Back in Spring 1974 , my dad and I went to the local Dodge dealership so he could check out trucks .
On the showroom floor was a 1974 Dart Sport 360 Hang 10 .
Its display was quite ornate ; ceiling hanger , surfboard , cardboard cutouts ; doors , sunroof , trunk open ...
... and there it was , under that scooped hood ( dealer-added Direct Connection scoops like the '72 Demon 340 had ) was the wild looking motor !
Blue with an orange air cleaner !
All of that visual delight was too much for this artistic 4 year old to handle !
MUST HAVE IT !!
I begged my dad to buy that colourful monstrosity ; my begging fell upon deaf ears .
He was right ... a 2 door Muscle Car , with its thirsty 360 , was impractical and costly .
My family's car was a 1969 Dart Custom ( trim level , that is ) with a 273 , column-shift 904 , AM radio , a/c , power steering , ( shitty ) drum brakes , white with green interior .
My parents bought it from my paternal grandfather in 1971 , when my paternal grandmother gave up driving ( she was 75 at the time ) .
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In the city I grew up in , was a 1970 Barracuda with the ultra-rare Mod Top / Mod Interior (!!) .
It was light green metallic , with the yellow top and interior Mod inserts .
As a kid , I had no idea what this wild looking car was ; I was just wondering about its floral-pattern top and seats .
I finally asked my mom : ' Why did someone put wallpaper on their car ? '
I haven't seen that car since c.1975
I think its owner was one of the gals whom worked at Hinshaw's ( a defunct dept store with 2 locations ) .
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I had the privilege of growing up near Whittier Bl , and its world famous Bob's Big Boy drive-up .
I used to see so many crazy , loud and mean cars around ; the west part of town was Low Rider territory ( lots of sweet rides there , too ! ) , and the east part was where Bob's was .
One of the regular cars at the boulevard scene was a retired LASO ( Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office ) 426 Max Wedge Dodge 2 door .
When it went to auction ( c.1968 ) , one of the local Dodge dealer's kids got it , as that dealership handled the fleet accounts of Whittier P.D. and the La Mirada Sheriff's station .
He ran it for a few years , eventually selling it in 1972 to a guy whom still has it !
My uncle got to drive that special-built pursuit vehicle when he was on patrol on the Imperial Highway Sector ; and the car eventually ended up at the East L.A. station in order to chase people whom would get-on the incomplete Long Beach Freeway ( then , CA 15 ; later CA 7 ; now I-710 ) and try to flee town ( lol ) .
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My MoPar influence comes from many sources as you can see .
While I prefer Chrysler products ( vintage , that is ) , I still truly like everything ; all makes and models .
ale: Unfortunately, back then, we never realized that car was rare and would be collectable in the future. Too bad youth is wasted on the young! :cry:
