I grew up around Jeeps as my Dad was big into 4x4's, but I never really caught the bug. Always enjoyed tinkering and seeing what made things work, but this was mostly relegated to electronics. Ended up becoming a computer nerd fiddling with Apple II clones until I got my first PC in junior high. First car I got was a 1980 Buick Century that wound up getting totaled before I was even off of my learners permit. My second car and first Mopar is the Fifth Avenue I still have. Still wasn't terribly interested in cars until my best friend's Dad gave me a motor to pull apart. He was (still is) a big Mopar fan that goes back to the early 70's. His current drag car is a '65 Dart with an RB based 498 stroker.

Motor was a 360 that he said was loosing compression on #5. Had no idea what the hell that meant. So I tore it apart in my garage and found a hole in the #5 piston. With a pile of parts and nothing to do with it I bought a book and proceeded to rebuild it. Was a learning experience. Ended up putting it in my car and learning as I went.

Yeah, not much of a story, but I'm trying to get away from infolinks and wuflu posts.

What got you into Mopars?

My 1st car memories date from the mid-'50s in Chicago: Dad's black bullet-nose Stude coupe and green '50 Ford. I think the Stude predated the Ford.
I was fascinated by the various things that combined to allow going places, the sound, smell, shapes & colors, the sensory pleasure of their operation.
In 1956, Dad & Mom drove a new black T-bird for someone from Chicago to L.A. and I thought that was fantastic.
Won my 1st bet with a neighbor kid proving I could read "Powerglide" on the back of Dad's '53 Chevy.
In '57, having moved to SoCal in that Chevy, Dad ordered a Plymouth wagon; I was smitten by how different they looked, Dad was impressed with the engineering, and all that probably sealed it for Mopars.
Sometime in '57, some friends of Mom & Dad's took us to a sports car race in SoCal; between that and riding around in the same guy's Triumph TR3, I've been hopeless ever since.

I always loved cars. I could identify every car on the road by year, make and model by the time I was 6. My dad wasn't really into cars, he was a machinist and could make and fix anything. I of course had tons of Matchbox cars and models, my entire life was cars. Bought my first car at 13, couldn't drive it but I took them apart, put them back together, sometimes. I bought probably 20 cars before I could even get a license to drive them.

There was never any doubt what I wanted to do for a living. So I'm doing what I love, always have.

1967 or 68 and I’m nine years old. Older brothers had Jeep and an MGA, they were cool, but not real cool. Next door neighbor had a 65 GTO, but then he traded it in on a new 68 Vette, red. It was awesome...the flip up headlights were very cool.

8 years later and I bought my first car, a black 67 Camaro, 350SS 4 speed.

At 4 years old, mid 60's, we played in the garage while a family member built a Model A pickup hot rod. The adults would put my cousin and I in the bed and let us sand the rust off the cab. In reality they were drinking beer and could keep an eye on us. At about the same time a family friend bought a new Corvette coupe. I had many rides in that car and the shape and sound was like being in a space ship to a kid. In 68 I had all the original Hot Wheels and Tonka trucks. As a teenager the California Kid movie hooked me big time. In 69 I got to go with my grandma to pick up her new Crown Imperial at the dealership....then girls became interesting. All the hot girls were with the cool guys and their muscle cars. I became obsessed with both. Then some maturity and the quest for knowledge about how things work, Cars I got a handle on...girls not so much. I still have the old car bug and search daily for the next score. I just bought a 32 Chevy fire truck because it was cool. I have a Route 66 tattoo on my back with a Model T coupe hot rod and I named my first son Corvette. Ya I know but Belvidere just didn't seem like a good idea at the time.

In 1963 I was hitchhiking in Grosse pointe Mi. and got a ride with Al Eckstrand who was breaking in the Ramchargers super stocker. That 10mile ride hooked me on go fast Mopars.

1963-1966 Mom worked at a Ford and a Chrysler dealer as receptionist and housekeeper. She would get to try some of the lower level 'Econo' cars. We had a few Falcons and Valiants so she saved enough to buy a 65 Barracuda. It was ordered as a stripped down /6 4 speed but came in as a Formula S 273 4 speed.
My best friends dad worked as sales manager at the Ford dealer and he would bring home the newest hot car. I got rides in so many Mustangs, Shelby's and even a 289 GT40. Been hooked since.
1st car was a 65 Dart GT shell. Put so many different engines in that car. Last engine and trans was the numbers matching 273 and a 904 after my driveline broke and busted the A883 and bellhousing. Sold it in Augusta GA back in 1984 for a Shelby Charger.....

