"I'm getting out of MoPar" threads.........

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Well, I plan to keep my rat truck, so I am not leaving Mopar. I am just having to cull the heard. It will end up being a good thing regardless of how it looks to me now.
 
I don't get it. Mine has sat under a cover for a year at a time because I lost interest. I have a set of brand new slicks that have dry rotted. From time to time I've been in a real bind for money. That's sometimes part of the deal. But I'll give up my keys and title when they pry them from my cold dead hand.
 
I always used to tell my buddies I would change to chevy or ford when one of them won a top fuel title at a national event.....That's been a good enough excuse to carry me from the mid seventies till now. I did buy a Corvette one day at a yard sale(for $2000) and drive it around a little but my hearts just not in it. Riding around with a for sale sign in it now. As far as old mopars go I guess I am a little jaded because I have owned all of them at one time or another. When I was 16(I'm 54 now) gas got up to 50 cents a gallon and people were getting out from under those muscle cars for a song. That fit right in to my $80 a week salary so I was buying tons of them(enough to get me evicted from my parents home and garage) so I had everything from Hemi's to six packs to big block a bodies all the time so I am real familiar with what it takes to drive one of them on a daily basis. If I had $40,000 and a choice of buying a 69 Roadrunner or a 69 340 Dart or a 2003 Viper or a late model Challenger,I believe the Viper or Challenger might win out. But that don't mean I would not own any older mopars, it just means that the newer ones are easier to live with day to day. I would probably still drive an older Dodge truck every day anyway.I guess as long as Mopars are out there I will be driving one.
 
Pondered this, I got into Mopars because I love cars, not all cars, just certain ones, such as Cuda's, 68 to 70 Chargers, 65-70 Mustang Fastbacks, certain year Camaros, Pontiacs, etc. For a car guy you see the pattern, these where the cool cars to me growing up, which I could not afford. So, to jump into the hobby I purchased a Mopar (67 Belvedere). Well parts cost, time and learning I acquired knowledge, friends, support and too many Mopar parts I at times I feel I am a horder. At times, I felt like stepping away, so I shelved for a few months and the itch would come back. During these down times, I would sell some parts or a car. What I learned was once you say "stepping away" or anything else, the buzzards come out. When I buy parts, at times I need to buy from flippers, like any other eco-system, they are a necessary evil, I have paid top dollar for things needed and licked my wounds, like other car enthusiast. So, I guess the buzzards are necessary too, they pick of the wounded, and this too I have given as well as gotten. However, I did not leave the Mopar scene for "other brands" for a few key reasons, cost and love for my projects. Costs are if I re-tool my parts list it will cost a lot, not just in money, but click I run with, parts, sources, knowledge, etc. My projects, Well, I am too involved, but one day I will move on, just not today, and I don't look down on those who do.

My point is if the reason you leave something you like because of this, you will not change anything, this system will always go on. If you leave to go to a lower cost system, dont fool yourself, its the same, just something you can better afford or pallet. If you leave for personnal reasons such as priorities, cool, when you come back, if you do, maybe I can help and we can pay it forward, if not... well

As for the die-hard Mopar guys, thanks for holding the light, don't let it burn your hand or narrow your focus, there are more things in the world, great that you are here.

Flippers, well you suck, but you have earned your place by holding all the parts and selling them at peak times when we in the hobby needs them, or what angle you have.

Hobbist, well we are the prey, best deal is to pack together and enjoy and realize where we are in the food chain.

In all ways of life I see the predatory/flippers, waiting till a (put your crisis here) then take what you have at pennies on the dollar. Fact of life, they will always be there, can be or was you or I.

At times I buy high, so need to sell high, or take a bath, which I have on both. As a buyer we need to know what a fair price is, if you pay it - dont *****, the mechanics, machinist, etc have to feed there families too.

The people that help, thank you, especially for your knowledge, experience and willingness to share, your the ones that make this hobby nice. Sorry, this is a bit of a rant
 
