Car of the Month

For past car's of the month scroll down below this picture & text




Dave Hechler's 1970 GTX “Car of the Month”

Here is Dave's story about his car in his own words.

During my senior year in high school in Morrisville Pennsylvania in 1968, my late brother Teary returned from the Army and bought a slightly use Turbine Bronze 67 GTX.
We were always together as I rode shotgun cruising or racing. The car was a rocket (quarter mile ET:14.01@ 105 mph) and we had many fun nights with it.

I went into the Air Force in December of 68 and spent two of my four years in Vietnam.
My heart was set on returning home with a new 72 six pack Roadrunner. I had a warm spot in my heart for a GTX, but just loved the cartoon roadrunner theme. Alas, being 22 years old, I could not afford insurance for a six pack car at that time and settled on a new 72 Dodge Demon 340.

I loved that car, but always wanted a six pack Roadrunner. Like most of us, I got married and had kids and the muscle cars were on the way out. I retired three years ago and decided last year that I was not getting any younger and started looking for my dream car. Even though my first Mopar was a 72, I always liked the looks of the 70 models the best.
I looked for more than three months and found many nice 70 six pack Roadrunners for sale on the net. However, I just had to have one with bucket seats and a console. I was having a very difficult time finding a Roadrunner that was optioned out like a GTX.
Even though my heart was still set on a Roadrunner, I was torn and felt that I wanted to get a GTX. I know my brother would have loved it.

So, in August of 2005 I was browsing the Internet and still not having luck finding the right Roadrunner. I then typed in 1970 GTX and this beautiful Rallye Red GTX came up.
I had not seen one look or show and nice as this car did on the Internet and it appeared to have almost everything I was looking for.

The car was for sale at Wagner's Classic Auto Sales in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
Another side story to this is that I am very close to my step-son from my former marriage. Joe just happened to be born in 1970 and his Mother has a photo of him at age 2 or 3 where he is driving his plum crazy 1970 Roadrunner peddle car, dust trail stripe and all! I always kid him and say that I had to be 55 to get my dream car and he was only 2 and had one.

I had always told him about wanting to get my dream car someday and that when that day came, and the car was out of state, that together, we would drive the car home.
In September 2005 my step-son Joe and I flew back to Kansas, bought the car, and drove it home. (The drive home is a story in itself.) It was a very special time for Joe and me that I will never forget.

When Joe and I opened the hood we both saw a new purple Roadrunner horn proudly displayed. With big smiles on both of our faces we looked at each other and Joe says, "Your buying this car aren't you?" A moment in time that I will cherish forever.


ABOUT THE CAR: 1970 Plymouth GTX VIN: RS23U0A133418. As you can see by the VIN, the car was originally a 440 4 barrel car.

The previous owner spent sixty-seven grand to restore the car and converted it to a six pack. He also changed it from an automatic to the pistol grip four speed with console.
The previous owner made the mistake of painting the hood stripes and rear tail assembly bright white. Although it was pretty and matched the white side stripes, it was not period correct. I quickly had those areas painted back to flat black.

The engine was done by a Mopar guy in Greenville Ohio in 1999. He had it bored .30 over with flat top pistons and a 509 cam and Mopar 906 heads. The car ran alright, but a dyno test only showed 265 horsepower at the rear wheels. This was not what I expected from a car that was originally rated at 390 horses in pure stock form. Even taking into account the difference in the way horsepower is rated today, I was thinking it should show at least 300 horsepower at the rear wheels.

I decided to completely rebuild the engine to my satisfaction. It is now a balanced and blueprinted, bored .40 over, stroked engine. It's now a 496 cubic inch motor with a Crane hydraulic roller cam and ported Edelbrock heads and intake. It now has 448 horsepower and 800 pound feet of torque and is a blast to drive. I did not buy this car as an investment and deliberately wanted a car that was NOT a matching numbered car. This way I can make the car the way I want it and drive it all the time.

Because of my torn feelings between wanting a Roadrunner and a GTX, and since the car already has a Roadrunner horn, I decided to make the car a Roadrunner/GTX. I have the Roadrunner decals on the hood and rear of the car along with one on each interior door.
Other than the decals and the Classic Cragar wheels, I intend on keeping the car factory stock looking on the outside, but making it a modern driver inside.

I replaced the manual front drum brakes with power disc and will convert the rear brakes very soon. I have also installed a state police extra firm steering gear box and installed a new suspension kit, which included heavier front and rear sway bars and KYB shocks.
As many of us know, we are NEVER done with our toys. There are a lot of things I still want to do and it makes retirement lots of fun.

Dave Hechler
roaddog3035@aol.com

July 2006


Past Car's of the Month

Dave Chisholm's modified TX9 GTX
John Borzych's FJ5 GTX race car

Rick Richard's EB5 6bbl 4 spd GTX

Don Collom's FT6 4 speed 440-4bbl GTX
Bob Thompson's GTX 440-4bbl automatic
Joe Petrungaro's FC7 automatic 440-4bbl GTX
Darren Phiipp's FE5 automatic GTX
Mark Sillar's EB7 A/C auto GTX
Norm VerHage's EB7 4 speed GTX
Chris Akin's FC7 automatic GTX
Steve Lester's FE5 automatic GTX
Ed Aprile's EB5 w/white vinyl top & side stripe 4 speed GTX
Ron Simonar's FC7 4bbl auto GTX
Fred Gilmore's Ivy Green GTX w/ Hemi engine
Brian Moceri's black 440-4bbl 4 spd GTX
Dave Kruszewski's TX9 GTX w/ white interior
Mats & Eva's FK5 6bbl. 4 spd GTX
Doug Dufour's EW1 4bbl GTX w/AC
Frank Forest's FK5 6bbl. 4 speed GTX

Chris Lobascio's EB5 automatic 440-6bbl. GTX
Mike Doddo's 440+6bbl. 4 speed GTX
Russ Carpenter's EB7 4bbl. 4 speed GTX
Ivan Kron's FE5 6bbl. 4 speed GTX
Nick Pieramico's FK5 6bbl. 4 speed GTX
Chuck Brunell's FJ5 GTX
Steve Coe's EK2 4 speed GTX
Dave Drozdowski's FJ5 GTX

[Home]