I love my craze for Mopars and it is thanks to my bio dad.I did get bitten by the Mopar bug from my bio dad when I was 13 after learning I was brought home from the hospital after being born in a 1975 Chrysler Newport my father still has.My bio dad is a huge Mopar fanatic and I always remember him driving around in Dodges,Chryslers and Plymouths only.On my 13th birthday he told me I was brought home from the hospital in one after being born.Over the years I have learned from him a lot on Mopars including the Mopar or no car slogan.My bio dad is glad I am a Mopar fanatic and including to my 17 year old son Kevin recently from me.My bio dad and I both have Mopar tattoos,I have the new style Mopar emblem tattoo and he has the old school Mopar emblem tattoo.We are known as the dad/daughter Mopar fans by his friends.
My Mopar craze
- Thread starter alexis
- Start date
-
I did a burnout under the window of the room my second son was born in the night he was born, and then brought him home the next day in my 68 Barracuda Formula S in Southfield, MI.
My Mopar craze,started '87. Was working ,as a gas pump jockey,and going to college. Done some small block Camaro crap,for learning. This Yellow 70 R/T Challenger ,rumbled in.Big block,cross ram setup. For a 19 year old,eye opener. Worked for him (still do some),and still a friend. I don't have many.
DaveBonds
Garage Trash
You're crazy.
...
The both of you.
---
Welcome to the rest of your life, seeing pentastars and to FABO, Alexis!
...
The both of you.
---
Welcome to the rest of your life, seeing pentastars and to FABO, Alexis!
DaveBonds
Garage Trash
And you...
Look out for this guy.
...
He's trouble.
I think the first time I lost my marbles over a mopar, was collectively. Over by my school bus stop, there was a beat to crap, '70 Charger in primer gray with rusty cragar S/S wheels on it, curb feelers, a chain steering wheel and no grille.
The girl who drove it also had a primer gray '70 El Camino SS. She wanted to sell the Charger for a whopping $1000. Said so on the windshield in shoe polish, right next to "runs great".
My mom wouldn't have it, until she started answering my "what is that car?" questions. She told me that all of the ones that I would point out happened to be Chrysler products.
After I did some of the math and read a lot, I was sold. I knew right then, what I was after.
My mopar craze....
My dad only drove Mopars.
We once bought a Ford conversion van to pull our cars with. (the Ford van was a tow vehicle he had a Chrysler vehicle for daily driving). Well, it sucked. We were loosing speed going uphill pulling a small U-haul trailer behind it. So after a year and a half, we sold it and replaced it with a used 79 Warlock II 4x4 with a 360. Much better at pulling.
Anyhow, I'm getting ahead of myself.
My earliest memories from when was younger, my dad drove a 68 Charger 383 2bbl green with black vinyl top and interior, and mom drove a 67 Barracuda fastback Formula S 273. Great memories of those cars. Dad would squeal the tires for us in the Charger and then ask us, "How was that?"
We would reply, "Fine."
I remember once around that time, our neighbor had a handyman doing some work on their house. He drove a gold colored Twister Duster. We were checking out the "twister guy" on the back and the guy was talking to us saying his car was fast. My brother and I were there saying, "You can't beat my dad's car... He has a Dodge Charger...." Hell, we didn't know if it could or not, but the Charger was our "hero" as dad would squeal the tires off of a stop light for us now and then "for fun". But to us, dad's Charger was the best car in the world. We even painted a couple of our Charger Matchbox cars to be like dad's....
Now our great grandma lived about an hour away from us. She had recovered from a heart attack and was not supposed to over work herself, so we would go up north to her house in Barrington and we would clean her house for her every week. We would play games after all of the work was finished. My great uncle Don taught me how to play chess there when I was 4 years old (he wrote 4 books on playing chess). He would hand me his queen at the beginning of the game and still wipe me out, but I learned how to play by getting beat. After the games, then we would go home late at night.
My mom would just fold down the back seat and trunk in the 67 Barracuda fastback and throw a pillow and sleeping bag in the back for me and my brother. We would fall asleep on the way home looking at the stars and street lights on the tollway on the way home. Then they would carry us to bed when we got home. Her car was white with blue interior.
