I've been a mopar guy since about 2000...I always loved the general lee as a kid and was captivated as a young adult by the hemi and its legendary status, even around ford and chevy guys. After I finished college I purchased a worn out little toyota pickup to commute to work in, it promptly started running VERY rough. I took it to the closest repair shop to work I could find. The mechanic there repaired it and told me I had a loose distributor and that I had had a fire in my air cleaner. He knew I was broke and recently out of school and patched it up with a helicoil. He had a picture of a 1970 B5 Blue Superbee on his counter and as I was waiting I asked about it. He was a mopar guy and told me it was his bee, he had restored it and several other cars, etc. I started stopping by his shop and having coffee in the waiting area with a few retired guys and talking cars...pretty soon i had a coffee mug there and was a 'regular'. I started looking for a muscle car and after seeing his car in person when he drove it to work in the summer, I was hooked. My job was pretty crappy but I saved up and bought a 69 Coronet 500 with a mid 70s 440 in it for $1200. It had no brakes and the front suspension was scary, both bumpers were bent, the interior was totally destroyed, and it didn't have any window trim. It was however, loud and fast. I had the front end work done, bought a new carb, replaced the grill, etc. I didn't have the money to really restore it the way I wanted and my girlfriend at the time thought it was too "white trash" with its home done green paint job, dents, etc. so I sold it to a family that was going to restore it as a father/son project. I really wanted a clean, beautiful FAST mopar.

I still had the bug so I bought a 67 Belvedere II with a 400 in it that was shiny, pretty, and had a nice interior. She loved it. It was no where near as fast or cool as the Coronet but it was more reliable and by far easier to drive. I built a 383 with the help of my mechanic buddy and his friend and learned a lot...we put it in and the car was a little faster. I showed it although it was a modified 10 footer and had a lot of fun zooming around in it. Life started to happen and I wasn't able to use the car so I ended up selling it...and really I wanted a 68-70 B-body four speed 440. A hot rod...with pretty paint, day 2 style, that i could zoom around in and also show at car shows for fun. I didn't really have the means to build/buy what wanted at the time. I was single and starting a new career so my car hobby took a back seat to work.

I got a new girlfriend then that was a car girl and so I ended up buying my 69 Roadrunner...which needed WAY WAY more work than I ever anticipated...I ended up taking almost 10 years getting it roadworthy and by then the paint was damaged, the interior already needed work (it had been new!) the engine was giving me problems, the gas tank leaked and I couldn't figure it out (neither could a well known restorer or my local mechanic), it was really loud, the four speed was cool as heck but my gearing was off and I realized that in the 10 years it took to get it done my wants and needs had totally changed. All the work I had done needing to be redone and the ensuing frustration had really taken the joy out of ownership to me...all I could see were the problems. I have moved and having a street racing monster is totally impractical where I live...it's all country roads where you need to go 55-60.

I realized I wanted an auto on the column car so my girl can sit next to me, with AC because its hot in summer and helps defrost in the winter...I'm getting OLD! I sold the runner to a Moparts member who is a great guy and has done some needed repairs to the old girl. I probably could have sold it for more on BAT or through a sketchy consignment dealer but its important to me for it go to the right person. I'm starting to look into getting another mopar (still have my 2005 Powerwagon) but its funny that now that I have the means to afford the 'holy grail' cars i always wanted (A12 Roadrunner, Charger R/T, etc.) I'm more practical and frugal...I don't need the fastest street car anymore (I'm 46). Like I said, a nice 68-70 B-body 440 auto on the column with AC is calling my name...not necessarily a restored perfect example but a nice driver I could show. Has anyone else had this sort of transition in what you want to do in the hobby and what suits your needs? I'm curious if anyone else has had their mopar priorities change over the years, or even over the course of a restoration. I also find it ironic that now that I could buy or build what i used to want I don't want that anymore...the cars that catch my eye are ones I used to think were kind of boring. The survivors, the oddly optioned cars, etc. rather than the pure performance cars.