Grab a cold one and take a minute to read

[WileyCoyote]

It all started for me when I bought my Chevelle. I ran into a coworker of mine at donut derelicts in Huntington Beach. He had his 69 superbee with him. Fast forward we become friends and we helped each other on cars and such. His infatuation with roadrunners and mopars rubbed off on me. I've always been a 69 charger fan. I fell in love with his superbee. Also, 69 roadrunner is. Probably going to be my first mopar in the future when I can afford one. A 69 Daytona is #1 on my list if I hit the lotto. His love for wing cars is what drew my attention to the Daytona.

As you can see his passion for all things mopar got me interested.

Currently building an el Camino which is truly a basket case (no reference to member basketcase).

Anyone guess who it is.

-Rich

 

[moparchris]

It all started for me when I bought my Chevelle. I ran into a coworker of mine at donut derelicts in Huntington Beach. He had his 69 superbee with him. Fast forward we become friends and we helped each other on cars and such. His infatuation with roadrunners and mopars rubbed off on me. I've always been a 69 charger fan. I fell in love with his superbee. Also, 69 roadrunner is. Probably going to be my first mopar in the future when I can afford one. A 69 Daytona is #1 on my list if I hit the lotto. His love for wing cars is what drew my attention to the Daytona.

As you can see his passion for all things mopar got me interested.

Currently building an el Camino which is truly a basket case (no reference to member basketcase).

Anyone guess who it is.

-Rich

Chuck Norris??? :chuck:
:acme:

 

[WileyCoyote]

I like silver 98 dodge ram 1500 w/ chrome roll bars in the bed because of him.

Did I meantion my sons name is James trivette?

It all started for me when I bought my Chevelle. I ran into a coworker of mine at donut derelicts in Huntington Beach. He had his 69 superbee with him. Fast forward we become friends and we helped each other on cars and such. His infatuation with roadrunners and mopars rubbed off on me. I've always been a 69 charger fan. I fell in love with his superbee. Also, 69 roadrunner is. Probably going to be my first mopar in the future when I can afford one. A 69 Daytona is #1 on my list if I hit the lotto. His love for wing cars is what drew my attention to the Daytona.

As you can see his passion for all things mopar got me interested.

Currently building an el Camino which is truly a basket case (no reference to member basketcase).

Anyone guess who it is.

-Rich

Chuck Norris??? :chuck:
:acme:

 

[69hemibeep]

Rich have we met? Chris has had a friend named Rich around on a couple of occasions when I was visiting. Once when we quietly pushed the Camero & the B to the end of his street before firing them up for a morning show. Stealthy I had my Dodge truck

 

[WileyCoyote]

I don't recall that. I've been around a little bit. I'm on the younger side. I'm sure Chris will know.

Rich have we met? Chris has had a friend named Rich around on a couple of occasions when I was visiting. Once when we quietly pushed the Camero & the B to the end of his street before firing them up for a morning show. Stealthy I had my Dodge truck

 

[69hemibeep]

I don't recall that. I've been around a little bit. I'm on the younger side. I'm sure Chris will know.

Rich have we met? Chris has had a friend named Rich around on a couple of occasions when I was visiting. Once when we quietly pushed the Camero & the B to the end of his street before firing them up for a morning show. Stealthy I had my Dodge truck

He must have more than one friend :basketcase:

 

[Basketcase]

that'll leave a mark....

 

[sixgunrunner68]

