Art & Inspiration Tough Cars for Tough Times

With the fear of repercussions, I continue with this post. We demo derbied a four door Chrysler Windsor of that body style at our local fair. It was tough enough to win us the consolation round. That was a pretty big thrill for a couple of high school buddies in 1980. The previous owner was pretty upset when he found out our intentions, but we promised to paint his name on the trunk and he seemed to calm down. We got the funeral home to sponsor the hood, those were the days.

 

Hey @J.Ukrop
Right on, well said young road warrior ! Tough survivor indeed. Gotta love the old MOPAR products.
This is my favorite MOPAR hat with vintage Chauffeur badge. Even that cool old JO-HAN model box, is very cool.
Thanks from Dennis.

 

Old Cars in the wild hotrod or stocker always, always, cooler.

 

I had one of these about a decade ago. 300-L, 413 with buckets and console, a really neat car. These get extremely little love, which is a shame.

 

Appropriate title. When I was a kid in the 60's we used the word "tough" as an alternate argot for the word "cool." See a new 69' Chevelle SS cruising down the street on Cragars? "Oooh, that's tough!"

So that mid-century Chrysler is tough in more ways than one.

 

Friends have long rolled their eyes at me when I mention I have always viewed that era of big body mopars in a favorable light. If I have "poor taste" it's good to know I am not alone.

Mopar had the factory colors on lock in that era too, especially the dark greens and blues.

I would daily the hell out of a 1965/66 4 door hardtop. Dark green with the factory tint glass, white interior, mild lowering and exhaust and I would feel cool as fuck doing it.

 

"I approached it slowly, as if it were some sort of slumbering beast."

Great line!

 

What a great post! I fully get this. Seeing old drivers in the wild just makes me smile.

 

I agree 100%.

I've almost run off the road craning my neck at an old car going the other way, and it doesn't even have to be cool.

Case in point: I saw an early 70's Dodge Dart 4 door going down the street with a teenager driving it. A really boring car admittedly but it was minty fresh, I mean this sucker looked brand new like he had just talked some old lady or his own grandma out of it. It made me smile. Good for him for not settling for a Hyundai.

 

Just to add to this post- my daily is a 42 year old Granada station wagon.

Completely not a HAMB friendly car, but I have it lowered in the front and slotted mags, duals, factory buckets, unusual and a neat car (well, to me). But I drive it everyday rain, snow or sun. And marvel at how cool it looks in a grocery store parking lot, compared to all of the modern plop cars.

 

Back in the day a full size was an old man's car, a dad car, definitely not cool.
Time heals all wounds.

 

My C-Body just gets used as a regular car and when first purchased to replace my totaled 2-year-old pickup was my daily driver to my engineering job back in the 90's. On Fridays four or five of us would put the top down and go to lunch. It is now waiting nicer weather to replace the driveway fadeaway paint job I did last summer but didn't like well enough.

You might enjoy my Garage Journal thread on repairing my convertible top cylinders and pump rebuild.
(1) How To: 1960,s Convertible Top - Cylinders, Pump and Hose Tutorial | The Garage Journal

 

Timely subject, as I've recently swapped my '65 Chrysler 300 convert for a '58 Plymouth convert project.
I bought my '65 from friends some 26 years ago already, who had gotten the car from a demo-guy who only needed the engines.

 

Miss my grandmother’s 64 Saratoga 300. She had inherited it from her brother when he passed. As a bachelor, it was his pride and joy. He waxed it so often he rubbed the paint off along the creases on the hood. It was a black beauty, and the chrome and stainless steel trim was everywhere. Wonder where it is today?

 

I can't see one of these without thinking of the "Green Hornet" tv series! I mean the stockers as well as "Black Beauty".....

 

Hello,

You are lucky to live in such a vibrant city all of these years. We have history with S.F. going back to our family road trips in 1949, 54 and 57 in our dad’s big Buick sedans. Then, when I was driving and my first long road trip by myself was to head for the Bay Area to go to college. My constant visits during college days and finally the numerous road trips with my wife from 1966 to the last visit in 2019... something always drew us to that cool location.

That city has/had plenty of different areas that showed cars of all kinds. Yes, in 1965, I saw those old hardtop sedans in the city as well as in our area around our apartments in San Jose. They were not as popular as the GM and Ford sedans, but as always, it seemed like the choice was #3 if there was a choice of factory cars.


Jnaki

We had plenty of areas to which we enjoyed during our visits. But, we could wonder why Chrysler was number 3 in the USA for selling cars of all the years we had been in the driving/car mode while growing up. For us, it was Chevy as a number one choice and Ford #2. YRMV

For some reason, there were more of these sedans in Northern California than So Cal. But, that is not the total picture. Just an observation from a couple of traveling 20 something folks enjoying the full coastal road trips and Northern California destinations… all around the S.F. Bay area for something different…

 

Well crafted piece Joey. Enjoyed it. My sister went to nursing school in SF and all the cars she brought back to The Big Valley had "fog rust" in any exposed bare metal spots. Love me some mid 60's MoPar. My first was a 65 ex CHP 413 Polara. Pretty close to Elwood's, "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks." Not as beater as this one, but similar. Very similar.