Plymouth Hemi GTX 1971, Estados Unidos

Plymouth Hemi GTX 1971, Estados Unidos
Motor: 426/425 HP
Exterior: Amarelo (Bahama Yellow)
Interior: Cinza e Preto
Fotografia

HIGHLIGHTS

The most expensive Hemi car ever produced

The most highly optioned GTX ever produced

$6,592.75, more expensive than a Cadillac Coupe Deville in 1971

Unrestored with 49,416 miles

Original Bahama Yellow paint

Black vinyl top and premium houndstooth interior

1 of 2 Hemi GTXs built with factory sunroof

426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine

4-speed transmission with Pistol Grip shifter

Super Track Pack 4.10 gears

Power steering, brakes and windows

Inside hood release, light package

Rear window defogger, tinted glass

Air grabber hood with tie-down pins

Bucket seats with console

Heater with Strato-Vent option

Rim-blow steering wheel

Front and rear spoilers, sport mirrors

Fender mounted turn signals

Dual exhaust with chrome tips

AM/FM stereo with 8-track and Dictaphone

Driver aid group with seatbelt and low fuel light

Belt, sill and drip rail moldings

Day Two Cragar wheels, Mallory distributor with Rev Limiter, headers, chrome air cleaner, valve covers, fan and master cylinder cover

Goodyear Polyglas tires

The original owner, Sergeant Larry Dickson was a highly decorated Vietnam Veteran who owned and pampered the car until his death

It became part of the Wellborn Collection in 2005

A lot was happening in 1971, and a highly-decorated soldier named Larry Dickson, who had returned from Vietnam, wanted a Hemi muscle car. The result was possessing this amazing sunroof Hemi Plymouth GTX for the rest of his life. Unknown by anybody at that time, this Mopar would be the highest sticker/highest option Hemi car ever created, and the 49,416-mile car has an amazing story.

Dickson, a sergeant in the Army, had come back highly decorated. The Roseville, California, native had won the Silver Star, Purple Heart and other honors for valor during his tour of duty. He first bought a ’70 383-powered Road Runner, but as 1972 approached, he had his local dealership search nationwide for an unsold Hemi vehicle. What came up was located more than 3,000 miles away in Bayshore, Long Island.

The EL5 Bahama Yellow ’71 Hemi GTX had been built in November 1970 as a sales bank car, with the New York-based dealership getting it in late December. The loaded car then went unsold for more than a year. The newly restyled G-series body gave the car a fresh look, and the list of options added on an extra $2,885.75 to the GTX’s base $3,707 cost. Of course, that was led by the 426 Hemi, 4-speed and Dana 4.10 Super Trak Pak driveline. Costly components were the incredible power sunroof, the top-line AM/FM cassette player with microphone, a houndstooth interior, power windows, spoiler package and more. With a massive sticker price of $6,592.75, more than any factory produced muscle car ever built, the still-new car was sent west.

Once Larry bought it, a handful of aftermarket parts were added to this, notably the Mallory distributor with Rev Limiter to keep from damaging the Hemi engine. Other changes also included Cragar wheels, headers and chromed underhood accessories.

Following a minor altercation to the passenger side door during its first decade of ownership, Sergeant Dickson parked the GTX in his garage permanently, unrestored and showing just under 50,000 miles since new. His final registration expired in 1982, and it would remain unseen publicly until collector Scott Lindsey followed a lead and purchased it from Dickson’s estate though the family. Soon after, Tim Wellborn acquired it for their museum collection.

Tim has always been partial to originality, and this one needed little else but a little cleaning and the door fixed. In speaking with fellow collector Peter Swainson, Tim noted he hated to do anything to this very original car, at which point Swainson told him he owned a ’71 passenger-side door in original EL5 paint. Turning the project over to Roger Gibson, the original-paint door was added onto the original-paint car. Larry’s day-two upgrades were left intact as well.

Today the car is unrestored and retains its original matching-numbers 426/425 HP Hemi engine. Factory options outside include the Air Grabber hood with hold-down pins, front and rear spoilers, sunroof, dual racing mirrors, tinted glass, bumper guards, chrome tips, extra-cost Hi-Impact EL5 paint and factory-installed graphics. Driving is aided by power steering, power front disc brakes, Hemi-specified suspension, G60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires and now-replaced 15-inch Rallye wheels. Of course, inside are houndstooth buckets with a six-way driver’s seat, console and Pistol Grip shifter, tachometer, rear window defogger, Strato-ventilation, Light group and Drivers Aid group, inside hood release, aforementioned stereo and upholstery, and rim-blow steering wheel.

Well-known and celebrated in the Mopar community, this car was featured on the cover of “Muscle Car Review,” and it is a one-of-a-kind example of this final year of the Hemi. A cornerstone of the Wellborn museum collection for many years, Tim’s extensive research on Hemi Sunroof cars has revealed that fewer than 10 Hemi Mopars of all models were built with a sunroof in 1971. Offered to the public for the first-time ever, this special sunroof Hemi GTX is sure to please the most discerning and serious buyer of true American muscle.