I'm back...after a long absense

[RzeroB]

I'm back...after a long absense. Indulge me for a few minutes while I tell you where I have been.

I've been a Mopar fan ever since I was riding the schoolbus home from middle-school around 1973-74 and a Sassy-Grass-Green 'Cuda closed on the bus from behind, lingered there for a while waiting for an opening, and then went roaring by. It was the most beautiful awe inspiring car I had ever seen up until that point.

Since then I've owned 16 Mopars to include seven E-bodies of which two were convertibles and one was a Hemi    . I was cruising the streets, going to shows and racing with a 440 powered '69 Dart drag car I had during that time too. Even though I was in the military and having to drag my cars from state to state with each move to a new duty station, I was living the Mopar life and it was good.

Then I got married and had kids. As the needs of the family grew the Mopars became a luxury. I tried going with some A-bodies but over time I couldn't even afford to hold on to them. By the mid '90's all my Mopars were gone and I was driving a mini-van    . Yeah, I was Mopar-less. It was tough but I kept in touch with the hobby with the help of the internet and going to the ocassional show.

Now the kids are all grown up and out of the house. With that done, I would like to get back in the game. I realize the nature of the game has changed dramatically; the value of the cars has skyrocketed thus putting a lot of the cars into the hands of collectors or investors and out of reach of the average enthusiast. Okay, so I'll never again own a convertible or original Hemi car (if I only could have hung onto that 'Cuda!). Good thing for the internet. With the power of this forum (and a couple others) it makes it a lot easier to get caught up and find out what's going on out there in the hobby. I'm sure there is a nice small-block or clone/tribute/recreation car out there somewhere just waiting for a new owner like me. Now all I have to do is start looking around and find one with the right deal that I can pick up without having to mortgage the house!

[TorOrange]

Hey Tom, Welcome to the forum. I'd like to you find what you want. IF you can let me know what you're looking for, you're state? if you wouldn't mind traveling for one and you're budget.

Goodluck.

[moparman82]

Hey Tom, Welcome to the forum. I'd like to you find what you want. IF you can let me know what you're looking for, you're state? if you wouldn't mind traveling for one and you're budget.

Goodluck.

ooo ooo!!  Me too!  pick me! haha  Lots of good guys/gals and good info here tom, enjoy!   

[usraptr]

Welcome    Your story sounds very familiar to mine except I didn't own that many Mopars before the wife, kids and house came.  I got back into the game three years ago.  Just be patient, you'll find what you want. 

[Topcat]

Welcome to CC.com.

Hope you find your dream car. Keep us posted how it goes.

[brads70]

  Welcome!   Once bitted the bug never leaves huh!

[TinCuda]

Welcome, good to have you.


.,

[RzeroB]

Thanks for rolling out the "welcome wagon". Yep, once bitten by the Mopar bug it never leaves ya! Figured if I'm ever going to get back in now is about the best time to attempt it. Car prices are "depressed" (relatively speaking of course!), loan interest rates are incredibly low and I'm certainly not getting any younger! Yep, but I can't be brash and just jump in head first like I use to. Probably just going to get one shot at this so I got to be patient, wait for the right opportunity and get something that I can be happy with.

I've had seven E-bodies in the past. Nothing really spectacular except for one - the '70 Hemi 'Cuda I owned briefly in the mid 80's. It was a Lemon Twist yellow automatic. Wasn't really a fan of that color, but the opportunity to own King Kong presented itself and I reached for it and managed to hang on to it for three years. It was an awesome experience! The "grin factor" of that car more than made up for fact that it was yellow! I had borrowed money to buy that car and in the end that is what led to me letting go of it - the payments. If I only could have hung onto it for just a couple more years I would made a tiddy little profit on it. But I didn't and sold it in '86 - a few years before the prices went vertical and took off like the space-shuttle. Live and learn.

Before the Hemi I had a '72 Challenger Rallye 340 auto; a '71 Barracuda convertible 318 auto; a '72 'Cuda 340 4-speed; a '73 Barracuda 318 auto "beater" (used it as a donor car for the '72 which had been in an accident); and a '71 'Cuda 383 4-speed. Then I had the Hemi. Then I met my future wife. Then I "traded" the Hemi in on a wife and a '70 Challenger convertible 318 auto. I thought it was a pretty good deal - got the babe and a convertible E-body! Had the Challenger for a while before it got crunched in an accident - got "T-boned" in the passenger side quarter panel pretty good. I couldn't afford to fix it and insurance wanted to write it off. I was discouraged so I wound up selling it to some body shop. Last thing I heard they actually managed to fix it and it is now cruising around Sweden of all places. 

[jimynick]

Welcome back Tom. Sounds like you've had some nice cars. Like the lads have said, be patient and one will come up. Tin Cuda had that sweet one in his avatar for sale and I don't know if it went or not. 

[hooD]

   Welcome to fantasy mopar island...where all the e-bodies here are yours to pick from....oops...life just happened, get back into your minivan.   

But seriously, I'm glad you found us and I hope you find a great deal on a great mopar soon.  At least that hemi you once had was a real fantasy!   

[Super Blue 72]

   Hi Tom, welcome!

Hey, you do what you have to do, family first! 

What state are you in?  Sorry if I missed that somewhere in the post.  Be patient, I'm sure one will come along! 

['cruddy mutt']

Welcome back!!!!

[moparmaniac59]

Welcome back. Mopars have a way of doing that to people!! I've owed a few and they have always been my favorite make car! 



                                                                          Matt B.

[mildphil]

Haha theres no cure for mopar fever I guess  I guess my story right now is close to where your story started off, ever since I was a kid my father loved the old mopars and got me into it, he told me stories of his old cars and I was amazed. I loved looking at the old classics of yesterday in photos and at shows, then we eventually got another mopar in around 2004, I was still young, it was a 72 challenger with a 318, it wasnt perfect, but as a little kid I loved sitting in it and pretending to drive a mopar just like my dad. Now im at the age where im buying a car I already know what it will be, MOPAR OR NO CAR haha. Now im on my way to becoming a mechanical engineer mostly due to my interest in cars which got me hooked on various mechanical and complicated systems like cars guns and computers. But hey hope you get the mopar you want, they wont be around forever!

[RzeroB]

Thanks again for the welcome...I'm feeling the Penstar love  . But this "Newb" needs some help. I seem to be having trouble editing my profile. When I click on it I always seem to wind up with only "summary", "stats, and "posts" and not the part where I can edit it. I somehow have made it into the editing mode once or twice seemingly by accident and now I am unable to repeat the process  . Thanks in advance for the help!