I was born in the wrong era!!!!!!!

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71DodgeDemon340

71DodgeDemon340

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Being 24 and a 90's baby i somehow feel like i should have been born in the 60's and driving in the 70's lol. I see movies like dazed and confused and think, man how cool would it have been to grow up and start driving in the 70's. Sometimes i feel outta place lol
 
Well I did it being 61 YO. It was cool to drive brand new 71 Hemi GTX. But to have lived it them means you would be an old fart now. I'd rather be 24!
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Well I did it being 61 YO. It was cool to drive brand new 71 Hemi GTX. But to have lived it them means you would be an old fart now. I'd rather be 24!
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I pretty much agree Roy, although, the 70's was an awesome decade for sure in more ways than one. :D
 
Being born in 72, yes I got to see some of what the "dazed and confused" life was like. Just wish I would have been a little older to enjoy it.

Watch Corvette Summer, Fast Times at Richmont High and the original On Any Sunday... :drool:


Growing up my dad drove a 70 Charger, mom a 71 Satellite Sebring Plus, brother had a 68 Charger, another brother a 69 Roadrunner and I drove a 71 Demon 340 and 71 Roadrunner. We raced bikes, motorcycles, spent weekends roller skating and traveling around to different races. We were all having the times of our lives and did not even know it. Yeah we were having a blast but did not realize how much fun it was. Then you watch a show like dazed and confused and think...."yep.....lived it"!!!! Now how do I go back an do it again? That is the real question!
 
Well it wasn't all fun and games. No internet to look up answers. All those free service manual downloads I'm always suggesting? Back then you got to go to the dealer and BUY them, sometimes you had to beat somebody over the head to get them to order them.

Change breaker points a lot, and plugs a LOT more often. I got caught twice in the San Diego area in one of CA's roadside inspections. I was in the Navy, and at the time had to have a CA driver's lic as I had no way to get home and get my ID license. I fixed that one time on leave. ID plates and drivers lic.

The gas crunch of the mid 70's was no damn fun at all. Neither was the "double nickel" speed limit.

And let's not forget Vietnam. I was in the Navy and didn't "get to go."

But no, it wasn't all depression. Hell you didn't KNOW any better, you were growing up, and it was "normal."

Highways, in general, had less traffic than now. On the other hand, some highways (small towns) were 25mph through the middle of a town.

To sum up, I think I'd rather have lived "then" as I did, than "now" with all the stuff that's going on
 
There was a lot of good times. Seeing Led Zeppelin in concert, 4 times, The Stones, The real Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors, Kiss, Queen,etc. Damn I just realized that I stayed wasted, a lot! In 1973 a 1850 600 Holley was $39.95, a 3310 780 was $49.95. A set of Hedman Hedders for my 1970 340 4 speed duster cost $69.95. Ah yes, there were some good times. I think?
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Well I did it being 61 YO. It was cool to drive brand new 71 Hemi GTX. But to have lived it them means you would be an old fart now. I'd rather be 24!
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Yeah,but we all get old and you were young in better time than now. These kids today will be old one day too and will never have the memory of buying any of these cars new,when gas was cheap and you could still see 50's and 60's cars for sale dirt cheap
 
Id rather been born in the late thirties. Coming of age in say... the early fifties. Too young for WWII, too old for Vietnam. V8 becoming the main stay. Making good money in the sixties and driving bad *** muscle cars the whole way through the seventies.
Retire in the eighties from a company that still offered a retirement.

Die today @ 80.

On the flip side... I did drive a 2015 Shelby GT 500 the other day. That was fun.
 
Al Bundy said:
Yeah,but we all get old and you were young in better time than now. These kids today will be old one day too and will never have the memory of buying any of these cars new,when gas was cheap and you could still see 50's and 60's cars for sale dirt cheap
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No, your right. People now days wouldn't believe how much things have changed and how much government intervention they have now days that we didn't in the 70's. People could Smoke in theaters! You could buy Sunoco 260, I remember gas wars, as a kid seeing gas for 16.9 cents a gallon. And you are right. I remember see car lots and dealerships with Roadrunners, Gtx's, 427 SS Chevelles ,Mach1 Mustangs, GTO's ,Dusters, Cuda's ,etc,etc.
 
the cars are more timeless than people so that is to our advantage.

I am going to turn 30 this summer but I don't feel I was born in the wrong era because I am still enjoying and daily driving old cars. Granted, I have to restore them to re-live the magic but there is a lot of magic in restoring these old cars to greatness. You will never completely know a car that you just simply hop into and drive away. When you restore a car, you know every last inch of the car and it is your car completely.

I am making a ton of memories in the restoration process today!!

Now is a great time to be a restorer because so many re-pop parts are available now. I remember ten years ago when getting any re-pop part for an A-body cuda was too much to ask for. :protest:

Mopars are so cheap to buy and build right now, so these are great days we are in ....RIGHT NOW :D
 
67dart273 said:
well it wasn't all fun and games. No internet to look up answers. All those free service manual downloads i'm always suggesting? Back then you got to go to the dealer and buy them, sometimes you had to beat somebody over the head to get them to order them.

