Throwing away gems.

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K.O. SWINGER

Meeting in the alley since 1976
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So it makes my stomach a little sick every time I go on eBay and look at the price of original OME parts that I have tossed out over the years. For example perfect 1970 340 air cleaner assembly, perfect 1970 340 HP exhaust manifolds, perfect 273 high pro valve covers, extra set of good 1970 340x heads, oh there's more. So misery loves company let me know about your very expensive metal scrap pile.
 
12 years ago my sister's new man had my avitar car hauled off to the scrapyard because I couldn't get storage anywhere else. 1972 Demon 318, auto console and buckets.
 
I was a parts manager for about a year in a very old & established Dodge dealer.
They never sent anything back to Chrysler and had a massive obsolescence problem.
New owners bought it and I was brought in. I was told by the new owners to toss all of the obsolescence. I had to document each P/N, it's last value and then pitch it. I wasn't allowed to sell any of or donate it. It had to go to the trash.
There was a ton of stuff going back to the 60's. Made me sick that I couldn't save a lot of that stuff.
It wasn't mine, so not a lot I could about it.
 
When I was stationed in Wyoming I had bought 4 complete 440 engines out of scrap yard cars from 69/70 cars. When I left Wyoming I had no way to haul them home to Texas. Think I paid $75/$100 a piece. I had a good friend that was also a motor head, I gave them all to him and left Wyoming. Still brings a tear to my eye.
 
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Had this running driver B5 blue 70 Charger R/T in 1983-85 just out of high school, factory 440/727/3.55 drag pack, black vinyl top, stripe, console, tic-tic-tach, hood pins all the factory racer goodies, rusted only in the lower rear quarters, some dents, otherwise highly restorable, only missing the driver door R/T scoop. Had severe electrical issues under dash I was unable to sort, needed a running car NOW so it got parked. Ended up pulling the motor, trans and rear to put in a 64 Sport Fury. Car was on blocks at a townhouse complex, HOA complained to pops and one day “Poof” it was no longer where it sat. Bad era and memories to this day for me on how that all played out. Ugh youth and ignorance! :(

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At one point I let a junk man haul away a complete plum crazy 70 Challenger for free, just to get it out of the way.
 
In the 1980s I used to hang around at a body shop in Southwest Virginia. One weekend we cleaned out the shop by throwing things in a 63 B-body convertible, digging a hole with a backhoe and burying the whole thing. Lots of cast iron exhaust and intake manifolds, carbs, heads and blocks. Once you had a nice motor built, who would ever put that crap back on it... (((sigh))).
 
After storing a pair of big block maximum wedge cylinder heads and the matching cross ram manifold for more than 30 years (paid $300 for it all back in the '70's) I gave all that stuff away to a co-worker for free circa 2005. My plan was to install said parts on a 440 some day-never happened.
 
Okay here's the topper in about 1989 I traded a 1971 Grand coupe cuda one owner before I got it leather overhead console dark green with black vinyl top gorgeous, for a GS 750 my license was suspended and I had gotten pulled over in it a couple of times already so it was either my 340 swinger or the grand coupe had to go I kept my swinger;
 
Tossed a 273-4 into a field because I spun a rod bearing.......Remembered in 1985 seeing a 70 Challenger T/A 6 pack in the paper for $1200. Didnt buy it. Went to check out a 67 GTO 400/4sp same year. Motor wasn't original but passed on it too, IIRC it was $1100. Neither one was tossed out by me but I feel I squandered 2 great chances to get some nice iron. Sold a 68 340 block with a bad cylinder for $20. Guy talked me down from $40! I was moving and couldn't take it with me.
 
Around 1985, I traded a 69 Dart GTS convertible roller for a full set of 15 x 7 Rallye Wheels to put on my 70 A66 Challenger. Dude drove all the way from Minnesota to get it!
 
I'm fixin to toss a l lot of early A stuff startin with that instrument cluster. I just don't need the parts takin up valuable space. So out they go.
 
Scrapped a solid 69 Charger R/T SE minus motor . Had PW,A/C , Rear Defrost, 6 way seats, tictoctach B7 with blue interior...Still have the rear shouulder belts . 1985ish

Missed out on its twin in Triple black by 1 Day . Friends brother traded an old Suzuki for it .
 
I scrapped a 360 short block once just because I had no use for it and at the time they were a dime a dozen...318s were a nickel. :)
 
Yeah there was a time when nobody wanted Mopars. they weren't "Gold" like now. Real throwaway cars they were. It also was like Chevy guys couldn't /wouldn't work on them,. I to this day don't know what the big deal is working on Mopars. There are things you have to know but the basics are the basics. Ford was the same way,untill the 5.0 came out in the 80s no one wanted to play around with Ford either.
 
Yeah there was a time when nobody wanted Mopars. they weren't "Gold" like now. Real throwaway cars they were. It also was like Chevy guys couldn't /wouldn't work on them,. I to this day don't know what the big deal is working on Mopars. There are things you have to know but the basics are the basics. Ford was the same way,untill the 5.0 came out in the 80s no one wanted to play around with Ford either.

Honestly I dont recall those times.
I got my 70 Charger in the late 70s and even then people would stop me or give thumbs up . In the 80s it was always a race to get a nice Mopar . We started a Chapter of Mopars Unlimited here in Boise around 1984 and drew 100+ cars from as far as Canada and California ...... Hemis , Superbirds , 6 pack cars , Chrysler 300s , A-Bodies etc.
In the mid 90s I started seeing Chevy guys dump their Camaros for Cudas. Mopars were becoming cool !

I was just reminiscing the other day about Jeff Holmbeck ( a co-worker at a Shakeys in Minntonka in 1978) picking up a 69 Charger 500 . I was so jealous !
 
I'm fixin to toss a l lot of early A stuff startin with that instrument cluster. I just don't need the parts takin up valuable space. So out they go.

I would post them up for free somewhere...Besides you like meeting new people! :thumbsup:
 
Back in 1986 or so, a buddy had a complete 360 from a Lil Red sitting in his dad's garage, could have had it free, but had nothing to put in and no place to keep it.
 
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