Story by Geoff Stunkard

“Back in 1969, my dad took me to the Talladega race, and that was when I became interested in the Bobby Isaac Daytona; when that Dodge was going around the track, it just permanently became ingrained in my mind. I never dreamed that someday I would own the real car and drive it, especially not in Germany and at Goodwood and places like that.”

While many people know the Wellborn Musclecar Museum for the terrific collection of 1971 Hemi Chargers there, the aerodynamically-enhanced 'wing car' models from 1969 and 1970 have also been part of the collection since before it started. As Tim states, his attendance at that first race at Talladega played a huge role on his impressionable mind back in 1969; as a result, the car he drove in his high school years was a real Dodge Daytona. This car, Hemi Orange with a 440 and white interior, was his regular driver, but in 1979, it became an even larger tribute to the car Bobby Isaac had piloted back on that September on the high banks of Talladega.

“I found a 2100-mile ‘68 Hemi Road Runner that been totaled, and took the engine, K-member, wiring, everything, and just swapped it right into that Daytona. It all fit perfectly, I got everything needed for a B-Body Hemi, and my goal was to make this into a tribute to Bobby Isaac and the K&K car. So I decided to letter it up, and had the call-out letters, ‘Dodge’ lettered on the nose, and pinstripes painted on it.”

He drove the car for a couple of more years, but money was tight; when he made plans to get married, the Daytona was sold to a gentleman in Atlanta, and Tim lost track of it. As things became better economically, Tim wondered whatever happened to it. Ironically, it came back to him 22 years later.

“I’m getting ready to load up for Barrett-Jackson on a Wednesday night, and I get a phone call. It is the owner I had sold that car to,” he recalls. “I asked him some questions and he says, ‘do you want to buy it back?’ I said, ‘absolutely,’ and I drove straight to Atlanta that following Sunday afternoon when I returned, wrote him a check, and brought it home. It came back showing just 312 miles since the day I had sold it.” Talk about preserving history…

By now, Tim and Pam had already purchased a few other Daytonas and Superbirds. In fact, they were able to purchase the original K&K Insurance Daytona that had been part of the collection at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. This car had set records at Bonneville, and, through Tim’s efforts, got the very first 528” crate motor Hemi from Chrysler. Tim, licensed to drive at speed, then toured the car in exhibition races across Europe, driving it at 150+ mph speeds at places like Germany’s legendary Nürburgring and Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. This car has been on display in the new NASCAR Museum in Charlotte since the day that facility opened.

One car in particular does stand out. This was a Charger Daytona that Tim had found and bought from the owner’s ex-wife, and it has a story. The car was sold through the Lenox Dodge franchise in Atlanta; its origins of its ordering are lost; it was likely bought by the owner Tim found out about through Lenox’ used car department as a repo. CONTINUED

“This guy had been sent out to buy a refrigerator, and came back with this car. His wife was not very happy about that,” Tim laughs. “So, as you can imagine, that marriage didn’t last, and when they split up, she kept this car basically to spite him. Then it sat out under a tarp in her yard for a long time.”

Tim got a call from somebody who found out about the car, and soon made plans to go see it. It was rough; the car had been repainted Petty Blue and was showing a large amount of surface rust, though the substructure rust normally feared about was non-existent (great trunk, floor pans and cowl). Seeing the car initially, he was pretty skeptical at first glance, until he saw the 999 paint code on the fender tag. Then he pulled the back seat up to see if the build sheet was in it.

“When I saw that color, my heart jumped,” he says.

Omaha Orange was never a color offered by any of the major manufacturers; it was a color used for taxi cabs running around the Haight-Asbury and other San Francisco places at the time. To date, there is only one other Daytona painted that way, and its whereabouts are questionable. Tim gave the unrestored car to Roger Gibson, who spent a couple of years reworking it into one of the most accurate restorations of any wing car.

