Being number one is not necessarily the best. Just ask any Mopar fan. Number three is far better. Maybe existing as the underdog of the American big three had the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth collective working that much harder to come up with something groundbreaking and innovative. Perhaps being a little smaller allowed for more free thinking and resulting nimble … [Read more...]
All Mopars All the Time
There are those who restore a car exactly as it came off the assembly line. Strategically placed paint inspection daubs and chalk marks are meticulously applied. The original style hose clamps, painted only with the correct value and hue of semi-gloss or flat black paint, are located precisely on correctly date-coded radiator and heater hoses. The body-color paint under the … [Read more...]
Mitsubishi Jeep Manufacturing Bonanza
A never ending search for a survivor first-gen Dodge D50-Plymouth Arrow Sport pickup truck combined with creative keywording of a local classified advertisements has unearthed another sort of captive import. Like the Dodge and Plymouth pickups, this 1974 Jeep is actually a Mitsubishi. Technically a Mitsubishi H-J58, the Mitsu-Jeep is a very near clone of its Willys cousin Jeep … [Read more...]
The Great Indoors
Can we get a loud amen, please, for the indoor car show? A couple of weekends ago, we got up very early on a Saturday morning, shot through the morning ritual, and headed our trusty ride from the suburbs down to the beating heart of Detroit to attend the 58th annual Detroit Autorama at Cobo Center, one of the oldest, largest and most widely respected indoor hot rod and custom … [Read more...]
Slicing into a Sixties Charger
Most folks think of automobiles comprised of parts that are fitted together with no imperfections or miscarved lines to ruin the illusion of perfection. While this may be somewhat true of a car or truck made in the last ten years or so, it is certainly not the case of an automobile manufactured as recently as the eighties. Dip back into the sixties and things get even more … [Read more...]