What makes mopar guy different?

[doogievlg]

i knew a guy with a 64 dart. i pulled into a cruise and he was looking at my plymouth and was like oh i can't have a plymouth in my garage.. i looked at him like dud you do know other then some sheet metal my 64 valiant is pretty much the same car as your 64 dart..lol strange dude..

That's just full blown ignorance.

 

[dodge71demon]

we're stupid

 

[pyrojim]

what makes mopar guys different??? these days way too many are worried about a tin tag on the dash and paint markings and will only go to mopar only shows.

hopefully with mopars not being the latest fad the mopar enthusiast will return to the guys that liked the cars and loved to use them. the hobby was a lot tighter before mopars became the latest and greatest thing for check book guys. the old guys helped out the young guys a lot more then they do thee days.. i think a lot of it is because the old guys and dying off little by little and there are more and more check book guys that only know mopars from an investment point of view.

If that's the case, I'm a terrible investor!!!!!

 

[GaryS]

I used to attend lots of Mopar shows and even served as a club officer, but have cut back since most shows are now populated by either racers who laugh at my slant- powered car, or modern cars still smelling showroom fresh. I can see them in an air conditioned showroom without having to slather myself with sunscreen and pay $20.

I got racing out of my system years ago when I became bored listening to hours of conversation dedicated to cutting another tenth of their ET, and while modern cars are functional they are sorely lacking in personality. Flashing LEDs, 100 hp amplifiers, and catalog customizing do nothing for me. Creative customs I like, check book show cars I don't.

I attend a couple of open shows each year that are run by non-car organizations, because they don't have an agenda beyond getting lots of cars. When attending some open events, I've been relegated to parking my Mopars in mud,while the glut of tri-5 Chevys are on blacktop, or sharing a row with four wheel drive trucks, or having the better parking spots blocked off until late arriving Chevy drivers show up. That's fine, but not for me.

Most importantly, the older I get the more of a loner I become, and the less bad music, bad manners, bad habits, and bad language I can tolerate being around. Let others do what makes them happy, but I'll pass.

As to the original question, I don't know what makes Mopar drivers different, but I've owned and driven nothing but Mopars since 1955 and that makes me different from even the "mostly Mopar" guys.

 

[318willrun]

People are people. Where ever there is a crowd, you will find nice, pleasant people and a few jerks. I would say 60 % of car fans are GM, 15 % Ford and 15 % Mopar and 10 % other. That is why GM parts are more available, and cheaper. Mass production equals lower prices. It is true, that in the last 20 years, the mopar crowd in general has been eaten up by the "rise in stock" (money money), therefore that little tin plate has dominated the thoughts of mopar owners. The only thing that I don't understand is the "loss in faith" in the performance of our beloved mopars. It used to be that when a 318 4bbl duster lined up against a 350 4bbl Camaro, the 318 was expected to win. I beat my cousins LT-type 350 4bbl Camaro with a 73 swinger 318 2bbl. Close race but I won. Now, if this race was posted on FABO, the Swinger guy would be instructed to install a stroked 360 to compete.....

 

[Drache]

Am I a typical Mopar guy?

My mopars were bought to be driven and enjoyed not as investments on trailers. I don't care if my car is the right color or numbers matching. I dont care if Dodge never used the color or never came with that engine for that year.

I certainly don't know everything about Mopars and I will listen and store info from people who do know more.

The biggest is I put my car into a car show for others to enjoy! I remember people in the big car club here who literally said I was stupid for letting little kids climb into my car and have their pictures taken.

The car club I helped start was due to the old car club not willing to take a kid with muscular dystrophy on their cruise.

 

[doogievlg]

The other thing I don't understand is the guys who put thousands of dollars into their engines only to park them at shoes. You go to any big show and you will see some big block chevy with a huge blower sticking out of the hood. You ask them what it runs and they look at you like you just asked them to murder their dog.

 

[cannucky]

I have driven my car quite a ways to put it into a show and find people don't always have their eyes open going in which leads to hurt butt feelings , if you go to a clubs annual show and you are not a member of the club you probably shouldn't expect a trophy , those shows are about the club and it's members , I normally don't go to judged events or don't enter into any judged category if I do because I am there to meet new people and check out their cars . If you don't want to deal with judgemental people don't enter those shows . Every hobby has it's douche bags heck we have em right here on FABO , guys who we have a Charity Auction for 1 month and 6 months later he's shooting his mouth of how the new Cars suck and he test drove one because he was going to buy but it was crap , or the guy who begs for parts and help and we all pitch in to help him build his alleged dream only to see him sell the damn thing for a nice profit a year later , this crap goes on all the time in every hobby and it doesn't go unnoticed The key for me is to sort out the douche bags and stick to the quality people , I go to Moparfest every year now and there are no trophies or awards only 2000 cars in a field for 2 days of fun in the sun with mostly real Mopar people , throw in 30 or 40 thousand visitors and a good time is had by all .