I had started with Matchbox and Corgi toys, then Hot Wheels came out in 1968 and started getting them for my birthday and Christmas. I then started building models and showing them. Then we moved to Bristol, VA and my boy scout troop went to Thunder Valley Dragway, and I saw my first Hemi Darts and Barracudas and I was hooked! I had always liked the looks of Mopars from my dad having gotten rid of his 61 Comet wagon and bought a 65 Satellite. When I was old enough to drive my first car was a 66 Satellite, then a 69 Fury III and both of those cars broke down, so I moved to a 69 Dart GTS 383 4-speed on June 28, 1978 which I still have. I had a 64 Rambler American inbetween the Satellite and Fury which I only drove twice because the twin stick overdrive broke, then a 71 Pinto and a 72 Vega at the same time, so that soured me on those brands, LOL...

Being a broke assed non-rate sailor not even clearing $400 a month. I could only "afford" cheap cars, then I couldn't afford to pay someone to fix the POS' so I had to learn how.

The Dukes of Hazzard - in first run episodes of course.

My Dad worked at Ford.. From what I understand he was a car guy in his early days, then became a family man?..He was pretty disappointed when my twin brother bought a 72 cutlass supreme about two weeks after we turned 16. It seems every car I looked at my dad would dropt he hammer and say NO. I finally said to Mom and Dad, fine you find me a car. My Mom called from work a few days later. "hey I just saw a cool car across from work for sale. I made a bee-line over there and it was gone. Oh well, My grandma lived about a half mile from moms work (sorry story longer then I thought). I went to visit her. There was the car. The kid that owned it was dating the girl across the street..I bought it. Had it three years and sold it. It would be 20 years before I bought my next "mopar muscle" car. 1st one 73 satellite sebring, 2nd one 67 gtx. Kevin

What REALLY got my attention? When did I catch the car bug? Probably had to be 1969 after the 1970 models were out - I first laid eyes on the 1970 Cudas & Barracudas. All I can say is they moved me! I was a 12 year-old kid & my parents were school teachers, so I really had no one pushing cars on me, & none of the friend's dads were gearheads, although most of them worked for Ford & a couple worked for GM, but they drove "regular" cars. Yep - it was the styling & sound of the Cudas. I remember seeing new Cudas driving around, & I remember there were a few with shaker hoods - I KNEW those were special - you hardly ever saw them! Also remember seeing the AAR's - those were REALLY special! To me, those seemed like the fastest ones because they looked like they were going 70 standing still. There was a guy in the area with a bug-juice green Hemicuda & I remember seeing (& hearing) it drive down our street several times. I remember it had a shaker hood. It wasn't until years later when I was in high school around 1975-6 that I learned it was a hemi. One of my buddies who lived about a half mile away said it had been his next door neighbors' car & he said "yep - it was a Hemicuda allright!" When I was 12, I was determined to own a 1970 Cuda one day. As each year went by, the dream of owning one kept fading. In July 1976, I looked for a couple months & finally found a nice one & bought it. F-8 green with black interior, 4-speed 340 car, & all original, complete with F&R elastomerics (see attached photo). $1300.00.

There was another guy in the area with a yellow Superbird - I remember seeing that car many times as it was often parked in his driveway - it had to be new or almost new because it was mint. In our area of the rust-belt, ALL of these musclecars started rusting-out when they were only 4-5 years old. There was a guy in the area with a 1969 Trans Am convertible (look up the rarity of that car!), & a guy down the street with a F-8 Green 1969 Dart Swinger 340, guy across the street from him had an ice blue metallic 1967-8 Camaro with a 427 that was BADASS - I remember that car having sidepipes, mags w/50's in the back, traction bars & jacked-up - THAT car sounded like it wanted to eat someone! There was another guy in the neighborhood that had an orange 1970 BOSS '9 Mustang that he still owns, but it is all apart. Gapp & Roush were about 1/4 mile from my house right on Schoolcraft Road & every once in awhile you'd hear them doing a test & tune on Schoolcraft road. By the time we pedaled 5 blocks on our bikes, they would already be back in their building with the doors closed! It was a fun time to be alive for sure, & there were SO many cool cars out there.

I think I was born into the "Mopar" hobby.

My dad right out of WW2 bought a new conv maroon Desoto, and my Mom on her words, she was impressed enough to marry him.
We moved to Fla in 1955 towing a Uhaul trailer in a 1948 9 Passenger Chrysler wagon ( later was sold to private grade school to transport students)
My Dad then bought a 1953 Ply w/OD, he was very proud of the mileage the flat head six got.
My Grandfather visited us from Missouri in his 300C.
My dad bought a 1959 Chrysler 9 passenger wagon with rear AC to drive to Seattle Worlds Fair in 1962.
My Mom bought a 1962 Slant six Valiant 3 on the tree.
My Dad bought a Bright red 1962 Polara 500. I borrowed the car from my dad to take my first DL test, I never returned it.
My Dad bought a 1960 Chrysler 300F, that was a fun highway car, we used to drive it to the Daytona races, quickly, before interstates, avg 100mph.
Decided girls were more fun, went to college, started my business, toured the world, got married, had kids, got divorced, bought 4 Polara 500's, and it starts all over again.

