Mopar Nats- The Early Days, Pics and Stories 1981-1984

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Doug, I've noticed that you've outgrown the need for a comb?

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Yes, I have changed, but the car has done a whole lot better than me through the years.

1977


1981



2007

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Keep the pictures rolling! Very cool to see as I would have been 3 years old in 81.

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Thanks...this is the last old scan picture that I found. I will scan some more in later...

Here is the Hemi R/T Convert out at the race track. In the background are the two San Antonio Hemi Cars we drove up in and Kevin's Hemi `Cuda...

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What I find hard to grasp is bringing a '71 Cuda to the '81 Mopar Nats would be like bringing a 2000 model today.

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Yep, most participants drove their cars to the meet, and most of the trailered ones where on open trailers. That all changed quickly during the first great run-up in Mopar musclecar prices in the mid to late 1980s...

Tonight I will post some pictures from the trip itself, as well as the hotel to track to hotel drives during the meet. Also, sorry for the large file sizes of the pictures that I am posting. They are 850 x 1100 pixels for decent borderless printing on 8.5 inch by 11 inch photo paper on an inkjet or laser printer. Also, the original prints have developed a bleached out or tinted look, so after scanning the image, I crop and run several enhancements on them... which don't always work well on some pictures.

Attached is a before & after example of a scanned picture.

Allen

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XS29 do you have any pictures at the drag strip in Milan or St.Louis. That is were my car spent all its time. At the Chrysler Proving Grounds I just left it on the trailer.

As P1970 said, those were the days when paint dabs did not matter and having fun did.

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I took about 20-25 pictures of the actual racing at Mid-America during the 1982 St Louis meet. I gave two prints to a friend that raced his car there, and most of the rest to Bob Fink, a former owner (?) of the track. I should still have the negatives somewhere, its just a matter of locating them!

Also, I guess you are talking about the 1985 Mopar Nats in Chelsea/Milan? I probably do have some racing pictures, but I will have to find them to check and see. I was fairly heavily involved with the NHOA during that period, so I might have been tied up a lot doing club tasks during that Mopar Nats/NHOA National Meet. I'll have a look when I get a chance... all the Mopar Nats & NHOA Nationals from back then are mostly blurred together for me now...

The next pic is the following Challenger T/A closing up on us...

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What I find hard to grasp is bringing a '71 Cuda to the '81 Mopar Nats would be like bringing a 2000 model today.

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Pretty wild, Huh? well, you have to remember pretty much the only thing that you could buy from '75-81 was a Z28 or Trans Am, and they weren't hot as far as big motors and horsepower, and lacked the serious cool factor that these old Mopars have. Ford had nothing and Mopar was pretty pathetic, unless you wanted a truck.

Everybody knew at that point in time that these cars were becoming collectible, and would sooner buy a 10 year old Mopar instead of a new car, I know I did - the rest is History......


1970 Hemi Challenger that spoke French...

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What I find hard to grasp is bringing a '71 Cuda to the '81 Mopar Nats would be like bringing a 2000 model today.

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XS29 pictures you took of the 1970 Hemi Coronet Convt. from the back with all the other cars looks like a pictures from one of the early National Hemi Owners meets that was not at the CCCC event. Yes Most of the first shows all seem to blur into each other and while there was the St.Louis event there also was one in Michigan.

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No, I am absolutely certain the 1970 Hemi R/T was at St Louis in 1982 at the 2nd Annual CCCC event. In addition to my own clear recollection about the car being the "talk of the show", I have photographic proof at both the race track & headquarters hotel...

First at the track, the same line-up of cars facing the same directions. The 024/TC3 FWD car behind Kevin Kelleher's 71 Hemi `Cuda, behind the B5 Blue GTX, nose-to-nose with the FE5 Hemi `Cuda with the race track in the background...

Why do you believe that it was not at the 1982 CCCC?

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Score!

That's our old Daytona and my dad is in the white shirt standing behind the car.

Thanks for posting your album.

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XS29 do you have any pictures at the drag strip in Milan or St.Louis. That is were my car spent all its time. At the Chrysler Proving Grounds I just left it on the trailer.

