My first Challenger
11-16-2007, 04:01 AM
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My first Challenger
So I'm in this forum because I like the new Challenger... because I like the old Challenger... because I own an old Challenger. My dad bought my Challenger when I was 14, but it goes back much farther than that. He bought my Challenger because that's what I wanted, because that's what I had been playing with for years. So... I had my crate of Matchboxes out the other day for my kids to play with and I took a picture of my first Challenger.
All that to say, what got the rest of you started on Challenger?
[IMG]local://upfiles/974/C7521BCA1A354E8AA5F04549C4580034.jpg[/IMG]
All that to say, what got the rest of you started on Challenger?
[IMG]local://upfiles/974/C7521BCA1A354E8AA5F04549C4580034.jpg[/IMG]
11-16-2007, 04:24 AM
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RE: My first Challenger
My dad was a Mopar enthusiast. He used to drag race. As a kid he would take me to car shows and drag races (we used to hit the NHRA spring nationals down in Bristol in Thunder Valley next to the Bristol Speedway. The 3 hour trip down he'd talk about all the Mopars he had and tales of his exploits in the 60's and 70's. Really cool memories.
His car is featured as my Avatar. I always wanted to have a powerful Mopar. Finally, I have the resources.
I wish they offered some version of the 69 Six Pack. No frills street racer, but I missed the boat on those. As a kid being raised on Mopar, I always thought the best looking one was the Challenger. I prefer it even to the 'Cuda. But that's just my opinion. I would have bought the SRT Charger when it came out but they didn't offer a manual transmission. I was pondering and pondering and when the concept came out, that's when I started hoping they'd build it. After they announced they'd build it, told the wife of the impractical purchase and she mad no issue of it.
His car is featured as my Avatar. I always wanted to have a powerful Mopar. Finally, I have the resources.
I wish they offered some version of the 69 Six Pack. No frills street racer, but I missed the boat on those. As a kid being raised on Mopar, I always thought the best looking one was the Challenger. I prefer it even to the 'Cuda. But that's just my opinion. I would have bought the SRT Charger when it came out but they didn't offer a manual transmission. I was pondering and pondering and when the concept came out, that's when I started hoping they'd build it. After they announced they'd build it, told the wife of the impractical purchase and she mad no issue of it.
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11-16-2007, 05:51 AM
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RE: My first Challenger
Me english brokey down when get distracted. Meant to say she didn't get mad or have any issue with it.
Doah! [:@]
Doah! [:@]
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11-16-2007, 06:18 AM
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RE: My first Challenger
When I was 8 my sister (then 21) bought a brand new '69 Charger. She always had great taste in cars and she fell in love with the Charger when she saw Bullitt. I loved that car and have always wished I could have something like that. By the time I could drive the gas crisis had killed the muscle car era and my sister had traded her Charger for a Toyota Celica. I'm salivating over the Challenger because it's what I had hoped the new Charger would be when they brought it back.
Estimated time 'til new Challenger purchase: 15-21 months.
Heat
11-16-2007, 09:20 AM
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RE: My first Challenger
Speaking of Bullitt (great movie by the way!) - Brad Pitt will star in a remake of 60s classic movie 'Bullitt'. Did anyone else just throw up in their mouth besides me?
http://movies.monstersandcritics.com..._Pitts_Bullitt
http://movies.monstersandcritics.com..._Pitts_Bullitt
ORIGINAL: WhiteHeat
When I was 8 my sister (then 21) bought a brand new '69 Charger. She always had great taste in cars and she fell in love with the Charger when she saw Bullitt. I loved that car and have always wished I could have something like that. By the time I could drive the gas crisis had killed the muscle car era and my sister had traded her Charger for a Toyota Celica. I'm salivating over the Challenger because it's what I had hoped the new Charger would be when they brought it back.
Estimated time 'til new Challenger purchase: 15-21 months.
Heat
When I was 8 my sister (then 21) bought a brand new '69 Charger. She always had great taste in cars and she fell in love with the Charger when she saw Bullitt. I loved that car and have always wished I could have something like that. By the time I could drive the gas crisis had killed the muscle car era and my sister had traded her Charger for a Toyota Celica. I'm salivating over the Challenger because it's what I had hoped the new Charger would be when they brought it back.
Estimated time 'til new Challenger purchase: 15-21 months.
Heat
11-16-2007, 10:57 AM
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RE: My first Challenger
SAY IT AIN'T SO! No one can hold a candle to Steve McQueen, who in my book is the epitome of coolness. To have this dweeb doing his part would be an insult. How about Jason Stathman? I think he could pull it off after seeing the Transporter movies. He has that same type of calculating coolness about him.
