Funny story...if you got a minute.....true story....
I'm LEO. Working midnights about 9-10 yrs ago at 3-4AM looking thru these huge backyards of a local neighborhood for a guy who ran from another ofc (foot chase). I'm going yard to yard thru chest high weeds w/flashlight looking for this guy.
My light glints off some chrome about 30-40 yards ahead of me and I can see the roofline of a car barely above the high weeds. Being a car guy I immediately forget about the bad guy and go to check on this vehicle as it looks like it's got Mopar lines from the distance....as I get closer I see it is an E body in very poor condition.
As I get closer, now very excited, I see the teardrop shaped hood scoop and think, "...someone swapped out the OE hood for an AAR style hood..." I'm now standing next to it (sunk up to the rockers in mud and badly rusted). Looking inside I see a pistol grip and buckets. I check the VIN and sure enuf it is an original AAR. SON OF A "B"! I've found "one-of-those-cars" behind an old garage like the stories you read about! I write down the VIN and figure to come back during the daytime and talk with the owner.
A couple days later I'm work afternoons and stop at the home and knock on the door. The man who answers turns out to be an old time car guy himself and bought the AAR from the local dealership in 1973 as a used car and has owned it since. I gently start the process of trying to buy it. Me, "You think you'd ever consider selling her to the right person?" Him, "Naw. I'm going to restore it." and so it goes for the rest of the summer.
When I see him out cutting the grass I'd stop by and chat always getting back to the AAR and my interest. I eventually get the idea he really isn't going to sell it (at this point I've gotten down to trying to buy the engine at least to save it from the scrap heap!) I now stop trying to buy the AAR and softly chastise him for letting it rust away. I remind him of the rarity and value of the car and suggest he find someone who might restore it the right way to sell it to. It is a sad thing to leave such a car out in the Michigan elements slowly rotting away.
This went on for the next few months until one day he flags me down as I'm passing by and says, "Come check out my garage." The AAR is up on blocks and totally stripped = bare shell and it’s been acid dipped. I was shocked at how little of the original body was left and what was there was paper thin in spots. BUT it was a matching # AAR and it was still savable.
Over the years I periodically stop by when I see him out or he has some concern about some neighborhood issue or something. The AAR sits in the garage stripped down, but at least it isn't rotting away anymore.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. I get a call from dispatch that there’s a guy at the front counter asking for me by name. I make the PD and find it is this guy standing in the lobby with a grin on his face. He asks if I am free to come out to the front parking lot. I'm thinking he's got the AAR done and hurry behind him to the parking lot. He shakes his head and smiles.
In the front lot is a brand new black SRT8 Challenger (auto by the way...I thought they were all going to be manual...). He explains his sister works at the tech center and her boss let her take his personal Challenger for the weekend (apparently he is some big muckity-muck at Chrysler). I walk around the Challenger for several minutes marveling at the beast...low grumbling coming from the exhaust. It is AWESOME in person and sounds great!
He says, "You want to take it out?" I jump at the chance and get in. Now keep in mind his sister is in the passenger seat and I'm in full uniform so my drive was FAR from aggressive (kinda would be a poor example a uniformed officer leaving the police lot sideways in a new SRT8, ya know?) but I got a taste of the car.
Felt like an updated slicked and SOLID version of my beloved 'Cuda. Everything that rattles or looks worn on my 'Cuda was a clean, shiny part that fit tight and felt solid. That’s what got me thinking of replacing my 'Cuda. This would be a fun car that I could take on a weekend trip with the wife. Heated seats, NAV system, sunroof, simple reliable muscle...still VERY attractive option....
Anyway the drive was short but informative and fun.
I would sum up my drive as a dream car for those who want a no-handy-work-needed Mopar muscle car that should be reliable and still under warranty. Felt like it was chiseled from a solid chunk of steel. Awesome car.
Last night I went out and sat in my 'Cuda in the garage ad drank a beer...just soaking in the classic Mopar atmosphere. While I think I will feel a pang of jealousy every time I see a Challenger on the road, it cannot match the charm and nostalgia of a good old Mopar E Body.....
I still want one and am working the wife to maybe get one when my current daily driver lease runs out next summer...not so practical for MI winters or transporting two kids but...we'll see.
Cheers all,
PS...sorry soo long...I am kinda wordy, no?
Topic: New here...but had my 'Cuda for many years...new pics May 2008... (Read 4018 times)