As built, the car got the special paint, the 440 Magnum, four speed transmission, and Dana 60 rear. It got deluxe bucket seats, console, and AM radio. Like the interior, the wing was black. Most of these cars were built as sales bank cars and very few got special ordered. This one is unique for all of those reasons. The car originally came with 15” body-color painted rims. While Gibson restored the original set, Tim has chosen to use a set of the rare 15” Kelsey Hayes wheels that were recalled almost immediately due to failures; they fit the car perfectly.

The museum also has other Daytonas beyond these two and the #71 racecar – one is a 6000-mile Hemi survivor and another that is 440 powered, now stored is among the ‘barn finds’ displayed in Alexander City. The Hemi with be at the upcoming Musclecar and Corvette Nationals in Chicago on Nov 16-18.

The following year, Plymouth used a similar group of changes to build a group of cars that helped bring Richard Petty back into the fold. These cars were modified from Road Runners and used sheetmetal pieces from the redesigned 1970 Dodge Coronet to get even more streamlined. The slippery pieces developed for the Dodge were reworked with some improvements and, unlike the 500 cars built by Dodge, NASCAR now required one for every two dealerships – over 1900 units.

As a result, the Plymouth wings are found in more variety and abundance than the Dodges. The museum has three Superbirds, one Hemi-powered, one Six Pack, and one using the 440 combination (those were the three engines available in the model). The unrestored Hemi Superbird will also make its first public appearance away from Alabama at MCACN.

The museum’s Charger 500, the first aero-styled redesign that preceded the ‘nuclear option’ Dodge Daytona release, will also be at the Illinois event; it too is Hemi powered.    ]]> http://wellbornmusclecarmuseum.com/index.php/2012/11/12/wings-over-alex-city/feed/ 0 http://wellbornmusclecarmuseum.com/index.php/2012/01/12/tim-and-pam-wellborn-love-life-and-musclecars/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tim-and-pam-wellborn-love-life-and-musclecars http://wellbornmusclecarmuseum.com/index.php/2012/01/12/tim-and-pam-wellborn-love-life-and-musclecars/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:49:49 +0000 QMPEditor http://wellbornmusclecarmuseum.com/?p=804 The Convertible E-body: 1970 440-4 'Plymouth Cuda

Musclecar Milestones by Geoff Stunkard

Text by Geoff Stunkard / Photos by John Stunkard

 “My dad had Fords, and my first car was a Mustang, so I was not a Mopar girl when we first met; in fact, I had never seen a Hurst Pistol Grip until our first date when I climbed into Tim’s Charger. I saw it and said ‘what is that thing;’ my first thought was that it was some aftermarket redneck part.”

Pam Wellborn was laughingly recalling her first encounter with Chrysler’s legendary musclecar options. Tim Wellborn and Pam Twilley had known each other in high school, and Tim had arrived in a 1970 Charger for their first date that occasion. While the two enjoyed those carefree days, career and life choices would cause them to go their separate ways into other relationships and responsibilities after graduation. Pam moved to Birmingham to get her nursing degree, while Tim ended up beginning his serious work responsibilities at the family business, Wellborn Forest Products.

The ‘cuda seen here had originally came from the Phoenix, Arizona, being sold new through the well-known Town & Country franchise out there. It was the mid-1980s, and Tim had purchased it as part of a growing group of classic Mopars he owned. Partial to Chargers and NASCAR-oriented B-Bodies, it was the only E-body he owned at the time he and Pam’s relationship reignited in 1986.

“There is something about that car,” he says. “Blue, white top, big block…” “Yes, do you remember we drove that car to the Mopar Nationals in 1988 in Columbus?,” Pam replies. “We got married in 1987, and we had four or five cars at that time, including the Jamaica-blue 1970 Charger we had dated in a few years earlier. Now, I love convertibles; Tim loves the 1971 Chargers.”