I fell in love with the Challenger when I saw Vanishing Point at the theatres. A fast MOPAR being driven at and sometimes beyond the limit had me hooked. I still remember the nose in the wind attitude of the Challenger "at speed" and the back end kind of hunkered down. Awhile later a friend told me about a '73 340 Challenger that the local Chevy dealer had taken on trade for a Camaro - "dumb a$$!" because the DODGE scared the owner. I drove my '68 Fury III 2-door hardtop out there and it was love at first sight. I remember the test drive "my mom had to ride with me because I was only 17 years old", opening up the Carter 4bbl and the ensuing howl that followed. My mom shouts "What is wrong with this car?" I told her not a thing it's supposed to do that!
Not long after that I was doing Vanishing point re-enactments, at speed, nose in the wind and back end hunkered down! 
I fell in love with the Challenger when I saw Vanishing Point at the theatres. A fast MOPAR being driven at and sometimes beyond the limit had me hooked. I still remember the nose in the wind attitude of the Challenger "at speed" and the back end kind of hunkered down. Awhile later a friend told me about a '73 340 Challenger that the local Chevy dealer had taken on trade for a Camaro - "dumb a$$!" because the DODGE scared the owner. I drove my '68 Fury III 2-door hardtop out there and it was love at first sight. I remember the test drive "my mom had to ride with me because I was only 17 years old", opening up the Carter 4bbl and the ensuing howl that followed. My mom shouts "What is wrong with this car?" I told her not a thing it's supposed to do that!
Not long after that I was doing Vanishing point re-enactments, at speed, nose in the wind and back end hunkered down!
11-16-2007, 12:11 PM
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RE: My first Challenger
VANISHING POINT! I saw the movie as a young lad back in 1971. I said to myself... I will have that car someday. and when my brother-in-law passed away in 1979 I bought my 1971 Challenger from my sister for $450.00. I will own this car until I die or cannot put it through it paces anymore
11-16-2007, 02:36 PM
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RE: My first Challenger
Oh, wait! I forgot. I did have an earlier interest in the Dodge Challenger!
My first new car was a '79 Ford Mustang Turbo Cobra (piece of crap). What I really wanted was a (Mitsubishi built) '79 Dodge Challenger, but my Dad wouldn't let me get it. And since I wasn't old enough to sign for the loan without him, I had to get the Ford.
I had forgotten that thing was a "Challenger!" Ha. I guess it was as much a "Challenger" as my Mustang was a "Cobra!" LOL
I have bought 5 new Dodges (and one used) since then, so I've earned my stripes. My all-time favorite car was my '87 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z. I loved that car and I want a car I can enjoy as much as I did that one. So I guess you could say my sights are set pretty low.
Of everyone on this board anxiously awaiting the new Challenger I suspect I'm the one least likely to be disappointed!
Heat
11-16-2007, 03:41 PM
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RE: My first Challenger
We had talked about this simliar topic on the thread Title "Your Past Old Challenger"
Here is my story from that same thread so I do not have to type it over: https://dodgechallenger.com/forums/fb.asp?m=4641
Hey 71 Challenger,
Below is a copy and a paste of my original post when I joined the post.
A little history.....this car originally belonged to a childhood friend of my mine
because she was my Dad's boss's daughter. He was murdered and found buried
behind a meat store. She was their only daughter and they were devastated to say the least.
The car sat outside underneath a tree for over a year whithering away until I moved back home
to go to a diffent college and my Dad told him I needed a car. Since they were friends of the family
they thought they could kind of keep the car in the family by selling it to me. I knew what this car meant a lot
to them. I also knew they would see me and the car from time to time so I planned to take care of it and make it look good.
The car was kind of trashed....I am sure in part because of the police investigation. But I wanted to make
it my own. To add the bigger wheels, I had to add hydraulic shocks in the rear. What is funny is when we would
go on double dates, I would make fun of the couple in the back seat because then the car would occassionly touch the wheel wells.
The top was vinyl which I always disliked, but I would use dark green vinyl wax and it would really shine. I converted the modified points and condenser
back to electronic ignition but I had a high performance Tiger ignition and 50KV coil. I also added a larger 2 barrel careburetor. The spark plugs
I got from JC Whitney and they were a 4 point type and supposedly made a bigger spark. The trunk was painted with a splattered look type of paint
(dark grey with small white spots). The silver shiny rear back above the bumper was painted black. CB's were big back in the day so I also had a rear
deck mounted 5/8 wave center loaded antenna. I also got rid of the stock radio and replaced it with and AM/FM/8-Track radio with 4 way speaker control
for the 2 front and rear speakers. I was big into Quadrphonic and so you either had to build or go to a specialty radio store to find one of these to put in your
car to control all 4 speakers. I still have a the control box in mint condition and maybe I will take a picture of it and post it. It is a little piece of history.
