When we were kids, the first car of dad's that I can remember is his 68 Charger. It was dark metallic green with a black vinyl top, black interior and a 383 2bbl auto with a console. We loved that car.
Dad would be at a stop light and then squeal the tires off the line, then ask us, "How was that guys?" :burnout: :burnout: :burnout:
We would answer, "Fine!" :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
One time dad was driving the car and my brother (about 5 at the time) put his hand on the shifter. Dad looked down at his hand and said, "Don't you dare..."
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Another time, the neighbors had a handy man over working for them. He was driving a Duster with the "twister guy" on the back. I remember me and my brother telling him, "Our dad's car can beat your car. He has a Dodge Charger...." In our eyes, there was no car better than dad's Dodge Charger....
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Mom had a 67 Barracuda fastback Formula S 273 4 bbl auto, white with blue interior. Our great grandma had a heart attack and wasn't supposed to clean her house (so not to stress her heart). We would go to her house and clean it once a week so she wouldn't have to clean it herself. We knew that she was a clean freak and touched it up after we left, but we at least knocked most of the work out for her. [side note: She had her first heart attack in 1970 and the doctors gave her 6 months to live... She died in the summer of 1981 after surviving a second heart attack, and then a stroke is what finally put her down. - shows how well the doctors can predict...]
Ok, back to the story. So after helping clean great grandma's house, the family would play games and we would usually stay late. (my brother and I were 4 and 5 at the time). Mom would put a pillow and sleeping bag in the back and fold down the back seat for us to lay down and sleep on the way home. We would lie in the back of the fastback Barracuda staring at the stars and street lights going by out of the back window until we fell asleep on the hour ride back home. Then if we couldn't wake up, mom and dad would carry us to bed when mom got home.
When we grew out of our cribs into twin beds, mom was able to pick them up in the Barracuda. They fit in the back with the seat folded down. Knowing this, I once helped my friend get a super single water bed and picked it up in my Barracuda fastback when I was in college. The kid at the bed shop couldn't believe that we fit the whole bed in the car and was able to close the trunk! The kid shook his head and said, "I've never seen a car like this..."
Then we traded in the Barracuda for a 71 Satellite 318 auto, blue with blue interior. My brother walked around the Barracuda with the salesman as he was appraising it for the trade in (he was about 5 or 6) and pointed to every rust spot that was starting and said, "See, broken..."
Dad wanted to kill him. Every time he said, "see broken" he was loosing money on the trade in.... :banghead: :banghead: Kids.... :banghead: :banghead: LOL!!!
Then dad got a company car in 72. He got a New Yorker and took the Charger to his old college and sold it for $500. He regretted that many years later.
Dad got a 74 New Yorker to replace the 72, but it was a lemon and had many problems. While he was talking to the service manager about the problems with it, my brother and I were looking at the new cars on the show room. We liked to get in all of the cars, trucks, and vans and pretend to drive and check out the features. My brother and I loved this brand new 75 Cordoba that we saw on the showroom floor. It was dark metallic brown, had 360 auto, power locks, power windows, and tan crushed velour interior, and electric rear window defroster. We never saw a car with so many options. When dad was done talking to the service manager, we showed him this "cool car".
Dad showed up three days later, late home from work, with that exact Cordoba!!! We were excited. With all of the problems with the New Yorker, he got a good deal on the Cordoba and decided to dump the New Yorker (it turned out to be a good decision - the Cordoba was very reliable). :cheers:
To replace the Satellite, dad special ordered a new 76 Volare station wagon for mom. It had the 360 2bbl, orange with wood grain stickers, and the trailer tow package. He didn't tell mom. We were going on summer vacation and we all knew that we were going to get the new station wagon, except for mom. Dad ordered it from his favorite dealer from where he went to college. They go out of their way to make sure that the car is ready to go. :violent1:
So mom doesn't know that we are going to take a little side detour on our way to vacation. It was slightly off the path for our vacation destination. Mom eventually noticed that we were not going the right way, but we kept telling her that she was imagining things/was reading the map wrong/go back to sleep... Until we pulled into the dealer and told her that she was getting a new car. She was surprised!!!
We then sold the Satellite to a family friend that dad worked with for one of their twin boys that just got his license recently. After driving it a few years, he got t-boned at a 3 way intersection and the car was totalled, but luckily he wasn't hurt.
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But before we came along (me and the bro), dad drove nothing but Mopars. His first car was a used 48 Plymouth. Then he special ordered a new 62 Sport Fury convertible when he was in college. :burnout:
He loved his Fury. He made sure to order the largest engine available at the time, the 361 4 bbl. He had many salesman trying to sell him the 318 poly, but he wanted the big block. Then after he got his, they offered the 383.... :banghead:
Dad loved the Fury. It had the push button trans, and he was a lefty. He liked to take it to the local drag strip once in a while and make a few passes. He said that it was made for a lefty with the push buttons on the left side. He just pushed the buttons as he sped down the race track.
After he graduated college, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Pearl Harbor. They were able to ship his Fury to Hawaii for him since he was joining as an officer, they got to have one car shipped as part of his enlistment.
One time when dad was out at sea, mom was driving the Fury along a winding road along the coast in Hawaii. Being from a big city, and always worrying about something, and been alone for a few months, she was nervous one late night when a car tried to pass her. She was concerned that he may try to run her off the road, so when he tried to pass her, she gunned it and wouldn't let him pass.
He keeps trying to pass her, and she won't let him, the 361 4bbl had much more power than his car and she was able to keep ahead of him. So she comes to the first gas station pulls in and tells the attendant to call the police because someone's trying to run her off the road. Then the car comes and turns into the gas station and pulls in behind her. As the guy is getting out of the car, she tells the man that they have called the police. The man replies, "
I AM the police..." He was a Honolulu detective..... :banghead:
When dad got out of the Navy, he had to leave the Fury in Hawaii. When he got back to the main land, he picked up a new 67 Barracuda fastback Formula S 383 4 speed. He liked that car also. He loved to bait the GTO drivers. They were used to kicking Barracudas asses because the first gen didn't have a big block. Many GTO owners didn't bother to look at the 383 badge on the fender... #-o
He would let them pull up to him at a stop light. They would rev their engine... Dad would just sit there idling, waiting for the light to change. As soon as it turned green, he stomped it and pulled away from them. Then the next light, he would rev it up a bit as the cat was now out of the bag. The light would turn green, and he would beat the GTO again. Next light, he would do it again. He said after a while, the GTO's found a different route after he kicked their asses and knew he was there.... :finga: :finga: :finga:
After having the 383 Barracuda for only 6 months, dad was driving one day and he was cut off while making a left turn and put the cuda in the ditch instead of hitting the other car. He hit the ditch real hard and walked away with bruises around his waist from wearing the seat belt (it probably saved his life). However, the Barracuda was totalled with only 6,500 miles on it.
That's when he got the green 68 Charger that this post starts with....
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