As things worked out, the financial requirements of Tim’s family-owned cabinet business in Alexander City, which he took over when his father passed away unexpectedly in the early 1990s, eventually resulted in the painful separation of virtually their entire collection, saving just one wing car (a yellow Superbird) and the Tawny Gold Hemi Charger that Tim’s late father had owned. However, those lean years were time and money spent wisely, and, once back on solid footing, Tim and Pam were able to reacquire the droptop E-body from its then-current owner in Canada.

This car is unique, as most people forget that the only year you could get a 440 four-barrel in the Plymouth ‘cuda convertible was 1970. No 440 convertibles were ever built on the A-body platform, and in 1971, the final year of production, the 440 high-performance motor was offered only in Six Pack trim. The standard 440 option allowed A/C to be installed on this car; only 34 1970 440-4 ‘cudas converts were constructed. Moreover, it is fairly high-optioned: EB5 Blue Fire Metallic paint, color-coded Elastomeric bumper, racing mirrors, hood pins, AM/8-track, and side-sill-deck moldings. Pam, for one, is very glad to have it back.

“Yes, I have had an impact on our collection with the cars I’ve picked,” says Pam with a big laugh. “If it were up to Tim, we’d have mostly 1971 Chargers!”

Tim laughs and nods in agreement. Though Pam might have not been overly impressed with that Pistol Grip and the brawny Mopars at first sight, she was a quick and thorough study. Tim’s previous serious relationship had not been very happy; having admitted that his car interest was a pretty important part of his life, he wanted to make sure that any other woman he became serious about having a relationship with ‘got it.’ So, within a short time of their reacquaintance, Pam was learning.

“Tim gave me all these reference books when we first started dating, and I really liked him, so I studied them,” Pam says. “Back then, a lot of them were little guides listing options and parts. Pretty soon, I had memorized a lot of details, and eventually I was actually doing judging at some of the events we went to. Of course, I had a great teacher.”

As mentioned, this car was sold in 1994 to help keep the business moving, and went through a number of owners before returning to Alabama. When it came back, though pretty unmolested and still garage kept, the unrestored numbers-matching machine was showing its age. To this end, the Wellborns turned it over to restorer Andrew White of Apex Autosports, who did a spectacular job of bringing the rare metal back to award-winning status.

Meanwhile, Pam’s interest in convertibles resulted in some other cars that have come into the collection, including their W30 4-4-2 ’70 Olds and their Ram Air IV GTO Judge, both outstanding droptops even if they are not Mopars. The couple also has a 383-cid Challenger R/T convertible in the museum’s holdings. These rarities have become part of the museum’s best-known holdings, and remain an important part of the heritage of the musclecar era.

Why not a Hemi? Well, beyond the addiitonal cost and maintenance associated with it, you could not get air conditioning with the 426. Indeed, this would also go away in 1971 on this model, as it was not available with the Six Pack design, either...

One unique aspect of this car was the single 4bbl carb, a Carter AVS model that was superceded in 1971 with the 3-2 Holley Six Pack layout on Chrysler's performance 440 engines, making the 440-4 'cuda a one-year only offering.

The blue interior in the E-body was augmented with the dictaphone recorder, plus bucket seats with a console-mounted automatic shifter.

The rocker moldings along the bottom edge were an extra-cost option that only a few 'cuda owners chose to purchase. These and other styling cues were typical for American performance cars that year.

They were called pony cars, models that fit a small but sporty segment between economy models and midsize cars. Named for the sales niche that Mustang had established in 1964, all the major manufacturers were making offerings to this marketplace by 1970. Prior to that, Plymouth had used their A-body platform to release the first Barracudas, but sales proved that it and the Dart from the Dodge Division was not quite what the public wanted. For 1970, it was the new Duster 340 aimed at the economy muscle market, because now Chrysler had released a completely new design, designated as the E-body, to meet the desires for ‘pony’ muscle.

