Why Mopar

-
mikedevore

mikedevore

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Messages
2,564
Reaction score
121
Location
Oklahoma
I would like to know why you guys & gals got involved with the MOPARS. I grew up in a family of ford owners. Then one day when I was ten, my dads cousin moved from California. This was 1970, he was driving a 1969 340 DART SWINGER, 4-speed, 3.91 suregrip. He had bought it new, for the price of $2850.00. He had been racing it at LIONS DRAGSTRIP, & street racing it. I had an instant hero. The best part was when my brother & I would ride in the back, with my dad riding shotgun & his cuz driving it like he stole it! The best memory of this was when a 1970 corvette & 1969 mach 1 mustang was racing. We came up from behind & drove between them & out run both! His Dart had ran a best of 13.81 @ LION'S. The neat part was that he loaded his wife & kid in the car to move back to Oklahoma. How would you like to make that trip with no air & 3:91 gears. Most children drive what their parents drive, my brother & I converted our parents to MOPARS! We are a die hard MOPAR family! So, whats your story?
 
my father owned all kinds of mopars...old 40's trucks, 50's and 60's winged cars and plenty of a bods...i grew up listening to the stories of his 70 340 duster....not from him but everyone else in the family...just seems natural to drive an a body....i owned a pontiac once...with my EX wife...no more pontiac, no more wife.... :twisted:
 
I would have to say dukes Of Hazzard. Bought my first 68 Charger because of the show. Drove fords for awhaile, then in July of 82 I ended up with a 68 charger R/t, and have been Mopar ever since.
 
When I was in high school (78-81), I liked fastback mustangs but even then they were too expensive. Went with my best friend (who was looking to buy it) to look at a 71 340 four speed cuda. Test drove the car and was hooked. Called the seller and told him that if my friend didn't buy it, I would. My friend decided not to buy it, I bought it the next day for $1100. I drove the car hard for four years and it never missed a beat. That car was a blast to drive and have had only mopar muscle cars since.
PS. wish I still had it.
 
I live in Texas aka "Chevy country". I'm 28. Back in the day before the recent rice crop, your muscle was either Chevy, GM or an old truck and the occasional Mustang. I rarely remember seeing mopars. My dad had Chevy trucks and the stray Thunderbirds that he liked. Whenever I was 6 or 7 My dad got my mom a 68 Charger. I was in love. It was yellow with a white top, white interior, auto w/440. That car and the 58 Plymouth from Christine are the first cars I remember seeing that I had a liking for and I had uncles with tons of old Chevys and some of them were trailer queens. In my teens, my uncle Frank told me stories of whenever he was a teen and a friend of his had a 70 hemi cuda and proclaimed the 426 as the greatest car ever.
It seems that there are common themes with Ford and Chevy people that I don't always like. Now that I look back I know that most Mopar people have a lot in common. Keeping Mopar all Mopar. Not a lot of custom. Not putting cadillac rims on a Valiant. Things like that. I like mopars the best and I'm also thankful to the community for a lot of the car values.
 
My buddy into'ed me to MoPars with a 383 Road Runner and a 68 teen Cuda F/B. I wasn't into anything over another. But the cars did kick *** all over the place. The best was the pissed off 396 Chevlle owner and his constant looseing and whining.

Fast foward a few years and a few makes with tons of parts and none fit the current project. Well, I said make a call, which one. The rest is history.
I'll drive any American car from the past or present. It really doesn't make a difference. So long as I like what I'm driving.
Wouldn't mind an El Camino again. I did like that. Or a 67-68 Impala.
An Olds Cutlass would be fine. But it just costs more money to get into lots of makes. No sense switching.
Besides, I like handing out a pasting to Olds and Chevy guys.
I loved mopping the floor with my Cuda all over the Big block Olds and Chervy guys.
 