Great stories guys!
As for me, I suppose my love of cars was predetermined by my old man, even innate if you will. My father worked for General Motors his whole life so you might say he has a fetish for the automobile. He was primarily a Pontiac man owning a couple GTOs, but when I came along it was time for the family car. So he decided a 69 Deville convertible would suit. That's what my five foot tall mother would crate my sister and I around in. At the same time there would always be a new car in the driveway every nine months, since the employee discount always enabled him to make a profit. I can't even remember all of them. Rivieras, Caprices, Grand Ams, a Skyhawk etc.etc... But what I loved the best were the beaters we had. First was a red Opel, second a 68 Impala 327 car we called "Old Blue", and finally, my fav., a 74 firebird "POS", as my mother would refer to it. But I loved them. The old man would pick me up from football practice, take me out to lunch, maybe do some donuts in the parking lot and call it a day. Good times.
Fast forward, now I finally get my license at 16 and 1/2. You see I got in some trouble so my punishment was that I had to wait six months to get it. Can't even remember what I did, but I digress. At that time my grandparents sold me their 78 Bonneville for $1.00. It was in great shape and hind sight being twenty twenty, I should've been more greatful for their generosity. That being said, how many teenagers want to be seen in a baby shit yellow four door Bonneville?...NONE! So my father said that he had a friend interested in the car and that he'd buy it for $1,500. He'd also wait until I found something so that I wouldn't be without wheels. (I'm pretty lucky) Anyway after thumbing through the Pennysaver for a couple of weeks, I came across something I've always wanted. A 1978 Trans Am. The price was right and I wasted no time in my pursuit. My father went with a buddy while I was at school to check it out, made the offer and brought her home. The 400 was rebuilt, don't know what was in it but it definitely had some ass. It had a turbo 350 with a shift kit, and a ten bolt posi housing 3.73 gears. I only owned that car for a year and a half but loved every second of it. Unfortunately, the work it needed superceeded my budget an the only thing I could do was sell it while it was still worth something. I know nothing related to Mopar...yet..
A couple of years later while I was working in an engine machine shop I felt it was time to find another hot rod. I was thinking GTO or T/A, but I knew I could assemble a Chevy engine for much less than a Poncho, so I started thinking Chevelle. Now my boss was a die hard Mopar guy. So while sipping some suds after work one evening, he asked me if I might be interested in a Mopar. I never had much exposure to Chrysler products, as I'm sure you all surmised by now, but I've always liked the roadrunners I'd see in the mags, and being an engine shop I had more exposure to mopar engines than the cars at that point. So I said maybe, it depends what it is. Why? So Vinny (my boss) says that he knows a man who's son passed away several years ago, and proceeds to tell me that his son owned Vinny's old 68 dart race car and a 68 roadrunner. Now that several years have passed since his son's death he heard that they were for sale. So I said what the hell, give him a call and see if we can check the roadrunner out. So I go over to the house and the roadrunner is parked under a car port on gravel, and has been for years. It was gold, with a black and silver interior. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't know if I liked it, but I wasn't going to let it be the deal breaker. Now the damn thing hasn't been started in years, so after agreeing on a price, providing it ran, I brought a battery over, some gas, pulled the dizzy to prime the oil pump and she f'n fired right up. Had a neighbor with a car trailer help me get it that weekend and that was that. It was pretty emotional for the seller seeing that car go, and I even felt a little bad as well. But the way I look at it, she's got a good home now, and looks the same as the day I brought it home in 1993, except for a few little mods. :groucho:

 

[chapdog105]

I grew up with my Mopar addicted dad, that ironically enough worked for General Motors for 30 years. Growing up, I heard story after story about his GTX from high school, and all the badass Mopars in his neighborhood at that time. My father's GTX was stolen out of his front yard when he was a senior in high school. It was his baby, and he's still devastated about it 40 years later. My dad thinks to this day that his father had the car stolen, because he was afraid my dad was going to kill himself or someone else with his reckless driving in that GTX. That was never admitted by my grandfather, but my dad thinks that's what happened. Maybe that's why my father was so obsessed with making sure that me and my two brothers all get a classic Mopar muscle car from him.

My dad bought my 69 convertible from an old man in 1981. He saw it backed in a driveway in Romulus, MI while he was delivering top soil for our family side business. It had a little "For Sale" sign in the window, barely evident. He wanted $1200. My father talked the original owner down, but didn't make an offer. The next day, he took 8 $100 bills, and drove away in a smokey, beat-up 69 RR convertible with 114,000 miles her. Dad was the second owner. The original owner drove it to work everyday for 11 years.

My dad's high school principal had a green 69 RR convertible, and my dad always wanted one because he loved that car so much. My mom drove the convertible sparingly in the summer of 81. After that, it was parked for many years. My dad would tinker with it, but it was just too much of a project to take on for him.

