I dont know about you, but it really grinds my gears when I see a pistol grip shifter in a 68/69 manual car or the pistol grip automatic shifter.

Anyone else got mopar pet peeves or am I the only [censored] here? 😂

- Hi Impact Colors on pre-1970 cars ( the only caveat being I think HIP colors look AMAZING on 1950's cars! )
- Body color Rallye Wheels
- Cheap K-Mart cassette deck hacked into the dash or WORSE: a single DIN headunit installed instead of either radio delete, OE radio or time-period correct aftermarket.
- Modern audio head unit crudely attached to bottom of dash
- 1970 buckets installed in pre-1970 cars
- 18-inch/19-inch hideous aftermarket wheels; this includes the "tribute" rallye or magnum style. They're still ugly A.F. The 16-inch versions are passable but just barely.
- Cheap tachs attached to steering column of car equipped with factory tach
- Cheap gauges screwed to bottom of dash on car already equipped with those gauges.
- Painted bumpers
- Hemi Orange
- People who go so far as to recreate chalk marks, inspection marks, the starting instructions on the sun visor, the little tag around the "new" 1970 style ignition and then ruin a really nice reference-style restoration with any of the above.

Thing is, I'm like this with pretty much all makes. I'm very protective of the AMC's though. I mean, consider the Gremlin. For 50 years now, people have made crazy contraptions with the Gremlin, done engine swaps that would make your head spin and generally hacked the poor little cars to bits so much so that NOBODY even knows what an original one looked like. That's why I, and a few other friends in my circle have chosen to restore our cars reasonably correct. Anybody can hack one up. Restoring one to be correct takes a lot of time and there is more minutia that one must pay particular attention to, to ensure that correctness. A June-built car may be different from a July-built car.

I'm also of the cloth that some of our beloved cars are over 50 years old. There are very few remaining. One thing I've learned is that sometimes the more pedestrian car will garner more attention. Not everybody had a Hemi, LS6, GTO Judge or Z/28. My little blue on blue 6-cylinder/auto/bench Hornet got a LOT of attention. So much so that someone in the Netherlands loved it enough to ship it halfway around the world.

Ralley wheels on a 69 or earlier, redline tires on a 70 and up, aftermarket or "modern" bucket seats in a vintage mopar, hate seeing poverty caps/dog dishes on muscle cars of any make...taxi cabs understandable, double or triple F8 mopars, mopar rat rods, Daytona/Superbird wings on anything other than a Tona'/SBird, Frog eyed 69 Charger 500's, cheap aftermarket sunroofs, blue painted engines correct or not, column shifted automatics on musclecars, AC on a musclecar factory or not..... just to name a few

Not a fan, huh ?

Rambler man...You like THIS look better?

I LOVE the wide tire look. I wanted my car to look like a street version of a NASCAR racer. I wanted it to look like the widest tires possible were stuffed under the car.

My # 1 pet peeve is seeing a black engine bay in a car that isn't black.
I don't like seeing cars without the blackout treatment on the core support and aluminum radiator.
Stock width tires on any classic car. They look horrible, like a hippo wearing ballerina shoes. 5.5 inch wheels on a 440 car ? Really ?
Go wings. Any of the car that had them look better without them. My opinion, yours may differ.
I agree with MOST of Rambler Man's opinions. Gauges, shifters, HIP colors, etc.

I think those are the only oversized wheels/tires I've seen on a muscle car that look good. That's a nice looking wheel, too. Unusual.

