Eight years after Don brought the Plymouth home, the Franks were able to enjoy their finished ride. Not too crazy to enjoy on the street, not too tame to shy away from fun sprints around town, Don and Tracy's GTX is the perfect example of the "building it how you want to" philosophy.
Fast Facts: '70 Plymouth GTX
Don and Tracy Frank • Linden, PA
Mopar Power
Engine: Starting with an E-Series 440 RB block, Don had a local machine shop bore the block .030-inches over while maintaining the stock stroke. Keith Black 10.25:1 compression hypereutectic pistons mated to stock steel rods are spun by an internally balanced forged factory crank. A Comp Cams Magnum camshaft and lifters make the Manley valves, Comp springs, retainers, locks, pushrods, and rockers dance. A factory dual-plane intake topped with an AVS Carter carburetor feed the big-block plant, while date-coded plug wires and a stock-appearing ignition coil make the spark. Factory exhaust is perfect down to the Jet Hot-coated manifolds and 211/42-inch aluminized tubes funneling the fumes out chrome stock-looking tips.
Transmission: A&A Transmission in Camby, Indiana, rebuilt the 727 TorqueFlite with an 11-inch, 2,600 stall converter and a mild shift kit. A factory-optional, Hemi-grade transmission cooler helps to maintain livable temperatures when the Franks are cruising on summer days.
Rearend: No less than a Chrysler 831/44 would do. Filled with a Sure Grip and 3.55 cruiser gears, the rear is tough and true.
Horsepower & Performance: Don and Tracy haven't clicked off any timeslips, but the GTX has seen some pretty fun cruising and tall highway speeds.
Sure Grip
Suspension: Nothing but factory gear here. New bushings and ball joints were pressed in once all the components were meticulously disassembled, cleaned, painted, and reassembled. In keeping with the GTX option, Don went with all heavy duty springs, torsion bars, and sway bars.
Brakes: Power assisted and with discs up front, the GTX was a benchmark for big, intermediate body, musclecar performance in its time.
Wheels: Almost everything Chrysler made in 1970 was available with 15x7 Rallyes, and this Plymouth is no different.
Rubber: BFGoodrich rubber is the same at all four corners (which makes changing a tire easy) with 225/60R15s.
High Impact
Body: Don and Tracy knew they couldn't do it all themselves, so American Classic Restorations in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was hired to put the body straight. A correct hood was found and fitted with the signature Air Grabber hoodscoop and appropriate mechanisms along with the typical hood pins. A Go Wing was bolted to the trunk to complete the sporty look.
Paint: Though the fender tag states differently, the Franks chose to paint their GTX in B3 Ice Blue. The look is so striking that Tracy calls the Plymouth, "Iced Lightning." The side stripes, vinyl top, and hood blackout helps to break up the big B-Body's monochromatic paint scheme.
Interior: Legendary shows their worth once again, providing gorgeous reproduction covers for the seats (whose frames and tracks were sandblasted and repainted), carpet, headliner, and perfectly correct '70 GTX door panels. The dash board benefits from American Classics Restorations' magic touch, with new woodgrain wrappings, new chrome on all the metal surfaces, rebuilt gauges, a Tic-Tock-Tach, and hidden controls to the trunk-mounted CD player, while the factory-appearing AM radio still resides in its original place. The woodgrain steering wheel is 100-percent factory original.