Then mom traded in her Barracuda for a 71 Satellite 318 blue with blue interior. My dad wanted to kill my brother. While at the dealer to trade in the Barracuda for the Satellite, they pulled in mom's car into the service garage to appraise it. My brother walked the salesman around the car pointing to every rust spot and saying, "See, broken... See, broken..." And the salesman recucing the trade-in value with each "see broken..."
Meanwhile, dad had to get a company car for work, so he took the Charger to his old college and sold it to someone for $500. He got a Blue 72 New Yorker. That car wasn't very good. It had a few problems and he had to keep bringing it to the dealer.
He barely got it through it's lease period, and had another one on order. We kept going to the dealer as they kept having problems with the order. Once while dad was in talking to the salesman, my brother and I were going through the showroom hopping in all the cars. They had this cool bronze colored 75 Cordoba with tan cloth interior, power seats, power windows, and a 360. We had to show dad this car after he was done talking to the salesman. Still more problems with the order after that. Then about a week later, dad pulls into the driveway in the exact same Cordoba that we were checking out on the showroom floor! We were thrilled!
About a year after that, we were going to go to Galena for our summer vacation before school. Dad let us in on a secret that we were not supposed to let mom know. He had called the dealer in Monmouth where he went to college and bought his first new car from (62 Sport Fury Convertible 361 auto). He had ordered mom a new 76 Volare station wagon yellowish/gold with the woodgrain stickers on the side and factory trailer tow. We didn't tell her until we were pulling into the dealer. She kept looking at the map saying, we're going the wrong way... We kept saying, "the map is wrong mom..." She was surprised and loved her new station wagon (and the power of the 360).
We sold the Satellite to a kid whos parents worked with dad. After a couple of years, they got t-boned at a three way intersection and the car was totalled. Luckily the kid wasn't hurt.
Then shortly after that, dad changed jobs and had to turn in the Cordoba. He then bought a used 76 Charger white with green and white interior. We were in Omaha with his new job. On the way to the health club where we swam, we would pass this one house that had what dad called a "wing thing". He told us about how they dominated NASCAR and couldn't be beat. It was parked in the driveway next to this one house. We would always look at it when we passed it. It was an orange Superbird. Then one day it was gone, we never saw it again.
Then when mom & dad divorced, dad bought her a new 79 Challenger. Mom was good enough to let us decide who we wanted to live with, and we chose our dad because he moved back home to Chicago where our old friends were.
After a year back home, dad bought a new 79 Horizon TC-3 Blue with black interior, 4 speed and a sunroof. I loved the color and the sunroof.
Then a couple of years later traded it in for a used Charger 2.2 silver with red interior - no sunroof.
Then the car collecting began ----->
We wanted a 'project car', so we started looking at Challengers. We found a real nice 72 challenger 340 petty blue. After looking at the car we went to Burger King to talk it over between me, dad, and bro. We decided to buy the car. Went back and knocked on the door, and the guy had just sold it to someone else while we were eating and talking it over.
We ended up finding a 71 Challenger convertible 340 PS, PB, A/C, console, power top, luggage rack. This thing really needed some work! The guy we bought it from was gong to race it as the convertible was a different class than a hardtop, so he was going to put a Hemi in it and race it. Then his wife got pregnant... So we bought the car and after a while pulled the engine and started taking it apart.
Then my brother got his license. We needed to get rid of the Ford van since it wan't a good tow vehicle. We looked at this real nice Lil Red Express truck at the Caddy dealer that we bought the van from a little over a year before. The Express was driven by a woman and had red rose on the rear panel just behind the door and 24 k original miles. We took it for a test drive in the back parking lot of the dealer ( I remember it was cold winter day). Dad punched the gas from a stop and lit up the tires. Man what a truck! But the salesman low balled our trade in too badly which insulted dad, and he walked out. The owner of the dealer called us that night asking us to come back in and he would give us a better trade-in for the van, but dad said, "No way, I don't do business like that. They would have ripped me off if I let them."
Soon after that, we went to another dealer and traded in our Ford van for a dealer demo 81 Charger 2.2 convertible red with red interior. The dealer had these specially converted, only 50 were made.
