Have Mopar Clubs become buy a new Challenger and meet up

[BeeKool]

An old vehicle is like a time machine. A glimpse from a time long gone. I find enjoyment even just sitting in an old vehicle. remembering my childhood. To be honest, old trucks are my favorite.
New vehicles are more comfortable and economical and faster. They are not unique tho. Few people do a double take at a new Challenger unless it's to look for a hell cat emblem. However a 68 charger (even if it's a base model 500) will make even the most novice passer by do a rubber neck and become a little envious. Old vehicles can be repaired but they can never be replaced.

 

[DP78]

This topic is of great debate, I am in my mid thirties and love all cars, but feel in love with Mopars. I purchased my first one when I got back from my first deployment. A 1970 RR 383 4 speed and looked for almost a year before I found the one that had what I wanted. I shelled out a good bit of money for a car that was a good driver and needed nothing in the way of body work done. I have since learned to work on just about anything on the car. I remember having to put a new clutch in right after I got it. Laying on my back fighting tooth and bolt with it. At the end of it I felt good because I was able to fix it myself. Last winter I took the whole front end apart sand blasted all the parts and rebuilt everything including a complete tear down of the steering column and rebuilding that as well. Also had the steering box rebuilt and ran all new brake lines along with new shocks. Car drives like a dream and have learned a lot since working on it. My next car was an AAR cuda, which again I shelled out some money for. It too was a good car but needed some minor work. I dove right into a carburetor rebuild and as many of you know its not hard, but as most of the articles on here tunning my take some time. Well after several weeks (months) I finally can say I have the car running like a top. My point in all this is, I didn'nt restore these cars from the ground up. I wanted something that I could be proud to own and work on through the years. I have since learned how to tune and rebuild just about anything on these cars. I will always continue to buy old muscle and continue to work on them as long as I can. People often are amazed that I tell them that I do the work myself. I reply with the same answer to all of them. You either have deep pockets or learn to fix yourself. Plus not many mechanics around knoiw how to work on these and who can you trust.

 

[mmissile]

Nice AAR!! Love the F8

 

[Kern Dog]

Sometimes I make statements then later I remember a mistake or another angle.
I have been guilty of taking the "New Muscle" to car shows or car club meetings. I drove the 2015 Challenger to Van Nuys Spring Fling the past 2 years instead of my 70 Charger. I do have valid reasons though! The car was new last year and being B-5 blue, it was a color that was JUST being offered again. Sure, it was just another new car but at least the color was retro!
This year I drove the Challenger because I was making the trip alone. Call me a fag but a 950 mile round trip alone had my wife a bit nervous. She asked that I take the new car for peace of mind. I wussed out and complied.
I love driving the Charger. It is faster and handles better than the Challenger. The feel of speed is so much more intense. You FEEL 100 mph in the old car. That speed in a new car feels muted and detached.

 

[BeeKool]

950 miles. Did you take your sidearm?

 

[Brandy]

The last local show I went to this summer was on a cleared off Dodge dealership lot. As you drive onto the lot there was long double line of new Dodges. All of the old iron was staged back along the perimeter of the lot. Tells you what the dealer was after.......more sales. However, those new car guys mostly stayed by their cars and swapped lies among themselves and the crowd mostly wandered around the old cars. No heads turned when a new car entered the lot. When a '69 Bee rumbled in, all heads turned and many headed that way to intercept it and drool. I applaud the new car guys for being interested in cars at all, while still being annoyed at the placement in the show. I prefer to attend shows where the interest is in cars that have been built by the owners and I can see what tips and tricks I can pick up, talk about modifications with the guys and gals that thought of them and made them. This is the essence of " Hot-rodding". Buying the latest factory mod and having the dealer install it is just NOT. I think the problem lies in that the new cars are almost unable to BE owner modified much. These cars are state of the art as is, very unlike the cars of yesteryear where you could change ALOT of stuff to make them your own, to make them go faster, handle better. Now the factory has done that for you. Also, I suspect that back in the 50's and 60's the deuce coupe and t bucket crowd sneered at the lead sleds and factory muscle, says things like," Well WE had to think up the new parts AND manufacture them Ourselves." ANYBODY can go spend a wad of dough on a fast muscle car where everything has already been done FOR you, damn kids". Nothing new under the sun.

