New and Needing to Learn

-

cbig1969

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2015
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
Location
NC
Hello from North Carolina.

In 2012 my Father passed away leaving behind for my brother and I his 1966 Plymouth Fury Sport (which he bought brand new) and his 1972 Plymouth 340 Duster (which he purchased in 1974, he was the second owner). Both cars are running (I drove the Duster to work this past Tuesday).

Before he died he had began to restore the Fury's exterior, which only really needs to be painted and have some rust knocked off. It's interior is restored to it's original off the show room floor look.

The Duster only needs minor interior restoration and has some spots of rust on the exterior. This is the car I'm focusing on first to get it back to being nearly perfect in every way.

Milestones for me and the Duster:

I was 5 years old when he took me and my brother, who was 2 years old, to trade one of his other cars in for it. As a side note, shortly afterward he took us to the car wash and somehow my brother, again being only 2, managed to rearrange the 340 decal at the end of the stripe running down the side. I saw him do it and tried to put them back in place. My dad saw me doing this and figured it was me who scrambled them and I had to take the punishment that should've gone to my brother.

When I turned 11 he taught me how to drive in this car. It's a manual 3 speed and about 4 seconds after I let out the clutch I ran it into a ditch.

At 16 I wrecked my car (toyota celica) so he let me drive it to school. I managed to tear one of the tail pipes off while demonstrating my burnout skills to my cousins. Terrified, I took a shoe string and tied it back in place. Years later I found out that he knew all along what I had been doing and of course shoe string is not going to fix a tail pipe. Cars tend to sound different when a tail pipe is detached or should I say ripped off.

Now I'm 46 and could not have a greater love for these cars and it is going to give me great pleasure to get them back to their original splendor because I know it would make my Dad proud if he were around to witness it. I look forward to learning a lot from other members here in the forum.
 
Welcome to FABO! Lots of very knowledgeable and helpful folks here.

Thanks for sharing how your love of Mopar came to be. Sounds like you and your brother were quite a handful back in the day! It also sounds like your dad was a very cool guy!!

I'm sure he'll be watching you put a lot of love into his cars.
 
Sorry for your loss. Sounds like both the cars and your father played a big part in your life. That's a lot more fortunate than a lot of people right there.

My first suggestion to you and your brother would be to buy FACTORY CHRYSLER service manuals for both cars. Not Chiltons. Not Haynes or any other cockin bullcrap, but factory. Then read them. They can give you immeasurable information right off the bat that would take years for us to impart on you here.
 
Welcome, and thanks for sharing your story! You were left a wonderful legacy....looking forward to pictures!
 
Welcome to FABO. :cheers:

With your past driving history with them, do you think you should be driving the old Mopars?? LOL! :D

Hopefully you've learned from your mistakes... #-o
 
Welcome to the Madness !! Do post some pics of your rides.
 
Welcome to the best site on the net:coffee2: You came to the right place for help!

Dave,
 
Welcome to FABO.. This is a great site with plenty of knowledge.. I look forward to hearing from you and any questions you may have that this great community can answer..

And post some pictures when you get a chance.. Make sure to explore the members restoration forum.. I know I learned a lot from that!!
 
Welcome. Sorry to hear about your loss, enjoy your time here. Great family story,about the cars.
 
Yes, my Dad was a great guy. By the way, he taught my Mom how to drive on the Fury and she didn't waste any time putting it in a ditch either!

Pictures soon to come and thanks for the hardy welcomes!
 
-
Back
Top