblems and on the R/T they have a trim panel that just bolts to the tail panel. They also have different tail light bezels to match the trim panel... Other than that there really isn't any difference aside from the name. The only thing you'd really have to cut on to make the Super Bee look like the R/T is drilling a few holes in the tail panel for the trim panel and of course holes for the R/T emblems in the fenders. The light bezels will bolt up no problem. The tail panel is the only thing that makes me like the R/T over the Super Bee. The R/T Tail Panel just looks mean. I read somewhere that they designed the R/T tail panel to give GTO's something pretty to look at because thats all they'd get to see of the Coronet R/T lol. Dont know how true that is but I found it interesting.

If you were to take a 68 Coronet 440 (just a base coronet) and a Super Bee of the same year and stripped all the paint and trim off them removed the vin tag and fender tags... And took the engine and trans out (most coronet 440's had small blocks).. provided they both have an 8 3/4 rear end... most people would not be able to tell the difference. Only difference in looks between the coronet 440 and super bee on the outside was the 440's had a chrome strip that went all the way down the side kinda toward the top body line on the fenders and quarters. Super Bee's didn't have that. Not sure if the coronet 440 and bee shared the same interior or not. Some of the bee's came with a ralley cluster and some didnt. The bee's and R/T's came with a power bulge hood like what is on mine... I don't know if any coronet 440's came with them or not. But some coronet 500's did (maybe all not sure). Bottom line without a vin tag or fender tag.. it could be a clone and a good chance of it too. Cloning a coronet 440 into a super bee is probably the easiest clone car you can do because they are so similar. Say a guy had a 68 Super bee with a NON matching 383.. painted it yellow with black super bee stripes... Another guy has a 68 coronet 440 painted it yellow with black super bee stripes put a 383 in it and a power bulge hood (say the guy wen't through the trouble of putting big block suspension under the car) and they both are running 8 3/4 rear ends. Then they both removed the fender tag and vin tag.. chances are not too many people would be able to point out the fake. To most people they would look like the exact same car.