Well I worked for Ma Mopar back in THE day!!!! It really wasnt a bundle of roses either!!!! I graduated from HS in '69 and went to work for Chuck Diering Chry-Ply in Alton Illinois. I entered the apprentice program at $2.20 an hour!!! My pay was raised every so often so I would be making SIX bucks an hour when I got my Journeysmans card.,,, YEAH!? This dealer also sold GMC trucks and acquired an Amercan Motors dealership in about '72. We had a contract with the city and also worked on Police cars and City trucks, All the easy work was done at the City Garage and they would bring (tow) the heavy work to our shop,,, It was NO fun to put a clutch or broken rear spring in a GARBAGE truck!!!! We also had a contract with the USPS, We (I) did all the service on thr post office trucks and IH scouts'. I got stuck with all these odd jobs since we already had our Journeymen mechanics doing their "specialty" work. I was the "new car" service prep too. I serviced all the new cars, Imperials, Chryslers, RR's Dusters, Cudas, etc, and AM cars after 72. We never had much serious muscle come through there but I do remember a Superbird that I serviced. B5, Black int, 440 auto on the column, I took it on the "test" drive up the "river road", That is a 4 lane highway running out if town right along the Mississippi river. this was not a black top or concrete h-way but was hard packed rock and chip, no guard rails between you and the river!
About once a month a rescue crew would be fishing somone and their car out of the water! I would
"test" drive all the new cars on this road. I would stop just outside the city limits and then let her go,,,,through all the gears, I remember the S-bird was really hugging the road when I Passed 100, and i really dont remember how fast i topped her out at. It was put on display in their show room but it never sold and was moved to the garage when the '71's came out. I was told I could buy it "right: But I was getting married soon and had to look at housing. I did "volunteer" as a judge a t several T-shooting contests. The dealership building is still there. In '73 right after I got my J card the dealer ship was in "financial" distress and I faced lay off (with a new baby)so I went to work At Lewis and Clark Chry Ply in N St Louis County, The building is now a U-Haul. OH boy, a Flat rate shop, now I can make some money!!!! WRONG!!!! Again I was the new guy and got stuck with the "crap" jobs. They also sold IH trucks. I got stuck with mostly anything that our "specialist" didnt want to do,,, and warranty jobs,,,warranty, no money here, it was really tough to make the the 40 hours and often times I didnt. They did send me to A/C school and I became the "expert" A/C technition but there just wasnt enough paying AC jobs to make any money, again it was mostly warranty. There was a mechanic there that built hot rods and each one would be powered by a HEMI, he would scratch build a frame plop in a HEMI and bolt on a fiberglass dody, these were his " work " cars, he would drive them to work every day, weather permitting. He was quite a character, His name was "Phill", I bet somebody here remembers him. I quit at L&C in 79 and went to work for UPS and retired from there after 25 years, but that is another story. Both C-D chry and L-C chry went under shortly after I quit. So there are my 10 years of Mopar; Nothing exciting, no hair raising stories. no glory ,just a job, I had to do,,,,,but I survived!!!!