Change breaker points a lot, and plugs a lot more often. I got caught twice in the san diego area in one of ca's roadside inspections. I was in the navy, and at the time had to have a ca driver's lic as i had no way to get home and get my id license. I fixed that one time on leave. Id plates and drivers lic.

The gas crunch of the mid 70's was no damn fun at all. Neither was the "double nickel" speed limit.

And let's not forget vietnam. I was in the navy and didn't "get to go."

but no, it wasn't all depression. Hell you didn't know any better, you were growing up, and it was "normal."

highways, in general, had less traffic than now. On the other hand, some highways (small towns) were 25mph through the middle of a town.

To sum up, i think i'd rather have lived "then" as i did, than "now" with all the stuff that's going on
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x2. ^^^^
 
Mopar92 said:
Me too @ 40 years old.
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I'm in the same boat at 46... at least had by 1971 Dodge Demon 318 in Top Bananna Yellow as my first car at 19 in 1989. Got my 2nd Mopar - 1973 Dodge Dart Sport 340 at 45 :)
 
Awesome stories guys, i really dig the 70's vibe, although im not a smoker wink wink. I would have loved it. See all the cars and everything.

Im curious, did yall ever have anybody in import cars try to infiltrate the car scene. Or did the American cars dominate the road?
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Being 24 and a 90's baby i somehow feel like i should have been born in the 60's and driving in the 70's lol. I see movies like dazed and confused and think, man how cool would it have been to grow up and start driving in the 70's. Sometimes i feel outta place lol
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You and me both... At 22 years old, I don't exactly "fit" in this era. Lol
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Awesome stories guys, i really dig the 70's vibe, although im not a smoker wink wink. I would have loved it. See all the cars and everything.

Im curious, did yall ever have anybody in import cars try to infiltrate the car scene. Or did the American cars dominate the road?
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NO imports! VW and stuff like that. NO HONDA, NISSAN, a few Toyota, all imports were just crap kind of like they are now, IMO. None were fast. Just what you bought if you could not afford a real car.
:burnout:
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Anybody ever embarrass a Ferrari or porsche lol
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You know now how there are 300 HP cars on every street? 4 cylinder cars that are high HP to weight? Those cars did not exist. I remember one Porsche growing up. Fast cars were really rare. Lots of old cars but not with big engines. 383s were in lots of cars, barges. 440 were mostly low compression motors, and Hemi I never saw till I bought one when I was 35. The reason they were rare is they were expensive. average wage was around 10 thousand a year. cars cost around 3 thousand.
 
About 75 I had a 340 in the old 70RR. 340, not the 440. I was going down the "Farm to Market" county road, stuck behind some damn farmer who was making it obvious he was in no hurry and going right down the middle. I was PISSED. We finally made it to the highway, and when he pulled out, he "got into" it was suddenly in a hurry. I passed him immediately after I left the stop sign.........whether he wanted me to, or not.

Whatever he was trying to do at "full throttle" with whatever he was driving, he might as well parked the thing. Right here. The scene of the crime
 

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71DodgeDemon340 said:
Thanks for the insight. Man what i would give to go back in time just to see lol
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My first real job was a gas jockey. 1978-1980. I was in high school.
It was the second "gas crisis". It had something to do with people fighting in some other country. Imagine that:banghead:.
Anyway, here I was, a punk teenager, telling logging truck drivers how much fuel they could have to make their living. It wasn't easy for any of us. Now that I think about it, I should have kicked that chicken **** gas station owner in the balls. But hey, I was getting a discount on tires and could mount and balance them for free. Came in handy for me and my friends.
Kelly superchargers:headbang:
 
I'm 54, I grew up in the 70's , turned 18 in 79. I think 73 - 83 were my best times.
 
I was born in 1956 and remember gas at 23 cents a gallon at the earliest I can for sure remember.
I had a mini bike then that I would ride into town to get gas when I was about 12.
Missed Viet Nam but was in the military right after and was honorably discharged in 1976 at 21 years old. (barely)
I bought a perfect condition 1969 Roadrunner 383 Magnum for $1,200 from a local car lot and drove away in it happy as all hell. (soon replaced it with a 440 Mag police motor)

My car/racing buddy's at the time drove mostly late 60's Chevelle 396's, Falcons and Mustangs with 289's and 351C's and and we cruised main street with the cops watching our every move and hung out at the local drive in where the car hop girls wore shorts or short skirts with roller skates and they played the Wolfman Jack show all night during weekends on outdoor speakers.

Once in awhile we would look down at the speedometer and start thinking back on where each tire on our cars came from, (friends back yards, junk yards and garage sales mostly) as our tires didn't last but a few weekends at best, (unless you were a Pansy or had a piece of crap car)

Tire smoke clouds and cop car lights were common sights downtown, but I don't remember us getting a lot of tickets.

Yep, those were the days for cars and hotrodding, but I would have liked the 50's and the cars then also I'm sure.
 
In 1978 I was 18. I had a 64 sport fury convertible with a 426 wedge. Sure grip, and boy it could smoke those tires! used to cruise E st. Had my little sister and her friends sitting on the back seat with top down, pulled out of the Jack in the box, lit em up all the way to the corner, about 200 ft. looked thru the smoke, pretty blue lights flashing. Was told to "go home and dont come back tonight'. I did. I kept that car till 1995. Sold it like a dumb ***!
 
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