This $300 Dodge Charger Was The Perfect First Car

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
09/19/2014 at 13:00 • Filed to: None

113

The first car I owned was a 1969 Dodge Charger. I got it the summer before my senior year of high school and it meant that I no longer had to drive to school in my mother's green 1974 Gremlin.

Earlier that summer, a friend of my brother's mentioned that he knew someone selling a dependable but high mileage car at a decent price. It was a green 10-year-old 1969 Charger with a ton of Michigan rust. It showed 90,000 miles but it was all original. It was the Special Edition which meant that it had leather seats and power windows. It had a 2 barrel 383 and a Torqueflite auto. They wanted $300 for it.

My brother Dave had restored a few cars recently and had gotten quite good at it. He told me he'd redo the car for me if I paid for supplies. With that offer, I had to buy the car. I remember driving the Charger home the day I bought it and noticing how huge the car seemed compared to the Gremlin. It also had a little more pep. When I got home it went in the family garage where just a few years earlier another brother had !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Dave and I went to the paint supply store and bought materials. Bondo was high on the list since the bottoms of the rear quarters were long gone. And we weren't going to repaint it green. The car we had thought of when seeing it was the yellow Charger from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It's not high art but it is one of the greatest car chase movies ever made. It's got some people in it who yammer on about stuff but you can turn the sound off when that happens.

I hung around the garage and watched Dave perform the body work. I can still imagine the smell of the Bondo and picture him walking in from the garage, covered in the dust which came off the car when he sanded it. Eventually he sprayed the yellow and then painted a stripe on the back. I remember Dave asking me if I had a picture he could use as a reference. I found a good picture of an R/T in a 1969 Dodge brochure. He eyeballed it, using the rear marker lens for scale. Purists might notice that the stripe is not identical to one from the factory but in the entire time I owned the car, no one ever mentioned it. They were too blown away by the fantastic paint job. People asked me for the name of the "shop" that painted it.

I worked at a gas station at the time and one weekend we slapped a 4-barrel on the 383. Why not? The way I drove the car the fuel economy was already shot. I also picked up a set of Mopar magnum wheels for it, to replace the hubcaps you see in these photos.

I got in some good driving before the summer ended. When I returned to school that fall, things felt different. Whether it had or not, I believed my social standing had been upgraded from when I had driven the Gremlin. I parked at the far edge of the parking lot to avoid door dings and savored my commutes to and from school. Anyone need a ride home? I looked for excuses to drive places.

The morning of the last day of school it rained. I had a last hour study hall so I could leave an hour before everyone else in the afternoon. I told a friend of mine he should watch me as I left that day. I got in the Charger and backed it up to one side of the parking lot where I had found a nice pool of standing rainwater. My friend was at the window of the chemistry room with a few of our classmates – he had told them they might want to see this – and I pulled the most massive burnout of my entire driving career. The car had posi but I rolled the rear tires back and forth a few times through the puddle to make sure they were good and wet before I stomped on the gas. I may have even applied a little brake before I launched but then again, this was a special occasion. The rear wheels smoked and steamed for a good 75 feet before gaining traction and rocketing me out of the parking lot for the last time.

I drove the car for a few years after high school and never had any major mechanical trouble with it. To this day, the word "Torqueflite" is almost a holy incantation for me. Especially when you consider all of the – how should we say this? – harsh accelerations I subjected this one to. I racked up quite a few miles on the Charger. I remember heading down Woodward Avenue the night the odometer approached 99,999 and watching the numbers roll over just as I crossed over the 8 Mile overpass. I hit a turnaround and headed north, watching as the odometer started all over again.

During most of the time I owned it, the car could usually be found somewhere on or near Woodward Avenue after dusk. I suspect people who had legitimate reasons to be out there were sick of seeing that bright yellow car just lurking along, or parked at the ice cream stand just north of 14 Mile Rd.

As we grow up, we learn the realities of life. Like, Bondo does not cure rust. After a few years, the remaining sheet metal began succumbing to the harsh Michigan winters. One December, I popped the trunk to look for something and found it filled with slush. The bottom of the trunk at one edge had rotted out and now you could see through to the ground. Paint was bubbling off in spots elsewhere on the car and this time it would take more than a few hundred dollars to fix.