well said Cazbah362 post 80.
since being in mopar hobby since mid 80's. like many of you guys have seen a lot.
but the main thing i see about mopar people is a genuine love for the hobby, i admit to see somewhat different traits in Gm folks vs ford people and mopar fans, will say without gettin into detail.
fluippers: like he said necessary evil. first car i bought was 69 roadrunner roller in 1985 for $50, sold it for $500 to guy needing parts, took profit and bought 71 charger rt driver for $1500. ok maybe paid too much for it at the time but needed nothing. Soo i was a flippr then, but feedin my hobby to be. adding to the economy!? funny thing was about 7-8 yrs llater, i ran back across the buyer of that RR roller, he called me and asked if i'f be interested in buying his Runner roller and basement full of parts. so i did, he sold out stuff his wife wanted gone out of her huge fancy home, i had black ( blue int( yes original and mopar made it...) 383 runner, garaga full of parts, 440=6 engine down to nuts and bolts.. and i was short about $2000 less in bank, everyone happy.... i digress..... so anyway flippers,,,, hopefully they provide a place... keep cars out of crusher..... if they buy cheap and sell at fair price, more power to them....L
price of resto parts.... 1000 times more avcailable now than 25 yrs ago, costly yes...... used parts,,,,, the more friends we have in hobby the more fair priced parts available..
like the guy that had the rare stuff years ago and now drives /6... i'n in that group and lovin it!!!! LOL
the economy.... price of milk to hit $5 a gal!!! damn, don't have any dairy cows!!!! LOL
enough ranting,,,, life's a hoot.... got to sell the feather duster so i can work on my 63 and 65 slaned darts i feel better, think i will go out and make some patch panels for the 72 duster!!!!!
 
73AbodEE said:
I have theory that a lot of it rides on people needing attention and think posting that kind of crap is going to get them what they need.

even if I were to sell out , I wouldn't tell anybody about , I would just do it

I mean , in the end , who really gives a **** if you sell your duster for a Camaro or what - not , just shut up and do it. they are the ones who have to live with it , not me LOL
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Geez Lance I was just kidding...
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=221122
 
My very first car was a Chrysler Windsor big *** boat with a pushbutton trans and I was 13 years old.
I worked for the guy to get it from him.
The trans was bad and I didn't have any way to get it up in the air by myself, so I dug a trench under it to get to it.
One of my Dad's friends scrapped cars for a living and I made a deal with him for a trans.
Took me almost a week, with school, chores and stuff but I got er done.

One day while I was walking home from school MY FRICKIN CAR went by on a trailer and I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.
My Dad told me we needed the money, so he sold it for $300.
That was hard to swallow since it was my very first car, first date in it as well as first other things :)

By the time I was 15 I had collected two Fords trucks (1945 and 1946) a Studebaker pickup, a Dodge coupe (don't remember the year) a Fiat and a 1958 Corvette body only. (the scrapper guy gave it to me since it was fiberglass)
I had to sell all but one when we moved due to a promotion that my Dad got, so I kept the running 1946 flathead V8 Ford truck and helped move with it.
I sold the 58 Corvette body for 10 bucks to my best friend before we moved.

Right out of high school I bought a cherry condition metalic bronze 1969 Roadrunner with the 383 Magnum in it for $1,200 and that was the car that changed everything.
It was complete with the Roadrunner horn, and all the little RR stickers and 383 Magnum call outs in the hood.
I had it for about 3 years before vandals poured gas all over it and burned it to the ground in a downtown parking lot.

Fast forward 30 years, a wife and four kids.
I always wanted a Dart, so I sold my motorhome after the kids all grew up and got one.
The guy I bought it from had to give it up due to finances and another kid on the way, but he had a ton of new parts on it but wasn't mechanically inclined so the work that was done sucked even though there were a bunch of new parts.
About two weeks and a few hundred bucks later it was my daily driver. (still is)

My specific situation is a little different than some, since I still have less into it than it is worth and can do anything it'll ever need myself.
The ONLY way it will ever leave is if I find one I like better, and I'll drive the crap ot of that one too.
 
the bottom line is price. Moparians are GOUGED. We pay way too much for aftermarket and replacement parts. We rob one another (not all of us) but $500 for a NOS emblem or over a thousand for a ganky grill just because its a Sharktooth etc... Add in factors like Barrett Jackson ruining the affordability of cars across the board and the economy being down and its just too pricey. In the 90's my buddy had a 69 barracuda and I had a 71 Charger. we built both of those cars up into exceptionally nice drivers that held their own at the strip for less money than it would take to make ONE car HALF as nice today. I cant tell you how many times I have put my build on hold because of money. never had that problem before and back then I made crap money.
 
hemitheus said:
the bottom line is price. Moparians are GOUGED. We pay way too much for aftermarket and replacement parts. We rob one another (not all of us) but $500 for a NOS emblem or over a thousand for a ganky grill just because its a Sharktooth etc... Add in factors like Barrett Jackson ruining the affordability of cars across the board and the economy being down and its just too pricey. In the 90's my buddy had a 69 barracuda and I had a 71 Charger. we built both of those cars up into exceptionally nice drivers that held their own at the strip for less money than it would take to make ONE car HALF as nice today. I cant tell you how many times I have put my build on hold because of money. never had that problem before and back then I made crap money.
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Exactly^^^^^^^ Anyone who says there's not a difference between cost is simply mistaken. Look at everything you can get and do to a Fox body rustang. I absolutely hate them, but the fact is, they are a great cheap go fast package. You can damn near buy parts for them at Wal Mart. Simply compare piston prices between the 302 Ford and 360 Mopar. You will see real quick. I firmly believe this is because of the lack of factory backing. Mopar ad what they called "good guy" pricing years ago. It was plum affordable and that's when Mopar Performance was in its heyday and heavily involved. Without factory backing, the aftermarket will not offer much because they don't have to compete.
 