Then we got the Warlock II for towing.
So now we had a project in progress, but nothing to cruise with. So we started looking for a driveable car that didn't need repair. We found dad's favorite/ultimate car... A wing thing... 70 Superbird 440 six pack Orange with white seats and 20,*** original miles for sale by the ORIGINAL OWNER!!! He bought it new, late in the model year (it was a lot lizard - some dealers had trouble selling their Superbirds). The 71's were out for a while. He drove it for a while, then put it away during the gas crunch. Then after 79 relicensed it, drove it to see the Indy 500, and then put it up for sale in '81.
Meanwhile my brother buys a 72 Challenger ralley 318 black on black with factory tach and console from the maintenance guy at the shopping center where my dad opened a video store. His wife was the second owner, bought it with 30 some-odd thousand miles and we bought it with 89 k on it.
He then found a guy selling a 70 340 engine. He bought it for the Challenger. As part of the deal, the guy we bought the engine from was supposed to put it back together and install it in the Challenger. We gave him a high volume TRW oil pump and a crane cam and he built and installed the engine in the Challenger. Then brings it to a body shop to get some rust repaired.
Meanwhile, bro finds a 69 Roadrunner for sale at a local dealer and I get my license. He wanted that car so bad. He asked me to buy the 72 Challenger from him so he could get the Roadrunner. So we get the Challenger back from the body shop in primer and change the oil like 3 times since it was sitting in the dusty body shop for months.
We get the Challenger driveable, and I start driving it. After a couple of weeks (500 miles) I'm driving it and I hear the lifters start to tick. I pull in the next gas station and check the oil - fine. I then get some trans fluid and put it in to see if it can free up the "sticky" lifter... Nothing... OK, now try a can of STP... Nothing. Shut it down and have it towed to our garage (we now were renting a 7 car garage for all of our cars). The brand new TRW oil pump had failed. The pressure relief valve was stuck. TRW rebuild it for free and then denied responsibility accusing us of tampering with it (all we did was tear it down and try to move the relief valve with the largest Craftsman screwdriver available, and it would not budge. Then proceeded to root cause the failure as "tiny minute particles small enough to fit through the stock pick up screen had gotten onto the relief valve and caused it to stick". If the pump can't handle what the pickup screen filters, then it is junk to me. I sold it to someone for $25 after telling them the story and said if you have any problems with the pump, don't blame me... I warned you. I still don't buy TRW to this day after that.
Then I drive the Warlock II for a while. Dad wanted to buy a K car for me for a daily driver. I didn't want it. He tried to convince me to drive one for a year and then sell it. No way, those cars suck.
I then found a 68 Barracuda fastback 318 car maroon with white interior. The father bought it for his kid from a dealer up north in Wisconsin where his wife was from. It was a one owner car, the old man that bought it new traded it in on a new K car. The passenger torsion bar frame gave out, so he took it to a local welding shop who welded 1/4 inch plate around the frame and resecured the torsion bar mount. Then goes and applies for plates and title. When he gets home, his son tells him, "I don't want the Barracuda, It's ugly. I want to drive a Hurst." (WTF?) Well thanks to the kid with bad taste, I ended up getting the car for $850. It was a great car. Very reliable and the interior was really clean. The original owner had installed a lower radiator hose block heater and I would plug it in overnight, and in the morning I would unplug it, start the car and clear the snow off the windows. When I got back in the car from clearing the windows, I was already starting to get heat out of the ducts in less than 5 minutes of running time.
Then dad trades in the silver Charger 2.2 for an 84 Laser turbo with a 5 speed.
Well, bro and I keep arguing over car parts and dad is tired of the fighting and threatens to sell all the cars to end the fights. Me and bro get together and say "dad is loosing the bug. He needs a toy that he can drive so he won't get rid of ours over the fighting."