I sold the car around 1983 for $300, the same price I had paid in 1979.The supplies Dave used to restore it cost less than $300. That means the car you see in these pics cost me less than $600. Granted, those are 1979 dollars but that's still not bad. I never saw it again after I sold it. I suspect that it finally succumbed to the Michigan environment. Or maybe Torqueflites don't last forever?

I counted the other day and I have owned ten cars after the Charger. They all cost more and one of them I drove a quarter of a million miles. Even so, none of them was as memorable as the Charger. It was the perfect first car for someone who would spend the rest of his life thinking about cars.

Follow me on twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

[Pictures were taken by me with a Kodak Pocket 20 and 110 film. I have no pics of me with the car or any before the paint job. Who'd have thought I might want those later?]

Steve Lehto is a writer and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from Michigan. He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He also wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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DISCUSSION (100)

Imirrelephant > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:07

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing!

SteveLehto > Imirrelephant
09/19/2014 at 13:09

Thanks. Those were good times!

T5Killer > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:09

Great article really hit me right in the car guy part of my heart. 1st cars are special and always have a great story. I kept my 1st car a '95 Mustang Cobra and still drive it 15 years after getting it for a graduation gift.

Sweet Trav > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:10

Steve,

Beautiful write up. Someone payed attention in legal writing.

I restored my Monte Carlo ten years ago with my dad. The smell of bondo will always bring the back memories from that garage. As for the social status that a bad ass muscle car bring a high-schooler, i can testify to that fact. Much like you, I can remember doing a similar epic burnout after graduation, then girlfriend in the car, her hand on mine with endless possibilities in my head as we drove off campus.

Now ten years later i still have the car, it shows many symptoms of being daily driven. paint issues, rust issues. However none that would necessitate selling the car, Just that will require a lot of money and some time.

Thanks for the post-lunch trip down memory lane.

SteveLehto > T5Killer
09/19/2014 at 13:11

Wow! That is cool. This one - everything just worked out. If you saw what it looked like when I got it, it was rough. And the body work was free (all I paid for was material).

SteveLehto > Sweet Trav
09/19/2014 at 13:11

Thanks for the note. I was alone when I did my burnout but I knew there were people watching me. Thanks for the note!

Fleetwood T. Brougham > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:23

I'm done reading for the day...nothing will top this story. Thanks for the cool nostalgic write-up.

SteveLehto > Fleetwood T. Brougham
09/19/2014 at 13:23

Thanks for the note. I really appreciate it.

negativezero89 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:26

My first car was my dad's hand-me-down Pontiac Sunbird. The first day I drove it the muffler fell off. I had it for less than a year and the engine blew up. My story and memories of my first car are not nearly as good as yours, hahaha. Still, freedom was freedom.

SteveLehto > negativezero89
09/19/2014 at 13:27

I bet those memories are priceless none the less (don't get me wrong. I even had fun in the Gremlin).

472CID > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:31

Very nice story. Oh if only one could go back time Back to the Future style and buy up all those under-valued muscle cars.

SteveLehto > 472CID
09/19/2014 at 13:32

This thing was in pretty rough shape when I got rid of it but I'm sure it could be restored.

Thanks for the note.

Jonee > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:33

Great story. It brings back memories of my big brothers and the rusty Dodge vans they were constantly trying to keep together back in those days. It's amazing to think about how old a 10 year old car was then. Driving a '69 in '79 was a heck of a lot different than driving an '04 in '14.

Matthew Urso > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:34

was expecting some kind of sad ending to the car, especially the burnout story. glad it didnt' finish that way

SteveLehto > Jonee
09/19/2014 at 13:34

You're right about that. The good thing is that I was the second owner and the people I bought it from took decent care of it. The problem is that sheet metal and Michigan road salt do not get along.

RallyWrench > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:35

Sincerely, that was a cool story, bro. I'm sure it brings back memories of first cars for many of us. I couldn't do any burnouts in my VW bus, but I still have it 20 years later. Thanks!

Next up: Steve buys another one, with no rust holes!

SteveLehto > Matthew Urso
09/19/2014 at 13:35

Oh, no. I would have had a better title to warn the more sensitive viewers!