Luckily for me, "my car" was in my garage my whole life. My 69 RR convertible was a total basket case, but I always knew where it was. My dad always told me it was my car as long as I can remember. Deep down, I never really believed he would give it to me, although I had no reason to doubt it, as he's never let me down. I guess I figured that it was just one of those things that dads tell their sons, and that he was just messing with me. Sure enough though, when I moved out of his house, he told me to take the car with me so he didn't have to store it. So I did, and it sat in my garage as a basket case for several years.

My dad bought me and my two brothers each a muscle car. He bought my vert when I was only a year old in 1981. He also picked up at 1971 GTX clone, which he gifted to my brother Tom (1969X9) in the early 90's. Tom was only 10 years old...lol. He bought my other brother Tim a Camaro, but it was pile. So at 16 he settled up with Tim again by buying him a 78 Trans Am.

I have sat in that basket case convertible thousands of times while growing up, dreaming of the day I could actually drive it down the road. The dream of driving it still torments me to this day, as I've gone to great lengths to get this car properly restored. I'm very close now! It won't be long...

Last year, my brother Tom found that 69 black AC Roadrunner that's been posted on this site. Tom still had the 71 GTX clone, and was going to sell it to help fund the purchase of the 69. My dad found out about his intentions to sell the GTX, and wouldn't let him sell it. Instead my dad helped Tom buy his 69 RR and Tom gave his twin brother Tim the 71 GTX...for free. The GTX is a decent driver by the way.

That's how us Chapman boys roll I guess. My dad taught us the value of gifting these cars to each other, and keeping them in the family. Now all three of us brothers have a classic Mopar. Tom and I have 69 Roadrunners, and Tim has the 71 GTX. All three of us are only in our early 30's too. I'm sure we'll hand our Mopars down to our sons, as we each have one son, and two daughters.

 

[Basketcase]

great stories guys. Chris I hope you get that yellow bird someday.
I can't say there was ever any one car that got my love for mopars going. My Grandfather always had Imperials, my Uncle had 300s, and Dad had Dodge trucks,and Chrylsers. He had a '55 New yorker 2 door when Mom and him got married, then a black '56 Imperial. Love to have one of those now. I remember a '67 Coronet, white with red interior he bought for a work car. beautiful car. Then they bought a '70 Dart new, slant 6 car. Dad was good friends with the owner of the local Dodge dealer.So while there was never a road runner or Charger in my life, I was always exposed to mopars growing up. I did always want a '68-'70 Charger, finally got one in 1983 318 car with a crappy General Lee paint job that was quickly spray bombed grey primer. A few months later my Uncle told me about a '68 R/T, 440 4 spped car a buddy of his had. Paid $400, changed the water pump and brought it home. Enjoyed it for 18 years. I do know a road runner was hot on my want list too. A local guy had a winchester grey '71 I droooled over whenever I saw it. But the '68-'69 style really did it for me.

OK...had to go to work for a while......I had the Charger for a good while, and I was really getting the itch for a road runner. A friend stopped by(Mike Svec Stuie)and told me abot a '69 road runner that had been sitting for 10 years. He had tried to buy it without any luck. The Boss went over the next day and found it while I was at work. We drove over and found the owner. Made a deal and toowed it home. R4 red with a painted black top,air grabber,factory tach,column girlymatic. Had a very tired 440HP and 3.91SG. The bench seat was replaced by some nasty buckets. Got the car running, nad had to replace the rusted out soft plugs, and the gas tank. Had it for about a year when our youngest decided to be born four months early. Had to sell it to help with the bills. A few years later I found Freebird, had a blast rebuilding that one. we all know what happened to it, and now I have my soon to be F8 Postcar.

