After reading Cudajasons post on having his car for 30 years now got me to thinking of who has had their car the longest. I think there are a few members who have had their cars since new, but not many can say that. Lucky for me I have had my cuda for 43 years. (July 77). Had it sold once a long time ago for 4,000.00. Guy came over and looked at it and said he would go to the bank and get the money and be right back. Never showed up. Was mad for quite a while as I was young and broke at that time. Just stupid luck I think that I have had the car this long and it survived my youth for the most part. ::) So as not to hijack Jasons thread who can claim the title of having their car the longest. 70/6chall said he's had his for 44 years, a few others at 30 years. Even those that are not long time owners can chime in. Would be good to hear from the younger generations who are just getting into these cars and if they think they will hold on to them for a while.
Bought my AAR on July 3, 1976.
I bought my car in 2004 i think maybe 05 and I've had it since. I've thought about selling it but can't part since it's been with me for a long time.
I can't wait to drop a hemi 6.4 in there
I've owned my 71 R/T since April of 90. I'm the 3rd owner and picked it up (out of state) when I was 16.
The car is 3 years older than me.
My current Challenger I bought in May of 95..... I've had assorted Challenger's continuously since 1975... Often times more than one...
I've had my T/A since 1978. 42 years this December. :o
https://www.dodgegarage.com/news/article/lifestyle/2018/12/long-term-relationships-the-one-that-didnt-get-away-chapter-1.html
I've had my convertible since '97. Doesn't seem that long ago but it's been 23 years.
This is going to be a great thread I can just tell. Wonderful idea bent :clapping:
I quite opposite of ALL you guys....The longest I've ever owned a muscle car, or any car actually, was about 7 years. 31/2 of those years was restoring the car, the rest of the time was trying to sell it...Every car I've ever restored for myself has always been for sale so that I could afford to restore the next one....Always said I've loved restoring them more than owning them :tool:
After returning from overseas in 1971, I started looking for employment and a car to get to a job when I found it. My Father knew I had no money for a set of wheels to get to work, so..............
He found a Dodge dealership, in a local trade magazine, that just got a '70 Challenger in on a trade with 40K miles on the clock. So we went off to look at it, this was in the early part of 1972, there it sat on the used side of Moss Motors Dodge, Riverside, Ca. ( which is still in operation today), my Father bought it for me for $1,100.00
We purchased a 1970 Dodge Challenger, base model car powered by the tried and true 225 Slant6,
Go-Mango, black interior, Auto. trans. all dressed up in SE trim. I started dating a real nice gal in it and found a job or career as it ended up being. I ended up paying Dad back with interest, and pressed the Dodge into daily service.
Fast forward to now, retired from career with the USPS after 42 years. Still have that gal I dated, now my wife of 44 years and the Dodge, I retired it in 2005 with 562K miles behind it. The car still looks great to this day. This car was built on the first day of regular production Aug. 18, 1969, out of LA.
Number 113 off the assy. line. How's that for history? Thanks for reading, Al
Bought mine when I was 17 [2004], I'm 33 now. So I've had it half of my life, just about.
Quote from: 70/6chall on October 17, 2020, 05:49:50 PM
After returning from overseas in 1971, I started looking for employment and a car to get to a job when I found it. My Father knew I had no money for a set of wheels to get to work, so..............
He found a Dodge dealership, in a local trade magazine, that just got a '70 Challenger in on a trade with 40K miles on the clock. So we went off to look at it, this was in the early part of 1972, there it sat on the used side of Moss Motors Dodge, Riverside, Ca. ( which is still in operation today), my Father bought it for me for $1,100.00
We purchased a 1970 Dodge Challenger, base model car powered by the tried and true 225 Slant6,
Go-Mango, black interior, Auto. trans. all dressed up in SE trim. I started dating a real nice gal in it and found a job or career as it ended up being. I ended up paying Dad back with interest, and pressed the Dodge into daily service.
Fast forward to now, retired from career with the USPS after 42 years. Still have that gal I dated, now my wife of 44 years and the Dodge, I retired it in 2005 with 562K miles behind it. The car still looks great to this day. This car was built on the first day of regular production Aug. 18, 1969, out of LA.
Number 113 off the assy. line. How's that for history? Thanks for reading, Al
Did i read that right? Your Challenger has 562,000 miles on it?!
And you retired it in 2005? How come?
