I'll post the pictures first, then the story.
Album link:
http://imgur.com/a/FJT0T#0I'd post them individually but they're huge, and I don't want anyone's computer to burst into flames.
Slight backstory here. In 1970 My uncle bought a 440 superbird. He owned the car for 3 days until he had to return it due to not being able to afford the car payment AND the insurance. They had this car on the lot, which he could afford. A '70 340 Challenger with a rallye hood and a bumblebee stripe on the back in gorgeous Sublime.
In the mid 70's he sold it to my dad. There's a picture of me and my mom in her parents driveway circa roughly 1985-86, and the black and white picture is the car sitting in my dads parents driveway in about 1978.
Funny side story here: My dad was playing a gig about 25 minutes away in a nearby town in January of 78. When her and my dad went in, it was raining. When they came out, the Blizzard of '78 was in full swing. My dad was too drunk to drive at that point, so my mother made the drive back to my grandparents house in that '70 Challenger. It took her 4 hours to make a 25 minute drive, and when she finally got into the driveway, the car got stuck halfway up and they had to walk the rest. When they woke up in the morning the car was completely covered with drifting snow.
Anyway, until my parents got divorced in '91 I remember riding around in that car with my old man. I don't have many memories that vivid, but I remember in detail what the leather felt like when I ran my hands over it, what the rumble of that 340 sounded like, and how the vibration felt sitting in the back seat.
So when they got divorced, understandably my mother wanted to strike a blow. She made him sell the car for 2 grand and in doing so she achieved her goal. In hindsight the blow was dealt to all 3 of us, but at the time (and I can't blame her whatsoever) she was furious.
In the late 90's my dad started to look for the car again, but couldn't ever make any headway and figured it was all but lost.
In 2011 my step-mother cheated on my father and his guilt over having done that o my mother was so great that he succumbed to his demons. My mother and I found him dead on his living room floor on August 15th, 2011. Another vivid memory I'll never forget, though this time it's not for lack of trying.
On August 20th, 2013 I located the my dads car. A retired guy who restores Mopars and then just hides them away in his heated pole barn had it. He invited me up to come see it, so I went.
It was sitting in a greenhouse behind his barn with a few coronets and a 72 roadrunner he hadn't started on yet. I had just turned 30 and when I walked around that corner I wanted to cry like a baby. There she was, sitting on rollers just waiting for someone to love her again.
We had a long conversation and he offered to let me trade him for it. I am overjoyed that he was nice enough to do that for me, as most people would have just told some random guy calling them up about a car they have hidden on their property to piss off. Which is part of the reason I haven't made a cash offer to him. He has assured me on multiple occasions though that "As far as I'm concerned, this is your car. If and when I get to it, we'll figure something out".
The only problem, as you might suspect, is Mopar. I have spoken with him on the phone since then, and he's given me more options to trade him. A 68-69 Charger, a 70 'cuda, or a 70 Challenger...all of which need to be a 340 car that's a roller with no motor/trans but is a complete car.
Needless to say I have my work cut out for me just getting the car, let alone trying any sort of restoration. Like I said, it's my unicorn.
I've got a bit of money saved up now and I'm thinking about making him an offer, but since he's been so nice to me I obviously don't want to insult him, so that's why I'm here.
Thanks for reading!
Topic: WIW: 1970 Dodge Challenger 340 complete minus drivetrain (Read 7286 times)
