- BODY: Aurora Model Motoring
- WHEELS & TIRES: Vincent
Another stellar body released under the Model Motoring label sometime in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s, the ’67 GTX was made in a variety of colors but almost all of them seem surprisingly hard to come by. With the exception of the white “Sox & Martin” hemi version which is relatively plentiful, it seems this body appears for sale infrequently and there’s always a lot of competition for it. Such was the case with this one, and although I don’t remember the final hammer-sell, I do remember having to bid high to get this, my first one, and I was willing to do it because…well, its purple!
Although the body design precludes the use of mag wheels, it seems to do just fine on narrow wheels and tires! Originally equipped with the 5 slot “871” wheels from Road Race Replicas, I opted to replace these with a set of Crager Sports from Vincent. While it may not be the fastest car in the fleet, its no slouch either, and performs very well in tournaments against cars that are “supposed to be” more powerful.
Technically just called the Plymouth GTX (the Belvedere name appeared nowhere on the car), it was in fact an upgraded Belvedere, distinguishing itself from its more sedate linemate with fiberglass hood scoops and a black trimmed grille up front and an argent silver tail cove at the rear. This was one of Plymouth’s most expensive cars in ’67: sold as a “gentleman’s hot rod”, the GTX in “standard trim” was already very well equipped and thus had few options. The standard configuration was the 440 big block with a 4-barrel and a TorqueFlite 3 speed automatic; the A-833 4-speed manual was a no cost option, while an additional $600 would upgrade the powerplant to the legendary 426 Hemi. Magnum wheels and racing stripes were also options as was air conditioning (on the 440 model only), and the interior could be dressed up with bucket seats and a console with a floor shifter. Many GTX’s were equipped with a lot of these options, as they were not cheap cars.
Although 19 exterior colors were available on the GTX, this particular car-which started life in bronze-is now painted a non-standard custom gloss purple, though it retains its original black interior with the bucket seat and floor shift setup. Named “Gaskin” (often misheard by spectators as “Gas Can”), she is campaigned by Larry “Lightspeed” MacClellan, a Northern California native who started off racing go carts at the age of 12 and never stopped going fast! Named after one of the strongest and most critical parts of a racing horse’s leg, “Gaskin” is a “Super Commando” 440 4-speed car that gets its monstrous torque to the ground via a nearly indestructible race spec’d Dana 60 Sure Grip limited-slip differential with a 3.54 ratio. MacClellan has done significant work to the engine including Dart cylinder heads and a mid-rise aluminum intake topped with a “breathed on” 750cfm Carter AFB carb. An aluminum 4 core radiator keeps things cool, larger-than-stock disc brakes help tame the beast, while the heavy duty sway bars at both ends work to snub the wallow. Mopar Muscle is alive and thriving on the asphalt of Drag City!
It is amazing the details they are able to do on these cars, like the “Plymouth” clearly spelled out on the tail. Lovely color too. You put a lot of effort and research in to these posts. I like the new wheels you put on these cars and it’s interesting to read and how they effect performance.