Share The History of Your Car

[Street_Challenged73]

Well, as some of you older members may know, I originally started the MoPar lust with a '69 Dodge Charger 318 A/C car.  One of my neighbors (parent's friend) had it parked behind his garage for the last ten or so years. (it was his son's hs car that he left behind when he joined the navy fresh out of hs.)  I bought it, got it running, then had an incident where it somehow managed to drive itself out of the garage in reverse directly into the driver's side front fender of my dad's old semi truck he had parked behind it perpendicular to the Charger.  I ended up getting inside it the car and turn the key off just in time for the impact.  Needless to say, the ten plus years it sat took its toll on the frame already, so when it hit the truck both rear rails just buckled up miserably.  I deemed the car too far gone for me to afford to have it fixed from the extensive rust damage and now the accident, so I stuck it in our local paper as a parts car.  In the meantime, I continued to search for something I could work on and what would ultimately replace the rusted '69 Charger.  The same local paper I had my '69 listed in ended up having an ad with bold letters saying, "1973 Challenger V-8 $2,000.00".  I knew exactly what it was by that time (thanks to some MoPar research via the Internet), so I gave him a call to see if it was still around and for sale.  I ended up getting his answering machine in which he had already took the time to state what vehicles were already sold, so I left a message saying I was interested in his Challenger and to give me a call asap.  The next day, I got home from school and my mother said he called me about mid-day, so I called him back to set up a time to go check out the car. (It was about 2-2 1/2 hours South of me)  The next weekend rolled around and my father I headed out to check it out.  When I got there, it was sitting in a car port-styled wooden shed with some '80s Chrysler alongside it.  The tires were all flat, the windshield was cracked in several places, but I could already see the potential for this car.  I asked him if anyone else had checked it out already and if more were soon to follow.  He said two other people showed up before me, but they insulted him with the maximum amount they were willing to give him for the car. (really, they were just trying to get an awesome nearly rust-free muscle car for next to nothing.)  He also told me someone else had called a little while after I did and was supposed to show up the same day I did, but he must have decided against it 'cause he never came.  I took a bunch of photos of the car from all angles, told him I was very interested in it, but I needed some more advice from one of my neighbors.  I sent the photos out to be processed (it was a convenient store throw away with 4x6" prints included in the price), so what seemed like forever (two weeks later) I got them back, rushed over to my neighbor's place to see what he thought, and ended up calling him back just shortly after the visit to let him know I WAS taking this car!  My neighbor has been a bodyman by trade for most of his adult life, so when he told me I better take it or he would buy it for himself if I didn't want it was enough to let me know I was getting a great deal.  The next day I sent out a payment that ensured me I would be getting the car, setup a time and day to go pick it up, and even managed to get the car for $1,750.00 because he wanted to get rid of it to free up some space.  The same neighbor let me borrow his car hauler, so we headed out to get the car.  On the way back, we were stopped at a gas station filling up the truck when a cop and his partner that were on duty pulled up alongside our truck.  The driver got out, started checking out my newly acquired car on the trailer, then began a conversation about a Sassy Grass Green '70 'Cuda he was looking at for a mere $10,000.00 that was almost restored.  I'll never forget those stories up to that time, nor will I forget all the looks and thumbs up I got on the drive back home through all the small towns we drove through.   That was long, but that sums up my entire MoPar heritage.

[BH23cuda]

Bought new, still got.

[1970grancoupe]

It's great to hear about everyone's cars. Who would have thought, that 20 years ago, our Mopar's, were not that much of a collectors item. The other day I watched on Barrett/Jackson, Mopar's bringing twice the amount that Camaro's and Corvette's were bringing. Where I grew up, if it wasn't a Chevy you were an outcast. But , you alway's heard those Chevy guy's whisper about that '69 Roadrunner that blowed them away. Imagine that, a R/R  beatin' a Camaro. With so much weight dif. I can remember the first time I rode in a 1970, 440 cuda, 4-speed, 3.23 Sure-Grip. I had rode in several Chevy's, 69 396 Chevelle, 4 spd, 427 Camaro, 428 Mustang, you get the pic. But that Cuda absolutley scared the s--t out of me, and it's hard to scare a 16 year old. I also rode in the 69 R/R I mentioned earlier, close call between the two. As you might have assumed, I would go out of my way to get a chance to go fast. Believe me, there was plenty of chances back in the day. Oh yea, that 69 Cuda, 340 6-pack, scarrrry!

[crcarch]

Mine is a 73 Challenger that I bought bone-stock in 1983 with 73,000 miles on the odo, a 340/AT and rally hood all wraped in Petty blue. It was my daily driver through college and racked up plenty of miles. Out on a date one night, a retaining clip broke and a full floating piston pin ventilated the #4 cylinder. The motor was sleeved (just try to find a 340 block), rebuilt and a "$199 special" paint job was applied after a minor fender bender. I was very happy to get it repainted on the insurance company's dime since I was tired of it being called the Smurfmobile.

