How Did You Get Into Dodges and When?

[Hewy]

I started thinking about this when I asked the question about the post "Date of joining this forum was dated Dec 1969 for a lot of people" Found out there was a hick up when the forum changed a while back. I also noticed some , me included, don't list your age in the public profile. That's of no matter anyway.
So I will start off with my story about how I got into Dodges. I mostly drove Chevys, probably because my father did. My very first car was a Chevy sedan.The next then, the next were all GM.All used
Then a 1947 Plymouth Club Coupe, ah the memories ( note under my signature I'm looking for another P15 )Well moving on, got married things changed kids, house, work you know stuff like that
Had a few VWs ,couple of Fords, then a whole array of motorcycles.Fast forward to two years ago found a the 64 Swepty I have now. Had no intentions of buying it, but after talking to the seller and considering it's condition, it came home with me. I'm happy I got it When I told my son -in -law that I bought it he said "well it's about time" he is very single minded Dodge truck guy period.
Discovered this forum and you all out there with the same interests. I like all kinds of trucks , but find the Dodge is fun because of the exclusive rarity, at least in my town, and I drive one
My age ? .... no matter I've been around awhile, your as young as you feel.
Scott thanks for the forum and thank you guys for listening to.....er reading me.Got to go out to my shop and wrench a little, I'm restoring a 68 Chevy 1/2 ton.Think it will be for sale, got some new ideas.
See ya round.
Hewy.

[hemiadda2d]

I got into Mopars back when I was a kid in Ohio. We'd go to Boardman, OH to the A&W, and see the cruises on Friday Nites. We'd also see the cruise there during the Hot Rod Supernats. US 224 was closed for a couple miles back then for all the streetrods, racecars, antiques. Those were the days! Dodge was a tradition in my family. And dad worked for GM! He bought a green/cream 2-tone 1974 D100 Adventurer SE new, and drove it till he sent it to the crusher in the mid 90's. The cab was rotted out, and the frame cracked, thanks to Ohio's awesome salty roads....
It had 174k on it, and was good beater to get wood. The little 318 was dependable, and the sure grip got us into and out of places I didn't think it would go. The other Mopar in the family was a 1976 Charger Daytona. 1-of-46 with the 360, Daytona package, and the Sunroof. Great car, my first. It would really scoot, after we cammed it up a bit. I guess I bleed Mopar, thanks to those vehicles. Hated to see 'Ol Green go to the crusher, and it nearly broke my heart to sell the Charger, but it was going to a guy with plans to restore it. I wish I could find that car now.

[wally426ci]

I got into Dodges (MoPars) before I was born. Went for a ride in a White Belvedere and kicked mommas belly when it started up

My mom drove a 69 Dart & a 74 Barracuda (I have the Dart as a top secret project and my Dad rebuilt the Cuda for her)

My uncle(s) had Sweptlines and every Mopar you can think of. It just stuck I geuss. Learned to drive in a '71 Demon in my gandmother field.



I have/had: 67 Coronet, 65 New Yorker, 74 Challenger, 70 Challenger, 72 D100, 78 D150, 2 - 69 Darts, 71 Challenger, 2 - 68 Dodge trucks, 84 B100

[mopardwh]

The Dukes of Hazzard and my dad's 79 Ramcharger got me hooked when I was 3 and I was pointing out Chargers and Dusters by the time I was 5. Been a Mopar nut ever since.

[uffdaphil]

I was planning on a 1938 Buick sedan for my retirement fun vehicle, but that changed the instant I saw my '68 SWB on ebay this spring. About four more months and I
can enjoy it full time.

[motomatt383]

my grandfather was a Chrysler man, my earliest recollections with him are in a 67 Coronet, burgandy, black int. followed up by a '69 Fury. my dad is a GM guy, so my first few vehicles were GM's , but i had an opportunity to purchase a '69 Road Runner back in the mid '80's. thats all it took, i was hooked. as for the sweptlines, i was on a search for an A-100. after yrs of looking for one that was decent & affordable. i had found this D-100. it was everything i was looking for & it was way cheaper than i expecting.

matt

[Cageman]

Rumor has it I was concieved in the backseat of a 69 Plymouth.
My dad had Dodge his whole life, He also raced Dodges circle track, His hauler was a 67 Dodge 4 door wedgebed. He raced 440's.
My first car was an 83 ish omni miser. It cost me 100 dollars, and it got 33 mpg. I sold it and was on the lookout for a power wagon. I found one in Rapid city when we were down there for the races. I saved up the money and that was the first Swptline for me. Still own it. Now I race circle track with Dodge, I own a bunch of Dodges and spare aprts for all of them. My new favorite Dodge is cummins powered, and I now own three of them. a 91, the 71 with a transplanted cummins and the 94. I also own a 95 short box ram, a 96 Neon and a 69 Plymouth Valiant. I only need a 61 and I own every year swepty from 61 to 71. 3/4 ton is a couple of them, but for the most part Im a half ton man. My Favs are 70 and 71. I have a 68 coronet, and a 73 swinger that is going onto the winston cup chassis I have to be made street legal. Power wagons are growing like weeds around me and it seems I cant say no when I see one for sale. My wife is even converted, she used to be Honda, but now she loves her Jeep patriot.
I gots it bad.

