1970 Plymouth GTX Spent 47 Years in a Barn, Rocks Numbers-Matching 440 V8

This GTX has quite an interesting story. Ordered sometime in 1969, it was driven for about 33,000 miles (53,108 km) over almost five years. Parked in 1974, the Mopar remained in storage until recently, when the owner decided to put it back on the road.

All told, this muscle car spent less than five years on the road and a whopping 47 years locked up in a barn. It's a sad fate for such a fine collectible, but the good news is that the GTX is an all-original, unmolested classic. And it's a well-optioned example too, featuring A/C and power brakes.

And here's the interesting thing. Although most Plymouth GTXs come with an air grabber on the hood, this one doesn't. It's quite unusual and I think very few of them were built this way. I mean, I love an air grabber on a GTX, but it's cool to see something different from time to time.

Like any classic that spent almost 50 years in a garage or barn, this 1970 GTX is quite dirty. It's almost entirely covered in dust and the dirt is so thick that you can barely see the color of this car. But a closer inspection reveals a B7 Blue, a vibrant, almost metallic hue with black stripes on the sides.

YouTube's "Auto Archaeology" documented this car right before it got cleaned up, but he provides a photo of the GTX in all its blue glory at the 2:18-minute mark.

There's no footage of the V8 engine running, but a glimpse under the hood reveals a dirty but complete mill that should come back to life with a bit of work.

This GTX boasts a 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB V8, which was the standard throughout the nameplate's short-lived life. The unit was good for 375 horsepower and 480 pound-feet (651 Nm) of torque in base form, but the optional six-barrel carburetor increased oomph to 390 horses and 490 pound-feet (664 Nm) of twist.

Of course, the GTX was also offered with the mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Hemi V8, but only a few cars were fitted with this option and they're rare to find nowadays. In 1970, for instance, only 76 of the 7,748 GTXs produced were equipped with the Hemi V8. But even so, this is a fantastic find and a stunning survivor.

As it turns out, the car was sold shortly after it was revamped. The owner also had a 1960s Hemi GTX that needed a restoration so the 440 GTX had to go.

Introduced for the 1967 model year as a more upscale version of the Belvedere, the Plymouth GTX was discontinued in 1971. Fewer than 45,000 units were produced.