Who got you into Mopars?

[70charginglizard]

It all began for me when I was in Jr High.
I had to walk to school every day and on the way to school everyday I walked past a blue 69 charger sitting in the guys drive way rusting away every day just a little bit more as the years went by. No car cover or nothing and it was a sweet looking R/T too. Shame Shame. Well since the day I first saw that thing I was in love with the charger. Unfortunately before I was old enough to offer to buy it from the guy it dissapeared. never seen it after that but the car always stayed in my mind till in 1999 I decided enough was enough and it was time to get one of my own. It now sits comfortably in my garage nice and dry with a nice cover over it for extra protection. 

[Lowprofile]

My late uncle, before leaving for Viet Nam in late 68', was a mechanic at the local Plymouth dealer. He always had some kind of hot rod/muscle car around, & me and my cousins used to love going for a "blast" with him! One time, he brought home a 67' GTX Hemi 4speed car........ That was the fastest trip to the Dairy Queen in recorded history! The sound, the feel, and the smell of that car will be forever emblazoned into my memory. 

btw....... He really loved Pontiacs though, and had a few nice ones. 

[WheresMyCharger]

My Dad, He worked for an auto-transport company from 1956 to 1985 when he retired. They had a contract to deliver brand new Mopars to the local dealerships.He brought home trailers loaded with Mopars.I remember in late August the cars would be covered with canvas tarps so that the public could not see them until at the dealer.I remember him bringing home the 64 1/2 Barracuda with the racing stripe down the middle and "school bus" exhaust as my dad put it.He handed me the keys and told me to start it up.
I turned 16 in 1970 and was even more interested in what Dad was bringing home. Along with the cars , he brought home the sales bochures(that I still have).I knew that some day one of these cars would be mine.
After buying my first car on limited funds("52 Hemi powered Imperial) I was able to shop for a more practical car. With a $5 deposit I was soon to be a proud owner of a 5 year old 1969 Charger SE with 318 automatic, as long as my Dad approved of the car. He did.

[h76]

Bullitt!

[ChargerSG]

My dad when he bought a 69 Charger 1977, and then like a month later i saw Bullit and was hooked

[RECHRGD]

In January of 1968 I saw an ad in the L.A. Times that showed a picture the new 68 Charger with a price tag of only $2,800.00 or so.  I thought it was the best looking car I had ever seen.  A couple of days later I had my Yellow R/T on order from the old Dodge dealership on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.  The R/T ran me a bit more than the $2,800.00 though.   Bob

[hemi68charger]

My Dad.. He was into roundy-round racing at the local track growing up in South Florida.. He had a '69 Hemi 4-speed Charger Daytona. I remember the car in that we went to a few drive-in movies; Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry, Vanishing Point and Patton. I was about 6 or 7. Later, the 15 year old next door bought a '67 Coronet that was tricked out in Crager SS/T's and a new paint job.. I used to polish those wheels all the time.. I was probably all of 11... Then, the rest is history once he help me buy my first Charger, a '73, when I was 16......  Dad, I miss you............................

Troy

[sixpack70]

DOH had a big influence. I used to love watching it tear around on the TV show as a kid. I always loved the chargers and it never really hit me until I watched Bullit around 2001. I guess it resparked my interest in Chargers and I knew I had to have one. 2 years later I found one, the bad thing is I found out a lot of other people wanted chargers too and they weren't cheap! My dad was mostly a chevy guy so its pretty weird that I was never really interested in chevy's. Guess I found them boring.

[HeavyFuel]

My brother in law had a 1973 red and black Charger SE.  My first time over 130 mph at the age of about 14.

When I got my drivers license at 16, our familly car was a 1967 Fury III wagon with a 318.  My first car.

One of my sisters had a 340 Duster when I was in high school.  She used to let me borry it and rip around town.

My brothers friend bought an orange Superbird when I was about 22, and about five years after that by bro picked up a red 70 Bee.  He also had a 69 Dart that he dropped a 440 from a New Yorker into.
 
Back then there was a guy in northern ND that used to have an annual picnic for Mopar guys at his place out of town. His driveway was long enough to do burn-outs and launch/hook-up competitions.  He had about a half dozen cars himself, and his favoraite was a 69 six pack Bee.  That was fun as hell and some really nice local stuff showed up.

By that time I was pretty much on the hook, and started my research for the Mopar for me.