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I cought the tail end of the 85 or 86 when they were held here in MI in Ann Arbor IIRC. I attended my 1st Nat's in Columbus in 87. Didn't miss it for many years.

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I have located about 150 pictures so far from what I am fairly certain was the 1985 Mopar Nats in Ann Arbor (Chelsea/Milan). So far all of them are from the Chrysler Proving Grounds or various parking lots, none so far from Milan. From what I recall, 1985 was the final year at the Chrysler Proving Grounds for the Mopar Nats during the 1980s...

IIRC, it was:

1981 CCCC - Chelsea, MI
1982 CCCC - St Louis, MO
1983 Mopar Nats - Chelsea, MI
1984 Mopar Nats - Indy, IN
1985 Mopar Nats - Ann Arbor, MI (Chelsea, Milan)
1986-89 Mopar Nats - Columbus, OH

Great pics dc426! I have located one of my Indy '84 albums and will post scans at some point... lots of wing cars Doug!

First of three pics... Superbird entering the Chrysler Proving Grounds.

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Cool Pics dc426! That is my old Alpine white 70 GTX with the centerline wheels. It was the first Nats I had ever attended.

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Awe man, that was one of my favorites cars there!

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Nice to see some A12's!! I guess they weren't
to street friendly? Great pics

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Well, there were at least three there...

These two were posing for a magazine photo shoot IIRC...

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XS29 your pictures that state 22 of 25 that is my 1971 Challenger in the top left corner. In those day I had taken off the louvers and rear wing and put the full interior back in the car. That looks like Indy, Holiday Inn parking lot, I had broken two inner valve springs of the Super Stock type motor at the meet. That is what you get when you run a 780 Roller on the Street. Two inner springs failed nothing was hurt and the builder of the motor had to come good for the choice of springs. The car is still the same today sitting in my garage,except for the Louvers and Wing are back on the car and a lot milder 612 HP Hemi in the car.

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Here you go... a 850x1100 pixel image with a little enhancement. Neat car!

XS

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Great pics/memories! Thanks!
Anybody have any pics of the 1985 giveaway car:
(1969 black 383 Road Runner) my friend Mike Lake
(who just died this past winter) won this
car that year. Incidently I didn't meet Mike until summer 1987, and was good friends with him up until his death.

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Sorry to hear that your friend Mike recently passed away. There is a lot of material about the Road Runner he won in the 1985 Mopar Nats program. I have scanned all of it except the two page picture at the center of the booklet. I would require a large scanner or splicing scans together... or a digital picture of it.

Here is the material:

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Allen, you are my hero. Keep the pictures coming.

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Hey Randy... Here are a couple for you... now dig out some of your old Mopar photos and post them here!

You are even in the first picture... talking to the guy with the convertible.

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Before I go get some sleep, here are related Mopar trivia questions for y'all...

There is a Hemi engine in the attached picture. The car it is in was at the 1984 Mopar Nats in Indy. The questions:

1) What year/make/model is the car? (OK, that is too easy...)
2) What exactly is very unusual about the car?
3) Is the car known to be legit, or a known fake?
4) If legit, how many are confirmed to have have been produced with this unique feature... or if fake, how many well known fakes exist?
5) What US State did this car travel from to attend the 1984 Mopar Nats?
6) What was the first name only of the owner at that time? (Getting difficult now, Huh?)
7) What was the first name only of the owner previous to him? (Now that is getting unreasonable!)
8) What is the complete VIN of the car?

Just for fun... NO PRIZE! All the answers to the above questions have been discussed on Moparts at some point in the past, but some of the threads may be too ancient to find.

XS

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1) Challenger
2) N94 "T/A" hood
3) legit
4) for 1970: Two with hemi, something like 7 total.
5) Texas
6) He's obviously a friend of yours
7) ""
8) JS23R0B... I don't know but here's the unique Hemi N94 wide lip air cleaner lid from/on that very car....

