I figured its time to start this thread. It will be a while before I really get into this car as I am currently deeply involved in trying to get my 56 Corvette gasser at least running, but the GTX is next on the agenda and in the mean time, I will be looking for parts and trying to learn some stuff. This forum has already been a great source of knowledge and I hope to become a contributor of sorts.
The car's story is a little murky but I'll do my best to regale the tail: Supposedly the original owner moved to California early in its life so it was pampered in terms of weather. It may have come from somewhere cold because it has the factory undercoating on it or maybe they did that to protect from the salt air? I dont know. Eventually the OO moved to Illinois and bought an old Ford dealership and made it his "hobby shop" (circa 1990s I believe). He was getting on in age and early onset Alzheimer's was setting in. He had very little patience and just wanted it to leave. He wasnt concerned with what may have belonged to it or not. This car must have incurred a small front end mishap as the K-frame, control arms and torsion bars are all date coded for a 1970 build, all correct for BB, just not 69. The lower radiator support has also been replaced but the inner aprons, rails and such are mint. The rest of the body is 100% rust free original Mopar sheetmetal. While the fenders have been replaced, they are from another car. A gentleman in Kentucky bought this car from the original owner in the 2000s. He had thought it was much earlier but the guy also had a SRT10 truck for sale and we know when they were introduced ... It was already apart and in primer, parts scattered throughout the place. He grabbed what he could find and took it home. It sat for about ten years and then he got the car stripped to bare metal and painted. I will say, they did a very nice job! Its straight and the gaps are very good.
The original Dana still rests in place. It came with a freshly rebuilt 18 spline 4spd but not the numbers unit for the car. Original (or at least correct) bellhousing & flywheel were in it too. No engine or accessories of any sort. It is ALL apart! The dash is out and stripped. I did get the original (I'm told) dash cluster. It does have the 150 speedo and a tach. The car was optioned with A01 light group but he welded up the fender signal holes and all the trinkets are missing. You can see the outline of the reverse light indicator around the bulb hole and such but everything is gone. The Air Grabber cable bracket is there but nothing else. The firewall has the factory stamped hole for the cable, it has the 21 coil springs and the hood has the rivet holes but all the good stuff is long gone. It was probably in that shop somewhere but he was unable to find it. It did come with brand new Legendary interior pieces though. And the seats were nicely done. But all I got was the seats, door panels and a headliner ... nothing else.
It really is a "roller" at this point but over time, it will come back to life. Attached are two shots of when it arrived. I wiped it down and was amazed at how nice the paint really is. The underneath is original, 50+ year old undercoating so its not near as pretty but ... it is solid!
The car's story is a little murky but I'll do my best to regale the tail: Supposedly the original owner moved to California early in its life so it was pampered in terms of weather. It may have come from somewhere cold because it has the factory undercoating on it or maybe they did that to protect from the salt air? I dont know. Eventually the OO moved to Illinois and bought an old Ford dealership and made it his "hobby shop" (circa 1990s I believe). He was getting on in age and early onset Alzheimer's was setting in. He had very little patience and just wanted it to leave. He wasnt concerned with what may have belonged to it or not. This car must have incurred a small front end mishap as the K-frame, control arms and torsion bars are all date coded for a 1970 build, all correct for BB, just not 69. The lower radiator support has also been replaced but the inner aprons, rails and such are mint. The rest of the body is 100% rust free original Mopar sheetmetal. While the fenders have been replaced, they are from another car. A gentleman in Kentucky bought this car from the original owner in the 2000s. He had thought it was much earlier but the guy also had a SRT10 truck for sale and we know when they were introduced ... It was already apart and in primer, parts scattered throughout the place. He grabbed what he could find and took it home. It sat for about ten years and then he got the car stripped to bare metal and painted. I will say, they did a very nice job! Its straight and the gaps are very good.
The original Dana still rests in place. It came with a freshly rebuilt 18 spline 4spd but not the numbers unit for the car. Original (or at least correct) bellhousing & flywheel were in it too. No engine or accessories of any sort. It is ALL apart! The dash is out and stripped. I did get the original (I'm told) dash cluster. It does have the 150 speedo and a tach. The car was optioned with A01 light group but he welded up the fender signal holes and all the trinkets are missing. You can see the outline of the reverse light indicator around the bulb hole and such but everything is gone. The Air Grabber cable bracket is there but nothing else. The firewall has the factory stamped hole for the cable, it has the 21 coil springs and the hood has the rivet holes but all the good stuff is long gone. It was probably in that shop somewhere but he was unable to find it. It did come with brand new Legendary interior pieces though. And the seats were nicely done. But all I got was the seats, door panels and a headliner ... nothing else.
It really is a "roller" at this point but over time, it will come back to life. Attached are two shots of when it arrived. I wiped it down and was amazed at how nice the paint really is. The underneath is original, 50+ year old undercoating so its not near as pretty but ... it is solid!
