Mopar Muscle Collection
Written by Keith Fudge

Every once and a while, Dennis Gage and the My Classic Car crew begin to yearn for some Southern hospitality.  This time they found the sweetest collection of Mopar muscle anywhere.  Tim and Pam Wellborn live in Alexander City, Alabama.  This collection would be sweet enough on display anywhere, but Tim and Pam have gone to great lengths to see that their cars are housed in an environment that is as aesthetically pleasing as the cars themselves.  When Dennis caught up with Tim, he also found himself in a true “home” for cars and what cars they are!  At first glance, Dennis saw three 1971 Hemi Chargers.  While this is a rare site, consider this:  Tim has 40 rare Mopars in all and 23 of these beasts are Hemi Chargers!  Tim said that his love of these cars came from his father.  When he was a small boy, his father bought a 1971 Butterscotch Charger R/T, and that was “all she wrote.”  At that point, Tim began to show Dennis the three Chargers that were closest in proximity, including one that Tim called one of the most loaded 1971s around!  This car is listed at approximately $6,400.00 and has so many options that it takes two window stickers to list them!  Painted in Hemi Orange featuring a fine mix of gold metal flake from the factory with a white roof and white interior, this car features the classic 426 Hemi and even has a sunroof!  In fact, Tim told Dennis that there were only 30 Chargers built with a sunroof for 1971, and this is the only one that was Hemi equipped.  Sitting next to this Charger was its “sister car” also featuring Hemi Orange paint, but this one has a black top and black interior.  With a sticker price of $5,386.00, this car is fairly optioned as well.  By the way, it is a survivor car with only 9,000 original miles!  Next up was another 1971 R/T painted in the rare color of “Green Go.”  This car is also a 30,000-mile survivor and another unbelievable example of Mopar muscle.  The next car that Tim showed Dennis was the production car that was as close to a NASCAR racer ever built for the public: a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona.  Purchased from the legendary Otis Chandler Collection, Tim called this copper colored beauty, “the most radical production car ever built.”  These cars are simply incredible and were built to run on the NASCAR circuit.  The trouble was that they were so good that they were outlawed after only one year!  With a tan interior to match the copper paint and with a white rear wing and graphics, this 20-year restoration looked as if it rolled right off the showroom floor!  In addition, Tim said that the 426 Hemi engine in this car could push top speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour!  Chargers aren’t the only Mopars that Tim owns.  He took Dennis to another part of the building to see some other special rides.  First, was a 1971 Hemi Cuda.  This car has a special significance to Tim because he, his brother, and their father all participated in the restoration.  Next was a 1971 AAR Cuda that has approximately 21,000 original miles on it!  Also close by was a 1971 Challenger T/A as well!  Both of these Cudas came from the Otis Chandler collection.  It was a beautiful Southern day and as Tim had said earlier, “All these cars are insured, and I drive all of them.”  With that in mind, Dennis and Tim took to the Alabama back roads in the first Hemi Charger R/T that we saw that day.  What a car and what a ride.  This group of cars has to be the finest collection of Mopar muscle around!  Special thanks to Tim and Pam for sharing their beautiful cars and their beautiful home with us!  That’s it from down South in Alexander City, Alabama.  So until our next visit, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”