It Ain’t Perfect, but This ’71 Plymouth GTX Sold for All the Right Reasons

The B-body platform carried a lot of water for Chrysler Corp. in the late 1960s. The Dodge Charger, Super Bee, and Coronet, as well as the Plymouth Belvedere, Satellite, Road Runner, and GTX all owed their existence to it, with a range of V-8s from 318 to 440 cubic inches available underhood.    

By the time the completely redesigned B-body appeared for 1971, however, it’s fair to say the bloom was off the rose. The company’s E-body Cudas and Challengers might have been at height of their powers, but Mopar’s upscale muscle machines were on their last legs. Perhaps no variant took it on the chin as much as the GTX. 

The new “fuselage” styling was not for everyone. The cars looked big, maybe too big, with squared off wheel arches front and rear and a polarizing chrome front bumper that completely encircled the grille and framed the quad round headlights. Convertibles had long been part of the B-body fray, but for 1971 they were gone. Available engines in the GTX included a pair of 440s—one breathing through a four-barrel and making 370 horsepower, the other featuring a 3×2 Six-Pack and making 385 hp. The 426 Hemi, with dual fours, made 425 horses. No matter which engine one chose, it was a torque monster; even the base 440 made 480 lb ft. 

Just 2942 GTXs were built for 1971, the final year of production, and most were equipped with TorqueFlite automatics. From 1972 until 1974, the GTX name continued only as a badge applied to Road Runners equipped with the optional 440. 

The matching-numbers 1971 Plymouth GTX seen here sold this week for $36,750 on Bring a Trailer. Looking very much the part in its Tor Red respray, it still features its original “Super Commando” 440-4 and three-speed automatic, putting power to the rear wheels through a Sure-Grip limited-slip differential. Riding on 15-inch Cragar Keystone wheels shod with Cooper Cobra radials, it included rear window louvers, a deck spoiler, hood pins with a black stripe package across said hood, power steering, front discs, and dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. The interior is your standard black vinyl with front buckets and rear bench, with A/C, woodgrain trim, an aftermarket radio, and a pistol-grip shifter. The odometer shows 88,000 miles, and a cold-start video revealed a big-block eager to fire after a few pumps and then settle into a deep, loping idle. 

The seller is said to have purchased the car just last year, and his reason for selling is simple—and honorable: “The car is for sale to avoid converting a solid matching numbers vehicle into a restomod, which is what I prefer.” As you might imagine, this made many Mopar enthusiasts happy in the comments section. 

This GTX is far from perfect, with noted prior damage to the rear, some rust holes in the trunk, a workmanlike undercarriage, and a paint job claimed by the seller to be “7.5 or 8 out of 10, showing well but not perfect.” So many muscle cars have sacrificed their originality for new ideals of reliable power and drivability, so it’s refreshing when someone takes a step back to see the bigger picture, even with a relatively low-spec car with obvious imperfections that rates as a solid #4 (fair) condition driver. 

There’s little to be gained financially from completely restoring this GTX. Values have remained relatively flat for some time now, and the best in the world is “only” a $100K car. But that’s not the point. And while some will argue its best days are behind it, they’d get an awful lot of pushback from the Mopar faithful who would, rightfully, counter that its best days are just beginning.