I was probably always going to be a car guy and leaned toward Mopars as my folks had Plymouths while I was growing up. I became a huge fan of the 300 letter cars, but also always liked the way Darts looked. I was hooked on Mopars when I went to work at a small electronics store in the spring of 1977. My coworker had a BEAT '66 Commando/four speed/disc brake/handling package Barracuda. When my boss hired me he told me that I wasn't going to like this guy...we're lifelong friends. That Barracuda became mine in late 1980. As most also know, I'm also a ragtop man. No reason to own a car with a fixed roof, in my opinion...

Born early 60s. Dad was always tinkering in the garage doing maintenance on the cars....no muscle stuff just daily drivers. He was always a Mopar guy. Fast forward to high school....tons of muscle cars running around. My 1st car was a 70 Chevelle with a tired 307. Had a 72 Cutlass Supreme and a 71 B'cuda 318 car as well. Took Auto 1,2 and 3 in high school and then Auto in tech school. Worked at a Goodyear store then a for a guy that raced circle track dirt cars and had a BB 4 spd Dana 67 B'cuda fastback.After driving that the bug hit.
Went to work for a buddy that is a huge Mopar guy and into drag racing so it kept going from there. He hooked me up with a 69 B'cuda at a great price and helped me put it together. Couple other jobs and I ended up teaching Automotive at the tech college I graduated from. 20 yrs later I'm still teaching and playing with cars. My dad and I with the B'cuda shortly after paint. It looks different now with Crager SS and a 470" stroker low deck but same car that my Dad really liked! Lost Dad in 2004. Still have the car.

I started working on engines as a kid(about 7 or 8) and then got into mini bikes... I finally built max16 on a old
frame I had.. I would take on 350 hondas and beat most of them.. later on I worked at a Buick dealership
as a mech.. I had a 62 Dodge Dart I put a hemi in.. that was my first Mopar.. after I got out of Nam
I had to buy another car.. my brother totaled my dart.. I picked up a very nice Olds 442 W30 4 speed.. sold
it down in Ft Being area and made a nice profit.. bought a 69 Dart GT 273 S.. then when I came home I started
working at Chrysler Engineering for the next 35 years... we wife and I) still own 8 mopars 2 are drag cars.. the
rest are either our daily drivers or street rods

Even though my Dad wasn't a 'car guy' I think it was inevitable for me. My Mom's birthday is 3/18 and my parents conceived me in the back of a '62(?) Plymouth Wagon...

But what really pushed me over the edge was back about '78 when I was 10 or 11. We lived in an apt in NW CT. One neighbor had a 'hot rod' '67 Camaro (primer black, jacked up with 50's out back) and another neighbor who owned a '70 Challenger R/T convertible (plum crazy, black top and interior, NO stripes or spoilers, 440, stone stock down to the mag style wheel covers). The owner was a Woman who had gotten the car in a divorce settlement. She only drove the car on nice days and usually with the top down. Never saw her beat on the car, just drove it normally, rumbling around town. I had eyes for the Camaro, and my young self thought the Challenger color was a little weird.....

Then it happened.

I was out by the street in front of the apts riding my bicycle one day when I heard the Challenger fire up. It caught my attention because this time the lady winged the throttle a few times rather than just leaving it idle for a moment. I stopped and watched her come down the driveway, and as soon as she got on the street she hammered it, going past me with smoke just POURING off the back tires and the 440 wailing at full song........

I sat there on my bike for a few moments engulfed in tire smoke, my mind blown, trying to process what I had just witnessed. It was a lot like discovering girls, just a lot less embarrassing.

I promptly went home and took all the Camaro pictures off my bedroom walls.

I don't remember the exact length of time, but not too long after she did the burnout, the Challenger disappeared, first replaced by a VW squareback, then soon after, a brand new Pinto.

I later found out through my parents that the smoke show had actually scared the heck out of the lady. She had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend and took it out on the car not expecting it to do that. If that is true, she was too scared to let up as she went well over 200 ft, smoke rolling, car cocked sideways.

Much, MUCH later, I think the car may have crossed my path twice with other owners (as a gutted shell) but I would have no way to prove it.

For how much of an impact that car had on me, I've never owned a '70 Challenger.