 

[Drache]

I have driven my car quite a ways to put it into a show and find people don't always have their eyes open going in which leads to hurt butt feelings , if you go to a clubs annual show and you are not a member of the club you probably shouldn't expect a trophy , those shows are about the club and it's members

The local big club here, when they do their show, they hand out the judging forms to "impartial" people.

Although sometimes this doesnt work too well like the time that there were only two asian imports in the show, one was my brother.

Best asian import went to an Austin Mini and they said there were no other asian imports for second place. :wack:

 

[318willrun]

And all in all, these are the reasons I do what I like to my cars, and could NOT care at all what others think. I do what I can afford and what I like, and I do not ask for other peoples approval. My car, My money, My opinions and likes/dislikes count most! I can end most critics by just saying "buy what ya want, build what ya want because that is what I did".

 

[66fs]

The funny thing to me is how Real Mopar people always stuck together, helped others, and looked out for each other. I've lived in Florida, Virginia, South Dakota and Maryland. It was pretty much the same everywhere. It is sad to hear that things are changing for the worse. What isn't I guess... Real car guys, Chevy and Ford included, are typically like that. I've helped people no matter what they wanted me to work on, from a Vega basket case to finding the parts to build a Max Wedge Coronet for a friend. I like most cars through the 70's. I have my favorites, but can appreciate most. I've never had a non Mopar car, and I'm pushing 60 now. We were poor. We would buy the car we wanted and start fixing it up the way we wanted. If we were not "Loners", we sure did not care what others thought of us. After all, we did have the fastest cars that lasted and were definitely not afraid to run them. We did not have to buy a bunch of Aftermarket parts. Many times Aftermarket parts did not make the cars faster and sometimes slower. Mopar engines were and still are the best. Want to go fast, get good head castings, mill them flat so they seal, get a competition valve job, and tell your cam company what you have and what you want. Build a solid shortblock and get the rest of the car to be able to handle the power. We did not waste money on strokers and special parts. They are not needed.

 

[Novacuda]

From an outsider, it does appear Mopar people are quite a different breed. It can appear there are a lot of guys who read too many magazines, and watch too may television auctions, guys who act like engineers and think they're better than everyone else. There are also a lot of ricky racers and d-bags at ford shows, and Chevy shows too. Early Nova guys can get looked down upon by Chevelle, tri-five, or Impala guys. I think no matter the make of the car there's awesome people, and not so awesome people. It's human nature to be irritating. I don't like to show my cars because of the morons who bring their dogs, wallet chains and so on around the cars in the show, or open the cars like they own them, or say you should have done this or that right before they go climb back into their daewoo. I don't think domestic car enthusiasts hold a candle to the import crowds though as far as irritation factor.

 

[66fs]

As for car shows, you just get busy. Friends and I used to go a lot, but after a while I decided that instead of going to shows, I'd get into gear and finish off some of my stuff. Ten years later and I'm still not done. I don't think I will ever be. Maybe I'll get to Carlisle this summer. Like someone else said, we would enter the show, knowing we would never win anything, but it is nice parking in the show and not having to walk.

 

[hemicop]

HAving come from a "Chevy world", & having built 3 A-bodies along with several other brands, I'd have to say it's the hyper-judgemental attitude, the "restoration is best" mindset, & the simple fact (IMO) that most Mopar guys are geeeks. That is, they dwell on the technical aspects of thing far more than most other auto enthusiasts. Not necessisarily a bad thing, but why would you sweat over dashboard fascia or bumper brackets?

 

[doogievlg]

See for my the whole judgemental thing is another reason why I'm not into car shows.
I have seen to many guys cry over not winning and I have seen a lot of guys flip out over people being near their car...no offense whoever just mentioned that. For me I don't really care what other people think about my car at all. I unload my rusty 73 swinger at the track with miss matched wheels and go see if I can win some money. If someone walks up and says cool car or even stops by just to look then that's cool but I didn't build my car to impress others. Other guys did, they want to have the best looking ride and show off their hard work then that's cool.

The other question hasn't been answered though.
Why are mopar guys and girls a little wild. I have never been to a show that can compare to the circus that is Heath and Brice road.

 

[hemicop]

"Wild"??? To me they're "eccentric" as they over-analyze almost everything & their cars seem to have to be "scinced-out" more than others. Again, not necessisarily a bad thing but something otheerbrand's enthusiaists don't seem to have to contend with.......

