Question of the day why did you pick Mopar and why in a body

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One of the main influences was cost, in Australia classic’s are now a rich mans thing, Mopars are some of the few affordable classic cars available, although they are rising in value….first car I rode in, aged 2 years, was a 1929 Dodge, later Dad had a 54 Kingsway wagon, then a 1966 AP6 Regal….my Mopars over the years, 1971 Rebel, 1966 AP6 sedan, 1971 Valiant Charger….years later I wanted another Mopar….1962 S series, this was to be the most extensive of my builds as it was to be my last…I then bought a 1967 VC Dodge ute, this was to be a daily drive/parts getter for the S series…well things have changed, turns out the Dodge version of the VC ute is a rear beast and has now become my big build…the poor old S series is looking for yet another home!

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Why Mopar?
That's an easy question.

Dukes of Hazzard!

Additionally, Between the Road Runner, Superbird, and Wile E. Coyote, I was always drawn to the Mopars as a little kid. Seeing cartoon characters on cars really made a mark. I remember my original interpretation of the Duster Twister was that it was the Tasmanian Devil tornado.

Why A bodies? That's easy too. I ain't rich! I always really wanted a '67 Gtx, '68 Road Runner, or my favorite, 1970 Super Bee.

I guess it's just luck I never ran into any Gremlins, else I might be an AMC guy.
 
My father always had B or C body cars his only mopar was a 54 dodge Kingsway his last car was a 65 holden station wagon he passed in 1973 when I was 12 my first car was a vc valiant regal the equivalent of a 1966 valiant have had other cars from holden (gm) and ford but mainly have driven a bodies available through Chrysler Australia, had a 66 dodge phoenix (Plymouth fury) and a 69 dodge monaco 8 passenger wagon, current car is a 70 model valiant regal 770 hardtop ( same as a dart) with 360 and 904 it is currently having a new exhaust fitted and then will be registered by the end of the month, after 8.5 years of putting it together, I have always wanted to own a R or S series I have even told the better half I would likely swap my hardtop for an S or R series
 
Cool stories! My dad and older brother always had Mopars. My brother bought a 70 Challenger, 440, 4 spd brand new. I remember like it was yesterday going with him to pick it up. I was 10 and bitten by the car bug. I liked anything that looked or sounded fast. When I was 16 and ready to buy, I didn't care what I got as long as it had a V-8 and a 4 spd. Well fate stepped in and I found a 71 Duster with a 318 3 spd. Funny how I ended up in a Mopar after all.
 
It's more like Mopar picked me, they always seemed to enter my life now and then. My dad had a Fury II back when I was about 10 years old, right about the time I started thinking about how cool cars were. I can remember sitting in the driver's seat in the driveway pretending to drive it.

Later when I was 18 and my first job was at Freeway Chrysler in Surrey, BC. Somebody traded in a purple (not quite Plum Crazy) Duster that was all interior stripped and roll caged. Starting it was a trick, and as the lot boy it was my job to make sure it got brought inside for the night. Once I got the hang of it, the 200 foot drives were the highlight of my day.

A few years down the road my first girlfriend wanted a car, so her dad bought her a `sensible' car - a '72 Plymouth wagon. I don't think he fully thought that through. My first knuckle busting was on that car when the timing chain jumped and I managed to change it and get it running - proud moment for me.

Several years later, in my late twenties I wanted a `project' car of some sort, so I told the sales manager of the dealership I work at (now Mertin GM in Chilliwack) that if something interesting came in on trade I'd like first crack. Lo and behold, a few weeks later he pulls a 1976 Dart Swinger into the shop and yells "$1500.00. You want it?" Original 318, blue with white roof and interior - and bias ply tires still on it. They got chucked the first time I drove it in the rain. Sold that when our first kid came along and we needed something more `practical'.

Jump ahead to about 2008 when an inheritance meant I could start looking for something again. I always wanted a 68-69 Dart, but there were no decent started projects around at the time. Did manage to buy a 74 Barracuda, 440/727/8.75, plum crazy. Did my first major engine build with it, learned plenty along the way, including what people will cover up when selling a car.