After graduation and getting a real job and the prerequisite new car to be my daily driver, I let it sit for a few years.  With 140,000 miles on the odo and the rust beginning to show up. I decided to give it the best restoration that I could afford. Of course, when you're earning peanuts as an intern, that ain't alot.  A friend of mine was parting out a complete 70 Roadrunner ( I know, hindsight is 20/20)  and I got the stock 440 out of it and completely rebuilt it. We took off every thing that could be unbolted,stripped the paint and sent it off to the body shop for rust repair and paint and restored everything that I could, going back basically stock.

In the past 18 years, I only put 4000 miles on it.  With the kid at home, the driveway was always full of cars, making it an effort to get her out of the garage and there were always bugs to be worked out.  So I didn't drive it much.  Now the kid's in the Navy, the wife is happy, and I find myself with a little money to spend and inspiration from all the car shows on TV.  What started out as a quick thrashing to get the bugs out and make her reliable led to replacing the electrical system, then pulling the motor to replace the leaking seals, then upgrading..... well the domino effect kicked into overdrive.  Now it's just a short jump away from a full restoration.  About the only thing I haven't done (or am going to do) is put her on a routiserie.  The underside is solid and I want her to be a driver, so undercoating is the way I'm going.  I hope to have it back from the body shop any day (that's been going on for the last 2 months) and will try to make the Year One Experience in April. I've been updating my web page with photos, if you want to check out the progress. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2133982/

She was the first car I ever bought and I was smart enough to not sell it, and never will.

[1970grancoupe]

Great looking car  I like that color. Dont see that color on Chally's often. Looks like the body work is A1.

[Mr. 6pak2go]

I grew up less than a 1/2 mile away from where my car set for 20 some years! i saw it everyday and fell in love with it! when i turned 16 i tried to buy it and the owner would not sell! one day i was going home from school and the car was gone the guy sold it!! 4 years later i saw an ad in the local paper 72 barracuda for sale and i went to take a look at it! when i saw the car my jaw droped it was the same car that sat for 20 some year beside my house over 70 miles away!! well needless to say i bought it up really fast lol we where ment to be!!    

[Super Blue 72]

Nice story, 6pak!  Glad you got the car you always wanted! 

[mikey1]

Hello all,
these are some early pictures of my car. I bought it from the original owner in 77. The pictures are from around 1988. I would like to tell the whole story but would take a long time.
 My wife and kids mom died in 94 of breast cancer, at 32 years. She loved that car more than I ever did.!
 I drove the car for about 2 years and it has been just sitting since.
I lost interest in cars, and alot of things.
I went through the motions, going to work, shuffling around my boys to babysitters and stuff, but had a real bad attitude. In 98 I met a nice girl and we got married in 2000. In Dec. 04 she was also diagnosed with breast cancer but is a real trooper. She is now back to work and feeling great. but 2005 is one year I will be glad to see gone.
Someday my car will look as good as it does in some of these pictures,
 
Mike

[70Cuda]

OK, here's mine

http://www.albrights.info/resto.html

[Super Blue 72]

Wow, mikey1, that's rough with the breast cancer.  Thanks for sharing that with us and hope all goes well for you.

[mikey1]

thank you Super Blue,
this is a good discussion thread, and I wouldn't want to end it on a bad note. Life is good and I truly believe God was looking out for me, despite the dark times.  I remember alot of good times with my cuda, but did alot of dumb things in my youth.
I was always getting pulled over for traffic violations. The police loved the car!
In the late 70's early 80's is when people started to really appreciate the Chrysler muscle cars. I used to always here people say "I don't know what it was I think it was a camero or something." That would always make me laugh, as the GM and Ford cars were so dominant. It is true as someone posted, that back in the day, people treated mopars as outcasts, and would always ask why would you want one of those?
By the late 80's early 90's people were really starting to pay attention to the cuda/challengers.
I have enjoyed reading all of the posts here, and I hope they keep coming!
cya
Mike

[Mr. 6pak2go]

wow mikey i hate to here stuff like that!  im glad your wife is back to work and feeling better! im sorry about or previous I cant even amagine what it would feel like or what id do! Kevin

[TheCrazyCheesehead]

Well miky sorry to hear about the cancer and stuff. I know how you feel, I almost lost my grandmother to that stuff. She and my mom pretty much rasied me to be who I am today.

[mikey1]

thank you all for your kind words and support. It really has been hard, but I guess you just do what you gotta do. I have known for many years that all mopar people are 
We are all doing fine here now. All I can say is that if anyone is or knows someone going through this, they HAVE to talk to my wife. She works as a nurse, takes care of the family, and spends most of her time helping others who are going through what she did last year, truly an amazing person! She also loves the cuda's and chally's since she met me but is sooo not a car person. I have to pump the gas for her...
She was banned from a nearby self serve...... I would explain but it would really belong better under the jokes section.(which I have been really enjoying...someplace where I can contribute to the cc.com site   
take care all
Mikey

[HemiChallenger]

Brand Spankin New

73ish

Currently