daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new

Author Topic: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new  (Read 1347 times)

Offline DAYTONA

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daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« on: January 03, 2007 - 06:31:08 AM »
...most cars, especially Muscle Cars were not the best in the daily transportation category....they were for cruising, racing etc etc....I live in east Central Indiana and we get snow, sometimes lots of snow.....back then (oh no, another  'back then" story)....I remember running snow tires on my Chevelle SS396 conv....spinning from start to stop....sliding everywhere....front wheel drive was not around much then....in the winter, you removed your Cragar SS mags pulled out the Rally wheels from the darkest corner of your garage and had snow tires installed...

...my 73 CUDA 340.....I returned from living in China and bought a new CUDA....things were fine while I lived in Texas, but returning to Indiana made me realize how useless a CUDA with Hi-Jackers(130lbs) and M50 Mickey Thompson rear tires could be in the snow....it literally wouldn't move out of the driveway(yep, they actaully sat outside in the snow)...I removed the big tires and put on the snow tires(looked horrible with air shocks still pumped up) and cruised as well as possible during the snow months....always glad to see spring so I could put the Cragars back of....the cars were driven with snow clods hanging everywhere, stuck in the snow everywhere....E-Bodys were not a big favorite to drive in the winter but for many people it was their only mode of transportation......in short, they weren't much of a winter car at all...




Offline Challenger73318

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2007 - 06:42:29 AM »
Heh, funny, growing up in Alberta Canada, we got snow.   I remember days of digging out the Challenger, helping my father put snow tires on.  Those bumper jacks were never stable, but you do what you have to do.  It was our daily driver for at least 3 years. 

Offline DAYTONA

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2007 - 06:46:53 AM »
Heh, funny, growing up in Alberta Canada, we got snow.   I remember days of digging out the Challenger, helping my father put snow tires on.  Those bumper jacks were never stable, but you do what you have to do.  It was our daily driver for at least 3 years. 

snow, ice, bumper jack on an E-Body....theres an experience I had forgotten about.....talk about taking your life in your own hands....thanx for the memory :bigsmile: :roflsmiley: :bigsmile:

Offline 6packCuda

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2007 - 07:11:57 AM »
A friend of mine told me a story about how back in the day he had to cut a notch out of the traction bars on his 70' Challenger to clear the tire chains in the winter. :roflsmiley: Couldn't imagine someone doing that now.
Dave

Offline Super Blue 72

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2007 - 09:40:37 AM »
Not quite snow belt (I think?) but the original owner of my car used to pull snowmobiles with it up in New Hampshire. 

Check the pic and the avatar.  It's got Dietz 70's style fog lights to go through a foggy night in New Hampshire and a trailer hitch to pull the snowmobiles.  He had the Hi-Jackers and Cragar S/S wheels on there too.  The fill valve is still on the rear valence.

1972 Dodge Challenger Rallye 340, AT, Code TB3=Super Blue, SBD=8/17/1971.  Yes, a Rallye without the fender louvers from the factory because of the body side molding option.

Pic #2 and 3 of my ARII 1/24 scale model car 

Phil in New England-Massachusetts  Always thank God for what you have!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/456046/1972-dodge-challenger

Offline DAYLEY/CHALLENGER

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2007 - 09:55:30 AM »
Well, my memory is in the winter I ran what we called mudgrips with STUDS.  This was on a 70 Challenger, (the one in the Avatar), in fact  actually the tires in the pic are  MUDGRIPS.   :burnout: :burnout: :roflsmiley:
Dave or David

Offline DAYTONA

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:04:27 AM »
Well, my memory is in the winter I ran what we called mudgrips with STUDS.  This was on a 70 Challenger, (the one in the Avatar), in fact  actually the tires in the pic are  MUDGRIPS.   :burnout: :burnout: :roflsmiley:

...I too remember "mud grips" :bigsmile:.....studs have been illegal in Indiana for many many years, I never had a set.....they used to kinda "sing" on dry pavement....

Offline heminut

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:15:05 AM »
Back in 74-75 in Kansas I had a 65 GTO daily driver, 389 with a 4 speed. I had a set of steel wheels with the infamous 'mud-grip' tires with studs that went on in the winter. I had forgotten all about those tires until you guys brought it up in this thread. I guess I've been in the desert so long I have to Google 'snow' just to remember what the stuff looks like!  :roflsmiley:
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Offline widing'cuda

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:31:05 AM »
Here in Norway we still use tires with studs/spikes. You have to pay an extra tax in some cities to use then (about $150 a year). As for old US cars. They have rarely been used in the witer time here in Norway.

- Jørgen - Norwegian Mopar fanatic

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Offline DAYLEY/CHALLENGER

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:34:53 AM »
Yes the studded tires did announce your arrival before you got there, and on dry pavement you had to be careful not to THROW SPARKS.... :bigsmile:
Dave or David

Offline Super Blue 72

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:45:21 AM »
Yes the studded tires did announce your arrival before you got there, and on dry pavement you had to be careful not to THROW SPARKS.... :bigsmile:

I remember a '72 Torino doing a burn out with studs!  What a show!
1972 Dodge Challenger Rallye 340, AT, Code TB3=Super Blue, SBD=8/17/1971.  Yes, a Rallye without the fender louvers from the factory because of the body side molding option.

Pic #2 and 3 of my ARII 1/24 scale model car 

Phil in New England-Massachusetts  Always thank God for what you have!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/456046/1972-dodge-challenger

Offline JCWCuda

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2007 - 10:47:42 AM »
i remember filling my trunk with cinder blocks  :roflsmiley: killed the ride but hey i was able to get around

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Offline DAYTONA

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2007 - 11:14:43 AM »
i remember filling my trunk with cinder blocks  :roflsmiley: killed the ride but hey i was able to get around

...another blast from the past....I used bags of rock salt, 200-250#....then if you got stuck, you could hopefully get enough salt under the tires to get out....nothing worked better than a snow shovel though :bigsmile:

...I washed the CUDA nearly everyday to get the salt and crap off the car....

Offline bentpshrods

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2007 - 11:32:29 AM »
   When I first bought my cuda it was my only means of transportation. Here in Idaho we used to get a lot of snow in the winter.  My car only had E70-15  mud & snows to get around with but werent a lot of help. I ended up getting a set of chains to use when it got really deep and would put a bucket of sand on each side in the trunk for weight. Man what a pain it was to crawl under the car and hook those chains up and then go clanking down the road to get to work.  I had forgotten about all those good times ---fond memories now.  Can't even imagine driving my car in the winter now!

Offline 422STROKER

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Re: daily use of a new E-Body in the snow belt....when they were new
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2007 - 03:46:08 PM »
All I used to have were my Mopars for daily use.  My 69 B'cuda was most likely the worst, too light, I used to deliver seafood in that thing!  Then again I delivered in my 70 B'cuda as well when gas was 88cents!  We had some good snow here, not so much this year.


Tom :roflsmiley:
Tom
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