Originality-does it matter?

[65 Cuda 340]

Sad
You think it still has the original dirt under the paint....

Actually, the paint job is not bad. Not show quality, but not bad. Better than the Earl Scheib's paint job my Dad got back in 1979 for his (now my) 67 Hemi Charger. Their chrome masking was awful (I spent a lot of time removing overspray off the trim), and one quarter has the original metallic blue visible under strong light where the black is so thin. But it is still relatively shiny 46 years later. I had to replace the hood because Dad cut a huge hole in it and ran a big scoop. Otherwise, the sheet metal is all original and rust free. Original motor and trans (both rebuilt), suspension, rear axle, 11 inch drum brakes, etc. Legendary seat covers, American racing wheels, TTI exhaust hooked up to the original exhaust manifolds. 120,000 miles. It is the most original car I have.

 

[65 Cuda 340]

You gotta remember that my Dad grew up in rural Kentucky during the Depressions. In the twenties and thirties, his family didn't even have a car half the time. Never had a new one. Did whatever needed to be done to keep them running. If it gave them problems, trade it for a cow or a horse. From the beginning of the Depression until he moved to Ohio in 1939, Grandpa didn't even have a job. They rented farms for practically nothing, grew their own crops, hunted for dinner, etc. From the forties on, Grandpa always had a car, but never a new one. For a dozen years, Dad drove older flathead Fords. Finally got his first Mopar in 1953, and it was a used car. But neither he nor anyone else was interested in keeping them perfectly original, and his Model T/bailing wire mentality never really left him, even as some of his stuff was beginning to become collectible by the time he passed away in 1984.

 

[nutz]

Yea my dad was the same but in nj
He would go to dump and find stuff to play with as a kid ....
Said nobody in the neighborhood nobody had anything so didn’t think he was missing anything
We never had new cars until dad bought his Plymouth fury wagon being there was 6 of us needed it .....think it was a 70 all i remember was it having a 440 and hidden headlights
It ended up someone ran a stop sign and t-boned it
Funny cause dad was out in his robe and slippers picking up my sis in the rain
I guess the cop felt bad for him ...took him to get my sis and took them home

 

[Ozyduster]

Then save yourself all the work and buy a Hyundai.

Sounds like perfect drive for you however i prefer my "muscle" car to be quicker than an egg beater and whilst at it be half decent to drive hence 6.4 hemi upgrade with plenty of fruit. Every car i own, out performs and handles the day it was built.

 

[One Bullet Barney]

I have my grandfather's 40 ford . I haven't taken it out in about 25 years.
All original. Complete with factory air. In the spare tire.

 

[Icetech]

No.

 

[tom999w]

Sounds like perfect drive for you however i prefer my "muscle" car to be quicker than an egg beater and whilst at it be half decent to drive hence 6.4 hemi upgrade with plenty of fruit. Every car i own, out performs and handles the day it was built.

I'll bet you $50 my Hyundai Azera egg beater will beat yours in a race. They don't look like much, but this thing is very fast, and like a rocket from a stop.

 

[MMissile]

Now we're braggin' about the wonders of asian cars with rocket engines, on a classic mopar site. Pitiful.

 

[barbee6043]

Sometimes... it is not how fast you can get there, but how much enjoyment you had in getting there.

 

[nutz]

Can I post about how fast my a8 is ....
Thats why I have a few cars its not how fast it is its how you feel when driving it
Had my beat up dart out with the slant
Its just fun to drive and gets more thumbs up then anything else I own

 

[like_A_pike]

All original and outside for 20 years!

Aldo Leopold wrote “how miserable are the idle hours of the ignorant man!” But warned, “to prescribe a hobby would be dangerously akin to prescribing a wife-with about the same probability of a happy outcome.”

 

[MMissile]

View attachment 1716443482

All original and outside for 20 years!

Aldo Leopold wrote “how miserable are the idle hours of the ignorant man!” But warned, “to prescribe a hobby would be dangerously akin to prescribing a wife-with about the same probability of a happy outcome.”

If it weren't for the USA lettering, I'd have thought it was some new Korean muscle-car.

 

[Woody500]

View attachment 1716443482

All original and outside for 20 years!

Aldo Leopold wrote “how miserable are the idle hours of the ignorant man!” But warned, “to prescribe a hobby would be dangerously akin to prescribing a wife-with about the same probability of a happy outcome.”

At first glance I thought it was a locomotive!
Nice quote, too.
Was that photo taken at the Cape? It takes constant maintenance in that Salt Air!
Even in Huntsville Al it would take a lot.

 

[85glht]

So, my take is that my GTS is a nice matching numbers car that has been restored, I really like it like that.

But, I have taken liberties, it has a 372” stroker kit in the matching numbers motor, commando gear set going in the matching numbers transmission.

Yes, we drive it, 800 miles to Carlisle and home (2nd place A body stock), 350 miles last Sunday out to Hampton Beach, NH, heading to the Mt Washington auto road for my birthday next month to drive to the top of the highest point in New England.

Drive it in the sun, drive it in the rain if need be but we don’t head out in it. It cruises at 75 mph, 3k RPM and gives 16+ mpg.

I like to have both, an original car, since it has been and a car I enjoy.

Cliff Ramsdell
View attachment 1716439952View attachment 1716439954View attachment 1716439957View attachment 1716439958

Now I know why you needed a new clutch...

 

[like_A_pike]

Was that photo taken at the Cape

That’s in Houston. Flight ready Apollo 18 that never happened.

 

[Dartswinger70]

The Gremlin x with a 304, a real tire spinning machine no wieght over the rear axle. The wheel base looks shorter than a Fox body mustang...

 

[- Marvin -]

I bought my cars - but one - about nearly forty years ago, when they were even in Europe old and neglected (and cheap). But they were mostly untouched and had a slight day-two look. And this look I kept - they are time capsules of the 80s for me.
They are still well maintained and always driveable - in the heat and in the rain.
Driving my cars is still an 'escape-thing' for me and always a time ride back to the days...

Therefore I keep them as original/stock as possible - and my son was also 'A-Body incfected' and has now his own three A-Body rides...

 

[RON REAGLE]

Yep my Audi A6 Supercharged AWD 8 speed was the fastest ,best handling car I've ever had BUT IT WASN'T COOL!!! My Cuda however IS

 

[nutz]

Was it a 4.2

 

[nutz]

Had a 02 s8 loved that car
The 13 a8 would smoke it but not as fun to drive