- Local time
- 7:00 AM
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
- Messages
- 78,741
- Reaction score
- 128,756
- Location
- NorCal Sierras
Another well written story
What made you a MOPAR guy (or gal)?
- Thread starter SIPLOWGUY
- Start date
Phantomx
Well-Known Member
My dad was a mechanic and he would flip cars occasionally. In the mid 80s when I was 12-13, he bought several cars from the tow yard where he worked. In the deal was a 73 fury police car with a 400-4 barrel, a 68 Barracuda fastback, and a 72 Charger. As I recall, the trans was bad in the fury so he sold it right away. My dad fixed up the barracuda and drove it for a couple of years, and the Charger became my brothers first car. I loved the Barracuda which is why I’ve had about a dozen 67-69s. My brother and I spent a couple of years putting a ton of miles on that Charger, good times I tell ya. That barracuda, Charger, and my mom’s 68 Imperial got me hooked.
Travis..
Travis..
When this car showed up in our driveway in 1970, my brother and I were hooked. Never had there been a more beautiful beast in the land of Mopar, it had it all. 440/6 4 speed Super TrakPak convertible. To this day, it ranks as #1 in my book and it always will. It also helped that my grandpa was a Kendall Oil rep, and we had a strong racing background.
lewtot184
Well-Known Member
It's my older brother's fault.
Two generations of employees. Put a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. Reason enough.
Over the years, on average, I bought one new car every year or two, starting from 1986 to 2019. I supported them, because they helped support me. I'm loyal that way.
As far as old cars, Three Mopars and a few more Fords and Chevy. Throw in a Viper, Saleen, and a 240Z. I did old cars in general.
mmissile
Well-Known Member
I watched that Challenger get built at Fon's Motown Muscle. I was making payments on my first hemi.
azblackhemi
Well-Known Member
Back in the late 1980's I had a 69 Chevy long bed pickup and saw an ad in the newspaper that said "70 Road Runner, 4 speed 383, will trade for Chevy Truck" Well I jumped at that one and it's been 90% Mopar ever since.
My sister/ her boyfriend got me into cars and Mopars, but she and he didn't necessarily intend to.
First, her boyfriend at the time took me around in his hopped up (70?) white Ford Torino. Man, getting sucked back into the seat was cool - I was hooked.
Her boyfriend also helped influence her into getting a hot rod to drive around, in this case, a 73 Road Runner. When she got rid of it a couple of years later, I was the bottom feeder who bought it for $400. I had that car for 42 years, and it got me into Mopars.
Below is a picture of it as my dad drove it home right after it was bought. Tahitian Gold Metallic (ahem, brown) in all its glory!
First, her boyfriend at the time took me around in his hopped up (70?) white Ford Torino. Man, getting sucked back into the seat was cool - I was hooked.
Her boyfriend also helped influence her into getting a hot rod to drive around, in this case, a 73 Road Runner. When she got rid of it a couple of years later, I was the bottom feeder who bought it for $400. I had that car for 42 years, and it got me into Mopars.
Below is a picture of it as my dad drove it home right after it was bought. Tahitian Gold Metallic (ahem, brown) in all its glory!
451Mopar
Well-Known Member
I bought my 1967 Coronet 440 trim 4-Door from my Aunt for $175 when I was 14 years old in 1978.
It only had around 30,000 miles but the 318 engine was really carboned up. The rings were seized to the pistons and the manifold crossover was totally clogged with carbon.
This was my first time tearing into a real V8 engine (had messed with lawn mower engines before)
I didn't have any help other than magazine articles and I made some mistakes like trying to remove the crank damper with a crow bar and destroyed the damper and timing chain cover. I also didn't pay attention to keeping the rod caps with the rods and mixed up the rod caps when putting new bearing in, but figured that out quick while assembling the engine when it wouldn't spin over. The 318 was just re-ringed and new bearings and seals. Got it back together with a damper and timing cover from the junk yard (it was still pretty easy to get parts at the junk yard back then.) That was my first car, and I learned alot working on it. Car I learned to drive with and drove in high school.
I actually started modifying the Coronet when I was in middle school. I remember riding my bicycle to the local speed shop to buy a Mopar Purple shaft cam the 284/0.484" version.
I installed the cam dot-to-dot as i had minimal tools and didn't know how to degree a cam anyhow, along with a used 318 StreetMaster 4-bbl intake, and a $50 factory rebuilt Holley 600 vac secondary carb. Did cheap headers and the original style Thrush straight through mufflers. Of course it had the home made rear leaf extended shackles as the exhaust dragged over every bump in the road.
I then wanted to do a "correct" full engine build and picked up a 360 Engine from the junk yard for $100.