I got hooked on going fast in hot rods in 1962 after riding in fenderless roadster that a friends brother in law had made from a 1923 Dodge roadster pick up body shell, a handmade sheet metal bed mounted on a Model A frame that he had Z and added a 1957 Olsmoblile J2 motor and 3 speed stick shift trans with a 1949 Olds. rear end with twin beam trailing arm rear suspension mounted to the model A frame and stock model A buggy springs front and rear, it probably had a drop front axle also.
That was in 29 Palms, CA back before the great society got started later, he floored it in 1st gear and it starting spinning the recap 8.20x15 rear tires making it fishtail back and forth in every gear, not much traction but it impress me
I've been hook every since (I was 17 years old that year)
The first two cars I bought(1952 ford 2 door sedan and a 1950 Pontiac 2 door Coupe)) had 303 C.I. Olsmoblile motors in them.
My fourth car, first Hemi powered, was a 1933 Ford Pickup that had been chopped and channeled with a hand made short pick up bed with a stock 1955 Chrysler New Yorker motor. That truck still had the early Ford enclosed drivetrain in it with 4.89 gears and a really garbaged up exhaust system that was probably 1 3/4 or even maybe 1 12/inch pipes
I had my Father In Law makes me a set of tube headers with built in muffs in the 3.5 inch collectors, that really woke that monster up I whup a lot of the local street racers with that hot rod It might have been a mid to low 14 second or on a good night maybe high 13. seconds on the Casler 7 inch recap cheater slick I bought for it.
Those tires broke a lot of drive train parts, clutches, pinion gears, axles and so on, in my old hot rod

Day-ummm.... there are some real seasoned citizens on here !

I should learn to respect my eLdErS ....

If you live long enough you will get old also have fun while your aging

Dad was into cars, and his pride and joy from his youth was his ’52 Desoto coupe with the Firedome Hemi. He kept the car till he was gone, even though my older brother rolled it with me in it in 1967. Unfortunately, Dad was never able to fix it.

I think due to my dad, I was into learning, identifying, model building and match box plus Hot Wheels cars like others, but what sealed the deal for me at 13 years of age in 1973, on fast Mopars, was an 850 mile ride in my cousins 1969 Charger R/T with several memorable moments along the way.

In 1977, my first car was a ’70 300, 2dr w/440 and console shift 727, 3:23 limited slip that I had to repair due to a blown engine (hole in piston). Bought a short block. Still have that engine actually. It served duty in that car, a 69 D100, a 78 D150, and lastly a 75 D300 crew cab.

I looked at, test drove and wished for many of the “Muscle Mopars” at cheap prices in the late 70’s and early 80’s, as I tried to get into it in my early adulthood, but have managed to only own one muscle, but many other Mopars over the years. That very 69 R/T, of that memorable ride, is the one I have owned since 1984.

I guess I could count my 2012 SRT8 as my second muscle Mopar. Bought 30 years to the month after my 69. Suppose if I had more time and money, there would be a whole long list of them. There are far more on my bucket list than I will ever own. I suspect this is true for many, if not most of us.

P.S. Maybe, in a very loose definition, my 78 D150 that sported a built 440 along with an A833 qualified as muscle.Sure had a lot of fun building it and driving it.

I didnt really grow up around a car / mopar family. My parents drove what ever they got the best deal on at the time they needed it .

I got into model cars very early on ( early / mid 60s time frame )
One day from riding my bike on the road I lived on ,,, I spotted a blue on blue 1969 Road Runner for sale . it was a 383 , column auto for $150 and drove it home. ( summer of 1977 or so )
Blue was my favorite color and the price was right, It was also all I had from the summer job I had at the time.
I had seen a few of them around and liked the body style . There was bright green 69 RR in my high school parking lot that belonged to a guy a few years ahead of me, I found out later it was a Hemi car ( I would own that car several years later btw ,, )

But anyway ,,,,,That blue car needed parts and that lead to becoming friends with a local guy who was a year ahead of me that owned a limegreen Superbird in my junior year of high school. And still good friends to this day btw

Been hooked on Mopar ever since. Ive had a BUNCH over the years, Mostly B bodies, a few A bodies . Just never had much interest in the E body cars. Ive only owned 2, a 71 Gran Coupe Barracuda and a 70 Challenger 340 .

I had started my first resto ever on a 64 1/2 Mustang. My buddy, you may know him as R/TDaddy, stopped by as said "you don't need to be working on that P.O.S. You need a real car". Off to the junk yard we went and found a original 1974 440/auto Charger Rallye. Next thing I know there's 5 Chargers in my yard. Kids came and I sold 3. The 2 I kept are still on the road.

Family. Dad loved cars, though he never had anything "collectible" himself. He did as much of his own work himself as he could, including rebuilding the straight six in our families 1st second car (seeing that engine apart and all it's little parts organized on a sheet on the garage floor is what I think really got me hooked. His Dad had a '53 Imperial with Hemi, and a 1926 Dodge. Grandpa, Dad and all us 3 boys always talked cars around the dinner table at birthdays, holidays, etc. Still do.

