Thunder Road Automotive Study IV:
1968 Plymouth Belvedere varieties
I've been trying to wrap my head around all these models and their associated front grilles and rear trim panels for a long time. Here I will present my findings which are just a brief review and comparison of the Plymouth "B Body" (mid-size) models so that it will all be clear in my mind once and for all. So this is really a thing I did for myself as much as something I made to share on Hive.
We all understand how the auto companies have always offered a stratified model and pricing structure with "Deluxe" and "Custom" being common identifiers generally accompanied by a script on the fenders or front/rear of the cars. "GT" or "500" are also among the most common. But during the Golden Era of Chrysler's high-performance years 1968-1970 they were several very original designations that we shall review below focusing only on the 1968 Plymouth Belvedere model and it's 2-door varieties.
You can see my 1969 Plymouth Belvedere post here.
You can see my 1970 Plymouth Belvedere post here.
First is the base model Belvedere for 1968 featuring brand-new sheet metal with a very modern and crisp look. Let's start with the back of the car cuz it's simpler to grasp the differences.
Below is an example of a base Belvedere. We see the familiar recessed curved tailights framing a plain rear facade. These matching C-shapes as tailights was a theme for Plymouth in the mid 1960s... Dodge as well. Notable is the new for '68 small plastic PLYMOUTH logo in the upper right.
The Belvedere-based Road Runner below features a brushed aluminum rear panel with the cartoon logo on the right. Red horizontal stripes are painted on the panel to simulate the then-trending full-width tailight look.
Here is a '68 Road Runner with black painted within the panel's horizontals:
A step up from the Belvedere is the Satellite which features the same rear panel but apparently with neither black nor red paint in the horizontal recessed areas.. just brushed almuminum (unless this example has had the paint removed).
Below we see the next level up in prestige.. the Sport Satellite with a crazy-looking textured aluminum panel with Sport Satellite script on the right side.
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The panel itself had no illuminated elements other than reflective red material painted in the horizontal channels.
Kinda wacky-looking yet mysterious I always thought.
I'm not sure if the panel came in dark and light versions - you can see that the image below appears to have a dark grey panel.
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Similar to the Sport Satellite rear panel is that of the GTX seen below. It features the GTX logo on the right and appears to have full reflectivity on the entire red horizontals. The panel itself on this example is very bright when compared to the above Sport Satellites.
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And there you have it for the rear panel styles for 1968 Plymouth Belvedere varieties.
Here we go with the grilles. Below is the standard 1968 Belvedere face. Blacked-out areas painted on the aluminum recesses around the headlights and within the grille texture on the vertical segments to create the illusion of "floating" elements.
Another view of the Belvedere grille below. This will be the same face as that of the Road Runner and Satellite.
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Below is a Satellite.. same face as Belvedere and Road Runner:
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Here we have the distinctive grille of the Plymouth Belvedere Sport Satellite with it's really clean blacked-out horizontal texture with thin white surround. The Headlights bezels appear to be the same as other models.
I noticed that the Satellite and Sport Satellite are the only models to have a Plymouth hood ornament (see above and below pics).
The most premium Belvedere of all was the GTX. Looks like the same grille as the Sport Satellite but with the GTX logo centered... see below
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This ad for a Sport Satellite seems to have an alternate rear panel with gray/black painted main horizontals for a slightly different feel. I kinda like it!
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The '68 GTX had a great look!
One last look at the Road Runner.. nice promo shot:
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❤ comments / corrections / clarifications welcome! ❤
🌷
hey very cool again @mercapri302!😎
this stuff is pretty deep!
😜
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