Most have been mentioned.
Ralley wheels on post '69 cars.
Pistol grips in pre '70 cars.
High impact colors on pre '70 cars.
People trying to make their '68 Coronet look as good as a '69 by adding N-96 scoops or side scoops to it.
Steel wheel/dog dish caps on EVERYTHING, especially by the purists that complain about cars with non-original parts on them.(Then stick on steel wheels that didn't come on the car)
Complaining about chrome magnums on cars instead of Road Wheels. This goes along with the folks that believe that you should keep 14" tires on the cars so they can not hook, not handle, be slower than a Honda accord and stop 10 feet shorter than a 3/4 ton pickup that weighs twice as much.
Rows of A-12 cars that are all nice and proper with the same boring steel wheels on them that just drive from heated garage to enclosed trailer to show field to enclosed trailer to heated garage. Factory street racer to show poodle.
Arrogant "experts" that are under the impression that since something worked on their car it will work the same on every car ever built. It just doesn't happen that way.
People that whine and bring up scoops added to 340 Dusters every.single.time. one pops up. So the economy division didn't add scoops. Everyone knows by now.
I think that's it. Well, probably not.
But on the other hand, I don't let that stuff bother me too much, I just walk by when I see a peeve or just don't comment on it.

Incorrectly painted tail panels on 68-70 Chargers
Extra R/T emblems everywhere
Digital dashes
Use of the words Dippy, dizzy, loud pedal

"My # 1 pet peeve is seeing a black engine bay in a car that isn't black.
I don't like seeing cars without the blackout treatment on the core support and aluminum radiator"

This right here. The no blackout behind the grill REALLY chaps me when its on a car "professionally restored". Same deal with '70's trucks.

And then there are the people that will argue and insist that NO mopar came with this treatment.

These have already been mentioned, but I just have to list my top 3. In no particular order;

Go wings. Besides drilling holes in original metal, they are done to death.
Modern wheels/tires. They nearly always just look wrong and out of place.
Body color showing through the grill. Idiots.

The pistol grip auto shifter came real close to making the short list, too.

Every reply here is the exact reason I stopped going to all Mopar shows. Yep...it has a pistol grip, an aftermarket head unit(dash was already hacked), aftermarket steering wheel, non factory color and black engine bay. I don't care! This car was a complete basket when I got it so I feel as though I saved it. These cars don't bring big money so I refuse to invest huge money to make it "right".The car is a hoot to drive and gets plenty of attention from the non purists. 470" low deck,4spd 3:73 rear.

Well, not EVERY reply. You have period wheels on your car.

My pet peeve are the people who can't accept anything that's not "stock" or original.

Gm anything in it. I am more into the flathead era and it is very common to see a Delco alternator in one. I put a Mopar setup in mine. Don't even get me started on a SBC/LS swap.

Not a fan of rockers on the ground or stupid oversized rims, on any era vehicle. Some lowering is good, but wow do some take it to the extreme.

An MII suspension on anything, a craptastic suspension that was originally used to replace even more craptastic solid axle, leaf sprung 30's era suspensions and once you replace everything stock with aftermarket it works, for values of work.

A four link on anything. There are way better suspensions for as much work.

A 9 inch rear on anything not a Ford.

That so many Mopar owners are annoyed by anything I do to my Mopar that wasn't done in a factory version and that they stand around denigrating my car for it.

I hate after market air cleaners and valve covers like edelbrock.

Shackles.

Hmmm.....another strike!

[quote=Dcuda69]Every reply here is the exact reason I stopped going to all Mopar shows. Yep...it has a pistol grip, an aftermarket head unit(dash was already hacked), aftermarket steering wheel, non factory color and black engine bay. I don't care! This car was a complete basket when I got it so I feel as though I saved it. These cars don't bring big money so I refuse to invest huge money to make it "right".The car is a hoot to drive and gets plenty of attention from the non purists. 470" low deck,4spd 3:73 rear.


[/quote

I'm with you!! I'm not a fan of the blacked out engine compartment or huge newer wheels, but besides that, do what you want. Some folks want to go OEM all the way, some want to modify their cars. Do what you want folks but when you do, do it well.]

A little overreaction. Changes don't have to be OE. They just shouldn't suck.

It shouldn't be a surprise to someone that 'customizes' an antique auto that not everyone will appreciate their taste in custom touches. Isn't the whole point of making changes to the factor product to make it unique for and to the individual owner? Unique, individual, and/or different, means not necessarily for everyone. You really shouldn't be surprised when personal touches do not meet with universal acceptance.