My oldest brother turned his new '75 Dart Hang 10 into a Street Machine in the late '70s, and took me places with him. We also had the Street Machine Nationals in town(or near by) for many years. This picture captures just a glimpse of my brothers Hang 10 on the far left at the Nats in Springfield, his friend and custom painter in the red S-10 next to him, and another friend with the 427 dual quad 4 speed Bisacyne next to that. There were others they ran with, and they always let me hang around, go to shows with them, etc.

I grew up in a car town(mostly Chevy and Ford autoworkers from Cleveland) and there were a lot of muscle cars in my neighborhood. I first started noticing cars in the mid to late 60's when I heard open headers on the drag cars on my street. One was a 68 Barracuda with a 426 HEMI not sure if it was an original though he did work at the Chrysler/Plymouth dealer in town. My older sister had a boyfriend with an M/P 67 Camaro that got me hooked on stick car racing. It was a high-winding 290" small block with a Doug Nash 5-speed and he would leave the line at 8000 on the rear bumper and man that left a lasting impression on a 10 year old boy. After that I started drawing cars doing wheel stands and I couldn't get enough of going to the legendary Dragway 42 and Thompson strips.
We also had a local celebrity named Lou Sattelmaier with an injected 426 HEMI in a 32 Ford coupe with Zoomies and I was in love with that car.

Gus

My dad worked at Chrysler Engineering in Highland Park, so it sort of started there. Mopar, or no car without question. Part of his job was to take blueprints to various prototype supplier shops on the area, and he would often stop home midday in brand new cars from their engineering pool car fleet, taking my buddies and I for rides (a definite no-no in today's world) in the back of 65 Barracuda's or Dart convertibles, then eventually Road Runners, Bee's, etc. Dad wasn't really a car guy per se, but always kept our family car fastidiously clean and serviced by the dealer. Those Saturday morning oil change trips to the dealer, and dad relenting to my pleas to get 'something bad for me' from the catering truck in service, are memories like no other. But, what really got me hooked though, were the guys in the neighborhood (1969 in Detroit and 15 years old) who were a few years older than me, that all had muscle cars. 390 4 speed Mustang GT, 68 GTO 4 speed, 68 Road Runner 383 4 speed, 64 Comet Caliente 2+2 289 hipo 4 speed, 69 Mach 1, 69 GTX 440 4 speed, and on and on. They were EVERYWHERE! My first ride in that Road Runner? Tom double clutched it, nailed it and we went sideways through 1st through 3rd gear. Scared the crap outta me and excited me beyond words at the same time! Stories? Yeah, like most, I've got dozens, but I'll spare you the details, and just say, it was some of the best times I recall growing up.

family here, too. But it wasn't brand-specific. I came home as a newborn in a '56 Plymouth wagon, as far as Dad's Mopars I recall a '60 Plymouth Wagon, '59 Imperial Crown, '63 Imperial LeBaron, '66 Imperial Crown, '69 New Yorker HT sedan, '72 New Yorker coupe, a couple of O24/TC3 Sport models.
And a BUNCH of weird stuff:
Alfa Romeo 2600 , 2 Metropolitans, a Goggomobil TS400, Biachini Transformibile, Citroen DS19 and assorted cars & trucks that just sort of "came & went".
My brother is 10 years older than I. Here's a few of his cars I remember: '70 Coronet with a lift off hood, '69 440 'Runner, '68 'Runner 383, '70 AAR lime green, a crazy /6 Dart with some sort of high rise intake that stuck the carb through the hood, and for non-Mopars a gray LS6 '70 Chevelle, no less that 15 '70 SS Chevelles, a REAL Ram Air IV '70 Goat, on and on and on and on...And he was the kind of brother that would throw the 18 year-old me the keys to any one of these things. I think he either loved me or was trying to kill me. My favorite was a '68 Charger R/T LOADED with options, Omaha orange, white butt stripe, interior & top. Good Gawd, it was a purdy one.
So here's me & Johnny at Dillon Dam and he tells the 14 year-old me "I'm drunk. You're driving home". I had driven on some back roads and fields but never on main roads. So I guess I'm driving. And what am I driving? A 1969 Road Runner, 440 4-speed, jacked up, 10" Cragars, bright orange with this crazy graphic on the quarter panel and the name "Optical Illusion" painted on the side in gold leaf. Yeah, we're not too conspicuous. So off I go, lurching through the gears, about 20 miles to our place on Buckeye Lake. I only stalled it once. Right in front of a cop at the intersection of Rt 40 & Rt 13. No harm no foul.
So I guess that's what started me along the path that I follow to this day. I have a deep affection and great memories of all things Mopar, but Dad instilled in me a love of all sorts of offbeat cars. I have owned about 175 cars and the types and makes are all over the board.

