My first experience with a Mopar was the 1967 New Yorker that my parents bought new. My dad was trying to decide between the 383 and 440. I remember him telling me a story of a '48 Chrysler with a big six and a "western rear" that he owned while in ther Navy. He said that it would fly on the flats but die on this hills. So, he figured more torque would be the best of both worlds and he chose the 440.
That car had more power than any other in the neighborhood. Then, I got my '68 GTX in 1973 and he drove with me to Florida for my first semester in college at the end of that summer. He could not get over the amount of power it had. I specifically remember driving on I-95 in Virginia over hilly terrain. He could not believe that he hardly had to add pedal to maintain 70 m.p.h. when climbing the rolling hills there.
Well, back to the New Yorker. It was a great interstate cruiser with plenty of power. I have always thought that the addition of headers, x-pipe, and dual exhaust would have worked wonders for that car.
After my parents had retired to Florida, I told them how much I liked that '67 New Yorker, which he had given to my sister and brother-in-law to tow their boat (ugh!) back in the 1980s. He said that he regretted giving that car to them because they later traded it to the boat yard for slip space and they were using it to tow boats around in the yard. I almost ****! Anyway, he told me that had he known I liked the car, he would much rather have given it to me. Well, he hunted down a '67 New Yorker in Florida; 440, A/C, and power everything, no less. He purchased it for a cheap price and had it shipped to me! I am in the process of updating the suspension and brakes and, yes, putting in headers, x-pipe, and dual exhaust. Unfortunately, he would never live to see the finished car because he passed away in 2008.
That C-barge ALWAYS draws attention wherever I drive it. Which brings me back to why I have always liked Mopars - they are like gazelles in a herd of GM and Ford buffalos.
