Why do you like Mopars?

[Cranky]

Was recently asked this question. For me, well....I grew up with them but deviated somewhat in 1970 with 3 56 Chevies. Still had my first car which was a 66 Belvedere II during all that but after Uncle Sam got me in 71 and had to sell the 66, I came home with a 71 Stooopid Beetle (yeah, not a good experience for me) and bought a 72 340 Challenger Rallye in 74 shortly before selling the Stoopid Beetle. Next was a 67 Dart and snagged a 69 Dodge D100 gofer truck with really bad valve stem seals. Next came a 66 Mustang Fastback then a 65. Long story short, the Ferds didn't serve me very well either and got rid of them and pretty much stayed with the Mopars afterwards.

What I liked the best about the Mopars is that they held together under my abusive ways with cars and I could work on them without very many problems unlike the Chevies and the Fords. The Fords broke the most while the Chevy stuff gave me the most grief while trying to do the most simple of jobs like brake work! I had black thumbs with the GM stuff and the breakage with the Fords was frustrating to say the least but man, I really liked the 1st gen Fastback Mudstains. Had a lot of fun with them and my dog liked them too. She could ride in the back with the seat folded down and had a good view of her surroundings...plus she would scare car hops when she stuck her nose out from behind me and the B pillar when the food came out lol but then they would fall in love with her

 

[Dibbons]

I think the overall engineering is often times "sexier" than Ford, Chevy, or imports. Maybe what I am trying to say is that the broad scope of the human imagination seems to be more evident. Edit: Almost forgot another early encouragement: washing the windshields of the older 440 Polara CHP patrol vehicles '73-'75 when I first worked in a Chevron station.

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/chrysler-history-most-innovative-automaker/

 

[kiwigtx]

Because they are different, and at times innovative in their design.

Best reason is they are not 'belly button' cars, like a Mustang or Camaro....everyone & anyone has them.

 

[Darter6]

It was a family thing. Dad started it back in 1936 with a Plymouth Coupe.2 brothers and a sister all drove Mopars.
Both brothers went to Chevy for awhile but both came back.85 years a Mopar family.

 

[Cranky]

My sister bought a 65 Mustang coupe in early 67 and that was my introduction into the Ford world. That was the first car that I did donuts and jumps in I gave it a beating and it never broke but it was only a 200 ci 6 banger so what was that going to break lol. I used to take care of it for her and kept it clean in return that I could drive it when she didn't need it.....

 

[F4R/T]

IMO Chrysler led the pack , more adventurous and industry leaders in many ways.

 

[3sloppydogs]

My dad was a personal friend of the local Chrysler Plymouth dealer in Grafton WV. So he would go there and I would tag along. I fell in love with the body styles and the engineering. I saw the turbine car there and the superbirds. For a kid that likes mechanical stuff that was so cool. Tried to talk dad into a Superbird but he bought mom a 70 town and country wagon loaded.

 

[eldubb440]

when growing up, I wanted to be like Fred Flintstone........he was obviously a Mopar man

 

[cr8crshr]

Well I grew up during the Muscle Car era so I had the chance to drive just about every offering there was. In fact, courtesy of my school Friends whose Dads gad dealerships so the pickin's were plentiful. That be said, our household was totally Ford. and nothing else. Dad was addiment about that and even though he is no longer with us, I never got the chance to ask him why. So I naturally gravitated to that Marquee. I fell into MOPARS rather late in my life and after my first...1966 Chrysler 300 383 TF 3:23 Sure Grip no A/C 2dr hardtop, which I fixed as it was in need of some TLC. Actually turned out rather nice on a fixed budget and I had it from 1998-2011 at which time I sold it. In between that time I acquired a 66 Ply Sat Roller/no motor or trans, as I had also acquired a 66 383 and 727 TF to put in it. That car took me 2003 to 2013 to finish and I haven't looked back. It is a runner and screams like a scalded Cat. MOPARS were a challenge because of the scarcity of parts, etc. but now they are the most popular Marquee to be had. That's it for me and I have never looked back...cr8crshr/Bill

 

[Cranky]

Well I grew up during the Muscle Car era so I had the chance to drive just about every offering there was. In fact, courtesy of my school Friends whose Dads gad dealerships so the pickin's were plentiful. That be said, our household was totally Ford. and nothing else. Dad was addiment about that and even though he is no longer with us, I never got the chance to ask him why. So I naturally gravitated to that Marquee. I fell into MOPARS rather late in my life and after my first...1966 Chrysler 300 383 TF 3:23 Sure Grip no A/C 2dr hardtop, which I fixed as it was in need of some TLC. Actually turned out rather nice on a fixed budget and I had it from 1998-2011 at which time I sold it. In between that time I acquired a 66 Ply Sat Roller/no motor or trans, as I had also acquired a 66 383 and 727 TF to put in it. That car took me 2003 to 2013 to finish and I haven't looked back. It is a runner and screams like a scalded Cat. MOPARS were a challenge because of the scarcity of parts, etc. but now they are the most popular Marquee to be had. That's it for me and I have never looked back...cr8crshr/Bill

My dad hated Fords and even though I asked him why, he just said they were junk. In my early teens I found an early 50's Ford 2dr sedan with a really straight rust free body with a flatty V8 that ran but smoked and a terrible interior for 50 bucks but he wouldn't let me get it. Said "ain't having any junk cars sitting out in front of my house" and that was that lol.