Did forged flat top pistons with reconditioned rods with ARP rod bolts, very minor porting on the heads. I didn't know what I was doing, so basically just port match and clean up.
had the machine shop just do a 3-angle valve job with the stock valves, and balance the engine. By this time I was starting to know other gear heads who could help me, had way more tools and knowledge than me too. I started collecting performance parts catalogs from vendors and decided to use a Crower Baja Beast cam in the engine. Engine had a used Holley Street master intake with another 600 Holley vac secondary carb and headers. Originally I had a Moroso deep oil pan on it.
At that time, I was about 16 years old and wanted a 4 wheel drive truck. I found a 1973 Power Wagon for $1,000. It was originally a "Sno-Fighter" plow truck and was really beat bad. The 318 in the truck was in poor shape so the 360 went into the truck and not the car, but the Moroso oil pan was for a car. I ran it in the truck for a short time, but it leaked and almost hit the front axle. When I replaced the oil pan with a factory truck oil pan and pickup, I noticed the bolts from the high volume oil pump had poked small holes in the Moroso oil pan which is why it was leaking. Every body panel on the truck was beat and I spend alot of time doing body work on the truck, while learning alot about 4 wheel drive trucks too.
Eventually I pretty much ended up rebuilding everything on the truck and it was my main daily driver in high school and into collage, with the Coronet as a backup and car I took to the local drag strip which was only about 3 miles from my house.
When I first got these vehicles I wouldn't say I was a Mopar person, just sort of what I had to work with.
I liked and even owned other car/truck brands, but they seemed easy to part with while I kept the Mopars around much longer.
One quote I recall when at a driveshaft shop the owner said "We love Fords and Chevys, but we drive Mopars".
It only had around 30,000 miles but the 318 engine was really carboned up. The rings were seized to the pistons and the manifold crossover was totally clogged with carbon.
This was my first time tearing into a real V8 engine (had messed with lawn mower engines before)
I didn't have any help other than magazine articles and I made some mistakes like trying to remove the crank damper with a crow bar and destroyed the damper and timing chain cover. I also didn't pay attention to keeping the rod caps with the rods and mixed up the rod caps when putting new bearing in, but figured that out quick while assembling the engine when it wouldn't spin over. The 318 was just re-ringed and new bearings and seals. Got it back together with a damper and timing cover from the junk yard (it was still pretty easy to get parts at the junk yard back then.) That was my first car, and I learned alot working on it. Car I learned to drive with and drove in high school.
I actually started modifying the Coronet when I was in middle school. I remember riding my bicycle to the local speed shop to buy a Mopar Purple shaft cam the 284/0.484" version.
I installed the cam dot-to-dot as i had minimal tools and didn't know how to degree a cam anyhow, along with a used 318 StreetMaster 4-bbl intake, and a $50 factory rebuilt Holley 600 vac secondary carb. Did cheap headers and the original style Thrush straight through mufflers. Of course it had the home made rear leaf extended shackles as the exhaust dragged over every bump in the road.
I then wanted to do a "correct" full engine build and picked up a 360 Engine from the junk yard for $100.
Did forged flat top pistons with reconditioned rods with ARP rod bolts, very minor porting on the heads. I didn't know what I was doing, so basically just port match and clean up.
had the machine shop just do a 3-angle valve job with the stock valves, and balance the engine. By this time I was starting to know other gear heads who could help me, had way more tools and knowledge than me too. I started collecting performance parts catalogs from vendors and decided to use a Crower Baja Beast cam in the engine. Engine had a used Holley Street master intake with another 600 Holley vac secondary carb and headers. Originally I had a Moroso deep oil pan on it.
At that time, I was about 16 years old and wanted a 4 wheel drive truck. I found a 1973 Power Wagon for $1,000. It was originally a "Sno-Fighter" plow truck and was really beat bad. The 318 in the truck was in poor shape so the 360 went into the truck and not the car, but the Moroso oil pan was for a car. I ran it in the truck for a short time, but it leaked and almost hit the front axle. When I replaced the oil pan with a factory truck oil pan and pickup, I noticed the bolts from the high volume oil pump had poked small holes in the Moroso oil pan which is why it was leaking. Every body panel on the truck was beat and I spend alot of time doing body work on the truck, while learning alot about 4 wheel drive trucks too.
Eventually I pretty much ended up rebuilding everything on the truck and it was my main daily driver in high school and into collage, with the Coronet as a backup and car I took to the local drag strip which was only about 3 miles from my house.
When I first got these vehicles I wouldn't say I was a Mopar person, just sort of what I had to work with.
I liked and even owned other car/truck brands, but they seemed easy to part with while I kept the Mopars around much longer.
One quote I recall when at a driveshaft shop the owner said "We love Fords and Chevys, but we drive Mopars".
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
- Locked