 

[Roadcuda]

Those are great stories guys. You're lucky to have dads that were willing to help you get into muscle cars. While mine was always a mopar guy he never was receptive to my suggestions that I needed a car with an engine bigger then a 318. In fact the car they did get for me was a '65 Valiant with a 170 leaning tower of power! When I was able to get my first car in '73 it was my first '69 Road Runner. Then reality hit with the first gas crunch and I sold the RR an got a '74 Duster, with that 318! :yesnod: It took a while longer then i would have liked to replace the RR, but it's now here to stay! :drive:

 

[69hemibeep]

Those are great stories guys. You're lucky to have dads that were willing to help you get into muscle cars. While mine was always a mopar guy he never was receptive to my suggestions that I needed a car with an engine bigger then a 318. In fact the car they did get for me was a '65 Valiant with a 170 leaning tower of power! When I was able to get my first car in '73 it was my first '69 Road Runner. Then reality hit with the first gas crunch and I sold the RR an got a '74 Duster, with that 318! :yesnod: It took a while longer then i would have liked to replace the RR, but it's now here to stay! :drive:

My dad was a mopar guy only by brand. Cars were meant to drive and left alone, although I came to find out he was a hot rodder as a kid. Steve I sold my first Hemi runner during that so called gas crunch, what a bunch of I may have told the story earlier but being older I can tell stories over and over now I was living in Cheyenne at the time and family members back in AZ were telling me about gas lines and rationing. All we had were high prices is why I sold the car but the refinery in town had filled the tanks of every old shut down gas station in site, the tank farm was full, tankers were parked all over town sitting full and they finally shut the refinery down with nowhere to put the gas. A little price fixing :yesnod: Oh another reason I didn't keep it is because of the F8 paint :jester:

 

[Roadcuda]

Those are great stories guys. You're lucky to have dads that were willing to help you get into muscle cars. While mine was always a mopar guy he never was receptive to my suggestions that I needed a car with an engine bigger then a 318. In fact the car they did get for me was a '65 Valiant with a 170 leaning tower of power! When I was able to get my first car in '73 it was my first '69 Road Runner. Then reality hit with the first gas crunch and I sold the RR an got a '74 Duster, with that 318! :yesnod: It took a while longer then i would have liked to replace the RR, but it's now here to stay! :drive:

My dad was a mopar guy only by brand. Cars were meant to drive and left alone, although I came to find out he was a hot rodder as a kid. Steve I sold my first Hemi runner during that so called gas crunch, what a bunch of I may have told the story earlier but being older I can tell stories over and over now I was living in Cheyenne at the time and family members back in AZ were telling me about gas lines and rationing. All we had were high prices is why I sold the car but the refinery in town had filled the tanks of every old shut down gas station in site, the tank farm was full, tankers were parked all over town sitting full and they finally shut the refinery down with nowhere to put the gas. A little price fixing :yesnod: Oh another reason I didn't keep it is because of the F8 paint :jester:

Great story Bob! Until the last sentence that is!!!!!!!!! :lmao:

 

[Basketcase]

I remember the gas shortage around here. You could get gas every other day or by your licence plates. don't rememeber excatly, wasn't driving yet.
and as far as that last sentence Spongey... :snowball:

 

[Roadcuda]

I remember the gas shortage around here. You could get gas every other day or by your licence plates. don't rememeber excatly, wasn't driving yet.
and as far as that last sentence Spongey... :snowball:

In my area it was even numbered plates one day, odd the next! Like an idiot I took a trip of about 200 miles, with my first Road Runner, on the wrong day to get gas. I somehow managed to get home without running out. But it was close!

 

[A31PKG]

