This month's member feature comes to us from James Dent who is the proud owner of a sporty red 1971 Plymouth GTX. James grew up in Kirksville, MissouriI and got the car bug from his father, an army man who always drove older cars including a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville and a 1958 Cadillac. Besides helping his dad out with the upkeep of the classics, James often spent time at the library going through endless books on muscle cars. He was particularly drawn to the front of the cars and was attracted to the looped front ends of the second-gen Chargers. Books weren't the only draw to the cars either, as James had plenty of exposure watching fast rides on film and television. From Bullitt to the Dukes of Hazzard, James needed one of these sleek rides and his mind was made up, it would be a mopar. While this love of cars persisted throughout his youth, college became priority number one and James began his time at pharmacy school at the University of Kansas. Studying was fun and all, but the longing for a classic was ever present. As he recalls, "I started looking for a car and saw a 1971 Road Runner for sale in Missouri. Unfortunately, it needed a lot of work. So, I would look online from time to time hoping to find a car." Fast forward to graduation and still no ride he could call his own. On top of that, it was at this time James went active duty in the Air Force because he had received a Health Professions Scholarship and owed 3 years of service. Lucky for him, James came across a sweet bargain, but it wasn't a mopar. While a '70 GTO was awesome, it was not a Dodge or a Plymouth. "Mopars were all really expensive. My plan was to keep the GTO and hopefully trade if the right deal came along." Driving the goat was fun, but James still hadn't found what he was looking for and kept thinking about the '71 Road Runner he had seen for sale a few years prior. One day he decided to dedicate some serious time online searching for a righteous B Body and it wasn't long until he came upon a Tor Red 1971 Plymouth GTX for sale at Grand Rapids Classics in Michigan. "The car had been for sale for several weeks but no one had really wanted it because it was an automatic on the column. It appealed to me because it still had the original interior including the buddy seat." While it wasn't a Road Runner, it was a step up... a GTX with high impact paint and a potent 440 V8 engine. After some back and forth, James struck a deal and became the proud new owner of this gentleman's muscle car. "At the time I didn’t know a lot about mopars but I quickly learned what made this car a GTX. I lucked out, I always wanted a fast mopar with a 440. The sound and power they produce is second to none!" Upon delivery of the car, James quickly began to make memories by taking it out on cruises and enjoying the vehicle he had always wanted. Like many of us, he was extremely curious about the car's history and searched for build sheets, receipts and any other clues that would help paint a picture on the life of this car. Between its production at the Windsor plant to its time at GR Classics, little to nothing was known of the GTX's past with the exception of one previous owner David Grizzel, who was a court officer that unfortunately passed away. After his death, the car was listed at an auction from which it was acquired by the dealership. Despite sharing the difficulty most of us do tracing our car's history, James remains hopeful that more information will be revealed as he continues to patiently research and follow up on potential leads. In the meantime, James, a family man, thoroughly enjoys being an owner of a '71 Plymouth and takes exceptional care of it through a network of friends he has made especially Dan Peacock from Mopars Unlimited. Fittingly, the gentleman from Kirksville owns what forever will be known as the "gentleman's muscle car." The 1971 Plymouth B Body Registry would like to thank James Dent for his service to our country. Thank you Captain! If you have any information on the history of James Dent's car, please contact him through messenger on Facebook.
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AuthorRowland George is a 1971 Plymouth B Body enthusiast and researcher dedicated to acquiring information on behalf of owners and those interested in learning more about these iconic classic cars. Archives
July 2019
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