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Bought my 73 Challenger 40 years ago at age 15 for $1000, had to get a loan and stocked shelves at the local grocery store to pay for it.
Spent many hours under the hood and countless pay checks to keep it running.
Drove it through high school, to prom, and college part time.
Proudly I still got the old clunker. :bigthumb:
I'm 45. I've had my car for 29 years, but this year is the first time I've ever driven it because its been apart since right after I got it when i was 16.
Yeah I'm one of those "Agh, he's never gonna finish that car".
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201018/ad0b60e139c02527d622450595506c3c.plist)
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Acquired challenger in '85....
Swapped a Remington model 700 for it.
I've bought mine at the age of 19 in June 1972 for $1950. I had to sell my Impala and my 36 Chevrolet Standard (in shade under tree) to help pay for it. My parents 70 Duster on right.
Terry
I bought my '70 R/T out of MCG - summer '93 after Chryslers at Carlisle :o 27 years
Mom and Dad bought in 72'.
My grad present in 78'
I bought my 'cuda, Oct., 1975. I bought it off a consignment lot, in San Jose, Ca. As a publicity stunt, they had a guy flagpole sitting, and going for the Guiness record. I remember he had been up there, for quite a while and getting near the record. A week, or so, later, the lot went out of business, moved all of the cars out, leaving an empty lot and that poor fool, up on the pole. He was so close to the record, he didn't want to come down. I don't know if he ever got the record. If he did, nobody was there, to witness it.
I have only owned mine for a few months but it has been a dream of mine since I was 12 to own an E-body (I am 35 now), and I can tell you I plan on owning this for the rest of my life
Slant6Chall here, Mr. Lee why did I retire the Dodge in 2005. After driving it as a daily driver as long as I did. A new car in the form of a Jeep Grand Cherokee helped me to make the decision to remove it from the rigors of daily thrashing and the Jeep took over. I figured after 562K miles on the old Dodge it was time to take care of some cosmetics and a lot of mechanical changes, basically things just wear out no matter how well it is taken care of. So off the road she went to be a part time driver. Let's see new paint in the late 90's, with a cut and buffing out, all the SE trim was removed and professionally messaged and polished or replaced with NOS. The 3rd and last engine replacement 1977 purchased through Moss Motors Dodge, trans rebuilt with a B&M shift improver kit. A rear end change to an 8 3/4 w/ 3.23 gear set in Suregrip 742 case with 11" brakes. Reupholstered interior all original OE plastic interior panels including dash pad. All the work was accomplished before and after her retirement date.
Since then she has been relinquished to a cruise and a show here and there. And in Covid nothing.
Well,Mr. Lee I guess I just felt sorry for the old girl and gave her a much needed rest. Al
my dad bought my 73 in fall of 72. it was promised to me since I was little. thought he would turn over the keys when I turned 16. Haha a kid can dream, right? besides that and insurance rates being sky high. im thankful he didn't. I would have wrecked it.
it's been a great car for as long as I can remember. no major problems. a few random gremlins. I just replaced the original starter and ballast resistor. kinda crazy they lasted so long. then again it's hardly driven. I think when I joined here the odometer read 64,203 and now it's 64,332. keep in mind there were a lot of years my dad would average 3-5 miles.
I got my cuda 2 weeks after my first son was born almost eight years ago, had to wait till he was born before I could take off and pick it up. I do still have a 1972 gmc short box stepside 4x4 pick up truck that was the first vehicle I ever bought at the age of 17 though
I bought and still have this 340 4 spd from the original owner in upstate NY with 19,000 miles in the summer of 1976.
I added a factory shaker hood set-up and an original louver, simply because I had them and liked the look.
It was an original white billboard car, but when I easily stripped to the metal and had the car repainted, a white billboard strip was no longer available from Chrysler, only black, so I went with that.
No reproduction back then.
Bought my 6-Pack Challenger in 1980. Actually picked it up on the Friday after Thanksgiving. So, 40 years.
Interestingly, I just recently noticed that I have put 25,000 miles on it since then. I guess if you want to put a lot of miles on a Challenger the trick is to buy a slant 6! 😀
My convertible I've had since 2001.
It's great to see so many who have held on to their cars for most of their lives.
I bought mine in 1974
I bought a brand new 1970 Challenger slant six, three on the floor back in December of 1969. Kept it for 2 1/2 years then traded it on a new 72 Charger SE 318 auto. Missed it a lot !!