Good stuff guys! Really enjoy reading these stories. I can identify with parts of all of them! I hope other members share as well....
Here's my attempt to relay my first-ever MOPAR experience....that is, the car that got me "hooked". It's worth mentioning that growing up, MOPARS were somewhat rare in my neck of the woods. It seemed they were always too exotic and expensive. There was only one local guy in town with a MOPAR, a '71 Road Runner. It was real fast, and nobody would ever mess with him...he rarely brought it out, and when he did, he did not stay long. Otherwise we were mostly stuck in our little Ford & GM world (and for some of us AMC). We actually rarely ever saw a MOPAR musclecar...even just driving down the street. There just were not that many of them. When we did see one (didn't matter the model) we would just ooh & ahh and know that we were in the presence of true muscle. It seemed that even back in the mid 70's that they were rare & expensive (relatively speaking)...funny how that is! The story: It was late summer 1977. I'm fresh out of high school, and starting my career as an auto tech. I'm driving an ugly '67 Mercury Comet with a balls-to-the-wall 289 under the hood. Fast? Yes. Pretty? No. There was this guy that started shortly after I did that would always talk about this '69 Road Runner he had. The closest I ever got to one of these things was the posters I cut from Hot Rod & Car Craft that I had covering the walls in my bedroom. He would always talk about it, but would never drive it to work. He would talk about the engine, the carbs (yes, plural), the new paint job..blah, blah. He talked a good game, but for all I knew he was BS'n me.... One day I arrive at work and lay my eyes on one of the most beautiful cars I had ever seen. A blue '69 Road Runner! It was early - maybe 6:30 or 7 - and the car was simply stunning in the early glow of the rising sun. I looked at it from my car for a minute, but it seemed like an hour before I actually got out and walked over to it. Bench seat. 4-speed. Hardtop. Cragers. Yeah man!! The aroma of the beautiful fresh paint combined with spent Sunoco 260 that lingered in the tail pipes provided an intoxicating elixir of smell that I will take to my grave. I honestly think that was the first time I had ever been this close to a legit MOPAR musclecar...one that I could actually stare at...linger...study...absorb. My buddy (we were friends by now) walks over, "Well? What do you think?"... "I can see why you don't drive it much." I replied. "We'll take it out at lunchtime" he said. And we did.... He gave me the grand tour: The car was originally a 383 version, but he swapped in a 440 and added a complete 6bbl setup from Direct Connection. It was basically a stock engine. Stock cam & exhaust manifolds. I believe it had 3:91's, can't remember... I do remember how clean and tidy it looked underhood. It could have been factory issue for all I knew at the time. It was finely tuned and ran flawlessly yet he rarely got on it. When he did, he was always quick to let up. I think he was a little afraid of it...hell, I sure was! One night we stopped at the Sunoco that his brother worked at to get some 260. He also wanted to balance the rear tires since the L 60's on the 15x8 Cragers would not fit onto the balancer at our shop. The one at his brother's place was the type that spins the wheels on the car. A lost art today for sure. Anyway, we hung out at the station after hours killing some beers and shootin' the shit. After a bit he asks me if I wanted to drive his car! I had been wanting to ever since I first laid eyes on it, but would never think of asking such a thing! I was like, "Your kidding...right?". He threw me the keys and we (me, my girlfriend, and him) climbed onto the bench seat. I started out very slow and respectful...not nessasarily for my friend, but rather, for the car. With the wheel in my left fist and, & the wood-grained ball in my right, we cruised for a couple miles. Then he said, "Get on it one time, let's see what it'll do". I said, "Are you sure?" and he gave me that look.... OK, we were gently cruising about 45 in 4th gear. I dropped it into 2nd and nailed it. The rear-end broke free for a moment and the car went a bit sideways but soon regained traction and took off like a fighter-jet as all 6 barrels roared. I can best describe the sensation as "lift & float" - a sensation that is in the DNA of every MOPAR hotrod I've ever owned or been in...they all do it. It's addicting. I ran it thru the gears chirping 3rd, and did a gentle coast down. There was an ear to ear grin on my buddies face...I'm sure mine was white as a ghost! I remember shaking like a leaf and not being able to catch my breath afterwards! Anyway, that's the car that did it for me. He and I went our separate ways over the years, and have lost touch, but I will never forget my first experience in a real muslecar! A 1969 Road Runner!
:cheers:

 

[Roadcuda]

Great story Craig!

 

[69hemibeep]

I like how you put it lift and float, good description

 

[A31PKG]

I like how you put it lift and float, good description

That wonderful combination of a great suspension design & real engine torque that only a MOPAR can provide!