We find a 69 roadrunner convertible for sale from a guy in one of our local car clubs. His brother was getting transferred to Germany for 3-4 years in the military, so he has to sell his cars. It is a nice solid body Kentucky car, originally a 383 4 speed, now has a 440 with 67 closed chamber heads in it, and a 3.55 Dana sure grip. We buy it in November and it is dad's Christmas present. I find a place to park it until then. I met a woman in my community college chemistry class that was going through a divorce. We ended up forming a study group with her, me, my lab partner and her lab partner. She got the house with a two car garage and only had one car. She let us keep it there until we finally showed it to dad the week of Christmas. (I did sneak it out a couple of times for a joy ride before then).
Well, the plan did work! Dad caught the bug again and we got to keep the cars. (Bro and I would wait and argue when dad wasn't around.) When the 440 wore out, we convinced dad to let us build his Hemi that he bought for a future project one day. Unfortunately, dad died before the Hemi project was completed and never got to drive a Hemi. However, it is finished now and still has the 383 emblems on the hood.... (speak softly and carry a big stick.... LOL!)
Then traded the Laser in for a 89 Lebaron GTC turbo II with 5 speed.
Then dad ordered a Viper from Bettenhausen Dodge. He had ordered their third one. He was waiting for it for 2 1/2 years. I run into a guy at work one day and ask why the Viper isn't offered with the tan interior like in some of the prototypes have? He said that it is available now. I told him about my dad having one on order. He told me that he knew who to call to have his order changed from gray to tan interior without loosing his "place in line" for changing the order. I called dad that night and left a message that I could get his Viper changed to tan interior without loosing his place in line all he had to do is call me back and give me "the word". He called back and told me (this was a Wednesday), "Bettenhausen has their first Viper in. The guy that ordered it cannot come up with the money now. They offered it to me and I am going to pick it up on Monday. I asked him, "Are you sure? I can have your order changed and you can get the first red Viper with tan interior."
After waiting 2 1/2 years, he was eager to get his car, and stuck with buying Bettenhausen Dodge's first one. At least his was a 94 that was the first year that they had a decent seal for the top and windows.
Then dad ordered a 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 (the only year of the 5.9 in the Grand Cherokee)
So now dad would drive the 89 Lebaron every day. On nice sunny days, take out the Viper. On bad snowy slippery days, drive the 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 and has a Six Pack Superbird and Hemi Roadrunner convertible sittin' in the garage...
Well this is getting too long, so I'll end it here. But that's how it all got started for us....
My dad only drove Mopars.
We once bought a Ford conversion van to pull our cars with. (the Ford van was a tow vehicle he had a Chrysler vehicle for daily driving). Well, it sucked. We were loosing speed going uphill pulling a small U-haul trailer behind it. So after a year and a half, we sold it and replaced it with a used 79 Warlock II 4x4 with a 360. Much better at pulling.
Anyhow, I'm getting ahead of myself.
My earliest memories from when was younger, my dad drove a 68 Charger 383 2bbl green with black vinyl top and interior, and mom drove a 67 Barracuda fastback Formula S 273. Great memories of those cars. Dad would squeal the tires for us in the Charger and then ask us, "How was that?"
We would reply, "Fine."
I remember once around that time, our neighbor had a handyman doing some work on their house. He drove a gold colored Twister Duster. We were checking out the "twister guy" on the back and the guy was talking to us saying his car was fast. My brother and I were there saying, "You can't beat my dad's car... He has a Dodge Charger...." Hell, we didn't know if it could or not, but the Charger was our "hero" as dad would squeal the tires off of a stop light for us now and then "for fun". But to us, dad's Charger was the best car in the world. We even painted a couple of our Charger Matchbox cars to be like dad's....
Now our great grandma lived about an hour away from us. She had recovered from a heart attack and was not supposed to over work herself, so we would go up north to her house in Barrington and we would clean her house for her every week. We would play games after all of the work was finished. My great uncle Don taught me how to play chess there when I was 4 years old (he wrote 4 books on playing chess). He would hand me his queen at the beginning of the game and still wipe me out, but I learned how to play by getting beat. After the games, then we would go home late at night.
My mom would just fold down the back seat and trunk in the 67 Barracuda fastback and throw a pillow and sleeping bag in the back for me and my brother. We would fall asleep on the way home looking at the stars and street lights on the tollway on the way home. Then they would carry us to bed when we got home. Her car was white with blue interior.