These new models, Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda (that was called ‘cuda in performance trim), could be had with any engine in the Chrysler line-up, right up to the 426 Hemi. Though based on the B-body platform, big blocks in the E-bodies tended to be nose heavy. When it came to handling prowess, the refined 340 small-block ended up being the best overall choice, and you could get the four-barrel version in the both the coupe or convertible E-body styles. For hardcore fans, you could also get a very special E-body with a Holley six-barrel layout, which arrived in the special A53-coded Trans Am models that came off the line in March.

The Sports Car Club of America’s Trans-Am racing series had become a big deal for the manufacturers, and 1970 was by far the most visible year the SCCA ever had. Dodge hired Sam Posey to direct their Challenger program, while Dan Gurney’s All American Racers oversaw the Plymouth ‘cuda development. Part of the SCCA rules required that race-engineered equipment needed to be available on production examples. Thus the Cuda AAR (named after Gurney’s company) and the Challenger T/A (named after the racing series) were born, to homologate that hardware for the racetrack and promote the factory’s involvement in the series.

Continued

Special graphics and callouts in black tape were also standard, as was the rear spoiler, rear-mounted radio antenna, and mixed-size tires (Goodyear raised letter Polyglas E60x15 up front and G60x15 in the rear, all on 15x7 rims, with a Sav-A-Space inflatable spare in the trunk). Special heavy duty suspension equipment, front power disk brakes, and the special E55 340” engine completed the package.

Based on a stock 340, this was the most radical small-block done by Chrysler in the era. A high nickel content block with meat for four-bolt mains, head castings drilled for offset pushrods, and an Edelbrock aluminum intake (painted the same color as the engine) topped with three Holley two-barrels, were all part of it. Rated at a paltry 290 horses, the E55 was never again offered as a production option. With changes in policy and government mandates, the factory pulled out its money and support of the series after just one season, and the cars were never revived (though a ’71 Challenger was depicted in some 1971 model advertising).

The Wellborn Musclecar Museum features two of the most impressive examples from the one-year experiment. Moreover, both vehicles are low-mileage survivor cars, something the museum has specialized in. The duo came from the legendary collection of Otis Chandler, were subsequently sold to Carlos Monterverde and shipped to England, and finally returned to the States to become part of the Wellborn’s then-private museum in 2002. Take a look at them: Plymouth ‘cuda AAR and Dodge Challenger TA.

“I think this is likely the best survivor T/A in existence,” says Tim. “There are a couple of things that have been changed or fixed on it over the years, but it is a real time capsule. I don’t own many small-block cars, but I have never regretted buying this one. Like the AAR, it is a lot of fun to drive.”

Mileage: 30,000

Production: 2400 (989 four speeds)

Color: EB3 Light Blue Metallic with a B5 Blue interior

Standard Equipment: A53 Trans Am package (T/A graphics, fiberglass hood, rear fiberglass spoiler, side exit exhaust, heavy duty suspension, E55 340 engine, D21 four speed, D56 3.55 Sure grip, U01 Goodyear tires - E60 front/G60 rear tires front, V6H tape stripe, W34 collapsible spare)

Continued

The T/A hood was by far its most visible feature, and for good reason; this was perhaps the most effective scoop design to ever come from Detroit. Chrysler engineers used the raised forward opening to prevent turbulent over-hood air from entering the inlet. It proved to be a winner in drag racing when the hood was optionally offered on all performance models due to safety issues with the Challenger's original ‘Shaker’ design.

Options: (A44) rear window louvers (includes black vinyl top) * (A45) front spoiler package * (C16) console * (G34) outside LH remote painted mirror * (R11) AM radio * (J46) locking gas cap * (J55) undercoating * 15x7 Rallye wheels.

Cost in 1970: $4200 – plus.

The lines of the Challenger remain classic, enough so that this was the basic design selected for the re-release of the model in the 21st century. The T/A was certainly the most visually radical of the breed offered during the car’s five-year production cycle 1970-1974.

Offset tire sized on the E53 models were a first for Chrysler, allowing the body to attain a forward rake right off the showroom floor. The chrome exhaust tips were dealer-added following delivery to prevent damage in transit.