I've owned lots of cars of all brands but Mopars are allways what "floats my boat" as the saying goes. I did have a couple of decent running GM's when I was younger but never could beat the good running Mopars with them. Only reason I didn't have more Mopars when I was young was I couldn't afford them. You could get GM's for a dime a dozen. Performance Mopars brought a premium.
Now that I can afford what I want, you guessed it. Mopar all the way baby!!:thumbup:
 
In 1970..."I" was 15 and had a heart for the duster with the 340 Wedge. I would always remember the guy next door having a good time. It was the 70's lime green with the black hood. Over the years ...working, marriage, kids ect I couldn't afford...due to (priorities) until my son was old enough and I talked the wife into re-building something for the kidlet. Sooooooo, Now we have two around. :)

scan0003.jpg


pic4.JPG
 
My father was a Ford truck driver and mother was a Subaru driver...my brother always had Mopars. I started with a '69 Hurst SC/Rambler and moved on to a '72 Chevelle. Wrecked the Chevelle and bought a '71 Challenger with a stout 440+6 under the hood (at the age of 17...now, I'm soon to be 39)...haven't owned anything besides Mopar since!! I do wish i had the SC/Rambler back though...
 
That's a good question!!!
I don't know ,it started when i was 12 years old.
Maybe Mopar is a Virus???!!!!!!!!!!The only thing that make me feel better is Turning my Dodge V8 engine on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :evil1:

caranga23.jpg
 
The F.O.R.D.s I've owned were all P.O.S. specials; very much laking in overall quality. At a mere 90k my '85 stang died with with everything making noise but the horn and I drive like an old lady. That goes double for my '91. My chevy's were better machines but lacked any kind of "gee wizz" factor, they had no soul. Mopers are competitive because they are light and very strong and are made better than most other cars of the era. An a-body with a 340 is one of the most well-balanced power/chassis cobos you could ask for. And just look at the selection of engines, from the "stone-axe" /6 to to the all-mighty 426 there is a plant for everyone. An A-body with a /6 gets good milage and goes through snow like it is on rails. If you are a small-block guy like me you have the equally reliable 318, the pocket-powerhouse 340 and its older cousin the 360. The 383 and 440s are legendary big blocks and the hemi is still a devastating race car engine. No matter what you want from a car, the 1960 - 1973 (or so depending on who you ask) Chrylsers offer well-built selections. I love cars of all types, but I am a mopar guy to the bone.

My $0.02 -LY
 
when i was growing up, my dad had a 72 roadrunner and some darts. the RR was my dream car and up until last year i didnt have one. but i talked my dad into doing a project with me. its been good times ever since.
 
Seemed like everyone I hung out with that had old cars(im my grade) had Mopars 70 Charger R/T,68 Dart 340(probably the quickest car in town),70 Challenger R/T Gold/70 Challenger R/T Silver both were 383 cars one was a auto one 4 speed. 68 Dart 340 white with black stripe(almost bought this but the reverse gear on the 4 speed would not work so parents forbid it),69 Charger R/T 440 727 tranny 4.30 gears green W/black R/T stripe and vinyl roof..only guy that could hang with this guy was the red dart 340 car ran 12.5 on street tires with a sure grip rear that was going bad...used to take this car to Lancaster Speedway in or near Batavia NY to run it. all my friends had them

I of course wanted a 69 Chevelle ss with a 396 never did get a car in Highschool waited till I was in the Army then bought a 70 Charger 500 with a 383 and also had a 70 Roadrunner with a 383 both 727 cars...this was back in about 1985-90.
 
The year before I was born, my parents bought a brand new Dodge, 4 door sedan - with suicide doors in the rear. Yup, a 1948 Canadian D25 model with the mighty flat head 6 cyl. Some of the earliest childhood memories I have are going for a Sunday afternoon drive along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland in that beautiful 1948 Dodge. I could barley see out the windows when I sat in the back seat of that monster, but man were those seats comfy or what? Dad finally traded it off on a brand new 1955 Pontiac just before the 56 models came out. I really missed that huge old Dodge.

Now, what was the original question - "why Mopars" - Hmmmmmmmm, I'll have to think on that one for a while. :)
 
The Snake's 'Cuda and the Mongoose's Duster. Richard Petty's STP Chargers. My first car was a 1970 Dart Swinger.
 
The year was 1972 and my first car was a 69 440 charger 4 speed. In those days the mopars street cars were stomping all over the Chebbies and the odd ford that thought he was quick, at least in my town. The quickest car was a stock 340-6pack, 4 speed TA challenger, that thing was evil the way it would hook and be gone while the hemi's, 440's and 427's were trying to melt the tires down. Over the last 20 years there has always been more go fast parts for Chebbies and those stupid Mustangs (that used to steer down the road like a hurd of billygoats) so if you wanted to build a fast Mopar you had to work harder and smarter. I always say "anyone can do a Chebby but it takes attitude and ability to do a Mopar. :burnout:

Terry

P6020033 (Custom).JPG
 
I was born into it, my Mom and Dad drove me home from the hospital in his 1968 Coronet R/T. My Dad still has the car and growing up looking at it every chance I got in the garage there was no other choice.
 