It's kind of upsetting for the crowd that has been loyal to Mopar from the beginning. Back when you were the dredge of the earth if you had a Charger instead of a Camaro or a Mustang.
 
I'm a car guy period. My number 1 choice is Mopar. Always have been and always will be. I'll never get out of the hobby. I've downsized my dreams to a realistic world. I'll never have an HEMI 4 speed car even if I sold everything and ate PB and Jelly everyday. And I don't want to live like that. Money has put a damper on the Mopar world. It's gotten out of control in my opinion. This is why I have chosen to stick with one Mopar my 64 Dart. It will take me a few years to get to drive it again but I'll never give up. Because of money and being a car guy. I bought my 93 Mustang for a 3 season daily driver. Part of cost and part because I do like them. When I was 20 I could have spent 16K on a 4 cyl FWD Charger or 14K on a V8 RWD Mustang. Had a lot of fun in that car and buying another 20 years later its still fun to me. Do I love it more then a Mopar? Hell no! But spending $3500 for a car with V8 5 speed A/C. I can't buy just a 5 speed trans for a Mopar for that. So for me leaving Mopar never an option. Making adjustments in my life to have one Mopar to enjoy. Yes!
 
I struggled for a while before I got out in '93 and then lamented that decision for years afterward.

I was in the military for 21 years and I moved 13 times during that span. Not having any permanant home really contributed to my getting out. If I lived in one place I think that I might have been able to stash my car and parts while the kids were little and then picked it back up when they were grown. Having to drag the car and parts around all over the place every couple of years was just too much of a logistical headache.

During that time I was kind of a "flipper" - but in reverse! I was always scrounging for parts everywhere I went. Just as soon as I got some good stuff I would have to move. As it was, I couldn't take it all with me so I would have to sell it off - often at "clearance" prices for a net loss. Had I a permanent home I would have had a pretty decent collection of stuff. Not being able to keep the parts didn't help my efforts to stay in either.
 
I am car addicted but health makes me wonder why I should keep with it. It is pretty bad when my insurance broker's secretary calls a family meeting because I have too many cars, lol she and I grew up in the same little town and she is almost family. I have thinned out over half of the insured herd since though. I am at the point that I am seriously considering selling all my collector cars and buying one nice 68 Barracuda convertible that needs nothing but then that would be giving up my dreams.
 
All my driving life I have owned Mopars and I take alot of heat for it from the locals...Until one day a guy around here was telling everyone he blew my doors in with his 66 GTO with a 389 Tri power..I went to him and said if you want bragging rights you need to at least race me...He said what do you mean?? I said everyone is talking and said you said that you beat me bad in the 1/4 mile...I said lets do it then you can brag if you win but not until...I had a 72 Charger with a 340 built for the 1/4 mile and raced it every weekend and it was a class winner...(It ran 11.9 in the !/4 at 122mph)Street leagal... So we did race and he got beat real bad (eight car lenths +) and wanted to know how I got the car to be so fast..I said it's a mopar...He asked if I had nitrous I said no That takes all the fun out of it...He now owns Mopars..He still has the GTO but likes the Mopars for racing..True story and I laugh everytime I see him....Bill
 
Pontiacs never ad any street cred at all. The only one was the Ram Air V and they were so rare and factory experimental kinda stuff. A properly tuned base 383 Road Runner could take pretty much anything poncho had to offer. I always thought that their under square engines had something to do with it. They were much like truck motors. Smaller bore than stroke.
 
Leadfoot said:
I don't get it. Mine has sat under a cover for a year at a time because I lost interest. I have a set of brand new slicks that have dry rotted. From time to time I've been in a real bind for money. That's sometimes part of the deal. But I'll give up my keys and title when they pry them from my cold dead hand.
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Lead foot,what do you own?,Just curious. Love the Mustang & the Jeep.....
 
