Dumb Mopar moves - this should be fun
I was 16 looking for my first car - had to be a mopar (had just been to Rockingham & watched the S&M car!). Ad in the local penny saver said '71 RR, V-8, runs strong, $2500. I called & went to see it. Two guys were leaning into the engine bay when I pulled up. I asked what was wrong. They said the thing needed constant tuning. I was fearful of that because I had zero/zip/nada automotive experience. Plus, I had never seen spark plug wires attach thru the valve covers before. I passed.
Not too long after that I bought a '72 Challenger with a 2-bbl 318/slap stick AT. Ran fine but I decided to swap in a 383 from a '70 Challenger which was rusting away sitting behind the owner's parent's house. The owner had gone to prison for drug sales & killing his girlfriend while high. I bought the car for $600 & towed it home. I pulled the engine & trans and put an ad in the paper to sell the rest as a roller. Man called & asked what rear end was in it. I looked & referred to the Chiltons - book said it was a 9 3/4. I wasn't concerned because I knew I had a 8 3/4 in my Challenger. The guy showed up & offered me $900 for the roller. What a deal! And who would want a car with such a small rear window when compared to my '72? After he learned I had the engine & trans, he offered me another $600 for them. I thought "Score!" Sold it all for $1500. Once I learned about the 9 3/4 being a Dana 60, I went to work learning all about Mopars.
As I sit here in my old age, I wonder what woulda/coulda/shoulda have been. But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20.