msb0824
Active Member
As others have mentioned in this post, the car is too rare to trash, part out or modify. I grew up when they were new, and they were rare back then. Why? Perhaps largely because GM and Ford marketing was so successful that they became mainstream, and people perpetuated these brands by continuing to flock to them like sheep due to their popularity and/or this is all they knew (still applies today). The rarity of GTX's (and MOPARS in general) also made people apprehensive to own one as they were either naive about them or just wanted acceptance by the Chevy/Ford masses.
I'm not knocking the other brands available during that era, because each one had special cars that are much appreciated and remain very desirable. However, it appears that only a true MOPAR aficionado really appreciates the rarity of GTX's and would discourage altering their original appearance and aggressive stance. Lowering the suspension so that the car nearly touches the ground, adding huge garish rims with such low profile tires and other permanent modifications clearly detracts from their historical value. Yes, I said historical because like it or not, these cars represent an era that is rapidly being relegated to just photos and written text, just like the steam locomotive or any other event that marked an era. Most states recognize this and provide these vehicles with special "historic" registration status, the terms of which include their use for "educational" (aka, historical) purposes. If you like these types of modifications, do it to a plain Belvidere/Satellite....no one will care.
I'm not just standing on a soapbox to tell people what they should do, and I have put my money where my mouth is. My brother and I each own restored twin '71 GTX original 4-speeds (~2700 built and only 400 with 4-speeds). In fact, my brother's car has been in the family since new.
So, my take is restore it to its visual appearance, or sell it to someone that would clearly do the same.
I'm not knocking the other brands available during that era, because each one had special cars that are much appreciated and remain very desirable. However, it appears that only a true MOPAR aficionado really appreciates the rarity of GTX's and would discourage altering their original appearance and aggressive stance. Lowering the suspension so that the car nearly touches the ground, adding huge garish rims with such low profile tires and other permanent modifications clearly detracts from their historical value. Yes, I said historical because like it or not, these cars represent an era that is rapidly being relegated to just photos and written text, just like the steam locomotive or any other event that marked an era. Most states recognize this and provide these vehicles with special "historic" registration status, the terms of which include their use for "educational" (aka, historical) purposes. If you like these types of modifications, do it to a plain Belvidere/Satellite....no one will care.
I'm not just standing on a soapbox to tell people what they should do, and I have put my money where my mouth is. My brother and I each own restored twin '71 GTX original 4-speeds (~2700 built and only 400 with 4-speeds). In fact, my brother's car has been in the family since new.
So, my take is restore it to its visual appearance, or sell it to someone that would clearly do the same.