Fifteen years ago this month, I bought a 1968 Charger R/t.  I have only put about 200 miles on it, and right now it is in hundreds of pieces, going through a complete resto.

[PocketThunder]

Fifteen years ago this month, I bought a 1968 Charger R/t.  I have only put about 200 miles on it, and right now it is in hundreds of pieces, going through a complete resto.

15 years!!    Holy Smokes...  have you ever gotten bored with it along the way?

[rare69]

my first taste of mopar was my older sisters boy friend, he was a total mopar guy! he had a 70 road runner 383 4 speed air grabber, 1970 cuda 383 auto and a 1969 383 auto road runner all at the same time. and used to show up at are house in a different one all the time and take me for a quick trip to the store and a few gnarly burnouts along the way. i was hooked! oh yeah, my dad bought a brand new 1965 belvedere with a hemi and 4 speed when he was in the air force, and every time we talked about fast cars, he would tell stories about that car. and they were some really good stories.

[firefighter3931]

When i was all of 15 yrs old and just getting my learners permit the hunt was on for a car. I'd seen Chevelles, Camaros, mustangs etc....but had no idea what a Charger looked like. In the local autotrader is an add for a 68 charger, 383 4bbl, automatic, 3.23 suregrip with blue paint. Nuthin else and no pics. So i figured i might as well go look at it because the name of the car sounded cool. I pull into the guys driveway and my jaw hits the ground....i'm instantly in LUV, LUST and everything in between ! The seller is the original owner and the car has 56k on the clock, b5 blue paint/interior and a black top....identical car in Christine. Needless to say i bought the car on the spot...the first time i saw a charger i bought it ! Oh ya, i paid $825.00 for it 

Ron

[Ghoste]

I like the pics Ron.  I don't believe you've posted them on here before, have you?

[Charger_Croatia]

I can't say anything about old Mopars, simply there are not many here. So, my love to Mopars came out pretty late. I must be honest and say that I was not familiar with muscle cars few years ago.
In 2001 I found one article about new Sebring Sedan. Since it was just time for me to purchase new car I decided to go with 2.7 LXi AUTO, rather than some European or Japanese model. I must say that I liked that car a lot, well equipped, nice driving, great sound compared to similar cars.
Than it was a time for my old wish to make come true and get one of the old muscle cars with V8 engine. I was familiar with Dodge as producer more sporty orientated cars so I decide to check history (over the Internet). One of the first results was 68 Charger. What to say: I fell in love with it immediately! At the same time I ran to old D-C.com site where I was hooked even more. Unfortunately my budget wasn't sufficient to purchase 2nd gen so I decide to get 3rd gen car and I must say that I'm happy with that too. Nobody here have seen any 66-74 charger in live so my car is the first one. Next summer she should be ready for the road and until than....patience

[firefighter3931]

I like the pics Ron.  I don't believe you've posted them on here before, have you?

Thanks Ghoste....can't remember if i posted those before ? Perhaps i did in an old thread....


Ron

[RT DAVE]

A friend of a friend in high school.  Went for one ride in a completely rusted out Go-Man-Go 70 RT four sp car and I was hooked.   I still remember that ride like it was yesterday but it was actually 1992.   I was sitting in the back seat leaning forward trying to talk to the driver when he nailed it for the first time.  Almost hit my head on the back window as a result.   

[Chatt69chgr]

A buddy of mine at work invited my wife and I along with several others in the office to a Halloween party a couple years ago at his house.  I had been wanting to see his place because I had heard about his legendary shop in his basement.  Well, when I saw it I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  All kinds of car stuff along with every tool you could imagine.  A 64 belvedere in one corner, a 70 Cuda in the other corner, and a 34 plymouth street rod under construction to boot.  I got to thinking about it all later and asked my wife if her brother still had that charger he was trying to sell.  I knew nothing about them at the time.  Couldn't even identify a 68 from a 69 or 70.  It had been sitting in his garage for 10 years in  need of restoration.  He bought it new from Taits Huntsville Dodge in Huntsville, AL.  Was a 1969 318 car with air, auto, 8-1/4 rear end, Y3 creme with midnight green interior and green vinyl top.  I had to take the tires off and take them to a service station to air them up just so the car would roll onto the trailer.  Found out later that my sister-in-law had asked my wife 6-months previous if I wanted the car and she had not told me because she knew I would buy it.  She was right. 