[DB69]

I started driving Dodges in June of 1974 when I got a 64 330 with a /6 and a 3 speed on the column for $150. My dad had a thing for Furds and I had driven them from 69 to 74 ( when I wasn't underneath them )
That Dodge got me hooked and I have owned 7 of them since
75 Coronet, 79 Aspen wagon,88 D100 lwb, 91 Spirit with a stick, 69 D100 , and currently own a 07 Caliber SXT and an 83 D150 lwb w/utiline bed
That 88 D100 I had for 18 years, and about the time I bought it I found out about the Dodge Brothers and learned they were born 40 miles from where I live and so ther began my interest in the history of Dodge as well as the vehicles. Someday I hope to own a prewar Dodge car or truck
I guess it could be said that I eat, sleep , drink and breathe Dodge
Not tmention buying their clothes
DB69

[Hobcobble]

About 33 years ago ...one of my hometown friend's older brother had a
nice '69 Road Runner that I really liked. My first car [30 years go] was a
'68 Coronet R/T. I had a string of B & E body MoPars amongst other
brands [I wasn't too choosy..... whatever I could afford ] The first
Sweptline that REALLY caught my attention was owned by a neighboring
farm to my uncle's out in Iowa where I worked summers. It was a black
3/4 ton Power Wagon ['70?]. This guy was a clean freak and the truck
always shined. Back in my small hometown [Western NY], there were a
few Sweptlines that I always really liked but I didn't actually come to own
one until '94 when I bought a '71 W200 to plow our lane at our current
home. Now..... eight or nine Sweptlines later....I'm re-assembling my
fourth one.
John

[Mopar4life]

My dad worked at a Dodge dealership my entire life..... I would go up there when I was a kid and hang out and look at all the cars, by then all the cool cars had passed ( late 70's early 80's ) but i still liked all the 5th ave's and Cordobas.... And my dad always had a demo truck , Ramcharger,or Plymouth Trail Duster..... They have just always been in my blood... It was tough being a Mopar guy in school in the 80's.. But I stayed true and even converted my wife to Mopars from Honda's and Toyota's. She never had even heard of a Mopar till she met me... I also think I have done a excellent job of convincing my two kids that there is nothing out there other than Mopars....

[73_Adventurer_Sport]

My first car, bought in 1954, was cherry '41 Chevy 2-door sedan that I babied and never drove hard. It was the worst car I've owned and in less than a year, it was no longer worth repairing.

My next car was a '48 Plymouth 2-door sedan and it was bulletproof. Since 1955, I've driven nothing but Mopars, and will never drive anything else.

[Mopar4life]

Now it looks like I will have to become a fan of Fiats..... Could be worse...

[quickd100]

My father drove my mother to the hospital in a '53 Dodge when I was born. The one car that really hooked me was a '62 Chrysler 300 my father drove for years. I've owned and driven Chryslers, Dodges, Plymouths, and Desotos and nothing else. I always wanted an old beater Dodge truck to cruise around in, I found my '60 in a farmers yard. I've had more fun with the truck than any other vehicle I've ever owned. Dave

[712edf]

I was born in 68. My Dad, my mom's dad & all 6 of her brother's were bow-tie people. But when her brother Bob got back from Germany during the Viet Nam war he went down and bought a new 69 runner. 383 4-speed. You know the story. The purple horn, the cartoon images, the F70-14 poly-glas bias ply's on chrome 5-slot mags, that winding starter, those huge loud @#% pipes coming out the back....What kid could forget. Then at age 8 I came across a magazine featuring a lime green roadrunner looking car with the article titled GTXcellant! It must have stuck.

When I turned 16 in 1984 I bought a dark green 69 GTX 440 column shifted 727 with 3.55 sure-grip for $1100 My first ride! Found it in a Dallas autotrader. The guy had other b-bodies & a mint condition white superbird that he said he'd take $8100 for. If I only knew, but of course didn't have that kinda $$ then.

I painted my GTX, got new cragers, then hit a joker in a chebby truck who pulled out in front of me, spun around the other way & hit Mr lightpole. Totalled! I still have the 906 heads though.