Now i bought my 74 Challenger in 2015. It needed restoration and the deal with my wife was i could buy it to restore, IF AN ONLY IF, i promised to have it painted Plum Crazy... Easy promise with it having a reupholstered white interior.
I spent a year restoring it...all the work myself i did the stripping to bare metal and priming with epoxy and 2k, then took it to a professional for the final FC7.
Its a 360 with stroker kit to 408, and i put into it an A518 overdrive, and a 3.23 Sure Grip, and Vintage Air. I'll keep this one till i pass away, and my Grandson (8) has dibbs on it !!
Charlie & I ordered our Cuda 3/71, 6 mos. before we got married. We managed to keep it all these years. We took it off the road in the 90's and it sat patiently waiting for it's turn of extra $$ to restore. Even though the restoration plans have changed, it is now in the process of getting restored. It most likely won't be done for Anniversary year at Carlisle, but least I will be able to drive it again.
Specs: 383 3 sp convertible.
Judy
Great stories. I only had my FM3 R/T for 18 years. Other hobby cars usually around 5 until I get antsy to replace them.
I've had this one since 1992. Bought from the original owner.
And this one since 1997. The first picture is how it looked when I got it and the second is how it looks now.
Wow..those are two very beautiful 71's you have there :drooling:
Quote from: Mr Lee on October 17, 2020, 07:28:10 PM
Quote from: 70/6chall on October 17, 2020, 05:49:50 PM
After returning from overseas in 1971, I started looking for employment and a car to get to a job when I found it. My Father knew I had no money for a set of wheels to get to work, so..............
He found a Dodge dealership, in a local trade magazine, that just got a '70 Challenger in on a trade with 40K miles on the clock. So we went off to look at it, this was in the early part of 1972, there it sat on the used side of Moss Motors Dodge, Riverside, Ca. ( which is still in operation today), my Father bought it for me for $1,100.00
We purchased a 1970 Dodge Challenger, base model car powered by the tried and true 225 Slant6,
Go-Mango, black interior, Auto. trans. all dressed up in SE trim. I started dating a real nice gal in it and found a job or career as it ended up being. I ended up paying Dad back with interest, and pressed the Dodge into daily service.
Fast forward to now, retired from career with the USPS after 42 years. Still have that gal I dated, now my wife of 44 years and the Dodge, I retired it in 2005 with 562K miles behind it. The car still looks great to this day. This car was built on the first day of regular production Aug. 18, 1969, out of LA.
Number 113 off the assy. line. How's that for history? Thanks for reading, Al
Did i read that right? Your Challenger has 562,000 miles on it?!
And you retired it in 2005? How come?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This got me wondering if 70/6chall holds the record for highest mileage ever on an E body? I guess that should be the subject of another thread, but I'm doubtful there's many 1/2 million miles+ E bodies out there! :ohyeah:
Wow, and I thought I owned mine for a long time.
Deposit on - March 05, 1979
Paid in Full - March 08, 1979
Registered with MTO - March 09, 1979
Todays mileage - 241,281
Of course it looks different from the first picture taken.
So I will add to this . . bought the hardtop in '82 which was my senior year in high school .. my first car. Young stupid teenager that doesn't know much about cars . . . threw a wristpin on #6 and parked it in moms garage for about 10 years. Fast forward to a smarter 28 year old with a decent job and lets fix it. Rest is history . . .
Now the convertible . . I lived a sheltered life when it came to anything that wasn't Ford . . . when I figured out they made convertibles . . . had to have one but couldn't part with my first car . . found one in Florida while on vacation . . bought it and drove it back to Michigan 15 minutes later. That was 1997 I believe . . restoration took about 5 years. Chryco flew in about 2 weeks before Carlisle and helped me finish putting it together. No way I would of had it together in time. :worship: to Chryco . . .
I've bought and sold a few E bodys over the years but I've always held on to this one.. I bought it May of 1986 {34 years now}..It was my first E body...
I have owned my Cuda since 1985 (35 Years) and was 22 years old. I drove it everywhere like work, church, mall, etc. and went to all the car shows I could find. Went to Milan, MI in '85 and Columbus in '86 and drove around Lake Erie in '87 to stop at a few shows in Erie, PA. Had it insured for the 1st 10 years as a Valiant and if I ever did total it I would have received $2,000. I have found over the years that my excitement and joy of driving has faded somewhat so I do not drive near as much as I should. Still I feel lucky to own one of the coolest, baddest, and desirable cars on the street. Long live Mopar!