RustyRatRod said:
Exactly^^^^^^^ Anyone who says there's not a difference between cost is simply mistaken. Look at everything you can get and do to a Fox body rustang. I absolutely hate them, but the fact is, they are a great cheap go fast package. You can damn near buy parts for them at Wal Mart. Simply compare piston prices between the 302 Ford and 360 Mopar. You will see real quick. I firmly believe this is because of the lack of factory backing. Mopar ad what they called "good guy" pricing years ago. It was plum affordable and that's when Mopar Performance was in its heyday and heavily involved. Without factory backing, the aftermarket will not offer much because they don't have to compete.
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Bingo.....
 
I am a mopar guy through and through, yes I have had other makes and I am fond of the Pontiac GTO because I used to own one, but the mopar blood runs deep in my veins. Was this because my family has mostly owned Mopars back in the glory days when I was a kid, I don't know. And the crazy thing is that I don't seem to care what model of Mopar it is. Right now all I have is a 1980 Dodge Power Wagon but, because of the money situation right now, I am considering trading my "driver car-1998 Cavalier" for a 1978Dodge Diplomat. That is right, a Diplomat! The gal only wants $600 for it and it is straight with minor rust. So it really doesn't matter if you thin that Mopars are too high priced. You can find something in your price range, maybe not exactly what you may desire but some of us have the desire just to be driving an old Mopar, even if it is only a 78 Diplomat. To me, even driving around a Mopar gives me some measure of satisfaction, and some of the feeling is that I am different from the crowd and to some of us that is important. PLUS, I know these things frontward and backward. If I have a problem with one I know I can always solve it and usually for pretty cheap (if I cant solve the problem I know I can just come on here and get various replys to solve any problem..) As far as someone having the need to come on hear to say that they are leaving Mopars, I think that has a hidden meaning. A lot of the times, due to a persons personality, saying something drastic or shocking is kind of like a cry for help. It means that part of their life is not going well and they need an answer to some problem they are having. Youv'e got to "listen to what they are feeling" not to what they are saying. That being said, I can understand it and I am not offended, just don't expect me to "jump ship" at any time before i'm dead. I am not like that, even if all I can afford is a 1978 Diplomat 4 dr, that will be good enough for me. (sure I would like to find that 1964 Dart 2 dr eventually haha). Best wishes to all in their Mopar journey through life.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Pontiacs never ad any street cred at all. The only one was the Ram Air V and they were so rare and factory experimental kinda stuff. A properly tuned base 383 Road Runner could take pretty much anything poncho had to offer. I always thought that their under square engines had something to do with it. They were much like truck motors. Smaller bore than stroke.
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There is a guy in Brandon Fl. named Jeff Bushey. Still around and owns Jeffs Speed shop that will argue that with you. In 1973 I traded a 67 Valiant 273 4speed GT for a running driving 66 Pontiac GTO convertible 389 4speed with 4.30 gears. Jeff had a factory 66 Satelite 426 Hemi 4speed. 4.88 gears One day he thought he would show me what that hemi would do against my GTO. So we went from a 10 MPH rolling start and the Goat ate his *** alive! Afterwards he had a dozen excuses but didn't want a second race after I offered him one!
 
...^^^^ I used to live in Clearwater FL back in the eighties-early Nineties and I had a 67 goat. I would race my bud with the 440 cuda and I would take him off the line but eventually he would come blowin by me...but it took awhile LOL (those purple shaft cams, the 509, were soft on the bottom end with no convertor). Did you ever hear of a Pontiac racer from Largo FL named Alan Kent (Alan's Alley). He used to "advise" me with my Pontiac problems when I was a youngin' LOL. Sometime he'd say "just run it 'til it blows up"
 
65dartcharger said:
As my wife says, you can only drive one car at a time and she has a point there!
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Back in 1988 I owned my 65 Dart, a 69 Charger and a 71 Challenger convertible and no modern vehicle. Could only drive one at a time but could drive all 3 in one day - as my future wife observed.
 
Mopar guys have always been kind of a family so we hate to see anyone have or feel the need to "get out". since way back, mopars and their owners have been considered less than first class citizens by the brand X and Y car crowd. right? life sometimes throws us a c urve, and we have to make uncomfortable choices. but one great thing about FABO, members can vent, ask opinions, cry out for help, etc and receive overwhelming support.
i have to wonder if Mother Mopar ( alias illigitimate Auntie fiat??) deserves the loyalty the collector mopar crowd extends to her!???
price of resto parts? maybe if they could have better prices they would sell more!?? and maybe make higher year end profit? feeling like i get a good deal, makes me want to spend more!
used parts hawkers? go to Nats and price your stuff cheaper than your competition ( and still make fair profit) and watch yourself sell out! been there, done it.
SOooo, lets everybody go out tomorrow and find another old rusty non running old Mopar and drag it home! that will keep the little woman on her toes!!???????
 
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