On a chilly day in February 1967, a slightly younger Louis Anderson of Bemus Point, New York, stepped into Community Chrysler Plymouth in Jamestown, New York, intent on ordering a brand new GTX. (Remember when you could order it your way?) At that time, Paul Rosen, a salesman at Community, sat down with Louis and checked the appropriate boxes. The exterior would be RR1 Yellow (no racing stripes) with turn-signal indicators on the fenders. Power would be developed by the standard 440 engine with an auto tranny that would send torque to a 3.23 Sure Grip in the 831/44 rear. Keeping the GTX on the road would be a set of Redline tires with steel wheels and dog-dish hubcaps. The interior would host black vinyl-covered seats (buckets up front), but no console or radio (ahh . . . the famous radio-delete racing option). When the order form was complete and the price haggling behind him, Louis would have to fork over the exorbitant amount of $3,007-pretty high for 1967. With his deposit of five George Washingtons (yup, $5), the order was complete.
On February 25, Mr. Rosen called Louis to inform him that his car had arrived. Louis got to the dealership in time to watch his brand new GTX back off of the truck. As a side note, Louis took his brother Carl for a ride, and, sure enough, Carl bought one of his own-that he still owns-from the same dealership.
Louis drove his GTX to work (gotta make the payments) and the grocery store (gotta eat so he can work to make the payments) until sometime in 1971 when the car finally racked up 67,000 miles. The car was showing its wear, so that year Louis put it in storage, where it rested until 2000.
After a 29-year hiatus from his Mopar, Louis decided to treat his GTX to a full-blown restoration-aided by the fact that Louis' wife, Sandie, began buying what are now considered N.O.S. parts (back then, they were just old parts) for her husband in the early '70s.
To begin the resto, Louis had friend Bucky Cusimano to his house to smooth the sheetmetal, straighten the body lines, add new front fenders, and cover it all with the original shade of RR1 Yellow using DuPont Centari. As expected, some of the chrome needed attention, so Paul's Chrome in Evans City, Pennsylvania, handled this task. Focusing his attention on the interior, Louis had Legendary Auto Interiors recover the seats with the correct vinyl. After 67,000 miles, the speedo and gauge cluster also required help. Performance Car Graphics of Tallahassee, Florida, worked its magic, making the control center look (and work) like new.
The RB engine was given to B&H Automotive in Erie, Pennsylvania, where it was inspected and, remarkably, able to go back into service with only a ring and bearing job. The tranny and rear are in as-shipped condition. For rolling stock, Louis decided that since he liked them the first time, Redline tires and steel wheels with dog-dish hubcaps would again roll on the New York asphalt.
Louis would also like to thank Jim Drain and Frank Badelson, whose wealth of information and parts were a welcome addition to the project.
Does Louis drive the GTX anymore? Sure, but not for daily transportation. That's what his Viper and Prowler are for . . . we think. How else would he be able to keep his GTX au naturel?