This Sav-A-Space spare tire came with a can of inflator; all of it is very hard to find if you need one for your E-body restoration.

The E55 small-block had the Six Pack Holley set-up on an Edelbrock manifold. The motor also had adjustable rockers, which had been discontinued when production ended on the 273 four-barrel. It was the most serious LA-series engine Chrysler released back in the day. Keith Black did the actual Trans-Am race versions, which displaced 305” inches.

Among the options on the T/A are the B5 Blue interior, which gives it a great deal of curb appeal. Note the Pistol Grip and dash layout; this is an unrestored car.

The view from above and behind again shows that raw muscle was a characteristic of the E53 package cars, making both the T/A and AAR legendary small-block vehicles from the musclecar era and very much at home at the Wellborn Musclecar Museum.

“I really enjoy this car,” says Tim. “Compared to the other Mopars, it handles like something modern, and it responds; it’s definitely the most fun car in my collection. I normally keep a set of radials on it so I can take it out when I want to just drive. I bought it thinking I’d resell it; after driving it, now I will never sell it.”

Mileage: 20.600

Production: 2724 (1,120 four speeds)

Color: FE5 Rallye Red paint with accompanying A22 elastomeric bumpers, black interior

Standard Equipment: A53 Trans Am package (15x7 Rallye wheels, AAR graphics, fiberglass hood, rear fiberglass spoiler, side exit exhaust, heavy duty suspension, E55 340 engine, D21 four speed, D56 3.55 Sure grip, U01 Goodyear tires - E60 front/G60 rear tires front, V6H tape stripe, W34 collapsible spare)

Continued...

FE5 Rallye Red was not a High Impact color (EV2 Tor-Red was), but the color works perfectly on this terrific survivor car, especially with the color-matched elastomeric bumpers and mrrors. Many AARs were not heavily optioned due to the high initial price; this one is an exception.

Options: (A22) Elastomeric front and rear bumpers (includes outside mirrors (left remote control) and deck panel treatement) * (A62) Rallye instrument cluster group * (R22) solid state AM / 8-track * (R31) dual rear speaker * (S74) power steering fast ratio (Y16) sales group * (A67) rear window louvers * (C16) console *(G15) tinted windshield * (J55) undercoating * (J78) front spoiler package.

Cost: $4,724.05

Helping boost the sticker price to over $4700.00 were the optional rear window louvers.

The Pistol Grip was one of the highlights of the 1970 model year; it looks right at home in the AAR.

The AAR hood used a scoop designed by National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA); created due to issues with aircraft approaching the speed of sound, it was not as functional on an automobile. It looked cool, though…

This air cleaner sealed the Six Pack carb layout to the scoop to keep cool air moving into the engine.

From behind, the car takes on the classic appearance of an American street machine, yet is completely stock as sold to public.

Pam on the road in the FM3 1970 Charger; like most of the cars in the Wellborn Museum, the car can be driven, and is…

Museum Masterpieces by Geoff Stunkard

VEHICLE: 1970 Dodge Charger R/T

Restored by: Dale Gyorvary

Engine: Dodge 440 Six Pack Magnum

Transmission: 727 Torqueflite

Rearend: 8.75 banjo-type with 3.23

SureGrip Interior:  black hound’s-tooth/white insets

Wheels: Magnum 500

Tires: Goodyear Polyglas G70-14

Special Parts: FM3 Panther Pink paint plus standard equipment for R/T package (believed to be one of two FM3 440-6 Charger R/Ts built).

Owned by The Wellborn Musclecar Museum

Musclecar paint schemes grew more and more crazy in the late 1960s, and Chrysler’s legendary foray into the world of HIP (High Impact Paint) began in 1969, when five special paint colors debuted. These paint hues were actually an extra cost option, so such colors can add to a car’s collector value today. Things got even more extreme in 1970; the Charger here is painted code FM3, known as Panther Pink.

