jbc426
Well-Known Member
This is a special Merry Christmas story for all you Mopar fans out there. Mopar people are an eclectic collection of folks with an amazing amount of knowledge and experiences, plenty of good spirits and a shared love of Mopars. I'm proud to be one amoung you.
Take a Mopar guy like Jamie Passon. His determination, dedication and ambition to change the course of Mopar history is an amazing story in and of itself. His 5 speed is top shelf to be sure, and it comes in mighty handy both around town and on the freeway. I got in early, waited several years and was 18 on the "list". The 5 speed bolted right in, as I already had an 18 spline McLeod Street Twin in the car. I went as far as sending it back to McLeod to be freshened just for this trans and installing 3.73 gears in my Dana. It had 3.54's. My rear tires are 28" tall 325/50-15's.
I broke in the trans as recommended. (the following occurred on a closed course, under controlled conditions with professional drivers - Don't Try This At Home) A few weeks back, some rube and his girlfriend in a highly-modified modern tuner with all-wheel drive and a huge intercooled turbo figured he'd smoke an old black Mopar from a start that began with a 90 degree turn from a light, onto a slightly left-handed curving straight-a -way.
There's something in my nature that bypasses my normal thinking process when competition is suddenly and unexpectedly at hand. I've been affected by it for my whole life. My mind goes full blast on the task at hand; focus, fight and prevail! I'm sure it's some primordial survival mode from the ancestors.
It was close in 1st as we both struggled for traction around the curve to get pointed somewhat straight. He had a bit farther to go around on the corner, because he was on the outside. His all-wheel drive was paying off there. Second gear was a dead heat, as both of us had gotten straight enough to go full throttle and almost fully hook-up. I remember looking over for a second and felt surprised to see that we were neck-and-neck, window to window. I was starting to think this was going to be a good race, but once I shoved the Passon into 3rd gear, re-opened all 6 barrels and dumped the clutch and focused on keeping in my lane; the old Mopar fully hooked up, lifted up about half a foot and almost instantly pulled a car length away from him. By the time I got out of it, he was several car lengths back. The sound was incredible, 500 inches of big block Chrysler screaming at 6500 rpm through full exhaust.
He pulled up to me at the next traffic light with his eyes wide open and thumb up yelling that thing is bitchin! His girlfriend looked as if she was sick and pissed off. Later, my friend explained she probably just soiled herself. Probably so, it was pretty intense. :burnout:
The history of Mopar continues to be written every day. There's a bunch of us out there teaching that history to those who otherwise would never know. Keep up the good work, and thanks, Jamie!
Take a Mopar guy like Jamie Passon. His determination, dedication and ambition to change the course of Mopar history is an amazing story in and of itself. His 5 speed is top shelf to be sure, and it comes in mighty handy both around town and on the freeway. I got in early, waited several years and was 18 on the "list". The 5 speed bolted right in, as I already had an 18 spline McLeod Street Twin in the car. I went as far as sending it back to McLeod to be freshened just for this trans and installing 3.73 gears in my Dana. It had 3.54's. My rear tires are 28" tall 325/50-15's.
I broke in the trans as recommended. (the following occurred on a closed course, under controlled conditions with professional drivers - Don't Try This At Home) A few weeks back, some rube and his girlfriend in a highly-modified modern tuner with all-wheel drive and a huge intercooled turbo figured he'd smoke an old black Mopar from a start that began with a 90 degree turn from a light, onto a slightly left-handed curving straight-a -way.
There's something in my nature that bypasses my normal thinking process when competition is suddenly and unexpectedly at hand. I've been affected by it for my whole life. My mind goes full blast on the task at hand; focus, fight and prevail! I'm sure it's some primordial survival mode from the ancestors.
It was close in 1st as we both struggled for traction around the curve to get pointed somewhat straight. He had a bit farther to go around on the corner, because he was on the outside. His all-wheel drive was paying off there. Second gear was a dead heat, as both of us had gotten straight enough to go full throttle and almost fully hook-up. I remember looking over for a second and felt surprised to see that we were neck-and-neck, window to window. I was starting to think this was going to be a good race, but once I shoved the Passon into 3rd gear, re-opened all 6 barrels and dumped the clutch and focused on keeping in my lane; the old Mopar fully hooked up, lifted up about half a foot and almost instantly pulled a car length away from him. By the time I got out of it, he was several car lengths back. The sound was incredible, 500 inches of big block Chrysler screaming at 6500 rpm through full exhaust.
He pulled up to me at the next traffic light with his eyes wide open and thumb up yelling that thing is bitchin! His girlfriend looked as if she was sick and pissed off. Later, my friend explained she probably just soiled herself. Probably so, it was pretty intense. :burnout:
The history of Mopar continues to be written every day. There's a bunch of us out there teaching that history to those who otherwise would never know. Keep up the good work, and thanks, Jamie!