my earliest memory was when i was about 18 months old [as confirmed by my parents].
we lived in a second story apartment with a super small porch off the kitchen. it had a solid railing all around with about a 3-4" gap above the floor deck, just enough to see out of, but not fall through.
my mom would shove me out there to escape from me a couple of times a day, and i always had a toy car of some sorts to amuse me while i was there.
one day, i watched as my toy car ran through the crack at the bottom of the railing, and landed on the drive way below, which in those days, consisted of two strips of concrete with grass in the middle.
while i was observing my car on the drive way, who should come home but the landlord, "old man mckinley".
i watched in horror as he drove right over my car, flattening it like a pancake !
i left out a scream, and mom came running to my aid !
all i could do to explain between tears was "car ! car !" and point through the crack. finally, she understood me and gave me another toy car to play with, but the die had been cast.
after that episode, my mom made sure she bought me cereal that had cars inside, and when enough box tops were saved, she sent them off to get whatever "vehicle set" was being offered at the time. i sure wished i had kept a few of those toys !

later in life, my old man and grandpa, plus several uncles, built a house next to grandpa and we moved in to it in 1959. gramps liked to tinker with his 1946 buick and allowed me to help.
i learned quickly that old buick straight eight liked spark plugs ! then, in 1965, my old man bought a new '66 valiant, and the rest is history.
in 1968, i went to work for a body shop, bought my charger through the shop in 1970, started a junkyard with my buddy in 1972, and today, i'm retired and old.

My Dad was a mechanic and hotrodder from way back. All he had were Pontiacs & Oldsmobiles when he was younger. He went to work at DeKalb Chrysler-Plymouth in '65 or '66. His first Mopar was a '67 Belvedere II s/w he bought new for Mom to haul us 4 kids around in. IIRC, he started driving the '57 Olds (tri-power) that had been Mom's car. Several years later he bought a '65 Valiant 100 sedan, 170 /6 & 3 on the tree for his DD. In 1970 this became my first car. During the winter of '70 he told my Mom he was afraid I was going to get run over with that little /6 and he was going to put a 273 in it. Turned out to be a 340 from a '68 'cuda and the rest is history.
I should note that the first model car I put together around '64 or 5 was a Hemi under Glass Barracuda.



Tim

I grew up in a Mopar family. My dad worked at Chrysler Corporation, from 1964 to late 1985 (when he was too sick to work anymore, terminal illness). He was a supervisor in the department at Highland Park headquarters, that created the IBM Tab punch cards, for the production of vehicles. He owned a '64 Catalina 389 4 bbl, turqiose 2 door coupe, just before he got into Chrysler. That's the car my parents brought me home from the hospital in.

After, while working for Chrysler, family came first, so from then on it was just station wagon's, and other daily drivers...all Mopars though of course.
A year after I graduated high school, a co-worker of my dad was selling his '69 300 convertible, My dad brought home the flyer from the dept. bulletin board, and
asked if I was interested in that car. We went to look at it, and the rest is history, I bought the car, and eventually restored it. Unfortunately dad never saw it
finished, as he passed away in March of '86. My brother now owns my old 300.

I had older friends, who owned some cool cars while growing up, but I give credit to my dad for my being in the car hobby today...thanks dad!

Short story: My Father

Longer story: Since before I can remember there were various car magazines around the house in plain sight. Then, around 1986, my Dad bought a project 1962 Dodge Dart. Soon afterward, I would help my Dad disassemble a 440 engine for this car. From that point on, it was in my blood. A few years later when I was 16, I saw a 1968 Dodge Charger that I knew I had to have. Working part-time at the carwash, my Dad co-signed for a loan to purchase the car. Now, today, I'm working on a 1969 Road Runner, and Dad still has the Dart...

Honestly it was TNN playing Dukes of Hazzard reruns in the mid 90s, I got into Chargers and the rest of the Mopar family just seemed so right.

I grew up in a Mopar family (both sides, actually).

My Dad's family included his 1976 Power Wagon (now mine) that he bought new.
Also had my Grandpa's 72 Imperial LeBaron that he bought new (still in the family).
My other Grandpa drove Chryslers most of his life as well.
My mother had AMC and Chrysler products most of the time as well (AMC Pacer, Dodge Aspen, etc)
I got my first pickup in Jan 1996 (1976 Dodge Power Wagon, not my Dad's but a similar one) and was hooked from that point on.
My great-uncle on my Mom's side also had an early 60s Dart, and a 73 Imperial LeBaron, and a 69 Dodge pickup.
As stated, lots in the extended family.
A few friends and family members bought GM and Ford products, but they always seemed to either have problems or they would trade every few years. Meanwhile, my family's Chrysler products just kept on going.

