How did you become a Mopar A-body Enthusiast?
well.... i became an "A-body fan" 47 years ago. it's a little bit of an "X-rated" story so i won't go into a lot of detail.
it was 1970 and i was a 16 year old "testosterone" driven and a little crazy sophomore male in high school in Glen Dale, West Virginia. i loved cars and "anything" FAST! i had already owned a few motorcycles and was in love with all the muscle cars detroit was building. i also was running around with some "motor head" guys who were a couple of years older than i who had friends that had graduated from high school and had good jobs at the local steel mill and coal mines. on the weekends we hung out at the "back row" of the covered canopy of the local Big Boy drive-in burger joint. the "canopy" was where all the muscle cars were. because gas was cheap and a job at the steel mill or coal mine could pay for about any muscle car in about 6 months, there were LOTS of fast cars around. back then, the "Chevy", "Ford", "Mopar" rivalry was in full tilt so "someone" had one or more of all the muscle car models these companies were building. there were small and big block Corvettes; most all of the Mustangs and other "Cobra" FoMoCo models; GTO's, Chevelles, Camaro's, Nova's, Roadrunners, GTX's and first and second gen Barracudas. one guy had built a 66 Barracuda fastback street/strip car with a 440 and a "straight axle" under the front. THAT car was ALWAYS a hit with the canopy "back row" guys.
along with eating "Big Boy double-decker" hambergers, frys and milkshakes, the Big Boy was the place where everyone met to arrange street races. it was common for scores of cars to leave the lot late on a friday or saturday night for one of the several long stretches of state highway around the area. watching these races i knew i had to get a "fast car" and start trying to score "bragging rights" either from the longest two black lines left on a highway somewhere or from "blowing the doors off" of one of the many cars listed above in one of the many nightly street races.
i "found a car" at the local Plymouth dealer belonging to one of the young mechanics. this guy had ordered a new 68 340 4 speed fastback formula S Barracuda and then added Hooker fender-well headers; a 3:91 gear; edlebroc "high rise" manifold; a Holley 750 dp carb; a Hurst comp-plus shifter; pinion snubber; shafer "racing" clutch and pressure plate; and a clutch fan. this car with open headers and 8" slicks was turning low to mid 12's consistently at a local drag strip. the car had a little over 20k miles on it when i bought it and i paid $2200.00 - which was a LOT of money back then.
so this "A-body Mopar" IMMEDIATELY inflated my teenage ego through wild tire-frying burnouts while leaving "the Big Boy" restrauant and better yet - i NEVER got beat in a street race with this car! pretty much EVERY "factory" stock muscle car that pulled beside my Barracuda late at night on one of the straight state roads ended up seeing my tail lights from between 1 to 3 car lengths. having "the fastest" street car in town was like "a drug" to my teenage, gear head brain.
but there was another aspect of my initial and IMMEDIATE "love affair" with my "first" A-body Mopar. this car came with the fold-down back seat and when it was folded down, the "cargo" area was like 7 feet by almost 4 feet. given that my entire life at that point revolved around "fast cars" and "fast girls", i felt the "back seat area" needed a little "alteration" just like the rest of the car. so one weekend, me and a buddy removed all the factory trim in the back, installed a 1" thick foam rubber mattress cover on the back of the seat, rear floor under the window and the "fold down" cargo door to the trunk. on top of this foam rubber i installed "synthetic white rabbit fur." when all the trim was put back in place, the back of my Barracuda looked like a "Vegas show-girl stage prop." remember, this was 1970-1971 - ALL "youth" "loved" muscle cars - especially most of the girls. they "got excited" from "going fast." needless-to-say, my "love affair" with my 68 Barracuda included two extremely important factors to a 16 year old guy: the car was "scary fast" and the back seat folded down into a "plush 7 feet of foam padded rabbit fur."
as i noted, there was quite a bit of "X-rated" "attraction" to my "first" Barracuda. but hey - the "sexual revolution" of "the swinging 60's" was in full bloom and i was a guy in high school - and i was VERY popular in high school...
