So you're a Mopar rookie huh? Here some tips for you!

The first thing to remember is that nobody knows it all! There are plenty of people who think they do, but they don't, and neither do I.
Second there are lots of people willing to help you, just because they are willing to help.
There are also many people willing to help you provided you are on the verge of buying something from them. It is understandable that big mopar companies don't have the time to answer all kinds of questions that come in on thier phone lines, especially for people that really are just curious "How hard is it to put a blower on a 360?" and don't have any intention on spending $2500.00 on a blower. But anyway lets get on with it here, shall we? Lets.

Things to consider

1. Is this car going to be your daily driver???

Now when I was buying my first mopars, I didnt really think about this much. I just wanted a 440 in a B-Body, period. Nothing wrong with that...and if you can afford the gas more power to you. I certainly am not going to try and tell you what you should or shouldn't buy, just wanna help you be happy with your purchase. If you have been saving your money for a 71 Cuda do you really wanna drive it in the snow and ice, risking beating up one of the most expensive front clips in the known universe?? Slant six cars do great in the snow, its a proven fact..and I'm sure its written down somewhere.Oh yeah, there it is, one sentence back!


2. Do you have a daily driver and just want a project??

Project mopars...a thing of beauty! I've bought probably at leat 15 project cars and I would say out of those 15, 15 of them I sold as "project cars." But thats Ok...How else would I learn??
A. Things to look for in a project car or any mopar purchase for that matter

RUST!! Rust is the main thing folks...dropping in new motors and interiors is childs play compared to dealing with rust. Sure, they make all kinds of aftermarket sheet metal for cars now...but have you seen what a body shop charges to these repairs? Pucker up buddy!!
In fact it is getting harder and harder to even find a shop that will do rust repair.
Any mopar I buy I look at the body...drivetrains are a dime a dozen, unless we are talking hemi-cars here, and lets just say we're not.

Dont freak out!!
Dont freak out if a car has some rust or even holes rusted all the way through the trunk floor..this is pretty standard stuff....the floor under the carpet may even be a bit nasty looking...dont sweat it...these parts can be welded in and dont need the major finishing work like a quarter panel does.

Dont get me wrong, if you come across a Six-Pack Super Bee, that is pretty solid and is the car of your dreams dont pass it up because of a bad quarter panel, just try to remember a minimum of $1000.00 to repair a quarter panel that's eaten up.

B. Whats Missing??

Is the car your looking at missing some of the stuff that makes it what it is?? I cant even remember how many times Ive seen an add for a car that is a
"440 Six Pack, 4 speed, Air Grabber car, now has 383 Automatic and stock hood."

Now I understand that an ad like this is not trying to mis-lead anyone, it is just trying to identify what the car was, yes, WAS. This car may be coded with all that good stuff, but its gone now so the car WAS that. So think about that, sure you could go find an air grabber set-up, and a 440 Six Pack, for it and a 4 speeed...remember those things can cost BIG BUCKS...especially the air grabber, if you can find on for under $1000, I'll buy it!

Is the guys price based on what the car WAS, or what it is now??


C. Am I Getting Ripped Off??

Heres a story: Some kid was selling a 71 Cuda here in Oregon for $2500, naturally a bunch of people went and looked at it. All these guys were standing around picking away at what really was a solid car...a 71 Cuda is hard to come by for $2500.00. My friends wife walks up to it and sees all these dudes looking at it with a fine tooth comb...she goes right up to the kid and gives him the $2500.00. Did she know a lot about cars? Not really, but she knew that a solid 71 Cuda at $2500.00 (heck the fenders will cost you that!) is a good buy and if it was a pile of junk all those dudes wouldn't still be there looking at it.

You've gotta know what your looking at.
Unless your buying a 318 car or slant six car then dont worry about it so much.

But if your on the hunt for a rarity, know your numbers!! Mopars are the easiest cars to buy without getting burned. They have all the codes on a tag on the drivers fender. These codes will vaildate each and every option on the car. Buy a numbers book!! From Galen Govier!
Its Worth it!

You may be able to find someone you can trust to go look at a car with you...call a local mopar club, they are usually willing to help out thier newest "future member."
If you have some wild, secret lead on a Superbird or something, you may want to keep it to yourself though. Unless you cant afford it, then you may want to help get it into good hands.

If its a car in the paper, everyone else knows about it too, so get someone to go with you.

3. Buying a Driver

Just looking for a good driver??
Thats easier!!
Darts, Dusters, Valiants....A-Bodies in general are excellent drivers! And there are so many of them, they are cheap...except a few of the really special ones, usually 340 or Big Block powered. All Bodies are available in cheaper models and all can be great drivers...A-bodies just tend to be more plentiful.
Mopars are easy to work on (after a few trials and errors but you'll get it)....and that 318 can be hopped up to be a really good runner!

