"Have we finally made it?" That's what I was thinking when the stripe went on. It had been eight years since I had purchased the Bee, and all along the way, I questioned myself on several occasions as to whether it would ever get done. Between family, the job, and life in general, I had reason to question the arrival of a final day. But lucky for me, Jack Irons and Russ Aderholdt refused to let me give up.
So here we are, we are to the final stages of our project build, and it's time to handle the final details. One of the most visual "final details" has to be the stripe on a '70 Superbee. The Scat Pack "bumble bee" rear stripe flanking the rear of the car had become a staple on Mopar muscle cars, but the '70 Superbee also had the option of a new, very unique stripe that accentuated the huge quarter panels of the Dodge B-Body. The reverse C-stripe is either a love it or hate it design, and personally, I don't hate it. But with the ‘Bee not being a stock restoration, could we get a legitimate C-stripe in the color that we wanted? From the factory, the stripe was available in four colors, black, blue, white, and red. But we felt that something with a little more pop was in order. We called the guys at Graphic Express, and found out that they make their stripe kit available in custom colors, and that was just what we needed. So, with a quick phone call, we had our custom Silver-Metallic reverse C-stripe on the way.
We also needed to build an exhaust system, and since a factory system wasn't going to fit our needs, we had to go custom. If you remember correctly, the rear suspension on the ‘Bee is now a triangulated four-link, and the link arms just happen to be in the same spot as the exhaust wanted to go. Also, as nice as the car is turning out, putting a plain aluminized exhaust under the car just didn't seem right, so we got some 3-inch stainless pipe and a couple of Dynomax mufflers, and built our own.

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1. Before you can even begin...

1. Before you can even begin ANY stripe install, you need to place the stripe in the proper location. Once the stripe kit is located, use some small pieces of masking tape do hold it in place. At this point, we have not removed any of the protective material from the stripe.

2. At this point, we have...

2. At this point, we have not removed any of the protective material from the stripe.

3. By using a pencil and marking...

3. By using a pencil and marking a line from the tape to the stripe, you now have locating points to get the stripe back in the proper location after the protective wax-type paper is removed. Once you have the lines marked, gently take a razor blade and cut the tape, separating it from the stripe. To reposition and permanently install the strip, simply align the pencil marks.

4. If you just try to put...

4. If you just try to put the stripe on the car without using a lubricating solution (we use water with a little dish detergent in it), it will stick to the car before you want it to, and you will not get it off without ruining it.

5. Peel the protective backer...

5. Peel the protective backer off of the stripe, and we the adhesive area and the location on the car receiving the stripe. This “solution will allow you to position the stripe. Once it is properly positioned, simply squeegee the solution out from under the stripe, and then carefully remove the outer protective coating.

6. Some stripe kits come in...

6. Some stripe kits come in multiple pieces, and require care to properly align them when installing. It helps to have a spare set of hands—or a complete helper.

7. The opening for the side-marker...

7. The opening for the side-marker lights is not precut in the stripe kit, and you’ll have to do that yourself. It’s easier to cut the opening after the stripe is attached, and before the protective film is removed.

8. Finding a “bolt-on” exhaust...

8. Finding a “bolt-on” exhaust system for our ‘bee was not going to happen, so we contacted the folks at Dynomax, and had them send us some 3-inch pipe and a couple of Ultra Flo mufflers.

9. We had to take a couple...

9. We had to take a couple of bent pieces of pipe to make the exhaust fit the car like we needed.

10. Once we had the fitment...

10. Once we had the fitment we wanted, it was time to tack weld it together, and then pull it out to final weld it.

11. Finally, it was time to...

11. Finally, it was time to take the car to get the front end aligned and get ready to drive it. Clyde’s Frame & Wheel took the time to give us an old school alignment that put the ‘bee straight on track.