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1)1970 Challenger R/T
2) N94 "T/A" hood
3) legit
4) for 1970: Two with hemi, something like 4 total.
5) Texas
6) He's obviously a friend of yours
7) ""
8) JS23R0B376234

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Black R/T HEMI 4-spd - dead & gone
Red R/T HEMI auto - see above - got more pics?
Green R/T 383 auto -
Blue A66 340 auto - where did it go?

FYI: all 4 have the OPTIONAL J81 - rear spoiler & both HEMIs were ordered WITHOUT a radio.

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Allen, on scan 9 of 25, can you pull out and scan the 71 Road Runner with the plate "Mrs Cal". That car was at a show here in Milwaukee earlier tonight. Cal & Barb sold it and bought it back a few years ago. Neat car. Thanks for the pics of the Daytona too.

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Here is the MRS CAL Road Runner picture...

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Thanks for the pics. The 67 Red R/T Conv. is my uncles. He still has it, I can't wait to show him this thread!

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That is one evil looking car IIRC wasn't it one of 2?

I have a few more pics. Not much. As the years went by I didn't go crazy taking pictures. I think my all time favorite nationals was the first year at National trails. One show and race all at the same location

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That N94 1970 Hemi Challenger is one cool car. I know of two other breathers, not sure of just how many Challengers were produced with a hemi and N94 hood. I heard it was 3-4. Mccannix has a number of produced bases I believe. I have been looking for a lid for a while for my Breather but can not find one. I guess I will make one myself. Did the red car sell in the last year? and is it being restored is so.


XS29 thank you for taking all the time you did to bring back so many memories and so others that did not attend those beginning years can see that these cars were once fun to drive.

My pictures are on Video, I now wish I had clicked the camera.

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Here is a picture of the N94 Hemi posted on the Yenko SC forum during its restoration last year... maybe autoxcuda can post a nice finished photo.

Oh, and please get your video converted and posted on Youtube!!!

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Yes the car is alive and well in Ca. Julius did the restoration.

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Welcome to the Moparts forum Charley... great looking restoration on the N94 Hemi... Congrats!

Here is the same car about 30 years ago when it was bought out of Lubbock, Texas by a friend in San Antonio who shortly thereafter sold it to my other friend who did the initial restoration on it.

Allen

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Here's my '71 Hemi Charger R/T at the '81 Nationals. That's my buddy Dean sun bathing - typical Dean. Dean now has a 440-6 Challenger R/T SE. My Charger was destroyed in a car storage fire in a HUUUGE building in Hamtramick Aug. 1984. I still miss it very much - I bought the car from the original owner in 1980.

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Question #7 answer - Mark Ainsworth

I remember when Mark had the car here in Dallas many years ago and going down to race at Emerald after The MOpar Mini-Nats show. I was in my dad's 68 HemiCharger 4 sp.

The Charger was also a participant at nats in 82, 83, and 84.

I have albums full of pics that need to be scanned too, but not as many as Allen. He was always a heavy picture taker!

Good for the rest of us!

Tom

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What about question number 8 Tom... and who did he buy it from?

I have a pic of your Dad near the Hemi Charger in St Louis... I will scan it in and post it soon. Oh, and get to work scanning Tom!

Now a picture of a 1970 Hemi Challenger R/T-SE from the 1985 Mopar Nats in Chelsea...

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Speaking of NHOA, I ran into the central division director a couple of weeks ago, Lenny ??
Nice guy, visiting our local show..

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Could he have been Lennie Wilson, the former NHOA National Director from the 1983-1984 time frame? Or was he from some current recreation of the NHOA, or from the still thriving NEHOA?

NEHOA Web Page

The NHOA had nine regions covering the US & Canada, but I do not recall any of them being referred to as the "central division or region"... but my memory might be failing me. Here is a scan from a 1983 NHOA newsletter with Lennie and other directors at that time.

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I was filming this one also in 1983 at Charlotte NC. A ride in Marvin "Hemi" Hughes' 1964 Dodge Super Stock Hemi. WHAT A CAR!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ts6-qOglPg

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Thanks for posting that. Marvin is one of the nicest people I have met in this hobby. He's a brilliant man, and isn't a bit stingy with his knowledge. He's had some cool stuff over the years

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Old Moparz The first Green A12 you posted I believe was Brian Stephens car from Ontario, Canada. Some of the cars at the track I know but do not know the owners. The Green with white top Coronet Convt looks a lot like Anatol V.s Hemi Coronet Convt.