Some things to look for on the car.

Rallye wheels are always a good find.

An 8.75 Rearend is the super bonus on an a-body...these units by themselves bring $500.
How to tell? Look under the car from the back and look at the center section of the rear-end. No inspection cover? Its an 8.75! It will have no bolts on the back side of the center section.

If it has 10 bolts around the rear its an 8.25 rear-end, never fear this is still a plenty strong rear end.
Less then that? Its a 7.25 rear...a little whimpy but what can you do?

A Sure-Grip is also a great bonus! Just jack up the rear of the car, get both wheels off the ground...the car should not be running at this point...and turn the tire by hand does the other one go the same direction..its a Sure-Grip!

Ok so now what?? The motor!

How does it idle, smooth, rough?
Misses like crazy?
Get under the hood and work the throttle by hand bring it above idle a bit did the miss go away? If so the idle on the carb is probably bad or maybe theres a vacuum leak somewhere no biggie..
Now really listen to the motor...is it noisy? I'm guranteeing you that that noise under the valve cover of that slant six is perfectly normal, and if its a slant six with 120,000 miles on it...its got another 200,000 to go!

Is there a ticking sound?? Does it go away at a higher RPM? Maybe just a lifter..no big deal. Maybe its just an exhaust leak at the manifold...how do you tell??
Easy, take a piece of tubing, and stick one end in your ear and take the other end and listen all around the exhaust gaskets..you'll know if its an exaust leak it'll yell at ya!

Try not to get your big hurkin' schnoz whacked off by the fan blades!
That can be really embarrasing!

Ok so the top end sounds Ok thats good, how about the bottom end??
This could take a sharp ear. You really dont want to buy a car with a rod nock, unless you have an engine at home and you dont care about this one..than maybe you DO want to hear a rod knock so you can get a discount....don't lie and tell the guy you hear a rod-knock.

Thats a good point, and now is a good time to make it. When you get into this hobbie, you are going to find it quite different than the Chevy guys the Ford guys etc..the Mopar hobbie is pretty tight knit, everyone knows everyone, you keep seeming to deal with the same people over and over and over, which can be a good thing. So dont be a jerk out there, or people will know it. I can name all the jerk Mopar guys in Portland Oregon, right now, but I'll spare them, this time. ;O)
Actaully "jerk" may be a bit harsh, lets just say there are things I'd by from them and things I wouldn't.

If you wanna know the good guys in this area just e-mail me and Ill give ya some good leads.

Where was I? Oh yeah rod-knock....Bring up the motor with your head under the hood to a good rpm, dont blow up the guys motor in his driveway, if you can help it. Take your tie off, we dont wanna get ya killed here.

Listen for any deep knocks in the block. If its there you'll hear it. Sometimes you'll here it when the motor is coming down from a quick rpm, zap the throttle back and let go and listen..anything? I hope not...

4. The test drive!

I have driven many, many mopars..and most of them feel the same...sometimes the front end is a little whacked out...or the power steering pump whines because it leaks its fluid all over the place..and no-one bothers to fill it up.
How does the tranny feel...it should shift pretty solid, not ease into the next gear...sometimes this can be a result of the kickdown not being adjusted right...but for the most part if the kickdown linkage looks OK it should shift up solid. Likewise when in drive, put it to the floor it should instantly drop down into 2nd, then back up pretty solid - like. Many times Ive bought a 318 car and the guy put a 4BBl intake and carb on it and since the kickdown linkage didnt quite line up right..he just figured he didnt need it. Do you need it? YES. If you run without it you will ruin the tranny.

Hit the brakes hard did you end up in the ditch on the side of the road??
Bad Brakes!
Low tires?

Let go of the wheel. Did you go into the ditch again?
Bad alignment/front end!
Low tires?

How does the car feel...does it feel solid...is it making weird noises? Is the rear end loud? If its a 7.25 I bet it is! The bearings on those are junk...but you'll probably be safe.

Any crazy noises from the front end?

Besides some squeaky brakes everything should be relatively quiet up front...if something up front is howling...it is most likely a wheel bearing. A $5 fix!

Is the motor powerful?

If its a V-8 car, come to a complete stop, now punch it...how did that feel...if your smiling you may want to get off the throttle now before you end up back in the ditch! Dont expect a 318 2 bbl to torch its tires off, but it should get up and go pretty good.

Most importantly, do you like the car?
Not does your friend like it.. or your Dad, do YOU like the car?
I have a pair of Dusters, I love Dusters, many of my friends cant stand my Dusters, much less do they want to drive around in it...as for me I love my Dusters! Thats what counts...if you are going to go buy something because you want people to be impressed, thats fine, they may be impressed for 5 minutes or so..then they'll go back to doing what they were doing before you showed up with your new ride....know what I mean?