[MorePwr]

Speed Racer started it. I'm just a car nut... My dream garage, in the American Muscle section, would have one from each of the big three... A 69 KR 500 from ford, a 68 Camaro and my 69 Charger. Not because those are the most valuable or anything. just my favorites.

Yes I'm into Mopars, Big Time!  But Ford and GM are also a part of American Muscle car Heritage. 

[472 R/T SE]

 
Back then there was a guy in northern ND that used to have an annual picnic for Mopar guys at his place out of town. His driveway was long enough to do burn-outs and launch/hook-up competitions.  He had about a half dozen cars himself, and his favoraite was a 69 six pack Bee.  That was fun as hell and some really nice local stuff showed up.

HeavyF, my buddy is from Minot and he has a video of I think that guys place.  Do you guys cruise into town afterwards?
The guys are using beer on the asphalt for the burnouts.  The owner of the place takes his B body (can't remember what it was) up by his house and starts dong Brodies right up next to the house.   A cop shows up and drives by real slow out on the highway.

Real cool video, it shows a couple summer's worth anyways.  Definitely old school. 

[HeavyFuel]

 
Back then there was a guy in northern ND that used to have an annual picnic for Mopar guys at his place out of town. His driveway was long enough to do burn-outs and launch/hook-up competitions.  He had about a half dozen cars himself, and his favoraite was a 69 six pack Bee.  That was fun as hell and some really nice local stuff showed up.

HeavyF, my buddy is from Minot and he has a video of I think that guys place.  Do you guys cruise into town afterwards?
The guys are using beer on the asphalt for the burnouts.  The owner of the place takes his B body (can't remember what it was) up by his house and starts dong Brodies right up next to the house.   A cop shows up and drives by real slow out on the highway.

Real cool video, it shows a couple summer's worth anyways.  Definitely old school. 

Yeah, that sounds like the place.  The cops usually drove by, but they couldn't do anything, because it was on private property.  Sometimes guys would running up the driveway, which was maybe a couple hundred feet long, and the burnout would start to hook up, and they would end up pretty close to the house / garage, before they got it slowed up.  I don't want to throw the host's name out there, but his initials are B. B.

Pretty fun stuff.

[CaptMarvel]

Well probably (although unintentionally) my dad. He bought alot of Mopars through the 70's because he wanted to help out the littlest of the big guys. We had several Chryslers and Dodge Power Wagons. I fell in love with those Power Wagons. My grandpa and cousins were die hard (seriously so) Ford men, (I still love them though. One day (around 79' or 80) I stayed home sick and happened to catch DMCL on a mid day rerun and then I was hooked! Never looked at anything else on 4 wheels seriously since. So the answer is my Dad and a chance day off from school.

[69charger383]

my dad, dukes of hazzard....

[68isgr8]

My family wasn't into classic cars, but I remember always having the interest of going to car shows at the local fair. I'd go wonder off checking out the cars and I couldn't tell what model was what. All I knew was that it was cool to see how much appreciation people had for their classics. My first boyfriend had a Chevy Nova, seemed powerful enough (better than anything I had riden in before) and I liked going cruzin' in his car. Then a few years later I met my husband who owns a 68 Ply. Satellite. Shortly after we met he took me for a drive, listening to the motor was exciting enough. We stopped at an intersection -- he turns to me and said,"this is why I love this car" without expecting it he pinned the throttle doing a monsterous burnout. I was thrown back into the seat while we crossed the intersection. I quickly fell in love with that car. Going to car shows, and to the track with my husband was/is always a treat. He's been my mentor teaching me about the history of Mopars. Didn't take long for me to desperately want one for myself. I have always been partial to b-body's, it's what got me started in the first place. Now I'm happy to own a 68 Coronet R/T. 

[Silver R/T]

fastbackJon got me into mopars with his 68 R/T. I knew I wanted R/T

[andy74]

my best bud from school always was a mopar guy,his whole family worked/works at new process gear,and he always talked about how great the mopars were-my family and most of our neighbors were die hard gm people-after he beat me street racing with his 73 charger a few times,i decided that some day i would have a 3rd gen(the best looking ya know)even though i didnt know what the hell that meant then!so the olds,camaros,pontiacs and even token ford are all gone but the charger is here to stay!