 

[norton]

"Wild"??? To me they're "eccentric" as they over-analyze almost everything & their cars seem to have to be "scinced-out" more than others. Again, not necessisarily a bad thing but something otheerbrand's enthusiaists don't seem to have to contend with.......

Try reading some posts on Vintage Chevrolet Club of America. and then come back and say that. This is the largest Chevrolet club in the world. And these guys are the true meaning of "Eccentric". This exists in all brands.

 

[doogievlg]

Try reading some posts on Vintage Chevrolet Club of America. and then come back and say that. This is the largest Chevrolet club in the world. And these guys are the true meaning of "Eccentric". This exists in all brands.

By wild I mean smoking tires and being loud and proud.

 

[hemicop]

Oh, you have "eccentrics" in everything.But my experience in the racing/hot rod world is that Mopar fans are the largest group of eccentrics there. There are some REAL one-off types, Studebaker, AMC, BUick straight -8s types but Mopar seem to lead the charge in numbers.........

 

[hemicop]

By wild I mean smoking tires and being loud and proud.

Haven't seen that side of it. Talk to some PSCA guys & they don't much care what it is, so long as they can run it HARD.....

 

[Dartnut]

I have driven my car quite a ways to put it into a show and find people don't always have their eyes open going in which leads to hurt butt feelings , if you go to a clubs annual show and you are not a member of the club you probably shouldn't expect a trophy , those shows are about the club and it's members , I normally don't go to judged events or don't enter into any judged category if I do because I am there to meet new people and check out their cars . If you don't want to deal with judgemental people don't enter those shows . Every hobby has it's douche bags heck we have em right here on FABO , guys who we have a Charity Auction for 1 month and 6 months later he's shooting his mouth of how the new Cars suck and he test drove one because he was going to buy but it was crap , or the guy who begs for parts and help and we all pitch in to help him build his alleged dream only to see him sell the damn thing for a nice profit a year later , this crap goes on all the time in every hobby and it doesn't go unnoticed The key for me is to sort out the douche bags and stick to the quality people , I go to Moparfest every year now and there are no trophies or awards only 2000 cars in a field for 2 days of fun in the sun with mostly real Mopar people , throw in 30 or 40 thousand visitors and a good time is had by all .

Great post.
Agreed 1000% especially on the people (not just here) wanting money or free parts and then a few months later, they are suddenly prosperous and back on their high horse again.

I built my car to drive it and enjoy it. If someone doesn't like it, tough titty.
I don't care much about matching numbers or true high dollar restorations, i like looking at them, and can appreciate the work it takes to build them, but they're not for me.
I come from the old school starting in the mid '70s where we modified and drove our cars, and drove them hard. I still do to this day.
I've given away or traded more parts than i have sold over the years, and will talk cars for hours with anyone, not just mopars either. I like them all, it's the car enthusiast in me that can appreciate an old rusty Chevelle as much as a survivor Hemicuda.
One thing that sets a lot of mopar people apart from the others is that most mopar people i know have more than one project, and even more parts.

 

[1967 'cuda]

One thing that sets a lot of mopar people apart from the others is that most mopar people i know have more than one project, and even more parts.

What? More than one project? LOL Ya, that is definitely a sign you're probably into Mopar!

 

[Kmrumedy]

Demoman 3955, good output and very well said.

Let me just say, Grants Pass is way different than Medford

Hey I bought one of my mopars from a great guy in Grants Pass years ago. We became good friends. Turns out he had some pretty awesome mopars. His name is Russell Myers the creator of Broomhilda comic strip. Maybe you know him. I can't say enough wonderful things about him and he is definitely a Mopar guy.

He was even nice enough to do a drawing of Broomhilda on my sunvisor and sign it.

 

[moparmat2000]

its not easy meeting people that share the passion for old classics let alone an old Mopar. Of the handful of carguy friends I've had thru the years they were mostly Chevy guys and one Ford guy. Kinda sad but come to think of it I've never had a friend that was into Mopars. I buy these old Mopars cause I love em and yes I drive the **** outta em, never entered a carshow in my life My ol'lady could give a **** about an old car and in reality it sure would be nice to have some local Mopar friends that share the passion. Working on stuff yourself gets a little old sometimes and at times it hard to stay motivated.


Think they heard me?

Maybe I oughta start a North Texas Mopar thread to see who's out there. I've seen the NOR CAL one and its huge, kinda wish I lived up there. Oh by the way, my new 65 just came from NOR CAL, go figure.[/QUOTE]

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto. i feel your pain. i live in Abilene, where ya at?
Where the hell are ya NORTH TEXAS MOPAR PEOPLE !!!

 

[ir3333]

they are rare!
i asked one of the larger aftermarket company guys why there is so little Mopar stuff?
...he replied Mopar represents 5% of the aftermarket