Get a car that just makes you smile when you drive it, and you'll have a lot of fun in the mopar hobbie.
What about chicks?...chicks like good dudes that treat them well, not cars. Not to mention they generally don't care to be refered to as "chicks", but I'm married so I can get away with it.

Of course there are a some other things to consider when purchasing a car and if you need to ask someone for help..you can ask me and I'll do my best. I have owned over 25 Mopars from the 60's and 70's, Ive been ripped off, and Ive found great deals...and I'll be glad to help you out.

May God Bless you!
Chris
Mopars.com
GodsRods.com

Ok you need help. Got a tech question?
My friend Bill is willing to take over this section for me and answer your e-mails.
Please put "mopars.com tech" in the subject of the e-mail

E-mail Bill a tech question

Some Mopar Terms To get Familiar With

1. Killer.....Mopars are Killer!

2. Ramcharger....This one has many uses. A Dual scooped hood on Super-bees, R/T's, Darts, Demons and Dusters, is known as a Ramcharger Hood. Also a Engine used in Dodges in the early sixties was called a Ramcharger, ex: 413 Ramcharger...The cool Dodge Ramcharger Sport ute...and the early factory dodge race team were called the "Ramchargers"

3. Air Grabber.....This is the killer hood seen on 1970 and 1971 model B-Bodies..with the pop up scoop with the teeth or the bee on it..the one with the bee on it also is called "Ramcharger" theres that word again..its a cool word..over-used, but cool. It is also a hood used on 69 models that has the vents in the sides allowing air into the carbs.

4. A-body....1964-1969 Barracudas, 1963-1976 Darts, 1970-1976 Dusters and Valiants are some cars refered to as A-bodies.

5. B-body.....Chargers, Satellites, Roadruners, Super-bees, Super Birds, Daytonas, Belvederes, GTX's are some examples Of B-Body cars...many Muscle cars in the group.

6. C-body....The big super cruisers Post 1963 Fury, 300's, Newports, Imperials??

7. F-Bodys....Volares, aspens etc...probably the best handling of the bunch

8. E-Bodies....1970-1974 Barracudas, Cudas and Challenger...some of the most sought after mopars ever!

9. Sure Grip...this is mopar terminology for a Posi-traction rear end. Dont let hard core mopar freaks hear you use the word Posi when refering to these units...I dont care what ya call it. I call it a posi alot because that's a term people are more familiar with, because its a GM term

10. Shaker....this is the killer hood used on E-bodies where the air cleaner is attached to the carb and there is a hole in the hood that it fits up through..and then when you look out at the hood you can see your engine "Shake"...very rad!

11. Six Pack....this refers to a car with 3 2BBl carbs on top of usually a 440 and a 340 on T/A challengers and AAR Cudas.

12. AAR....All American Racers, Dan Gurney among others raced these one year only Cuda's on the Trans Am circuit, they are powered by 340 Six Pack motors.

13. T/A....Anytime a mopar guy says "I saw a T/A" he is refering to a T/A challenger. Or a Trans AM Challenger. This is a special one year only (1970) Challenger also powered by a 340 six pack..and one of my all time favorite mopars.

14. R/T....Road and Track. In 1967 a special car hit the streets, it was a 67 Coronet refered to as an R/T. These cars are powered by a 440 or a Hemi. The R/T name carried on through the Dodge line up onto Chargers, Challengers and also on the Coronets.

15. Pistol Grip...this is the Hurst 4 speed shifter found in many mopars with a handle shaped like a ......do I really need to tell you?

16. Magnum.....Certain motors were refered to as "Magnums" Those 440's in R/T cars are going to be Magnums...this term is widely mis-used as many non-mopars guys will refer to any 440 as a "magnum" Many times Ive seen ads for Pickups with 440 Magnums..highly unlikely...but a regular 440 is fine with me.

17. Wedge...Any V-8 mopar motor that is not a Hemi is a wedge motor...it is just the design of the block was refered to as wedge...some confusion set in when the certain 340 Dusters came out with a sticker on the hood that said "340 WEDGE" This made people think that motor was somehow different than other 340's, it isn't. I think the sticker just looked cooler with the word "Wedge" on it...You are perfectly correct in refering to your 318, as a "318 WEDGE."

18. Torque Flight...the 727 and the 904 are both known as Torque Flight automatics. Why? The marketing guys probably thought is was a neat name for the tranny, and it is. Any

19. Colors...Mopar had some cool colors. And when mopar guys talk they dont refer to things as "That Purple car" It'll be that "Plum Crazy" car or "In Violet car" The color names are kind of fun to learn as some are pretty weird. "Panther Pink" "Sassy Grass" "Sublime" "Gangreen" (just kidding..although was suggested by Chrysler employees back in the day.)

20. To be continued......that means Im tired of doing this now and will finish later...Bye!