The MuscleCar Place Podcast: Mopars That Should Have Been!

The '71 "X-CON" built by Gary and Pam Beineke. Image: 71WingCars.com

This week’s episode of The MuscleCar Place Podcast is out!

[audio:http://www.themusclecarplace.com/podpress_trac/web/4257/0/the_musclecar_place_podcast_episode109_11172011.mp3]

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The Beineke's '71 Charger Concept Car. Image:71WingCars.com

This week’s show features Part 2 of our interview with Gary Beineke.  In the previous show we learned all about the 1971 “Wing Car” program that Chrysler canceled before any cars made it into production.

Since Gary and his wife Pam are both Mopar fanatics they decided to build those ’71 cars anyway, and they’ve had a ball doing it. With that established, the Wing Cars aren’t the only “what if” Mopars cars that the Beineke’s have created, and that’s the topic of this week’s interview.

Since both Gary and Pam have a flair for history, they often end up with historical Chrysler data in their possession. This ’71 Concept Charger was built using the only known photos from 1968 in the Dodge exterior styling studio and represents what is considered to be the originally accepted design for production of the 71 R/T.

Gary went into several unique features on the car during the interview including the spoiler, the body colored nose, and the electrically operated rear wing, all of which are correct to the original concept car! The drivetrain is a 440 with a 6-spack backed up by a Keisler 5-speed.

The X-Con, shown above, is a yellow 1971 GTX convertible that was created merely as a “styling exercise” (and no, Chrysler never made one)! Gary described cutting off the roof of the car just to see what it might look like, and several hours of labor and a few dollars later the X-Con was born! Gary described the painstaking details that had to be addressed when creating a convertible besides stiffening the body such as stainless “A” pillar trim, modified E-body convertible frame and top, custom made tempered side glass, well trim-milled to match the “E” body trim profile to accept “E” body vert boot clips, and a modified rear seat and rear seat interior.

The Jet-X. Image:71WingCars.com

Another ‘what if’ concept car that Pam and Gary created is the ‘Jet X.’. They built it a few years ago, and like the ’71 Charger concept they did so using vintage photos from 1968-9, provided by Eric Mayle and Steven Juliano, as well as information from interviews with the original designer of the 71/2 Roadrunner/GTX, John Herlitz.

The car has a bazillion custom touches to appear as the concept car did including custom aluminum fender vents, quarter vents, and tail light bezels. Like the ’71 Charger, the drivetrain is a 440 with a 6-spack backed up by a Keisler 5-speed.

At the end of the interview Gary did discuss their next project car, but we likely won’t see it for a couple of years. Since both Gary and Pam are in the 200 MPH club with their ’71 K&K Daytona they now have the hankering to go fast.  Much faster.  I’ll let you learn from Gary what their plans are, but you may just see a 300MPH Superbird sometime in the future.

Gary, thanks again for the interview, and thanks to you and your wife Pam for building all of these fantastic cars! For more information and to follow the Beineke’s builds visit 71WingCars.com.

About the author

Robert Kibbe

Robert Kibbe is the owner of TheMuscleCarPlace.com and host of the weekly Muscle Car Place podcast show. He's based in Ames, IA, is married with 3 kids, and still thinks the General Lee is cool.
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