When my wallet said enough is enough, I sold that and went back on the market, finally finding my little 72 Scamp all original /6 bench beauty. The day I brought it home (about a 75 km trip) it happened to be the same day as a huge car show they have in Langley, BC, and I got plenty of thumbs up as I passed by. With the money from the Barracuda sale I managed to get the body (vinyl roof rot) and paint work done and most of the restoration (stripped it down and converted it to 360/727/buckets/console/black vinyl roof) finished in my 2 car garage.

And here I sit today, typing this long winded story. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.:)
 
As a young teen the car of my dreams was a 67 Mustang Fastback. Thought it was the most beautiful car Id ever seen (still cant deny its a looker) but my cousin bought a 69 Road Runner built 383 Mag 4 Speed and one trip around the block in that beast and I couldn't even spell Mustang anymore and the rest is history. Funny addition is after owning literally over 100 mopars in my life I've never owned a 69 Road Runner which is the car that did it for me. Currently have 67 Notchback and 69 Fastback Barracudas as well as 2010 CHallenger R/T. A-bodies were a function of my love for the SS/A cars.
 
Wow! How far back do you want to go?
My dad would only own Hudsons (later to become part of American Motors, which was later to become part of Chrysler). He passed when I was only 7. About a year later my mom traded the old Hudson in on a new '59 Plymouth Fury.
When my mom eventually remarried, the family became an Oldsmobile family.
Jumping ahead to high school, all my friends had Chevys and Fords and I always wanted something different. But being an Oldsmobile family, my first car ended up being a '64 Olds Cutlass. I kept that car through college and getting then getting married. After being married for about six months we decided we needed a second car.
At the time my mom worked at a credit union and one of the members she knew was advertising a car for sale - their son had bought the car about 6 months earlier but had since joined the Navy and they weren't going to keep the payments up for him.
When we went to look at the car, there was a bright red '69 340 Swinger with a white bumblebee stripe and Cragars all around! It was love at first sight.
Did a lot of Whittier Blvd (SoCal) cruising in that car as well as a little street racing as well as legitimate passes down the quarter mile at Orange County International Raceway. That little 340 Swinger got built into a strong street runner with a built 340, manual-shift-reverse-pattern 727, and 4.89 rear gears.
About 10 years later I got the stupid idea to build it into a strip only car. More time goes by - a divorce, but I keep the kids and the house. Money isn't there to complete the race car build.
Several more years and I remarry, but during a minor financial crisis I stupidly sell the Dart.
About 10 years ago I got the burning desire to have my Mopar back so I sold the '83 Hurst Olds I was doing a restomod build on and found a '69 Dart on eBay. I've been waiting for it to come out of 'paint prison' (longer story) for over a year now. I hope to have it finished and on the road by the end of 2018. It's not going to be a clone, it's going to be what I want it be.

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My dad has always been into Mopars so I followed suit, and thank goodness, helped work on a 63 impala and so glad I'm have mopars. Why a body well couldn't pass on the deal from mad dart, have a A and B body. Will always be mopar, first car was and is my B body 72 satellite, then a 90's duster with a v6, a 01 dodge Dakota, 04 neon sxt, 04 Neon SRT4, 06 charger srt8 and now a 14 Ram 3500 along with my 67 dart.
 
Mopars, mopars, mopars.
Mom and Dads family, that all they drove.
So that is all I pretty much have ever owned, a few cheap Fords and Chevy's thrown in, just because they were cheap and resold quick.
I bought my kid a vette for his first car, he sat in it, and said dad, Mopar or no car, finish my Duster.
Sold the vette quick, duster still not done, but he is driving his great-grandpas old dodge stratus.
I guess he has it too, choosing an old 4 door sedan over a vette.
 
Because when I was 9 my dad had a '66 Coronet 440 convertible with a 383 and auto trans. That beast was fast. Lots more mopars as time went on, favorites were the Barracudas. I liked the 300F hardtops, and still do.
 
really wanted what was not a dime a dozen.

Built GM G-Body cars in the 90's. This is what most likely will be my last from the ground up build.

Love driving my dart around.