here's a not too good pic of this "famed" car...
well.... i became an "A-body fan" 47 years ago. it's a little bit of an "X-rated" story so i won't go into a lot of detail.
it was 1970 and i was a 16 year old "testosterone" driven and a little crazy sophomore male in high school in Glen Dale, West Virginia. i loved cars and "anything" FAST! i had already owned a few motorcycles and was in love with all the muscle cars detroit was building. i also was running around with some "motor head" guys who were a couple of years older than i who had friends that had graduated from high school and had good jobs at the local steel mill and coal mines. on the weekends we hung out at the "back row" of the covered canopy of the local Big Boy drive-in burger joint. the "canopy" was where all the muscle cars were. because gas was cheap and a job at the steel mill or coal mine could pay for about any muscle car in about 6 months, there were LOTS of fast cars around. back then, the "Chevy", "Ford", "Mopar" rivalry was in full tilt so "someone" had one or more of all the muscle car models these companies were building. there were small and big block Corvettes; most all of the Mustangs and other "Cobra" FoMoCo models; GTO's, Chevelles, Camaro's, Nova's, Roadrunners, GTX's and first and second gen Barracudas. one guy had built a 66 Barracuda fastback street/strip car with a 440 and a "straight axle" under the front. THAT car was ALWAYS a hit with the canopy "back row" guys.
along with eating "Big Boy double-decker" hambergers, frys and milkshakes, the Big Boy was the place where everyone met to arrange street races. it was common for scores of cars to leave the lot late on a friday or saturday night for one of the several long stretches of state highway around the area. watching these races i knew i had to get a "fast car" and start trying to score "bragging rights" either from the longest two black lines left on a highway somewhere or from "blowing the doors off" of one of the many cars listed above in one of the many nightly street races.
i "found a car" at the local Plymouth dealer belonging to one of the young mechanics. this guy had ordered a new 68 340 4 speed fastback formula S Barracuda and then added Hooker fender-well headers; a 3:91 gear; edlebroc "high rise" manifold; a Holley 750 dp carb; a Hurst comp-plus shifter; pinion snubber; shafer "racing" clutch and pressure plate; and a clutch fan. this car with open headers and 8" slicks was turning low to mid 12's consistently at a local drag strip. the car had a little over 20k miles on it when i bought it and i paid $2200.00 - which was a LOT of money back then.
so this "A-body Mopar" IMMEDIATELY inflated my teenage ego through wild tire-frying burnouts while leaving "the Big Boy" restrauant and better yet - i NEVER got beat in a street race with this car! pretty much EVERY "factory" stock muscle car that pulled beside my Barracuda late at night on one of the straight state roads ended up seeing my tail lights from between 1 to 3 car lengths. having "the fastest" street car in town was like "a drug" to my teenage, gear head brain.
but there was another aspect of my initial and IMMEDIATE "love affair" with my "first" A-body Mopar. this car came with the fold-down back seat and when it was folded down, the "cargo" area was like 7 feet by almost 4 feet. given that my entire life at that point revolved around "fast cars" and "fast girls", i felt the "back seat area" needed a little "alteration" just like the rest of the car. so one weekend, me and a buddy removed all the factory trim in the back, installed a 1" thick foam rubber mattress cover on the back of the seat, rear floor under the window and the "fold down" cargo door to the trunk. on top of this foam rubber i installed "synthetic white rabbit fur." when all the trim was put back in place, the back of my Barracuda looked like a "Vegas show-girl stage prop." remember, this was 1970-1971 - ALL "youth" "loved" muscle cars - especially most of the girls. they "got excited" from "going fast." needless-to-say, my "love affair" with my 68 Barracuda included two extremely important factors to a 16 year old guy: the car was "scary fast" and the back seat folded down into a "plush 7 feet of foam padded rabbit fur."
as i noted, there was quite a bit of "X-rated" "attraction" to my "first" Barracuda. but hey - the "sexual revolution" of "the swinging 60's" was in full bloom and i was a guy in high school - and i was VERY popular in high school...
here's a not too good pic of this "famed" car...
