My very first car

MyBigBlockDodge

Screw it. Give me the red AND blue pills.
1980 - 15 years old. Paid $900 for it, which was a lot of money to me. Well, it still is I guess lol. 318 car with a pistol grip 4 spd and the cool hood. It did come with 4 ralley wheels, but this was taken right after the snow melted, so it had snow tires on it. :)

How about that cool vest and those Nikes huh! Stylin'!

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Very nice! It looks like it was originally a 383-2V car, going by the "V8" fender emblems. I don't ever recall seeing those on a 318 car, and that would explain the 4-speed (not available with the 318) and the high front stance.

But no explanation needed for the rockin' coiffe. :dance: Do you still have your Kristy McNichol poster? :D
 
lol..1991 i snagged my 69 1/2 fish..tho i dont have a scanner to scan with...paid 1500 for her..and can still drive right up to where i bought it..as i remember that well
 
I believe you're right Jass - had a 318 when I got it. Great memories.

And I was always more into Raquel. lol

I got to thinking about this. I don't think the 383 2v was offered with a manual trans. I do think the 318 cars could be ordered with a 4spd though. The V8 emblems are throwing me off - not sure what they came on originally.
 
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After thinking about it, a local guy had a 318/auto triple-green '70 that had the V8 fender emblems. I'd totally forgotten about that car. Long story, but I still don't know exactly what the fate of that car was... there are differing stories between the two brothers involved. Regardless, the V8 emblems were a sure sign of a two-barrel engine. They were not used on any HP-equipped models in the 6 or 7 years they were used.

You're right, though, the four-speed wasn't available with the 383-2V either, meaning this car would've originally had a 3-speed. '66 was the last year you could get a four-speed behind a non-HP engine (or Slant Six) until 1975, when the OD trans showed up in the A-bodies. I've seen a number of supposedly original 318/4-speed cars over the years, but not a one of 'em has ever been backed up by the data tag, nor has such a car ever been documented (of any body style)... but it was apparently a very-popular swap when junkyards were filled with donor cars.
 
Correct on the 383 2V 4spd. I did some looking on that. Seems odd that the only engine not offered with a manual of any sort was the 383 2V. BUT, the 318 was available with a 3 or 4 spd. I do remember the car having the 8 3/4 rear and it was a sure grip. Tested it a few times :D
 
I parted out a very rough and collapsing '74 Duster a few years ago. Got it from a fellow bodyman who got it from his brother - the original owner. Once a very pretty B5 blue with a white vinyl top, white bucket seat interior, it came to me with a 318, four speed and 3.21 SG 8.25 rear. The bodyman buddy swears it came with the 4 speed... he used to beat on it regularly. No data tag though. In fact, it had no inner fender aprons either... I never bothered to look for a build sheet, it was strictly a parts car.
My '75 Dart Sport bought from the original owner (Catholic priest), had a 318, 3 speed, 2.94 SG 8.25 rear end. The priest said he wanted a four speed, but none was available...
The 3 speed was still fun. :)
 
we all know NEVER say never when MA is concerned...resto did you check the floor hump in the duster?...thats a dead give away as to factory or otherwise
 
The Ruster was a factory stick car, no doubt. Whether it was a three speed or four speed when it left the factory ... that's unknown.
It was the rustiest car I've ever seen.
 
All manual-trans floor humps are the same by car line. The same metal add-on was used whether it was a 3- or 4-speed trans beneath it.

So due to your insistence and despite all the factory literature I've seen to the otherwise (4-speed manual, N/A 6-cyl engines or 318-V8) I broke out the white books. Sure enough, for some reason Chrysler apparently broke their own rule in '70 and again in '72, though no '71s were so equipped (this only happened in E-bodies for some reason... Pistol Grip?). In '73-'74, the only car apparently available with the 318 and an A833 was the Road Runner, probably because the 318 became the base engine.
 
hahah not suprised in the slightest honestly...

look at it this way..not everyone could afford the HP version but wanted a 4spd....soooo
 
Right, but they only did it on the E-bodies... and it's really weird that they only did it in '70 and '72, skipping '71 in the process. :hmmm:
 
OK, I'm the only one here old enough to remember when these were being built. And I distinctly recall a local guy ordering a '70 challenger convert, triple black with a 4-gear. He wanted a 383/4bbl but he was still living with mom & pop. Because he still lived under their roof he had to be listed as a 'secondary' driver, and any HP engine was a NO GO. Having a 4-gear was more important than a big motor so he settled for a 318 with the 4 gear.

Today I s'pose that car would be kind of an oddball. :hmmm:
 
I know this pleasure, after talking to a fella earlier this year who'd sold his '74 360 'Cuda rather inexpensively because somejackass had pulled out the original 4-speed and put in a 3-speed. I'd checked the car out several times many years back, and knew it was a 1-of-32 original 3-speed car, V2 with white stripes and interior. Neat ride, really.

Dude had never even bothered checking the fender tag. He'd just assumed it was originally a 4-speed car. Of course, in the case of a '74 the value's not that high, but it was an odd duck and still worth more than an automatic car.
 
Several responses here I didn't get notification of for some reason. :hmmm: Was my '70 a great car, not really. A good car - absolutely. I sure am glad it was my first car! Looking back at it now, it was 10 years old when I got it, and that makes me feel old LOL
 
my 69 had just turned 21...and with the "floating" emissions testing line of 20 years at that time..i knew what i had to have had to be a minimum of 20 years old....i wanted smalish and beastly..i got exctly that....

the others i looked at in the earlier months..
69 firebird 400..hood tach, console shift buckets, the cool hood, green metalic on green metalic..she was very nice but..meh..
66? vw panel bus(the front windows swung out)..this thing was a rolling bass box...the major 4 inch thick bondo on the nose scared me off
70 ranchero torino gt..429, buckets...it was a beast but..too big
67/68? mustang..ex hawai naval base car...not heat but ac...strangly optioned out all acrowss the board..basket case from hell
68 mini cooper..hot pink, tubs, 302, cut top(no top)

and my fish..its obvious why it won out..blue metalic, loud obnoxious lil beast....moms ex test drove it with the e-brake on..said it sounds strong but has a bit of sluggeshness..i took it out promptly kicking off the e brake and setting her sideways down the road..damn straight SOLD
 
1979 Dodge Dipolmat station wagon. Paid $250 for it and drove it home when I was 16. I still have it, it's parked with no drivetrain in it.


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I swapped a 360 4bbl and 3-speed OD from a pick up truck in and and painted it 2001 Ford Focus Bright Blue.

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