 

[lewtot184]

when i go to a show or cruise i'm looking for something that somebody has built or at least had a hand in it. i'll look at about any make or model that somebody put a piece of themselves in. i like old cars and the memories they bring back. i just don't have any interest in the new cars. i don't care how fast they are, don't care about the gadgets and really turned off by the price. what if the "new car guys" took that $50,000-$100,000 and invested it in something that would appreciate in value?

 

[CudaChick1968]

lewtot, I asked myself that same question. I could spend a monthly car payment, or put that same money into my old beastie and eventually have "a brand new car." I couldn't imagine my '68 Barracuda with another $60,000-100,000 worth of work into it!!
Great discussion/debate here guys. Keep em coming.

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

[mmissile]

That guy has lots of identical thought-process friends. They're at every car-show.

 

[BeeKool]

I'm glad people like that don't own authentic Chargers. I'm sure he gets laid lots.... by other guys.

 

[lewtot184]

is this guy our future? a cook at the VFW? i'd like to hear a woman's perspective on his sexual arrogance. these people will control the future of the country. what a shame.

 

[Riverdawg]

I couldn't watch the whole thing.......

 

[mmissile]

Where's the real video of the guy with the new, red mopar? I can't believe the guys filming, were able to finish his interview. It's a real version of the above.

 

[Bart K]

I couldn't watch the whole thing.......

Ditto.........can we say "total douche nozzle"?

 

[Bruzilla]

Welcome to Mopar society peakandscoot. Let me tell you about the first Mopar show I went to back in 1989. I took my 73 Roadrunner and found a totally different mindset from what I had experienced at other shows.

One major difference I saw was an obsession with uniqueness. I go to an event with Mustang guys, and they all go goo-goo over every add on they see. Mopar guys have always been more about originality and uniqueness. I would hear Mustang guys saying "that's awesome! How did you rig that?" and Mopar guys going "My car is a one of one because it's the only one that came with this power train, color, interior, and a cassette deck." I guess this stems from the fact that Ford and GM made a gazillion of their cars and Chrysler made a relative handful of our cars so uniqueness is actually a value point for us.

I can't recall any all Mopar event that I've ever been to where wrench turning was valued over originality, and there are loads of cliques for each body type. The cliques for new cars are just one more in a long line of them.

 

[Force Fed Mopar]

An old vehicle is like a time machine. A glimpse from a time long gone. I find enjoyment even just sitting in an old vehicle. remembering my childhood. To be honest, old trucks are my favorite.
New vehicles are more comfortable and economical and faster. They are not unique tho. Few people do a double take at a new Challenger unless it's to look for a hell cat emblem. However a 68 charger (even if it's a base model 500) will make even the most novice passer by do a rubber neck and become a little envious. Old vehicles can be repaired but they can never be replaced.

Nothing is unique when it is new. And everything gets replaced eventually. When was the last time you saw a '39 Ford coupe that wasn't at a car show or museum?

This argument could, and I'm sure will, go on forever.

I'm in my mid-thirties, and I'm just as happy tuning a carb with a screwdriver or an efi with a laptop. I love the 68 Charger, the new Challengers and my old '89 Lebaron Turbo GTC just as much, because i like how they look and because they are Chrysler products. And that's what it really comes down to, is what YOU like.

At the end of the day, buy and do what you enjoy. Classic show car, new show car, old or new daily beater, full racecar, whatever. Just do it for your enjoyment, not for others' approval.

Me, I'm gonna do what I've always imagined hot rodders to do....hang out in the Saturday night parking lot with the riffraff that wrenches on whatever all the time, and go racing

 

[Budnicks]

I like a ton of new stuff, I like many forms of automotive activities,
but I especially am drawn to older stuff, 60's- mid 70's genera, old racecars,
day 2 cars, resto-mods, pro-touring, even tow rigs, the craftsmanship & pride...
I can get along with most any real car/truck person,
if they're not an *** or douchebag...

I use to go to Goodguys events, local events, Super Chevy events,
Car Craft, Hot Rod, Oakland Roadster Show etc., most any drag race,
also had a show at it...

