{"id":67943,"date":"2023-01-08T09:31:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T14:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=67943"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:19:55","slug":"thinning-the-herd-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2023\/01\/thinning-the-herd-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Thinning the Herd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Classic car collectors have a lot in common. Passion, love of the brand and doing their research before plunking down a big chunk of change on another rare muscle car. These collectors also have another tendency, to amass a warehouse full of vintage machines that, after a while, becomes a bit overwhelming even for the most fervent car guy. With the first major collector car auction of 2023 coming up in a few weeks, longtime Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> enthusiast Gary Edwards felt it was time to thin his impressive herd of ultra-rare Dodge Daytonas, Plymouth Superbirds and an assortment of other valuable and unique HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine-powered machines at the upcoming Mecum Kissimmee Auction<\/a> this month at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. \u201cI own 26 muscle cars and keeping them maintained can be a daunting task for my wife, Kathy, and I. Everything from keeping the tires aired up, batteries charged and general maintenance up to date can be a lot of work,\u201d noted Gary, who grew up around Mopar muscle cars. \u201cAfter a while, these cars own you. My wife, Kathy, and I felt the time was right to sell part of my collection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While most can agree that the\ninfamous wing cars built by Chrysler for the NASCAR aero wars were highly\nvisible, their owners past and present have not always kept them in the\nlimelight. Most of the cars from the private collection of Gary and Kathy\nEdwards coming to Kissimmee are examples that could be termed \u201cunseen.\u201d A\nhandful of them might have made appearances at Mecum events in the past, but\neven those have since been kept out of sight. Others were purchased privately\nand have never before been made publicly available to other buyers. While the\ncollection has been an especially rewarding secret to keep, the Edwards have\ndecided to make a majority of this previously undisclosed collection available\nto Mecum\u2019s customers at the beginning of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And what a collection it is. Let\u2019s start off with Gary\u2019s impressive flock of Wing Warriors that have been a part of his private collection, a few of which have been out of the public\u2019s sight for years, while some have never before been publicly available to buyers until now. Gary and Kathy Edward also have amassed other iconic Mopar vehicles along with unique memorabilia that will soon find new homes. \u201cOur kids also feel it\u2019s time to get our collection down to a manageable size, but that doesn\u2019t mean I won\u2019t be checking out other rare and collectable muscle cars at Mecum. I prefer purchasing cars at auction so I can see them up close and give them a good inspection before deciding if I want to bid on a specific vehicle.\u201d But before Gary adds another piece of vintage iron back to his shop, he\u2019s focusing on his cars that are crossing the Mecum block within a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the highlighted vehicles from Gary and Kathy\u2019s Mopar collection that\u2019ll be auctioned at Mecum is a rare 1969 Charger Daytona<\/a>, powered by a 375-horsepower 440 Magnum V8 mated to a four-speed and emblazoned in \u2018R4 Bright Red\u2019 paint accented by the black wing and stripe – this Daytona checks all the right boxes. The only way to make this example any better would be if there was an elephant residing under the hood in the form of a 426 Street HEMI V8 engine, but regardless, we\u2019d love to go blasting down main street or the back stretch of Talladega in this machine. Especially grabbing gears with that Hurst shifter while sliding around in those vinyl-draped bucket seats while rolling on the rare Kelsey-Hayes recall wheels and redline rubber. Like many of the cars in Gary\u2019s collection, this Daytona comes with tons of paperwork, including the window sticker and broadcast sheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While the wing cars earned their reputation by winning races and breaking records on NASCAR\u2019s high-banked super speedways, there\u2019s one Daytona<\/a> that made its bones on the mean streets of L.A. and at the drag strips that dotted Southern California in the early 1970s. Big Willie Robinson and his wife, Tomiko, created the National and International Brotherhood of Street Racers. This organization was created to help quell the social unrest that was part of the fabric of the late 1960s, especially in numerous Los Angeles neighborhoods, by bringing car enthusiasts from every walk of life together. Big Willie and Tomiko both owned and raced a pair of Daytonas until both cars were destroyed. That led to the couple purchasing a third Daytona, known as \u201cThe Duke and Duchess.\u201d Big Willie and Tomiko raced it until the late 1970s, then the car got parked for the next three decades. After going through numerous owners, and having a rough life, the iconic Daytona with a unique history eventually got restored to its “as raced condition” including first applying the original \u2018R4 Bright Red\u2019 paint, then shooting with the same shade of Cream applied by Big Willie back in the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

No wing car collection would be complete without an example from the orphaned brand, Plymouth. Their entry into NASCAR\u2019s aero wars was the Superbird, and Gary Edwards is bringing five great examples. If we had to pick one (which is very difficult, as three of the five Superbirds are original HEMI engine-powered cars), we\u2019d go with this stunning Limelight Green HEMI engine-powered machine<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is the “Bird” to own. Of the 1,920 Superbirds produced to satisfy NASCAR\u2019s rules makers to make the car eligible for competition, only 135 left the Lynch Road assembly plant with a 426 HEMI engine under the hood. Break the production numbers down even more, and you\u2019ll find that only 58 HEMI engine-powered Superbirds were ordered with a four-speed manual transmission. There\u2019s even more rarity to this Superbird, as it was ordered with the optional Rim-Blow steering wheel, an oddity among Mopar muscle cars, especially if it\u2019s powered by the legendary engine that destroyed the competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So, does Gary have any remorse as he\u2019s about to see his babies leave the nest? Luckily, it won\u2019t hurt that bad. \u201cI\u2019m a bit nervous about flooding the market with these rare wing cars, especially at no reserve, but Dana Mecum and his organization are professional, dedicated and honest. And since I\u2019ve had a great relationship with Mecum over the years, I\u2019m confident the cars will exceed our sales goals,\u201d commented Gary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can catch Gary\u2019s impressive Mopar collection and other rare muscle cars going across Mecum\u2019s auction block on MotorTrend TV\/MotorTrend+ and Discovery. Here\u2019s Mecum\u2019s TV schedule<\/a>, so make sure you\u2019re gathered with fellow muscle heads around that 65-inch flat screen TV. Meanwhile, here\u2019s more Mopar eye candy from the Gary Edwards Collection! <\/p>\n\n\n\n