Does Lennie Wilson still own that odd ball Hemi GTX.If Lennie Wilson was the guy you were talking to you should talk to him a lot more. He is from the beginning of this Hobby.

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OMG! I cant beleive someone actually took a picture of my 73 big block duster back then(the black one near the end of your pics by itself)I used to get chastised for cutting up a perfect 340 car back in 83.I had 14x32 Stones on it and got in trouble once too often so I put M/T's on it. I sold it years later and lost track of it.Anybody seen it? just wanna know if its well.
Thanks for the memories. Been to all 30 Nats.
Tom

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This one?

My wife (girlfriend at the time) had a '75 Duster back then, & a couple of years later I found a '73. Both were 6 cyl cars, but they were great. We always liked Dusters, even had a '76 Dart Sport for a short time.

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I always wondered where this one went?

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I always wondered where this one went?

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I think I have the hood to that butterscotch 71 challenger shaker car. I just picked up a 71 challenger shaker hood with the wide hood molding on the front. The car was in Maine when the hood I now have was taken off it. Any one know if the car in this picture was a 383 car?

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triple...

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Scott
can you tell us about these cars.
Am I right in assuming the 71 Cuda is your 440-6 pre-billboard days.
Is the butterescotch the 71 Hemi cuda convertible?
I dont know the yellow convert.
Though it may be Steve's 71 hemicuda convert but I dont think he owned or had restored it then

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I always wondered where this one went?

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Car was a 440 Six Pack Auto (I think) clean car, At the time owned by an older guy maybe in his 40s at the time.

Can't read the plates, maybe someone can identify what state the car was from....

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This thread, like all others, is not going to logically lead to the 90s. It is going to hop all around as different posters find their old pics... Contact the thread starter and see what he wants to do... open this thread up, or someone start a new one.

How about 3 threads: 1981-1990 (this thread already exceeding the initial 81-84)

The Early Years,

1991-2000 The Mid Years,

2001-2010 The Late Years.

Each subsequent decade will probably have more pics than the ones before it...

Just my

XS

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I think that's a great idea, I never get sick of looking at these photos, hard to remember all the cool Mopars I saw over the years at the Nats.

You guys go ahead and start the Threads. I would follow with 1985-90, so this thread doesn't get too far off track- my only suggestion is to word the subject line carefully, so we can find these threads easily (years) later.


Scott

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Come on Dave, back on page 10 you listed two 1966 Hemi cars as '67's...

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Man, two mistakes out of the 40 26 year old photos and all I get is greif.

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Hey, THANKS for posting your pics!!!

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Someone tap me on the shoulder when this thread gets into the 90's. I have a TON of pics from 91 through 99.

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Hey gts340swinger - Why not start a new thread for 1991 - 2000 Mopar Nats pictures, with the title similar to this one... maybe like "Mopar Nats - The Mid Years, Pics and Stories 1991-2000"... I would do it, but sounds like you have more to contribute, and are ready to go...

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I'm going to dig a little more to see if there are some that were never put in a photo album.

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Keep digging and posting!

As far as mistakes, I almost posted this 1971 340 Shaker car photo with a 426 Hemi badged Shaker engine shot... then I noticed the Hemi shot did not have the red grille treatment this car has... Now looking for a car picture to match the engine shot...

St Louis 1982... 1971 340 Shaker Challenger.

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Freaky! That's my car and I'm even in the pic. I sold that car a year or two later and bought it back about six years ago. Here's a pic of it now. Damn - I knew my tires were old, but I didn't realize they were 28+ years old. Better get some new ones....quick! It's a Non-R/T 340 4-spd original N-96. I put the side scoops on because I didn't know any better back then.

XS - Thanks for posting! Please let me know if you have any other pics of the car.

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SL '82... 1969 440 Daytona...

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Same car, Indy 1984... Didn't we all have terrible cameras back then?

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