“A LIFETIME OF MOPARS”
I was brought up in a home that never seemed to be without a Mopar. From the time I was born until I was in my 40’s, my parents always owned a Mopar, whether a Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth or Desoto – heck, after birth, I was even brought home from the hospital in my mom’s 1948 Chrysler Town & Country 4dr sedan, at the time when my dad drove a 1948 Desoto 4dr sedan.
By the time I was in high school and got my driver’s license, I was occasionally able to take my mom’s 1969 Chrysler 300 (with the 440 TNT, 375 hp engine and 480 lb-ft of torque) out on an “errand” or date. That would often times result in a drag race with one of my friends or challenging someone off-the-line at a stop sign – what an enjoyably comfortable and fast ride as it was a car that few of my friend’s cars at the time were able to beat!
Over the years, my parents owned numerous 1940’s – 2000’s Mopars, but never classic Mopar muscle cars, which, of course, I admired growing up – particularly every chance we got to go down to the local Normandin’s Chrysler dealership in San Jose. It wasn’t until after I was out of college and had owned a few non-Mopar muscle cars that I bought my first Mopar in 1984. I have never been without a Mopar since, and have been fortunate enough to have owned a number of classic Mopars since, including A, B, C, D, and E body Mopars from every decade of the 1950’s through the 2010’s – keeping our Mopar family tradition alive and well.
When my dad decided to downsize the number of cars he had and get rid of his 1966 Chrysler 300 2dr hardtop in 1994, I jumped at the chance to buy it. After 31 years of ownership, I still try to drive it weekly. And because it has the front fold down arm rest / middle seat option and is the only car we now own that seats six, it makes it a great car to take our family or friends comfortably to places that otherwise wouldn’t be able to go with just one car. The 300 is equipped with a 383 CID with 325 hp engine, an automatic column shift, and is believed to have 104K original miles on it, with one repaint in its factory color of ZZ1 Spice Gold Poly metallic. When I purchased the car, Beanie Babies were all the rage and quite popular. As a result, our family decided to name our classic cars after Beanie Babies. That’s why you’ll often hear me refer to our Chrysler 300 as “Goldie” – it’s named after a goldfish Beanie Baby. It’s a fun car to take to car shows, drive-ins, cruises and other places. Regardless of the cars around us, we always hear the comment “I remember when my parents used to own (or drive) one just like that”.
A few years prior to buying Goldie from my dad, I purchased my first 1970 Dodge Challenger – a 383 2bbl LA-manufactured car with an automatic transmission and center console. After a few years of owning that Plum Crazy purple Challenger, I sold it because it eventually sat outside as I didn’t have enough garage space for another 1970 Challenger I would eventually buy. In 1993, I purchased my 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A from a man by the name of Dave Dozier out of Saratoga, CA, who was a famed Bonneville Salt Flat Streamliner Record Holder & Elite 300 MPH Club member was getting rid of one of his many Mopars. When I purchased the 1970 Challenger, it needed a lot of work – the color was wrong, it was primered in some areas, the interior needed to be refreshed, and for the most part other than the factory twin-snorkel fiberglass hood, it was externally unrecognizable as a T/A. Luckily, the VIN and fender tag indicated it was a Challenger T/A, and Dave even had the build sheet to go with the car.
After buying the T/A, I parked it in the garage, but I would take the car out for short drives once or twice a month. Because Dave Dozier had at one time installed a 4.10:1 rear end gear in the car prior to me purchasing it, the T/A was easily able to lay rubber in all four gears. As a result, our kids quickly gave it the Beanie Baby nickname “Squealer”.
In 2008, a restoration on the car was finally started, with the help from one of my great friends by the name of Dave Ingles – a paint and body man by trade. Dave took the car down to bare metal, replaced damaged sheet metal, performed necessary body work, repainted the car to its factory correct Go Mango color, and performed much of the reassembly. Between work and family keeping me extremely busy, I was finally able to complete the restoration, following the reinstallation of the interior, exterior trim and lights. By 2010 the car was back on the road.
Of the 2399 Challenger T/A’s produced for the US market, only 989 were equipped with pistol-grip four-speeds like mine. According to Barry Washington, the Challenger T/A authority, my car is only one of five known to exist with a 4-speed in the Go Mango orange color and having the rare salt & pepper cloth interior option.
My T/A has since had the factory-correct 3.55:1 rear end gears installed and continues to be a car enjoyed by all of our children and grandchildren. I plan to drive “Squealer” for many years to come, and is planned to someday be passed down to another family member, all of whom are wanting it and want to keep it in the family.
