Published on Nov 13, 2014

As a collection that has indisputably achieved world-class status among the expansive community of muscle car enthusiasts from around the globe, The Wellborn Musclecar Museum Collection will now be offered for sale at Mecum Auctions’ 2015 Kissimmee auction. Nearly half of this unparalleled collection will cross the block as the headliner of approximately 3,000 classic and collector cars at the world’s largest collector car auction this January 16-25 in Kissimmee, Fla.

To win at NASCAR against stiff competition from Ford in the late 1960s, Dodge had to think outside the box. The Hemi was a great engine, but they needed more than brute power to beat the aerodynamically superior Ford Talladegas. So instead of increasing horsepower, they cut the aerodynamic drag produced by the cars, which would result in less horsepower required to push the car through the air at a given speed. Lower drag combined with their established powerful Hemi would logically result in a faster race car. And that is how the 1969 Charger Daytona was conceived and produced.

Designed to cut through the air as efficiently as possible, the car looked like a rocket ship blasting down the race track straights; and it worked, the Daytona was the first car to average 200 mph in a closed loop track, driven by Stock Car champion Buddy Baker. This Daytona was raced by the K&K Insurance team in NASCAR and carried Bobby Issac all the way to the 1970 Championship. After winning in NASCAR, the car was slightly modified and raced at the Bonneville Salt Flats, where it broke 28 records in the land speed trials there. The car then went back to NASCAR, and was later donated to a Museum, and eventually Tim Wellborn took advantage of the opportunity to purchase it for the museum based on its great history and since it was the car that inspired him to begin a love affair with Mopars.

FACTS: • K&K Insurance was started in 1952 to establish a benevolent fund for injured race car drivers • Piloted by Bobby Issac, the K&K Daytona won 1970 NASCAR championship, ending Ford’s two year reign • K&K Crew Chief Harry Hyde is the inspiration for the Harry Hogge character in Days of Thunder • Hyde would never let a factory Dodge Daytona park next to his Daytona race car • Hyde donated this car to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 1976 as non-running roller •

In 1995 Tim Wellborn works with Bob Lutz of Chrysler to assemble their first Hemi since 1971, a 528 c.i. crate motor • Noted Chrysler restorer Roger Gibson incorporates many original components into the 528 short block to complete the car • In 1999, Harry Hyde’s son, Henry Lee helps Tim dial in the suspension using his father’s original set up notes • 2015 the K&K Insurance Daytona returns to the Wellborn Musclecar Museum, unveiled during the 45th Aerowarriors Reunion • Well documented and one of a kind

Tim Wellborn personally drops off his selection of cars to the Kissimmee Mecum Auction with Reliable Carriers

Part Two! Mecum 2015 Wellborn Musclecars Walk-Around

Tim Wellborn's musclecar museum in Alexander City, Alabama (halfway between Birmingham and Atlanta) has two of the finest Mopar musclecars in existence, one a meticulous restoration, the other a meticulously detailed restomod. He brought both of them to Chryslers at Carlisle, and judging from the attendance at the Wellborn display, they were the hit of the show. Tim's 1971 Dodge Charger was originally a 318;

Tim had it rebuilt by Ken Mosier's Finer Details restoration shop, using the original body and color scheme (copper with a white vinyl roof and interior, but with updated front and rear suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes, and, up front, a modern 6.1L Hemi V8. It elicited reactions as varied as an old man taking off his hat and holding it over his heart, and a young woman doing a double take as she passed the tent and marveling, "That's the car! f***! That's the one from that magazine!" She spent over a half-hour in the tent snapping cameraphone pictures of it and undressing it with her eyes.

It was finished just in time for the show (its building was chronicled in enthusiasts' magazines), and when Tim flew into Carlisle on Saturday, he had a chance to see it complete and start it for the very first time. That moment is captured in the next video on my channel: Tim wanted a classic MoPar that he could drive every day, with all the modern conveniences and technology, and with east-central Alabama's mild weather, he can. The 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 340 was delivered new in Hawaii, and was one of two built for Hawaii with the 340, a shaker hood, and the heater delete option (identifiable by the rubber cap on top of the water pump).

It's had a complete restoration just in time for Carlisle, again by Finer Details. Sharing the Tent with Wellborn was Finer Details and muscle car consignment dealer Patrick Krook of ShowYourAuto.com. In back of and adjacent to the Wellborn tent, although we didn't know it at the time, was the fire-breathing Plymouth drag car owned by the Ramchargers, a group of engineers, mechanics and race drivers who worked both on-staff and freelance for Chrysler's racing operations in the '50's, 60's and 70's, and were responsible for Chrysler's glory days on the track and strip.. You can see more detailed pictures of the Wellborn display and the cars at: .flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F26329029%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157630473146232%2F&event=video_description&v=CbXF2rMBD-g&redir_token=Byq2IRHsnCoBhcAe62LQoSoDxvV8MTUzNjExMTMwN0AxNTM2MDI0OTA3