This month's member feature is David Tracy who brings us not one, but three stunning 1971 Plymouth B Bodies. While three mopars say a lot about a man's manufacturer allegiance, funny things is Dave was a bow tie man. "I never was a mopar guy at heart. Was a chevy guy." Despite this, his parents seemingly had a thing for Chrysler products. His father's first new car was a 1969 Dodge Dart GT 340 four-speed, the same one from the famous Dodge Fever ad. Even cooler, Dave's mom had heart attached to her Hemi orange 1970 roadrunner 383 four-speed with the awesome air grabber. So what made Dave change his mind about mopar? The fender tag. Yes, the small piece of metal that supplies some great information. Dave was entranced by the story the tag told as those were the options that a customer wanted on their special car. And that's just what led him to his pair of GTXs, the story. The first, a Bahama Yellow GTX,was acquired by Dave on Craigslist five years ago. Somewhat of a barn find, the car had been passed around to members of a family who worked on it through the years. The second, a Glacier Blue GTX was found by Dave at a dealership in Indiana. A gentleman had traded the car to the dealer for a new Dodge Viper and it had been restored twenty years earlier. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these two GTXs was the fact that they were I code cars meaning they were ordered overseas. By who you might ask? Well, Dave found out both vehicles were ordered by soldiers who were fighting in Vietnam at the time. "Just imagine being over there in that hell sitting in a ditch looking at the ad for these cars. Then all that dreaming and putting your order in through the PX to get them so they would be ready for pickup when you got out alive... if you did." According to Dave, he heard that there were only seven I code GTXs, but purchasing the Glacier Blue GTX meant it was number 8, so he just had to have it. As a proud USMC veteran,Dave say's there is no plan to sell these cars any time soon. The last '71 Plymouth in Tracy's garage is a Sassy Grass V Code Road Runner. Look familiar? That's because it was the Registry's cover photo for the month of March! Dave purchased the car three years ago from a gentleman in New Jersey. "I fell in love with the color, numbers-matching 440 six barrel , the four-speed and the Dana rear. Supposedly the car was bought from a police in-pound lot and restored in Maine." Dave continues to take good care of his three '71 B Bodies and is always looking to tackle the next vehicle project. In fact, he has a '70 FM3 Cuda on the workbench. He tell us he's not a typical car show guy, but one who enjoys interacting with the people behind the vehicles. These cars, while incredible in their looks and performance are nothing without the people behind them and their story. After all, that's what it's about and Dave Tracy is one who embodies and champions this concept.
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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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