JS

I grew up in the Metro Detroit car rich culture. In 72-73 time frame (I was all of 10 years old) my 19 year old neighbor brought home a 71 Cuda 340. Much the same as the photo attached. His prior car was a Triple black 69 Formula S 340 Cuda.
These two cars left a lasting impression on me. I got my first Mopar Muscle Car at 18. It was a 69 383 Road Runner R4 red, white bucket seat interior, white top, spring special. I have been hooked ever since.

Had to be Hot Wheels as I had almost all of them. Born in 65' I remember riding around in the back of my folks cars. We lived near a military base in GA and it seemed the guys always had really cool cars as we would be sitting at a light and something always was pulling up making a lot of noise. Noise get's attention and it did from me. I don't recall too many specific cars but I do remember seeing fastback Barracuda's, a Cyclone like the one I own today, and of course Mustangs and Camaro's. My one major memory was as a 5 year old going to the Plymouth dealer as dad was buying a used 69 300 off their lot. We walked into the showroom to sign the paperwork and there it sat, a 70 RR with a Coyote doll splayed across the hood. I recall the man directing my dad to sit down at the desk and me pulling on his pant leg saying "Dad, don't do it. This is the car you want". Sadly, my dad was a minister and driving a RR was not in the cards.

my dad was into cars either i be mopar.ford or gm and always went to local race tracks plus my uncle ran dirt track had a small junk yard and did automotive work . but when dad picked up a 66 dodge dart gt 273 4 speed that was it mainly all mopar for me ...............
on another note gus that lou`s car was one of my favs as a kid (photos not mine)

One additional piece as I have had some e-mail conversations this week with my uncle (not really my uncle - his father married my grandmother shortly after I was born). Rob is the only other real car guy in the family. I didn't see him much while growing up (they sent him off to military school...) and my parents were afraid that he'd be a bad influence (I wanted a bad influence). Of everybody that I'm remotely related to he is the one I am most like. Had a chance to tell him that a few days ago. I still rarely see him as he lives in Texas now, but we're connected through the car bug, but very different cars...Here's one that I never saw in person, but he had from 1972 to about 1989...

A Cheetah! How cool is that!

Motorcycles got me into tinkering with engines. Bought a Honda Super 90 with money I had saved from several years of delivering daily and Sunday newspapers starting at age 12. I got the bike 30 days before I was old enough to get a license on a learner's permit. Rode the bike on the permit and took my car driving test in a friend's '62 Impala on the last day of learner's permit expiration day and passed and went right back to riding the bike. Went with a neighbor friend to Pittsburgh International Dragway (PID) on my S90 and him on his Triumph 650 Bonneville and got talked into drag racing my S90, the first time I ever raced. Easily won my class and ended up as runner up in top eliminator and had to carry the trophies home stuffed in my jacket. Bought a performance camshaft and valve springs and a performance straight through exhaust pipe with a “snuff-or-not” when needed and installed them myself in the driveway, and the game was on. (Those two events may have been the start?) Bought a bigger bike a 305 Scrambler, did the engine and exhaust mods too and did a lot of street racing and some more track races too. Got a good job in the steel related industry at age 18 and it was time for me to buy a car. First new car I wanted was a '69 Dodge Dart 383 GTS so I bought every car magazine that had anything on the GTS I could find and went into the local Dodge dealership and picked up the new Dart brochure. Reading one magazine I run across a side article that Chrysler was going to come out with a 440 Dart and Barracuda so I start to find a Dodge dealer that has or knows any info on the 440 Darts. No one knows anything about it and I get laughed out of my local Dodge dealership by two sales guys that thought I was just some crazy kid thinking they were going to put a 440 in a compact car. My mom knew there was something wrong when I came home that day and asked what was up, told her about looking at a Dart but not about the 440 or the 383 engine or GTS and she asked why I was looking at a “Compact” car with one older sister that needed rides to work as she had no car and five other sisters and brothers (7-kids in the family) that also needed rides too? I then decided to buy and order a new ’69 383 Road Runner at the home town Plymouth dealer and the clincher was my dad knew the owners and sales and service guys. Sat down in early spring of ’69 and ordered a RM23 hardtop, 383, with 3.91 Suregrip (told dad it was for winter driving, snow and hills in southwestern PA you know, but really I was going to continue street and strip racing), Air grabber, black interior, F5, bucket seats and console (to eliminate or regulate one of the siblings to the rear), hood stripes, A01 light package and power steering for my mom, and yes that is true. Mom drove the car many times and she could put down rubber at a moment’s request by any or all of the kids. I have to say looking back 30w had to be in my blood from my dad and mom. Dad was a master sergeant in the army in WWII and a half-track driver, also in motor pool , a great mechanic and decorated for retrieving heavy armor military equipment from behind enemy lines. Mom was very sports active, a great skier, swimmer and a gymnast. She used to drive her brother’ sports car like a champ. When I started racing motorcycles my mom was my most enthusiastic supporter and even went to one of my racing events in Austria. She passed away in ’14 at ’94 and she still could have put down some rubber in my GTX if any one of us would have asked her to. Oh and BTW remember that 440 Dart GTS earlier in this rambling, well funny thing there was a Moparts member and good friend (local) that years ago we were talking dirt bikes on here and I was ribbing him about getting a REAL dirt bike like one that a company that I work for makes. He calls me and tells me that there is no way he could afford one……but maybe we could do a trade or maybe I would want to buy his Mopar. I asked what is it and he says “A ’69 M-code 440 DART GTS”. I said “No way, what color?” Yep he’s got a 450 and eventually a 625 and a few other bikes from me and I Have a ’69 440 GTS in the color I wanted to order it in GREEN with a black interior. FULL CIRCLE , life is strange sometimes but odd and strange are sometimes a great thing