 

[moparchris]

Good stuff guys! Really enjoy reading these stories. I can identify with parts of all of them! I hope other members share as well....
Here's my attempt to relay my first-ever MOPAR experience....that is, the car that got me "hooked". It's worth mentioning that growing up, MOPARS were somewhat rare in my neck of the woods. It seemed they were always too exotic and expensive. There was only one local guy in town with a MOPAR, a '71 Road Runner. It was real fast, and nobody would ever mess with him...he rarely brought it out, and when he did, he did not stay long. Otherwise we were mostly stuck in our little Ford & GM world (and for some of us AMC). We actually rarely ever saw a MOPAR musclecar...even just driving down the street. There just were not that many of them. When we did see one (didn't matter the model) we would just ooh & ahh and know that we were in the presence of true muscle. It seemed that even back in the mid 70's that they were rare & expensive (relatively speaking)...funny how that is! The story: It was late summer 1977. I'm fresh out of high school, and starting my career as an auto tech. I'm driving an ugly '67 Mercury Comet with a balls-to-the-wall 289 under the hood. Fast? Yes. Pretty? No. There was this guy that started shortly after I did that would always talk about this '69 Road Runner he had. The closest I ever got to one of these things was the posters I cut from Hot Rod & Car Craft that I had covering the walls in my bedroom. He would always talk about it, but would never drive it to work. He would talk about the engine, the carbs (yes, plural), the new paint job..blah, blah. He talked a good game, but for all I knew he was BS'n me.... One day I arrive at work and lay my eyes on one of the most beautiful cars I had ever seen. A blue '69 Road Runner! It was early - maybe 6:30 or 7 - and the car was simply stunning in the early glow of the rising sun. I looked at it from my car for a minute, but it seemed like an hour before I actually got out and walked over to it. Bench seat. 4-speed. Hardtop. Cragers. Yeah man!! The aroma of the beautiful fresh paint combined with spent Sunoco 260 that lingered in the tail pipes provided an intoxicating elixir of smell that I will take to my grave. I honestly think that was the first time I had ever been this close to a legit MOPAR musclecar...one that I could actually stare at...linger...study...absorb. My buddy (we were friends by now) walks over, "Well? What do you think?"... "I can see why you don't drive it much." I replied. "We'll take it out at lunchtime" he said. And we did.... He gave me the grand tour: The car was originally a 383 version, but he swapped in a 440 and added a complete 6bbl setup from Direct Connection. It was basically a stock engine. Stock cam & exhaust manifolds. I believe it had 3:91's, can't remember... I do remember how clean and tidy it looked underhood. It could have been factory issue for all I knew at the time. It was finely tuned and ran flawlessly yet he rarely got on it. When he did, he was always quick to let up. I think he was a little afraid of it...hell, I sure was! One night we stopped at the Sunoco that his brother worked at to get some 260. He also wanted to balance the rear tires since the L 60's on the 15x8 Cragers would not fit onto the balancer at our shop. The one at his brother's place was the type that spins the wheels on the car. A lost art today for sure. Anyway, we hung out at the station after hours killing some beers and shootin' the shit. After a bit he asks me if I wanted to drive his car! I had been wanting to ever since I first laid eyes on it, but would never think of asking such a thing! I was like, "Your kidding...right?". He threw me the keys and we (me, my girlfriend, and him) climbed onto the bench seat. I started out very slow and respectful...not nessasarily for my friend, but rather, for the car. With the wheel in my left fist and, & the wood-grained ball in my right, we cruised for a couple miles. Then he said, "Get on it one time, let's see what it'll do". I said, "Are you sure?" and he gave me that look.... OK, we were gently cruising about 45 in 4th gear. I dropped it into 2nd and nailed it. The rear-end broke free for a moment and the car went a bit sideways but soon regained traction and took off like a fighter-jet as all 6 barrels roared. I can best describe the sensation as "lift & float" - a sensation that is in the DNA of every MOPAR hotrod I've ever owned or been in...they all do it. It's addicting. I ran it thru the gears chirping 3rd, and did a gentle coast down. There was an ear to ear grin on my buddies face...I'm sure mine was white as a ghost! I remember shaking like a leaf and not being able to catch my breath afterwards! Anyway, that's the car that did it for me. He and I went our separate ways over the years, and have lost touch, but I will never forget my first experience in a real muslecar! A 1969 Road Runner!
:cheers:

Thats a great story!!