Young Mopar-head w/story inside
02-15-2012, 10:39 PM
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Young Mopar-head w/story inside
Well all depending of your definition of old...
Growing up, the one thing I shared in common with my estranged father was cars, namely Mopars. My first memories in a vehicle came from being held in my older brother's lap riding in my dads 1970 Duster with a warmed over 360 and open headers. He owned a couple Road Runner's, a 1970 Challenger R/T and my favorite, a 1968 Dodge Dart 270.
I fell in love with that car. It wasn't fast (albeit at the time it was faster to me than just about anything) but it had a stock 360 with a 727. It was clean, simple clean. It was black w/black interior and had white bumble bee stripes around the rear
Fast forward to circa 1999 and my dad goes off the deep end, drugs deep end. His house is going in foreclosure and all the property goes with it. The Dart was in a state of disrepair and not running due to a leaking freeze plug. I was 15 at the time and had just gotten my first job. I took my very first official paycheck to the bank,
ed it and immediately went to my brother's work and begged him until he agreed to go with me to rent a U-haul dolly to go get the Dart before the bank took it.
We get it back to my house and it's like Christmas in July, or at least I think it was July, I know it was hell-ish hot. I pulled the motor with my step dad to find that it had a blown head gasket and likely had ruined the head. Bummer. So I saved my next two checks and bought a "garage in a box" since my mothers house didn't have one.
The next 4-5 years the car just sat. I put damp-rid buckets in the interior every couple of months and would roll it out from time to time to wash it and keep the dust from building up. Knew that I didn't have the money or financial means to afford the "Mopar" prices it would take to make this car nice again.
Fast forward again to 2005. The Iraq war was hot and heavy and I decided to sign the dotted line to the US Army. Finally after crap jobs while attending college, I had a steady source of income. All the sudden the Dart was back forefront in my mind. After Basic/Airborne training I got sent to the 82nd Airborne Div 2/319th. Luckily for me I was from Greensboro NC which is a little over a hour drive between the two. Training started up and within 3 months of arriving at the unit we were wheels up to the sand box. After 8 months I'm finally slated for R&R back in the states and this unfortunately is where the story turns sour...
See, my mother had a long lasting dig against my father, for several very good reasons. However in her clouded haste and anger, she included me in her revenge plans. When I came home to what I thought was going to be a little over 2 weeks of peaceful bliss, I came home to an empty garage in a box. One would hope she had sold it, she had not. She had sold it to a scrap yard for $225. I can feel my chest sink as I type these words. I was crushed. The one connection that I had with my **** poor father was gone.
So time went on and I forgave my mother, but have made sure that I would never forget what she had done. Now I'm out of the Army and have since moved back to my hometown and became a local law enforcement officer. While I very rarely talk to my father, he did make a point to inform me and my brother that he is terminally ill from liver cancer. They don't expect him to live through the summer. For whatever pathological reason, this has stirred up my memories of the Dart.
I had a SN95 Mustang that I just sold and am in somewhat of a financial spot to start looking for a Dart, most likely a project though as I see their values surely haven't decreased in my absence.
Anyway, if you took the time to read all that I'm not sure if you're just bored or as crazy as I. Proud to be a Ma-Mopar fan cause it's Mopar or No-car!
Growing up, the one thing I shared in common with my estranged father was cars, namely Mopars. My first memories in a vehicle came from being held in my older brother's lap riding in my dads 1970 Duster with a warmed over 360 and open headers. He owned a couple Road Runner's, a 1970 Challenger R/T and my favorite, a 1968 Dodge Dart 270.
I fell in love with that car. It wasn't fast (albeit at the time it was faster to me than just about anything) but it had a stock 360 with a 727. It was clean, simple clean. It was black w/black interior and had white bumble bee stripes around the rear
Fast forward to circa 1999 and my dad goes off the deep end, drugs deep end. His house is going in foreclosure and all the property goes with it. The Dart was in a state of disrepair and not running due to a leaking freeze plug. I was 15 at the time and had just gotten my first job. I took my very first official paycheck to the bank,
ed it and immediately went to my brother's work and begged him until he agreed to go with me to rent a U-haul dolly to go get the Dart before the bank took it.We get it back to my house and it's like Christmas in July, or at least I think it was July, I know it was hell-ish hot. I pulled the motor with my step dad to find that it had a blown head gasket and likely had ruined the head. Bummer. So I saved my next two checks and bought a "garage in a box" since my mothers house didn't have one.
The next 4-5 years the car just sat. I put damp-rid buckets in the interior every couple of months and would roll it out from time to time to wash it and keep the dust from building up. Knew that I didn't have the money or financial means to afford the "Mopar" prices it would take to make this car nice again.
Fast forward again to 2005. The Iraq war was hot and heavy and I decided to sign the dotted line to the US Army. Finally after crap jobs while attending college, I had a steady source of income. All the sudden the Dart was back forefront in my mind. After Basic/Airborne training I got sent to the 82nd Airborne Div 2/319th. Luckily for me I was from Greensboro NC which is a little over a hour drive between the two. Training started up and within 3 months of arriving at the unit we were wheels up to the sand box. After 8 months I'm finally slated for R&R back in the states and this unfortunately is where the story turns sour...
See, my mother had a long lasting dig against my father, for several very good reasons. However in her clouded haste and anger, she included me in her revenge plans. When I came home to what I thought was going to be a little over 2 weeks of peaceful bliss, I came home to an empty garage in a box. One would hope she had sold it, she had not. She had sold it to a scrap yard for $225. I can feel my chest sink as I type these words. I was crushed. The one connection that I had with my **** poor father was gone.
So time went on and I forgave my mother, but have made sure that I would never forget what she had done. Now I'm out of the Army and have since moved back to my hometown and became a local law enforcement officer. While I very rarely talk to my father, he did make a point to inform me and my brother that he is terminally ill from liver cancer. They don't expect him to live through the summer. For whatever pathological reason, this has stirred up my memories of the Dart.
I had a SN95 Mustang that I just sold and am in somewhat of a financial spot to start looking for a Dart, most likely a project though as I see their values surely haven't decreased in my absence.
Anyway, if you took the time to read all that I'm not sure if you're just bored or as crazy as I. Proud to be a Ma-Mopar fan cause it's Mopar or No-car!
Sorta like Airborne, it burns it's way into your soul
02-16-2012, 03:23 AM
#4
Mopar Lover
Welcome to the forum... Glad to have you on here and thank you for your service..... Good luck with your search for that just right Dart... I'm sure you will find exactly what you are looking for... Be sure to check out the Mopar of the Month contest... Great looking Mopars every month!!!
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