RickBright
Active Member
Hello from the Ozarks, Just an introduction, I grew up in the "Car Glory Days" of the late 60's and early 70's. I owned several Super Sports in the past, and still own and drive my '70 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 I bought at the age of 16 in '72. Before the Olds I had a '66 Chevy ll Super Sport with a built 327 and did a lot of street 1/4 mile racing with the Nova. About the only tail lights I ever had to look at running the Chevy ll were the big block Mopars. I would get the Plymouths and Dodges 2 to 3 lengths or so out of the hole and then about 1/2 way thru the quarter here they came. I feel lucky to have grown up in an era when you went to small town USA on Saturday nights and got to "run the main street" with all the cars of the day.
As a teenager one of the few times I drove a Mopar was in '68, I was 13 and had skipped school with a couple of my goodtime buddies and my older brother had rode the bus to school that day. He could not afford 30 cent a gallon gas to drive the car every day. He got off the bus a half mile down our unpaved county road and called me from a neighbor's house to bring him his '68 Road Runner. "I can do that, where are the keys" was my answer. BIG MISTAKE. I totaled the Road Runner with him standing in the neighbors front yard watching the dust fly. Only car I ever wrecked, it was way too much car for a 13 year old kid trying to impress his buddies
After a lifetime of admiring Mopars but never owning one I was talking with my son-in-laws dad the other day and he mentioned the Pawn Shop he and my son-in-law own had just taken in a '66 Belvedere hardtop. He was telling me how rust free the car appeared and I cut him off, told him not to even show the car until I got down to look at it. I called my son-in-law and he confirmed the cars condition. Long story short I have a very solid Plymouth sitting in my shop tonight. It was last driven in '81 and looks like it was kept inside. I spend the weekend removing trim, the interior and making my plans for the car. The practical side of me is saying drop a 318 in it, but I keep seeing a 440 in the bay. The car is straight enough I think for black paint and I am playing with the idea of filling the trim holes and leaving the sides smooth but nothing is set yet. A friend of mine has a 20,000 mile RV 440/727 so I am reading past post's on engines and getting a lot of great information on the forums. Looking forward to this build and thanks in advance for the help and support I know I will get here.
Rick
As a teenager one of the few times I drove a Mopar was in '68, I was 13 and had skipped school with a couple of my goodtime buddies and my older brother had rode the bus to school that day. He could not afford 30 cent a gallon gas to drive the car every day. He got off the bus a half mile down our unpaved county road and called me from a neighbor's house to bring him his '68 Road Runner. "I can do that, where are the keys" was my answer. BIG MISTAKE. I totaled the Road Runner with him standing in the neighbors front yard watching the dust fly. Only car I ever wrecked, it was way too much car for a 13 year old kid trying to impress his buddies
After a lifetime of admiring Mopars but never owning one I was talking with my son-in-laws dad the other day and he mentioned the Pawn Shop he and my son-in-law own had just taken in a '66 Belvedere hardtop. He was telling me how rust free the car appeared and I cut him off, told him not to even show the car until I got down to look at it. I called my son-in-law and he confirmed the cars condition. Long story short I have a very solid Plymouth sitting in my shop tonight. It was last driven in '81 and looks like it was kept inside. I spend the weekend removing trim, the interior and making my plans for the car. The practical side of me is saying drop a 318 in it, but I keep seeing a 440 in the bay. The car is straight enough I think for black paint and I am playing with the idea of filling the trim holes and leaving the sides smooth but nothing is set yet. A friend of mine has a 20,000 mile RV 440/727 so I am reading past post's on engines and getting a lot of great information on the forums. Looking forward to this build and thanks in advance for the help and support I know I will get here.
Rick
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