I'm not real big on the #'s Matching fender/vin-tag reading ****-ness,
that seems to perpetuate in some Mopar crowds or other makes even at some car shows...
It bores the hell out of me unless it's really rare Hemi or 6bbl cars...
I respect it & done that type of build too, been there done that, not my deal,
if it's not just another checkbook build, that's just not where my interest is...
I know some people don't have the talent or knowledge or
a place or the proper tools to work on stuff too, I don't look down on them,
"for the most part", at-least they are car guys/gals, we have something in common...

I really like to be somewhere where there's an activity,
like racing or autocross a cruise etc., I get bored real easily otherwise,
something more than just standing/sitting by your car...

I do all my own work, except a select few things like machine work now...
I can seem to relate to someone with similar likes & taste,
doesn't mean I have anything else in common...
I can get along with most of them for a short time anyway...

I do like seeing different ingenuity, fab skills, ways of building a car,
I respect even the Chevy Ford Buick Pontiac Brand X stuff etc. crowds,
because I love cars, especially the muscle car era cars early 1960's - 1971,
that's about it as it goes to my preferences, but I can appreciate others...

I don't really go to car shows anymore, pretty much
the boom boom loud *** cRap on the stereos & 10 TV's in every rig
of the mini-truck/low-rider/tuners or Dubbs craze
or a new off the lot Corvette, Porsche, Challenger, Charger, Camaro, Ferrari/Lambo etc. on every isle,
with some dude with an "open shirt wearing 5 gold chains & a $1000+ watch etc.",
that doesn't know ****, trying to tell me or anyone that'd listen,
how bad *** his new off the showroom $60k-$250k+ toy is, they only wrote a check for...
That kind of killed it for me years ago...

Doesn't sound like it's gotten' much different lately either...
The seemingly all segregated different age groups,
are a bit of a downer too, like it's us against them mentality...
I'm just an gear head/automotive enthusiast, not age, brand or model specific...
Yes Mopars are my 1st love but not my only love...

I have nothing against the new muscle car era either, for the most part anyway...
I really like the Hellcats, some of the owners reminds me of
the overly analretentive 3rd world, arrogant Corvette & Porsche guys...
But; I think we are in a new HP wars era, we are living it again,
technology is a great thing, I mix old & new in all my builds now...
I like the new stuff in an older package 1st & foremost...

I just don't want to go to a show, pay a fee to just see a bunch of
what I can see at the dealership, off the showroom new cars at a car show...

To each their own, I am who I am & I'm not going to change...

I use to be the guy who said;
"anyone can restore a car, but it takes a man to cut one up"

I also use to say;
"Real racecars don't have doors" too, I've come around since then...

I'm a proponent of;
"Build it how you want it,
use what ever parts you deem necessary,
drive it like you stole it, it's your car,
damn the rest & who cares what others think anyway"...

my $5 worth,
I don't really acre what others do, it doesn't really effect me much...

 

[Kern Dog]

950 miles. Did you take your sidearm?

Ha ha...I did not. Robbery wasn't my concern. The car is reliable but there are still some stretches of NOTHING along the way where a breakdown and parts chasing would really be a pisser.

 

[patrick66]

My local Mopar club that I co-founded in 1983, has always been open to ALL Mopars. Granted, since the advent of the metric Chargers, Challengers and Darts, there are four additional Mopar clubs in town that cater to the late-model cars. Plus there is a Dodge Ram club, and a FIAT 500 club, too. Guess what? We all get along pretty well. Now, think back to 1983 for a second, those of you over 50. What was a '74 Challenger then? A nine-year old used car! What was a Mirada or a Magnum? A new car! It's all perspective, guys. Just be grateful there are still guys and gals that are not at all afraid to get dirty with the new stuff, too.

Plus, the guys with the old Mopars don't seem to want to come out and play. Afraid of a breakdown? Who knows? I know that with a new Mopar, I'm not worried about a breakdown. I do own both. In fact, I put 115 miles on the Imperial two Saturdays ago, and 265 miles last Saturday. Here it is at the Bristow, Oklahoma train depot, on the Hot Rod Hundred car run. Over 275 cars and trucks participated. I'd much rather go on something like this than nearly any Mopar-only show, quite honestly.