Quote from: 700 AKN on October 18, 2020, 10:43:54 PM
I have owned my Cuda since 1985 (35 Years) and was 22 years old. I drove it everywhere like work, church, mall, etc. and went to all the car shows I could find. Went to Milan, MI in '85 and Columbus in '86 and drove around Lake Erie in '87 to stop at a few shows in Erie, PA. Had it insured for the 1st 10 years as a Valiant and if I ever did total it I would have received $2,000. I have found over the years that my excitement and joy of driving has faded somewhat so I do not drive near as much as I should. Still I feel lucky to own one of the coolest, baddest, and desirable cars on the street. Long live Mopar!
I have a picture of your car from 1987 taken at St Thomas Dragway Park....your car was always one of my favorites too :drinkingbud:
I've owned my 73 Challenger since 73. The car was produced in April 73, bought new in June 73, and I became the 2nd owner when I purchased it in Dec 73 with 6,000 miles on it, and still under warranty.
I got a phone call from a friend who owned a wrecking yard in 1983. He said "I've got a car for you!" and sent me to look at it. It's a triple black 360 4 spd '74 Rallye Challenger that'd been a recovered theft car. The thieves had run it into something hard enough in the rt frt corner that the rt frame rail had ripped some spot welds out of the floor, and damaged the firewall; yet it hadn't touched the hood nor rt door. As an added inducement to buy it, :huh: they'd pried the trunk open with a bar, totaling the deck lid and mangling the lower body panel and as if that wasn't enough, they also tore the rear seat out trying to get into the trunk as well! Well! How could any red blooded Canadian boy NOT buy it?! And so $300 Canadian dollars ($76 USD) changed hands and that wounded black beauty became mine. Sad to say, family, money and life got in the way and it wasn't until 2016 that I finished replacing what seemed to be most of the body, and got the old tart back on 'er hooves, so to speak. There's a 360 block in the garage on it's -slow- voyage into being a 408 and I'm trying to garner enough ambition to finish the block sanding and get the old gal properly painted for my son Jim's upcoming (please God, no more Covid) nuptials. So, 37 years later and she's still a part of my life and will remain so until the boys inherit it! ;)
I am no where near the longest owner here , I bought my first U code white Chall R/T 4spd when I was 18 back in 78 kept it 2 years & drove it everywhere , loved that Chall , then a guy came knocking on my door every week for a couple of months eventually offering triple what I had paid & I let it go :Thud:
SO I am standing there with cash watching the coolest car drive away , It just killed me so I spent the next 6 months looking for another one , Bought the one I have now in the spring of 80 & although there have been many offers this one is not getting away .
I recall assembling a lot of your car in the dead of winter Spikedog wading through 2' of snow at times , then I flew back in the spring & finished up the details before going to Carlisle with you , Great memories !! :cooldance:
Your car must be quite the sight driving around on the streets of Panama
Bought mine in 1982. I was looking for a project car as my daily driver was too boring, I was not diehard Mopar at the time was open to Ford and GM as well - Mustang, Chevelle, road runner, GTX, `cuda, Challenger etc. I got a credit union loan for $2500 figuring it would buy me a car and leave some money for needed work, ended up needing 10X that to restore. I looked at a `70 Challenger, 383, 4 spd, Limelight green with houndstooth interior(loved it!), the engine smoked and needed rebiulding and was a little rough but otherwise all there, IIRC wanted $1500. The other option I found was a `72 Barracuda 318 car but had a 340 and 727 installed, interior was trashed, rust in quarters and trunk, crappy, dull dark blue repaint but ran and drove (not well). Since I wanted something I could drive for a while as I collected parts for resto/teardown I decided on the Barracuda and got it $1000. I drove it for about 6 months before the engine blew a few rods and parked it till finally back on the road in `95 mostly restored repainted the original Tor-Red. After a couple years and two bad rebiult 727s I collected parts and swapped in an A833 four speed, still has the same 340 that has been rebiult a few times over the years.