Then mom traded in her Barracuda for a 71 Satellite 318 blue with blue interior. My dad wanted to kill my brother. While at the dealer to trade in the Barracuda for the Satellite, they pulled in mom's car into the service garage to appraise it. My brother walked the salesman around the car pointing to every rust spot and saying, "See, broken... See, broken..." And the salesman recucing the trade-in value with each "see broken..."
Meanwhile, dad had to get a company car for work, so he took the Charger to his old college and sold it to someone for $500. He got a Blue 72 New Yorker. That car wasn't very good. It had a few problems and he had to keep bringing it to the dealer.
He barely got it through it's lease period, and had another one on order. We kept going to the dealer as they kept having problems with the order. Once while dad was in talking to the salesman, my brother and I were going through the showroom hopping in all the cars. They had this cool bronze colored 75 Cordoba with tan cloth interior, power seats, power windows, and a 360. We had to show dad this car after he was done talking to the salesman. Still more problems with the order after that. Then about a week later, dad pulls into the driveway in the exact same Cordoba that we were checking out on the showroom floor! We were thrilled!
About a year after that, we were going to go to Galena for our summer vacation before school. Dad let us in on a secret that we were not supposed to let mom know. He had called the dealer in Monmouth where he went to college and bought his first new car from (62 Sport Fury Convertible 361 auto). He had ordered mom a new 76 Volare station wagon yellowish/gold with the woodgrain stickers on the side and factory trailer tow. We didn't tell her until we were pulling into the dealer. She kept looking at the map saying, we're going the wrong way... We kept saying, "the map is wrong mom..." She was surprised and loved her new station wagon (and the power of the 360).
We sold the Satellite to a kid whos parents worked with dad. After a couple of years, they got t-boned at a three way intersection and the car was totalled. Luckily the kid wasn't hurt.
Then shortly after that, dad changed jobs and had to turn in the Cordoba. He then bought a used 76 Charger white with green and white interior. We were in Omaha with his new job. On the way to the health club where we swam, we would pass this one house that had what dad called a "wing thing". He told us about how they dominated NASCAR and couldn't be beat. It was parked in the driveway next to this one house. We would always look at it when we passed it. It was an orange Superbird. Then one day it was gone, we never saw it again.
Then when mom & dad divorced, dad bought her a new 79 Challenger. Mom was good enough to let us decide who we wanted to live with, and we chose our dad because he moved back home to Chicago where our old friends were.
After a year back home, dad bought a new 79 Horizon TC-3 Blue with black interior, 4 speed and a sunroof. I loved the color and the sunroof.
Then a couple of years later traded it in for a used Charger 2.2 silver with red interior - no sunroof.
Then the car collecting began ----->
We wanted a 'project car', so we started looking at Challengers. We found a real nice 72 challenger 340 petty blue. After looking at the car we went to Burger King to talk it over between me, dad, and bro. We decided to buy the car. Went back and knocked on the door, and the guy had just sold it to someone else while we were eating and talking it over.
We ended up finding a 71 Challenger convertible 340 PS, PB, A/C, console, power top, luggage rack. This thing really needed some work! The guy we bought it from was gong to race it as the convertible was a different class than a hardtop, so he was going to put a Hemi in it and race it. Then his wife got pregnant... So we bought the car and after a while pulled the engine and started taking it apart.
Then my brother got his license. We needed to get rid of the Ford van since it wan't a good tow vehicle. We looked at this real nice Lil Red Express truck at the Caddy dealer that we bought the van from a little over a year before. The Express was driven by a woman and had red rose on the rear panel just behind the door and 24 k original miles. We took it for a test drive in the back parking lot of the dealer ( I remember it was cold winter day). Dad punched the gas from a stop and lit up the tires. Man what a truck! But the salesman low balled our trade in too badly which insulted dad, and he walked out. The owner of the dealer called us that night asking us to come back in and he would give us a better trade-in for the van, but dad said, "No way, I don't do business like that. They would have ripped me off if I let them."
Soon after that, we went to another dealer and traded in our Ford van for a dealer demo 81 Charger 2.2 convertible red with red interior. The dealer had these specially converted, only 50 were made.