Other Dodge HIP colors in 1970 were EK2 Go-Mango (yellow-orange), EV2 Hemi Orange (or red-orange), FC7 Plum Crazy (purple), FJ5 Sublime (light-green), and FY1 Top Banana (yellow), with FM3 Panther Pink and FJ6 Green-Go (a deeper green than Sub Lime) both added at mid-year. For Plymouth, the corresponding colors were EK2 Vitamin C Orange, EV2 Tor-Red, FC7 In-Violet Metallic, FJ5 Limelight, FY1 Lemon Twist, with FM3 Moulin Rouge and FJ6 Sassy Grass Green added later.

Indeed, it appeared that all of Detroit had gone psychedelic by then; colors plus wild graphics and styling options abounded from the Big Three – scoops, blisters, wheels and wings. And the displacement wars were waging – the 440 was joined in 7+ liter territory with GMs 454” and 455” inch plants in the midsize body range that year. Chrysler did not add cubes for 1970, choosing instead to add more carbs, a package Dodge called the Six Pack.

After showing up in a handful of Road Runners and Super Bees in 1969, the 440 Six Pack was the newest mill for the Dodge line-up in 1970, available in the B-Body and E-Body performance lines and rated at 390 horses. It featured heavy-duty internals and the trio of Holley two-barrels just like the 1969 version, and its main benefit was more fuel throughout the RPM range. Indeed, it was a better street choice for many than the Hemi, since it achieved quicker peak horsepower on a lower torque curve than the 426 ‘elephant’ did. The Six Pack in this Charger R/T is coupled to a Torqueflite and a highway happy 3.23 SureGrip 8 ¾ differential.

Outside, this particular car was optioned with the white vinyl top and the longitudinal sport stripes that were new for 1970 (you could still get the Scat Pack rear-wrap stripe as well). Though it was an R/T model, it did not get a deck wing, and there was no ‘sport hood’ available yet for the Charger (that year’s Road Runners, GTXs and Coronet R/Ts, on the other hand, offered several variations). It also left the St. Louis assembly line with both left and right outside sport mirrors, tinted windshield, and front and rear bumper guards. Magnum 500 road wheels (code W23) and Goodyear Polyglas tires were part of the mix as well. . The F70 tire was the largest available from the factory on this model, but this example now uses the wider G70-14 replacements.

Inside, our Charger came with the scarce hounds-tooth buckets, covered with black vinyl featuring white cloth insets, plus the console with floor mount, woodgrain appliqué  dash with the standard Rallye cluster design (but no clock or tach), AM radio, and the black steering wheel with lower ½ horn ring.

So, who ordered it that way? Believe it or not, this was a sales bank car. These were models built by the factory for general distribution, and sales bank cars helped keep the assembly line busy and helped assure that a ready supply of cars was on hand for the dealerships. It was built very late in the 1970 year, July 10 being the scheduled production date, and may well have been done to help clean up what was laying around the plant since the Charger would undergo some serious restyling the following model year (which would actually begin a little more than a month later).

Tim and Pam Wellborn spotted it at the Mopar Nationals in 2004, and Pam knew it fit her outlook on life to a ‘T.’ Owner Dale Gyorvary had decided to sell it, and it is believed to be one of just two FM3 Six Pack Chargers built that year; the price was reasonable and Pam wanted something that could be driven around. The Six Pack fit that final requirement perfectly.

“What I like best is the color obviously, and I love ‘70 Chargers, unlike my husband, who’s crazy about the ‘71s,” she says with a grin. “The car was done, we didn’t have it do anything to it, and the white accents make this car a standout. It also has that hounds-tooth interior, and it was the only 440 Six Pack in our collection at the time. Those are all the reasons I gave Tim when I said ‘we need this car!’ that day.”

There was one other important reason: she and Tim had first dated in a 1970 440 Charger many moons ago. That car, unrestored and painted Jamaica Blue, is still in their collection as well.

This car has been featured in Musclecar Review and Old Cars Weekly magazines