I also still have another 8-track auto player and home 8-track recorder which is also a piece of history.
To answer your post, I would not make it stock for two reasons: a) This is expensive but you can
do it if you want to enter it in shows. You have to do a lot of searching to find original looking batteries and stuff and of course
they are very expensive b) The car becomes a trailer queen and not a daily driver.
For me, I prefer to make the car my own with all of the cool stuff available these days.....make it a reliable daily driver
and show it to friends and outside car meetings, but that is just me.
If you want the challenge of making it totally stock, there a lot of people doing that you can have fun discussing the trials
and tribulations of doing that. Best wishes in whatever you decide to do. I just ask one thing...... be sure to not forget about us
and post pictures of your progress.
"Hi everyone,
A little about my self. My favorite car of all time is the Ford GT originally know as the GT40. I fell in love with it about 15 years ago when I saw it in a book. After looking into building a kit car I discovered that it would still be too expensive. Then I discovered that Ford was going to build it. I hoped that it would not be expensive. Ha! Ha! Boy was I wrong. So here I am still looking
and thinking about building a car. Unfortunately, it takes the average gearhead about 4 years to build a car. Okay so maybe I could build a par
Here is my story from that same thread so I do not have to type it over: https://dodgechallenger.com/forums/fb.asp?m=4641
Hey 71 Challenger,
Below is a copy and a paste of my original post when I joined the post.
A little history.....this car originally belonged to a childhood friend of my mine
because she was my Dad's boss's daughter. He was murdered and found buried
behind a meat store. She was their only daughter and they were devastated to say the least.
The car sat outside underneath a tree for over a year whithering away until I moved back home
to go to a diffent college and my Dad told him I needed a car. Since they were friends of the family
they thought they could kind of keep the car in the family by selling it to me. I knew what this car meant a lot
to them. I also knew they would see me and the car from time to time so I planned to take care of it and make it look good.
The car was kind of trashed....I am sure in part because of the police investigation. But I wanted to make
it my own. To add the bigger wheels, I had to add hydraulic shocks in the rear. What is funny is when we would
go on double dates, I would make fun of the couple in the back seat because then the car would occassionly touch the wheel wells.
The top was vinyl which I always disliked, but I would use dark green vinyl wax and it would really shine. I converted the modified points and condenser
back to electronic ignition but I had a high performance Tiger ignition and 50KV coil. I also added a larger 2 barrel careburetor. The spark plugs
I got from JC Whitney and they were a 4 point type and supposedly made a bigger spark. The trunk was painted with a splattered look type of paint
(dark grey with small white spots). The silver shiny rear back above the bumper was painted black. CB's were big back in the day so I also had a rear
deck mounted 5/8 wave center loaded antenna. I also got rid of the stock radio and replaced it with and AM/FM/8-Track radio with 4 way speaker control
for the 2 front and rear speakers. I was big into Quadrphonic and so you either had to build or go to a specialty radio store to find one of these to put in your
car to control all 4 speakers. I still have a the control box in mint condition and maybe I will take a picture of it and post it. It is a little piece of history.
I also still have another 8-track auto player and home 8-track recorder which is also a piece of history.
To answer your post, I would not make it stock for two reasons: a) This is expensive but you can
do it if you want to enter it in shows. You have to do a lot of searching to find original looking batteries and stuff and of course
they are very expensive b) The car becomes a trailer queen and not a daily driver.
For me, I prefer to make the car my own with all of the cool stuff available these days.....make it a reliable daily driver
and show it to friends and outside car meetings, but that is just me.
If you want the challenge of making it totally stock, there a lot of people doing that you can have fun discussing the trials
and tribulations of doing that. Best wishes in whatever you decide to do. I just ask one thing...... be sure to not forget about us
and post pictures of your progress.
"Hi everyone,
A little about my self. My favorite car of all time is the Ford GT originally know as the GT40. I fell in love with it about 15 years ago when I saw it in a book. After looking into building a kit car I discovered that it would still be too expensive. Then I discovered that Ford was going to build it. I hoped that it would not be expensive. Ha! Ha! Boy was I wrong. So here I am still looking
and thinking about building a car. Unfortunately, it takes the average gearhead about 4 years to build a car. Okay so maybe I could build a par
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For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.