Then we got the Warlock II for towing.
So now we had a project in progress, but nothing to cruise with. So we started looking for a driveable car that didn't need repair. We found dad's favorite/ultimate car... A wing thing... 70 Superbird 440 six pack Orange with white seats and 20,*** original miles for sale by the ORIGINAL OWNER!!! He bought it new, late in the model year (it was a lot lizard - some dealers had trouble selling their Superbirds). The 71's were out for a while. He drove it for a while, then put it away during the gas crunch. Then after 79 relicensed it, drove it to see the Indy 500, and then put it up for sale in '81.
Meanwhile my brother buys a 72 Challenger ralley 318 black on black with factory tach and console from the maintenance guy at the shopping center where my dad opened a video store. His wife was the second owner, bought it with 30 some-odd thousand miles and we bought it with 89 k on it.
He then found a guy selling a 70 340 engine. He bought it for the Challenger. As part of the deal, the guy we bought the engine from was supposed to put it back together and install it in the Challenger. We gave him a high volume TRW oil pump and a crane cam and he built and installed the engine in the Challenger. Then brings it to a body shop to get some rust repaired.
Meanwhile, bro finds a 69 Roadrunner for sale at a local dealer and I get my license. He wanted that car so bad. He asked me to buy the 72 Challenger from him so he could get the Roadrunner. So we get the Challenger back from the body shop in primer and change the oil like 3 times since it was sitting in the dusty body shop for months.
We get the Challenger driveable, and I start driving it. After a couple of weeks (500 miles) I'm driving it and I hear the lifters start to tick. I pull in the next gas station and check the oil - fine. I then get some trans fluid and put it in to see if it can free up the "sticky" lifter... Nothing... OK, now try a can of STP... Nothing. Shut it down and have it towed to our garage (we now were renting a 7 car garage for all of our cars). The brand new TRW oil pump had failed. The pressure relief valve was stuck. TRW rebuild it for free and then denied responsibility accusing us of tampering with it (all we did was tear it down and try to move the relief valve with the largest Craftsman screwdriver available, and it would not budge. Then proceeded to root cause the failure as "tiny minute particles small enough to fit through the stock pick up screen had gotten onto the relief valve and caused it to stick". If the pump can't handle what the pickup screen filters, then it is junk to me. I sold it to someone for $25 after telling them the story and said if you have any problems with the pump, don't blame me... I warned you. I still don't buy TRW to this day after that.
Then I drive the Warlock II for a while. Dad wanted to buy a K car for me for a daily driver. I didn't want it. He tried to convince me to drive one for a year and then sell it. No way, those cars suck.
I then found a 68 Barracuda fastback 318 car maroon with white interior. The father bought it for his kid from a dealer up north in Wisconsin where his wife was from. It was a one owner car, the old man that bought it new traded it in on a new K car. The passenger torsion bar frame gave out, so he took it to a local welding shop who welded 1/4 inch plate around the frame and resecured the torsion bar mount. Then goes and applies for plates and title. When he gets home, his son tells him, "I don't want the Barracuda, It's ugly. I want to drive a Hurst." (WTF?) Well thanks to the kid with bad taste, I ended up getting the car for $850. It was a great car. Very reliable and the interior was really clean. The original owner had installed a lower radiator hose block heater and I would plug it in overnight, and in the morning I would unplug it, start the car and clear the snow off the windows. When I got back in the car from clearing the windows, I was already starting to get heat out of the ducts in less than 5 minutes of running time.
Then dad trades in the silver Charger 2.2 for an 84 Laser turbo with a 5 speed.
Well, bro and I keep arguing over car parts and dad is tired of the fighting and threatens to sell all the cars to end the fights. Me and bro get together and say "dad is loosing the bug. He needs a toy that he can drive so he won't get rid of ours over the fighting."
We find a 69 roadrunner convertible for sale from a guy in one of our local car clubs. His brother was getting transferred to Germany for 3-4 years in the military, so he has to sell his cars. It is a nice solid body Kentucky car, originally a 383 4 speed, now has a 440 with 67 closed chamber heads in it, and a 3.55 Dana sure grip. We buy it in November and it is dad's Christmas present. I find a place to park it until then. I met a woman in my community college chemistry class that was going through a divorce. We ended up forming a study group with her, me, my lab partner and her lab partner. She got the house with a two car garage and only had one car. She let us keep it there until we finally showed it to dad the week of Christmas. (I did sneak it out a couple of times for a joy ride before then).
