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Alex & Wanda Dunlap's 1967 Plymouth GTX
(from Volume 15, Issue 168)
 

The road for Alex and Wanda Dunlap’s 1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX convertible has been a rough and bumpy ride. Purchased in 1984 from their first son’s baby sitter for $1,200, the car had a lot of dirt, grime and cosmetic needs. But Alex loved the body style, and had visions of a complete restoration. Their daughter was born in 1987, putting the restoration on the back burner, as bills and everyday life came first. With two kids there wasn’t a lot of extra money, but Alex always kept the GTX mechanically sound. With a mortgage and bills, the GTX became mom’s taxi cab - so with a pillow in the front seat away Wanda went to school, sitters, football practice, Girl Scouts and the grocery store.

In 1994 their last son was born, and as times got better they bought a new car, so the GTX was put in the garage. They purchased a rotisserie, door panels, seats, foam, carpet, and stocked up on all the parts the car would need for a complete restoration. However, the car just sat in the garage and became a shelf for every rag, tool, and parts books, with 2-inches of dust winding up on her. The decision needed to be made. The GTX needed to either be sold, or restored back to her original beauty.

So Alex and Wanda took the GTX to Classic Auto Body in Bradenton, Florida, where owner Larry understood that the Dunlaps wanted the car restored back to the original stock car she once was. With a donor car and years of parts and pieces to work with, Larry began the two and a half year project. Every nut and bolt was replaced, many new parts were used, and the GTX was given a new life.

With 1967 being the first year for the GTX, it was introduced by Plymouth to be a “gentleman’s muscle car”, with an exceptional blend of style and performance. The GTX was set apart from normal Belvederes with a special grill and rear fascia, mock hood scoops, and a chrome “pit stop” fuel filler cap. Under the hood rests a Super Commando 440 engine, which was rated at 375hp, and is mated to a 727 automatic transmission putting the power back to a Sure-Grip posi rear end with 3.55 gears. Factory bucket seats and a console round out the black vinyl interior, while the red exterior has the optional black racing stripes, plus a set of Magnum 500 rims wrapped in Firestone Firehawk Redline tires.

It was a long road, but well worth the journey. Completed in 2006, Alex and Wanda took it to the 27th Mopar Nationals in 2007 where it promptly took first place, with many more awards coming at lots of other shows since then. The trusty GTX had taken care of the Dunlaps for many years as a taxi, and now she is their pride and joy to take to car shows. They have owned the car for 23 years, but have only been showing her for about a year and a half. It took a long time to be able to afford to put it back together right. They only made 680 of them, so the Dunlaps wanted to do it right. If you get the chance to give the car a once over, you’ll see for yourself that they certainly did. CN