Bruce
 
Why a MOPAR and why an A-body? Well, my first car was a '53 Henry J and I built a DeSoto hemi for it. Quite a job shoehorning it into the little Henry J along with a Dodge 3-speed transmission. Had it running just priour to my 16th birthday. Later swapped the hemi and Dodge tranny into a '55 Ford 2dr sedan.

Have had many cars of all makes over the years including MOPARs and I have swapped MOPAR engines into Chevys as well. I would say that MOPARs from the early '70s and older are much better cars mechanically than GM and Ford cars of the same time period.

Why an A-body? Well, they are great cars and if you want to go fast, starting with the lightest body and the largest engine you can fit into it is a good start. In my case, I had a '62 Dodge Lancer. Loved the car. It was my daily driver for many years. Had all the parts to swap in a 360 V-8, A-833 4-speed and 9" disc brake rearend from a late '70s Lincoln Versailles. Also the parts to swap MOPAR B-body disc brakes up front. Then had a back injury which required a lumbar laminectomy. Some months following the operation, went out to get into my Lancer and found that I had so little range of motion that I could no longer easily get in and out of a small, low car like that. So sold it to a fellow from Brazil whose Dad had roadraced these cars when they were new. He bought it for his Dad and she's in Brazil now.

She was a twin to this car. Nothing fancy, just a green 4dr sedan. Bone stock except for a mid '70s 2-1/4" exhaust manifold and 2-1/2" single exhaust system from there back......

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Happy Motoring,

Harry
 
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Large part was my uncle's Built 1970 340 4 gear Vitamin C Duster.

I use to buy ever car Magazine I could at an early age and the more I learned the more I like the engineering of Chrysler products.
 
Dad was a Dodge guy, so I became a Dodge guy! My first was a 75 pick up. I put a 383 in it and had lots of fun with it. My brother was good enough to roll it for me. There were other trucks and a 74 Barracuda for a couple days, but no nice cars.
I started looking for a 74 Charger and stumbled across a 74 Duster. I was desperate for anything at that point so I bought the Duster. I felt I settled at the time, but I'm an A body guy for sure now!

Cley
 
Mopar picked me! Lol growing up my neighbor had a 69 dart I didn't know what it was at the time tho. My school bus driver drove dart still didn't know. One day he wore a mopar shirt and i asked him what is a mopar his response was "if you have to ask you wouldn't understand" well i was 7yrs old and I didn't understand but i wasn't giving up!!! So I kept prying finally he explained it was Plymouth chrysler and dodges! So then at some point later I was bugging my neighbor being a 7yr old kid lol I was asking him about his car I always loved the look of that car. And he told me it was a dodge dart and then I made the connection I was like omg that's a mopar and he was like yea it is! Well he let me play in it and start it and all that cool stuff kids like to do. I still didn't know much about it until years later! Let's fast forward 8 years or so. I'm 15 years I have my learners I'm about 9 months or so away from my license I have one thing on my mind and that is a car! So my mom and dad are going to look at a house for sale instantly I see this old dodge dart in the driveway so while mom and dad are looking at the house im looking at the car when the tour is over I ask if the owner wanted to sell the car they said they would get back to me they did and I bought it for 300 bucks spent all my summer mowing money lol i will find a pic if when I drove it home and post it!
 
...ooops...
Sorry wrong thread .
 
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In 76 I bought my first car, a 1967 coronet 500. I just wanted any car I could afford, and that one I paid 150 bucks for. It ran good, needed some love, but was a good car. After that it was a couple of dusters, then a 67 cuda in my twenties. Then kids, minivans (mopar) and a variety of other cars. Now that my career is fully matured, I had a garage built and then decided to get another classic car to restore and make into a daily driver. I have another 67 cuda that is like my first 67 cuda. Well, not quite like the other one, this one is a stock 273 thats in nice shape. The other one was clean, but a total race car. I worked much more on that than I drove it, and this car now won't be a race car, just hopefully a great runner. Almost done getting it road ready...
 