Well, the plan did work! Dad caught the bug again and we got to keep the cars. (Bro and I would wait and argue when dad wasn't around.) When the 440 wore out, we convinced dad to let us build his Hemi that he bought for a future project one day. Unfortunately, dad died before the Hemi project was completed and never got to drive a Hemi. However, it is finished now and still has the 383 emblems on the hood.... (speak softly and carry a big stick.... LOL!)
Then traded the Laser in for a 89 Lebaron GTC turbo II with 5 speed.
Then dad ordered a Viper from Bettenhausen Dodge. He had ordered their third one. He was waiting for it for 2 1/2 years. I run into a guy at work one day and ask why the Viper isn't offered with the tan interior like in some of the prototypes have? He said that it is available now. I told him about my dad having one on order. He told me that he knew who to call to have his order changed from gray to tan interior without loosing his "place in line" for changing the order. I called dad that night and left a message that I could get his Viper changed to tan interior without loosing his place in line all he had to do is call me back and give me "the word". He called back and told me (this was a Wednesday), "Bettenhausen has their first Viper in. The guy that ordered it cannot come up with the money now. They offered it to me and I am going to pick it up on Monday. I asked him, "Are you sure? I can have your order changed and you can get the first red Viper with tan interior."
After waiting 2 1/2 years, he was eager to get his car, and stuck with buying Bettenhausen Dodge's first one. At least his was a 94 that was the first year that they had a decent seal for the top and windows.
Then dad ordered a 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 (the only year of the 5.9 in the Grand Cherokee)
So now dad would drive the 89 Lebaron every day. On nice sunny days, take out the Viper. On bad snowy slippery days, drive the 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 and has a Six Pack Superbird and Hemi Roadrunner convertible sittin' in the garage...
Well this is getting too long, so I'll end it here. But that's how it all got started for us....
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Sometime around the time I was born, or an infant, Dad had a 36 Plymouth. I can still remember him talking about the electric wipers. That was a big deal back then, because most cars had vacuum wipers. When I was about 4-7, Dad had a 'work truck' in the form of 3 different model A Fords. At least one of them only had!!! a hand operated!!!! wiper on one side!!!! and both the others either had just one vacuum wiper or a vacuum motor on each side. Most of our cars for quite a few years were vacuum, our 5? Ford, 54 Nash Ambassador, 54 Nash Rambler, and the 3 or 4 GMC/ Chev 50's trucks and one Stude that Dad owned. It wasn't until he bought the 60 Poncho Bonneville that we had a car with electric wipers. A/C? Surely you jest.
My first car, a 57 Chev, had electric wipers. I don't think they all did. I believe that was an option. Dad's 55 Chev wagon, he had the same time I bought my 57, was vacuum
This is one of Dad's early "work" trucks, a dump truck!!! The reason little "I" look so dammed unhappy is that (look at the headlights) I've just got done investigating "that little man with the lantern" that makes the lights work, with my toy carpenter's hammer. My Grampa on the left would have been around 53-54 or so in this photo, more than 10 years younger than I am now
This is a "T" but you get the idea
That's right. optional. And one side at a time, too!!!!
My first car, a 57 Chev, had electric wipers. I don't think they all did. I believe that was an option. Dad's 55 Chev wagon, he had the same time I bought my 57, was vacuum
This is one of Dad's early "work" trucks, a dump truck!!! The reason little "I" look so dammed unhappy is that (look at the headlights) I've just got done investigating "that little man with the lantern" that makes the lights work, with my toy carpenter's hammer. My Grampa on the left would have been around 53-54 or so in this photo, more than 10 years younger than I am now
This is a "T" but you get the idea
That's right. optional. And one side at a time, too!!!!
We jest...
And stop calling us Shirley....
Interesting history of the wiper. I've seen the hand wipers, but not heard of vacuum wipers.
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