If it wasn't for a hobby store on the NW side of Chicago I would never have gotten into Mopars. That along with some patient 20-30 year olds willing to share their know-how with a local teenager.

In 1987 (age 13) I was able to get a job working at the local hobby shop to support my RC car habit. The hobby store's owner had a 69 GTX race car (still has it today) His two brother's, who had auto businesses next door, and their extended friends all owned and raced Mopar muscle cars. I caught the Mopar bug working on their cars behind the hobby store after hours. Within 3 years I had bought my 71 Challenger using the money I had been earning at the hobby store. Those same guys took me under their wing and helped me in restoring my Challenger. The body work and paint on my Challenger was done in the garage behind the hobby store. Several pictures of my car being repainted have the RC car track in it. One of their extended friends is moparts member Mopar Mitch. He taught me the proper techniques for installing engine gaskets when we put my motor back together in 1991. I wound up working at the hobby store through high school and part way through college.

Yep, I have a soft spot for old school hobby stores. Not too many of them around it seems.