My parents have always been big into Mopars. Back in the late 90's my dad had a 72 Challenger 340 and my mom had a 71 Challenger RT 440 so I was hooked. I bought my first Mopar (71 Duster) when I was 15 back in 2001. Then a few years later when I was a junior in highschool I bought a numbers matching 69 Dart Swinger 340 4 speed car (F6 bright green metallic with a black painted roof). Kept that for 5 or 6 years then sold it for a 70 Cuda 383 project car. Unfortunately never finished that restoration after dumping about 20k into the body so I sold it and only had modern SRT's for a few years. Finally last year I settled back into my current car a 1968 Dart. I just love the body style of the 67-69 Darts.
 
I was born into it. My parents had a 63 Plymouth wagon, later a 72 Coronet wagon along with a 73 Barracuda. Although I started off with the 55 Chevy in the garage I had my eyes on my Grandfathers 1967 Barracuda. I did end up with both the 73 and the 67 but when one of them had to go it was the 73, the 67 isn't going anywhere anytime soon.


Alan

The 67 in 69, my grandparents purchased the car new in 66. That is me seen over the car.
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I think my dad got tired of me struggling with 2cyl Hondas so he found me a 66 GTO 4sp but the clutch pedal was too heavy and had no paint and all the trim was in the trunk, then we looked at a 68 442 but it was not in real good shape or it was too much (He was a GM guy, loved them Pontiacs but we did have a Cornet 500 once and he bought mom a 71 Duster 3sp.) then we looked at a 383 Fury, too big. I never even looked at the 65 Barracuda he ended up buying me. Not too big, an automatic and cheap at 800. So I owed him 400. I paid the same for my "S" 12 years later. I dont know if he knew how fast that 340 mill was in that light car but I never got a speeding ticket in it until I got one doing 30 in a 25 total BS and pop knew it.
 
I was also born into it... my father owned a 68 Fury when I was born and bought a brand new Duster in 1973. I grew up rolling around in the back of that car. His father was also a Mopar man and remained so until he died. My great aunt/uncle only owned Chrysler products as well and my mother's half-brother bought a Hemi Orange Demon 340 new... that car got written off in a roll-over accident. Alcohol may or may not have been a factor... hey, it the was the mid-70's!

Dirty little secret: When I was in my early teens, I fell in love with a fat-fendered Porsche Turbo at the Montreal Auto Show and that car burned itself into my brain right next to all of the Mopars. Why am I mentioning this? Between high school and college, I got a job at the local Porsche dealer in their parts department. I wanted to be around Porsches, what can I say? Well one of the apprentice mechanics there owned a 75 Swinger with a warmed-over 318 under the hood and we got chatting Mopars. He offered to take me for a rip since I hadn't been in a car like his since my Dad's Duster had gone to the great scrapyard in the sky, of course I said yes! That car was wicked fast and I seriously doubt it was packing a 318 but regardless, the fire was rekindled and I quickly bought my first car: a 75 Dart Sport 318/904.

I've been through five a-bodies since and still own a 70 Swinger. There's just something about a hot a-body that feels right.

And that Porsche thing? Well I eventually got one of those too. :D

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Oh yeah, and because we had a Dart in the family for as long as I can remember growing up...

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I always had a "thing" for MOPARS. A friend of mine in high school ad a Super Bird, what a cool car!!
Recently a friend of mine had a 67 Barracuda convertible. I really liked the car and the look.
I hadn't had a classic in 20 years, work, kids, took all my time and money.
Kids were gone, retired, wife said find your car.
I was lucky and stumbled across a 67 Barracuda convertible and bought it.
We have enjoyed it, and the friends we have made.
 
Why Mopar!? Well back in the 60's dad was a car guy but hated the idea of me drag racing. So he never knew I took out the just bought used 59 Impala to 125 on the back Ga roads. He hated the ide of unitized bodies... So he was wrong!
First Mopar I bought was 1985, a rust free perfect , like new, 71 charger RT, $1500, OK so I over paid!!, then came 50- 60 more, I lost count!!!! I had bought the year before a rust free 68 442 from Ks by way of Ca for $1000 needed nothing. But an OLDS!!!!! YuK!
I love all cars from back the the day, but I stayed with Mopar because I was told to learn all you can about one brand and stay with it. I occasionally bought a older Vette or Camaro, if I made a 1000 mi road trip and didn't find a worthwhile Mopar. Restoring a 390 hp 69 vette was my biggest screwup back in 93. LOL
 
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