 

[69a100]

I grew up a Ford guy! I got hooked when I stumbled across my car on a dealers lot on consignment. Talking with the salesman I asked him about the car, he just said that it was bequeathed by her aunt and he didn't want it and didn't know anything else. I proceed to tell them a little about what I knew as the car looked familiar to me, told him the previous owners name, where he lived, and that my Dad used to carpool in it, etc. He says that there's a certicard under the hood, he pops the hood and looks at the card and his eyes light up like, Dam, this dude does know this car! We talk some more and he tells me it's consigned for $5K, but because you know the car and have a bond to it, I'll let it go to you only for $3500, SOLD! It grew on me since.

 

[The Rebel]

I liked the body lines / designs. Also we're the least represented at shows. The few the proud mopar owners.

 

[69a100]

My dad hated Fords and even though I asked him why, he just said they were junk. In my early teens I found an early 50's Ford 2dr sedan with a really straight rust free body with a flatty V8 that ran but smoked and a terrible interior for 50 bucks but he wouldn't let me get it. Said "ain't having any junk cars sitting out in front of my house" and that was that lol.

Sounds like my old man! He was always a Ford guy, don't know why? The only think I can think of is was such a simpleton! He didn't need or want all that other crap in a car, just give him a 6 banger and a manual shift and nothing else, he was happy. I guess he lived like old Henry's saying of, "You can have any color you want, as long as it's black"!

 

[Dave6T4]

Where I grew up, the local mechanic was a Chrysler/Dodge guy. I always liked and respected the man, and figured with his experience in all things mechanical, that if they were good enough for him, they would be fine for me too. I bought my first Mopar in 1967; a 1962 Dodge Dart, ex-OPP police cruiser. I swapped the tired 313/3-speed for a 383/4-speed. I sold it in 1969 when I bought a new Superbee.
I had a 1970 Buick Wildcat for a few years, and it was likely the best car I owned. On the strength of this, I figured GM had gotten its crap together, and I purchased a new GMC Suburban (I had kids and dogs by then). This thing was a total POS. I dumped it after 3 years and bought a 1979 Dippy. It's been Mopars ever since.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

Like most, I can sum it up in 3 letters, "DAD"

 

[68BabyBlue]

My family had modest means so I grew up with cheap ones, starting with a '52 Dodge four door, then a '53 Plymouth Suburban, and a '56 Dodge Sierra. I learned to drive on a '60 Valiant with a 170 cubic inch slant six, and three on the floor. These were all well worn, cheap used cars by the time they came into my life. As our financial situation improved, we moved up to new slant six Valiants. But as these cars passed through my life, I was looking in the window at high end Mopars, both at the dealership, and in my parents' universe.

My dad's boss had a secretary who drove a new '60 Chrysler New Yorker, which led to me owning a 300F three and a half decades later. Our local dealer drove GTXs as his personal cars back in the day, and after I got a test drive in his '69 at the age of 16, I was hooked for life, and have owned six of them in the last 44 years, the latest a Hemi. His wife drove Imperials, and I felt obligated to own two of them as daily drivers in the 90s, first a '62, and then a '66.

My dad taught me to value the durability and frugality of the slant sixes, but appreciate the engineering behind the forward look Chryslers. On my own, I became entranced with the engineering that went into the hemi cars, and aesthetically, in my mind, nothing in the era could touch the styling of the '68-'70 B bodies. I'm sure I'm not alone in this group. For many of us, I'm sure we're products of our Mopar experience in our early years.

 

[hunt2elk]

My Grandpa started the Chrysler dealership in our small town in 1950. Growing up and getting our driver's licenses in the mid 80's, my cousin and I would get trade in Mopars for a few hundred dollars. Run that one for a bit, and had to sell that one to buy the next because we had no money. The good old days for sure. Just wish we would have held on to a few of them....

 

[493 Mike]

If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand if I answered.
Mike

 

[Runcharger]

I like the advanced engineering they had back in the 60's, Ferd and GM lagged behind in suspension and drivetrain. I also like the pounding a Mopar can take, I had one Ford and a Corvette and when I tried to drive them in a spirited fashion like I do with a Mopar they couldn't take it and broke parts plain and simple.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

The first muscle car that made an impression on me was at a neighbors farm a 71 340 duster. A story teller owned it and talked about his street racing days.. I had never seen anything like it. Super bright Curious yellow, a bold black 340 stripe and a 340wedge decal on a black hood with a 4 speed. It was loud and I loved it. The owner asked if he could store it at our farm...and it's never left since...that was 1985. Growing up being glued to TV watching the Duke Boys certainly had a impact as well. But our first car we fixed up and drove to 8th grade on a school permit was a 71 chevelle. That same year my brother and I both 14 took dad's pickup and snuck into town with a borrowed trailer and brought home a 50 dollar 69 charger...then in the fall a 383 charger which is my avatar. Which is the first car we had w any muscle.

Some pictures from my youth...been building motors and porting heads for many moons now. I worked on most brands...they just made me love mopars bold designs all the more, and give me a bb mopar and I am right at home. Although in the second picture I see a 318 on one engine stand along with a rebuilt 904, a 455 olds on the floor and me porting heads to a 455 pontiac in the first picture.
....and if you notice... having a twin brother certainly made things more interesting.