Bought mine in June 1975... from the original owner... I was going into my 2nd year of college. It was a 1972 Ralley Pack car, 318, 904, 2.76 open rear 8-3/4", ps, pdb, no a/c. Hemi Orange, black top, white interior (ralley gauge instrumentation), console slap stick.... 22K miles... perfect shape and rust free... economical gas saver!!!
By the mid-year 1978, I had converted it into a detailed '70 T/A clone.. purchased all parts either brand new or used ... T/As and AARs were easily found stripping for parts back then... imagine that?
I made the conversion into a T/A because I was increasingly active with the SCCA Solo II autocross competition events... and I realized that IF I was to become highly competitive.. that i needed the car to be a T/A... MOPAR or NOCAR!!!
I became highly successful in the autocross racing... won many regional season championships... and did pretty well on the upper national level. Eventually made more modifications all following the "rule book" of the SCCA for a new class called E/Street Prepared (E/SP)... dominated by and for the pony cars of that time. By the mid-late 1980s (~1987 ish) I had the car transformed into possibly the best handling street-driven autocross E-Body in the country... and proven well at the racing events.
Family life had taken over racing ... the car sat idle for a few years.. but... there is light at the end of the tunnel... I'm Back now!!! ... car is mostly rebuilt.. doing some hi-speed track touring and road course events, Pace Car duties, HSAX/HPDE... and recently entered the Holley MOPARTY event in Bowling Green, KY as my "return".
Old Mopars keep getting faster!!!!
I've had my AAR since August 1979. Bought it for 3200$ with a set of centerlines.
I love That AAR :bigthumb:
I bought a 74 Challenger back in 1975 when I was 16.. That car got me in so much trouble, but it was all worth every bit.. Sold it in 1982, sad day, but life moved on, wife, 3 boys, started a plumbing business in 1990 till present.. Fished the SKA circuit for 10yrs, but never forgot my love of the challengers.. Been driving my wife crazy since 2013 for a challenger, looked what seemed forever at the 1970,71's and decided in Nov of 2017 to buy this 2018RT that came into the dealer I purchased my work vehicles.. But 38 days ago I broke news to my wife "I think I found my 71".. Her first words out of her mouth was we do not need this, mine was its not a need but a want.. So here I am 30 days now owner of this 71.. This car long with the 18 will go to our kids.
This is a very fun thread! Kudos to the OP !
Quote from: bentpshrods on October 17, 2020, 05:07:41 PM
After reading Cudajasons post on having his car for 30 years now got me to thinking of who has had their car the longest. I think there are a few members who have had their cars since new, but not many can say that. Lucky for me I have had my cuda for 43 years. (July 77). Had it sold once a long time ago for 4,000.00. Guy came over and looked at it and said he would go to the bank and get the money and be right back. Never showed up. Was mad for quite a while as I was young and broke at that time. Just stupid luck I think that I have had the car this long and it survived my youth for the most part. ::) So as not to hijack Jasons thread who can claim the title of having their car the longest. 70/6chall said he's had his for 44 years, a few others at 30 years. Even those that are not long time owners can chime in. Would be good to hear from the younger generations who are just getting into these cars and if they think they will hold on to them for a while.
Hey great idea
@bentpshrods (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/bentpshrods_313) Happy I could provide the inspiration!
As the OP mentioned, I have owned my Cuda for 30 years. This was essentially my first car, at 16 years old. When I got it had the original paint, but the stock 318 and trans was long gone and replaced with a 360 / 727 out of a 1980 New Yorker. The interior had recently been redone and converted from white to black, which was a huge selling feature for me.
The body was very rough and looked like it had been through a hail storm or five. I was told it was a north Carolina car, which in Ontario in 1990 is a huge deal, and the car had all its original body panels including the trunk. Again huge selling feature.
So I snapped it up for the tidy sum of $2700 or $2900 CAD
The first year I owned it I pulled the engine out an rebuilt it in high school shop class, adding the usual teen ager hop up parts.
My dad is a body man, so after driving it for one summer, pops painted it as you see it today, that took the better part of the year, no panels needed replacing, just a couple of patches behind the rear wheel.
It was my daily driver the next summer and then for a number reasons out of my control the car went into storage for a long time (I think it was 14 plus years). Most of those years it was indoors, some outdoors.
Once I got my life in order and my first house, I was able to bring the car home and got it back on the road. I continue to tweak it and play with it constantly.
I have not plans to sell it, ever.
Jason