The liscense plate on that ol' GTX that I wrecked 24 years ago.....TEXAS 712EDF

[dahooligan]

I grew up riding in a 1960 Dodge Matador my dad had,still have the 383 engine.First truck I remember being in was a friend of my dad,a early 50 Dodge.I was hooked on trucks then.First car I owned was a 65 olds Cutlass then went back to Mopars with everything from 70 Challengers,Cudas and a SuperBee with a real stout 440.Owned several mid 70s trucks and afew family cars after getting married.Did have a lasp and bought a 69 vett but wife was jealous,now no Vett and no wife...lol..bought my 63 swepy a couple years ago and am having a blast again!!!With the prices these cars are bringing today I could retire if I still had all of them....pat

[Jims68]

My dad drove whatever he could get for $100 and then fixed it up, but their first "new" car was a 65 Chrysler Newport with AC!! Those were the days back in the 50's and 60's, so a $100 car was pretty nice. Anyway, in 1974 when I turned 17, my first car was a 1965 Plymouth Fury III 2dr that my uncle had and I souped it up with bucket seats and dual exhaust . My next car was a 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 SIX PACK with a 4 spd HEMI box tranny and a DANA 60 rear that I bought at Chevy dealer for $1400. Sold it for $2500 to buy a brand new 79 Ramcharger for $9200. Then, bought a Ford That was a lemon. Then, traded that in on a 1985 Dodge Van. While I owned the van, we got a 77 Chrysler Cordoba. In the mean time, I got a 69 Road Runner to restore in 1985 which I STILL HAVE. Now, the van is gone, but I have the RR, my 68 Dodge D-100 and a 56 De Soto Adventurer with dual 4 barrel carbs and dual exhaust (FACTORY). So, I will most likely always own one MOPAR or another.

As for how I got my 68 truck, I got that from a guy that has a Ford Model A. He wanted someone to sandblast and paint his wheels for his A. He offered to give me his 68 Dodge pickup (which he bought new) if I restored his Model A wheels. I didn't really want the pickup, but I took it anyway, and now I am glad I did.

Jim

[65indypacecar]

Always was a fan of the mopars. My grandma owned a 1968 Plymouth Valiant Signet that I always liked since that was the year I was born. Anyways, Grandma was not able to drive anymore, so in 1979 she sold it to my sister who in turn sold it to her very good friend who's like a step sister. Well, she got rid of it before I was driving so I was bummed. My dad gave me his 65 el Camino that I drove for a year till it did the typical chevy float a valve.. So, I looked for a Plymouth Volare which I found with very low miles and a Super six. t was a wagon of course. I drove that thru the rest of high school then when I graduated, I traded the Volare wagon for her 79 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I immediately sold the Cutless to my friend's parents who really wanted it and bought my 67 Dodge Charger 383 4bbl.. Needless to say, I finally had my highpo mopar.. had that for years, then I parked it due to brake issues and bought another Oldsmobile. This time it was a Delta 88 Royale 1974. I loved that car but my wife did not like the color. So, I sold that to a friend and bought another Olds 1981 ninety eight. Well, my wife and I eventually bought a 1991 Dodge B250 van conversion which I still on and drive. Now, we have had a PT cruiser, A Sebring convertible, 1991 Cadillac fwd, 1967 Imperials (1 crown and 1 Le Baron), and everything else listed in my signature. I always liked the look of the sweptlines from way back but I always thought I could never afford one cause they were always a better made truck than Furd or shoveitorleaveit. Well, fast forward lots of years and now I own 6. Probally will own more up to 10 some day.

[soopernaut]

Since childhood I was always interested in cars. We had Mopars in the family but I appreciated most anything that people were driving back then. My dad wasn't really a car guy but liked rear drive cars and did some of his own maintenance and repairs. We had a 68 Dart (318)and a 71 Newport (383)in my earliest memories. Other cars that we had were a 78 Horizon, 80 Omni, 81 Lebaron (slant 6), 89 Diplomat (318 police engine), 91 Acclaim. My mom usually drove the small cars but she primarily drove the Newport while my dad drove the Dart. He bought the Horizon for his vehicle but didn't like it so it wasn't around long. Now everybody in the family drives Fords. The only other brand of car in the family was my brother's 85 Regal. My 1st car was an 86 Aries.

I always liked muscle cars and wanted a 69 Charger, Satellite or something similar when I was in my teens. Old cars were starting to go up in price but nothing like they are these days. It wasn't really practical for a teenager to own a muscle car, especially in Minnesota where you can only drive it 6 months out of the year. I started hanging around with some people who were into off-roading so I got interested in trucks. These people were much more mechanically inclined than I was so I figured I'd end up with a broken truck that I wouldn't be able to drive. Another friend bought a 68 Chevy C10 that was lowered and looked really nice. I thought I should build a Dodge version of that truck. I was planning on using a Lifestyle Era truck and not sure how I got into the Sweptlines. There was one Sweptline at my high school but it wasn't the most appealing truck. There was a nice 4 headlight truck at the place I worked that was probably the first Sweptline that really appealed to me. I've had 3 Sweptlines since but haven't really built the truck I planned on yet. It may start to take shape this year.

[PowerMan]

My Dad has had a 64 W200 since '77. As a kid I loved to ride around in it with my Dad. We started working on it a little in 2004 (I was 14 at the time) to get it ready for a the California Power Wagon Rally in 2005. A week before the rally we found a '62 W100 in the local photo ad. We brought that home and started the restoration.





Every since working on my Dad's truck, I have loved working on these trucks. I learned to drive in these trucks and I plan to keep my Power Wagon for a long long time.

[geno440]

I got started when I started going to the race track with a friend's friend in about 1975. We went to drap strip (66 Coronet) and dirt track (68 R/T) I never looked back.