I never did a "newbie" intro when I joined here so please allow me a little of my background.
Most who know me, know me as the mild manored guy who has owned a well optioned Challenger convertible for the last 10 years. A great cruiser and very unusual, but it's no hot rod.
But back in the late '70's when I was a "Spicolli" in high school looking forward to getting my drivers license, I had decided the ultimate ride was an AAR cuda or T/A Challenger. After getting my license I spent many months watching the local papers for one of these cars to spend the money I had spent several years cutting lawns and doing odd jobs to save up. After hitching rides to school for months my junior year, I finally found a red 4 speed T/A in December, just in time for the worst winter this area has ever seen!
Totally stupid impractical choice for a high school punk living in the snow belt, thank God it died a few weeks after I got it and sat buried under a snow drift for months until the spring thaw and I could figure out why the plugs fouled up. But almost 3 decades later it is still mine!
The Grand Spaulding sticker on the spoiler meant nothing to me at the time. Lots of cars in this (Chicago) area had those stickers then. But around the time I bought my convertible it meant something to me when I was able to purchase the original Mr. Norms paperwork for the T/A!
The T/A has been in a restoration shop for too many years now, but that story and my frustration about it will need to be the subject of another thread. I have gathered a ton of rare NOS and date coded parts for it, along with tons of research and photos, it will be done someday and I aim for it to be the best!
OK, enough ancient history, now lets move ahead to yesterday's "1st annual Mr. Norms Mopar show" at the Volo auto museum in far northern Illinois. After a ton of rain overnight the streets dried and peeks of sun appeared, so I put the top down and headed up there in the 'vert. Not long after arriving I spotted a T/A pulling in that looked just like mine, so I headed down to where the guy was parking it to take a look-see. It was just like mine, in fact it was identical to mine, and the VIN was 2 numbers after mine!!
It gets better, this unrestored 41,000 mile car was also a documented Mr. Norms car, and what is more, the owner told me that he had found a broadcast sheet in his car for the car next in line after his, and it was another identical car. He had found the owner of that car, which is now in GA, and it is also a documented Mr. Norms car! So last night I found out from Barry that he has documentation for the T/A next in line after mine, and it too is identical to the other 3 and was sold at Mr. Norms!!! Unfortunately this car has not surfaced, it probably got wrapped around a tree 35 years ago or rusted away in this climate, but who knows, maybe it is still out there sitting in a barn somewhere?
So now after owning my car for decades I find it is one of 4 sequentially serial numbered identical T/A's all sold through the same dealership!!!!! And Mr. Norms dealership to boot!
If anyone knows of a red with black top 4 speed with manual steering T/A SPD of 4/15 please let me know or register it with Barry, maybe its the missing "quad"??
I am still in shock, I hope we can get these 3 cars together someday for a reunion.
Topic: I met my T/A's twin, actually we are quadruplets!!!! (Read 4384 times)