(my mom cheering me on in Austria, I was part of a team representing the U.S.A, in an international 6-Day long 1,200 mile off road endurance race, miss you mom)

This thread got me so curious that I went and dug into the attic and found the very first trophy that I won on my Super 90 at Pittsburgh International Dragway. It ran an embarrassing high 19's (19.80 or there about ?) but actually that wasn't so bad as another competitor came over to where we were pitting and ask my friend who was racing the 90? He then wished me luck for the remaining day and said "you know you're only 4 tenths off the national 100cc class record". He said "I know this because I own the record on a Bridgestone 100 (2-stroke). I never got any closer than that 4-tenths but did easily win the class and runner up in top eliminator as mentioned. I'm sure this is the class winning trophy from the mid-'60's from PID I mean how long would they use a late '50's Mopar looking car on top of a trophy and hand it out to a motorcycle class winner.

I would say three things got me into the hobby, and specifically Mopars 1) Hot Rod magazine 2)model kits 3)my dad's hatred for GM products.
Back story, my grandpa on my mom's side owned a cab company in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1966 he bought a bunch of new cabs. I don't know the number, but half were '66 Belvederes and the other half were '66 Chebbies of the same size, I'm not sure which model. The Plymouths were finicky to start in the cold, so grandpa complained about that. But when dad worked for him, he would go to the junkyard every Saturday morning and try to buy steering columns and other stuff that would wear out/break on the GMs.
Now, back to me. I grew up looking at 3 Mopars from a young age. A '66 Coronet 440 ratop(he still has), a '74 Dodge Crestwood wagon with a 400 in it and a '76 3/4 ton pickup, also with a 400.(Incidentally, dad hated the 400. Both of them) Dad used the truck to haul mowers around when he sold Gravelys. It was silver and I just loved riding in it. Around my impressionable years, my brother started getting Hot Rod magazine, while I was reading Off Road. While I was already a Dodge/Plymouth guy(I didn't know what a Mopar was) there was an article called "If it Don't Go, Clone it" about putting good stuff in lesser models. On the second page was a '68 Road Runner with Cragar Super Sports on it. I was really hooked then. I would read those magazines over and over, especially when they included Mopars. Which wasn't often. About the time I caught the bug, our neighbor had bought a '78 Aspen R/T, and it began running up past the house at a rapid pace on a regular basis. So now I loved a Road Runner and had a thing for Aspens. He put a 340 in that car with a 727 and someone called it a "quick change rear end", which I'm assuming was an 8.75, then spun a bearing and it sat and deteriorated until I lost track of it 15 years ago.
I started building more model kits, and when I bought the blue A12 model kit, that was when I forgot about the Road Runner and knew I needed a Super Bee. I scoured Auto Traders, Old Car traders, Wheeler Dealers and anything I could pick up to find a Bee I could afford. Which unless it was free, I couldn't. I didn't get Off Road anymore, but I started getting Mopar magazines. Then I saw a Year One ad with a Bee in it with the N-96 hood. Ever since then I have wanted a B5 Bee with the N-96 hood.

As far as working on things, all my youthful memories were of running around to junkyards to keep cars running and tractor junkyards to work on dad's Ford 800 or looking at Gravelys. I was always helping work on stuff, and when I was 5 or 6 dad took a Gravely 424 in trade and I helped dad and my brother restore it. I can't honestly say I did that much, but I'm sure he pointed me at bolts and told me to remove them, and I helped assemble and gopher. So I've been wrenching and working on things for a long time. Hopefully I'll get good at it pretty soon.

I started helping out on Demolition Derby Cars for Team 7 at Santa Fe Speedway (The Locomotives) in the 80's. My best Friend's brother owned the team. I stuck around for a few years but life took me in a different direction. Loved it out there.

That's where I began my obsession with Mopar. So many C-Bodies.........

Yeah, he was always the cool uncle to me. He used to drive the Cheetah from near San Diego to Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historics...Now, that's cool...