Thunder Road Automotive Study III: 1969 Plymouth Belvedere varieties

Thunder Road Automotive Study III:

1969 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 1969 Plymouth Belvedere model and it's 2-door varieties.

You can see my 1968 Plymouth Belvedere post here.
You can see my 1970 Plymouth Belvedere post here.

First is the base model Belvedere for 1969 featuring the same sheet metal as 1968 - very "mod" look.. a nice mix of angular curvature- with subtle refinements to the grille and tailights which we shall review. Let's start with the back of the car.. why not?

Here is a rear view of a base Belvedere. Just a horizontal indentation across the rear with the PLYMOUTH logo within.

The Belvedere-based Road Runner features the same bare bones recessed panel with the cartoon logo centered and Road Runner text in place of PLYMOUTH on the right.

A step-up is the Belvedere Satellite featuring a strip of frosted aluminum installed in the recessed rear panel. A hint of premium luxury.

Below we see the next level up in prestige.. the Sport Satellite with a more sophisticated aluminum panel with Sport Satellite text centered and PLYMOUTH moved up onto the sheet metal.

Similar to the Sport Satellite rear panel is that of the GTX the difference being a blacked-out center region of the panels horizontal recesses. The GTX logo is centered.

And there you have it for the rear panel styles for 1969 Plymouth Belvedere models.

Here we go with the grilles. Below is the standard '69 Belvedere face. Frosted aluminum around the headlights... simple geometry in the grille texture.

Another view of the Belvedere grille. This happens to be installed on a Road Runner which would normally have blacked-out version (see below).

You can see the matte black paint on the grille below which is the Road Runner version of the Belvedere grille.

Below we have the distinctive grille of the Plymouth Belvedere Sport Satellite with it's horizontal 2-level shape with central bulge and redline surround. No black-out on the headlight bezels but black-out within the central area.

Another view of the same Sport Satellite. Note the contour of the main grille interior shape. Very distinctive.

The premium Belvedere of all was the GTX. Looks like the same grille as the Sport Satellite but with black-out around the headlight bezels.

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