Was a Buick guy from 1976 until GM killed the GN and GNX programs 1986. I could have retired on what my Gran Sports are worth today (I had a butt load of them). My first Mopar was a '66 Satellite with a 361 / console 4 speed. I had the car when I was still into Buick's but I couldn't pass up the deal. I traded a '77 Mustang II that didn't even run for it. I drove the Satellite home, then sold it because I could car less about it back then, wish I had the car back now. I sold off all of my Buick GS stuff I collected over the years and started collecting Mopars by 1991.

Chuck
 
i have owned alot of different cars over the years, but never a mopar. i always remember seeing them growing up. i used to want a 71 barracuda but never got one. mopars were always a car that i "knew about" but that was the extent of it. around 1987 i sold my last muscle car. it was a 1971 monte carlo. 4.11 posi 12 bolt rear. turbo 400 tranny. lt-1 350 ,11 to 1 comp. worked 041 heads. ect... after that i only admired muscle cars from my memory and the occasional spotting of one. in 2004 my wife and i went to carlisle for the all truck nationals. it was our first time ever being there. it was a blast. we wanted to go back next year in 2005. i said lets go to a different show this time. i said what about the all chrysler nationals. she and i said o.k. to the idea and we went. niether she or i had ever owned a chrysler. we just went because we both had admired chrysler cars. she and i walked in the main gate that day where all the cars drive in at. we stood there about 10 mins. looking and listening to the cars driving in. we looked at each other and kinda said to ourselves what have we been missing all these years! well she wanted to buy a car right then and there while we were up there. i said this is not why we were coming here, but she almost broke me into doing it. i told her lets wait until we get back and i can research some on this. she argued alittle but finally agreed to wait. well 1 month later we had our first mopar! :headbang: we have never looked back since......
 
I was the first person in my family to ever own a Mopar, my family were always Ford people. I had owned a 75 Maverick 302, 1970 Z28 Camaro, 73 Vega 350/4spd, 89 Mustang 5.0, and a 1970 Mustang 302.

I got to be friends with a guy that was a diehard Mopar nut, he slowly converted me to the Darkside by 1994 and convinced me to buy a 1994 Dakota new, it had a 318/5spd. That is when I got hooked. I owned 5 V-8 Dakotas since, and a 03 Hemi Ram.

I have always lusted after old Mopars, many deals fell through like a rust-free 70 Superbee 440 for $1600, or a mint 69 Dart 340 for $6500. I now I finally have my first vintage Mopar, a 1968 Dart. Its older than me, but just by a hair!
 
My first car was a '67 Camaro. Nice, but a dime a dozen. Was going to upgrade to a new Camaro in '74 (dating myself!), but didn't like the body style change. Looked at what else was out there new and fell in love with the '74 Challenger.

Bought one new, drove and loved the heck out of it! Rallye pack, 360, 4 speed, 3.23 suregrip...the car would fly! With the 3.23, a lot of cars would beat me off the line, but once I got the 360 wound up, no one could match the top end! If I red lined it, the 3-4 shift was 110 MPH :burnout:

Then I got married...but even with the hot rod gone, a couple of Dodge vans, trucks, reliable as heck!

But the kids are grown and (almost) gone, so now I have my '68 Barracuda - I loved the Hemi under Glass drag car when I was in high school!

Jay
 
The first car I ever "remember riding in" was my Dad's 69 1/2 440 Six Pack 4 speed Super Bee....loved Mopars ever since...
 
I got into them from my dad. He had a 70 Hemi Cuda, but had a 383 in it, then sold it to buy a 70 T/A Challenger, minus six pack on it. he kept the car until the early 80s when he go into drag racing. my mom had a 73 Challenger when they met. Then I remember my dad bought a 68 roadrunner i believe but sold it before he started working on it. then in about 2000, he bought a 69 roadrunner to build with my brother, after that he started buying more. i had a 72 vega wagon, but it never ran, i just got it cuz i wanted a cool car, but then found a 69 Dart with a /6. drove that car a few years, then found my 67 Barracuda. dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top