SteveLehto > RallyWrench
09/19/2014 at 13:37

Thanks for the note. My next cars were a little more run of the mill . . .

jeffywk > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:39

Instagram Filter 1977.

SteveLehto > jeffywk
09/19/2014 at 13:40

I call it: "30 year old pics on a cheap scanner." Or, what you said.

El-Verde > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:43

Awesome write up. It's amazing how, as much as time passes, things stay the same for some.

I feel like I wrote this article, just because everything is so similar to my first car, albeit mine was bought in 2003. My 1970 El camino was somewhat of a visual nightmare when we bought it from my neighbor for $2,000.00, and I have the same memories of a kick ass burnout on the last day of school. All the memories with friends, dad, etc. are just gravy.

I still have the car, and drive it weekly. It's not my DD anymore, but man. There's nothing like a musclecar. I hope I have a son one day who drives one of these monsters to high school, too.

SteveLehto > El-Verde
09/19/2014 at 13:46

I'd love to get one again but then I watch barrett jackson and see the prices . . .

Thanks for the note.

EvilSuperMonkey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:49

Great story.

SteveLehto > EvilSuperMonkey
09/19/2014 at 13:50

Thanks!

3vil-Monkey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:51

Best read of the day, thanks

TotallyThatStupid > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:52

Gorgeous story about one of my all-time favorite cars. Someone needs to send this over to Oppositeblog stat.

El-Verde > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:52

You're welcome. This is the stuff that keeps me coming back to Jalopnik.

Mopar prices are tough, for sure. You just couldn't have settled for a Dart, could you?

I've kept my El Camino partly based on my father's experiences. He had so many great cars as a kid and sold every one, and has always told me "If you sell a car you love, you'll never find another one as good." I've taken it to heart, and even though parking/storage has been difficult at times with 3+ cars, I've always found a way.

KnowsAboutCars > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:53

Cool story, and even cooler first car! If only you could find a '69 Charger that hasn't rusted beyond recognition for under $1000 today.

Off topic: Do you by any chance have Finnish ancestry? Just wondering since you have Finnish surname.

SteveLehto > 3vil-Monkey
09/19/2014 at 13:54

Thanks. I like to write feel good ones from time to time (rather than "law" ones all the time).

SteveLehto > TotallyThatStupid
09/19/2014 at 13:54

I think they already did. And thanks for the note. I've always loved the 69 Charger.

GreenN_Gold > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:54

And now it's all so clear know why Steve Lehto frequents Jalopnik. :)

SteveLehto > El-Verde
09/19/2014 at 13:55

If I had the money to burn I'd be tempted to just get another but you know, it wouldn't be QUITE the same. Still . . .

Ravell > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 13:56

Thought I might be able to restore the photos a bit, since they're pretty awesome. Hope you don't mind. There's only a limited amount I can do with them and I'm certainly no expert at this, but still.

Kinja'd!!!

SteveLehto > KnowsAboutCars
09/19/2014 at 13:56

Thanks. And yes. Both sides of my family. We are originally from Michigan's upper peninsula, where all the American Finns live. Are you Finnish or did you just recognize the name?

SteveLehto > GreenN_Gold
09/19/2014 at 13:57

You got that right. Can you imagine having this as your first car and NOT fixating on cars for the rest of your life?

SteveLehto > Ravell
09/19/2014 at 13:58

Thanks. These are on that lousy paper with the uneven surface and then I did these on a scanner/copier/fax combo which isn't all that good. I had better scans but I couldn't find them. The corrected color you have is closer to the original.

KnowsAboutCars > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:01

I'm Finnish. I actually have some distant relatives in US.

SteveLehto > KnowsAboutCars
09/19/2014 at 14:04

Are you in Finland right now? I have many many Finnish relatives and know many more Finns from where my family used to live. There is a Finnish college there called Finlandia (previously called Suomi College). My grandfather was the dean of the college for many years. Both my parents are fluent in Finnish but I am not.

aimawayfromface3 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:04

God, I miss my Charger so much.

Kinja'd!!!

TStoff1 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:04

Great story to read during lunch hour. Now all of us in Oppoland will be reliving and remembering all the fun we had in our first cars. Maybe that's what it is about first cars. All the possibilities, freedom, fun, and experiences they bring. Even though it was an Oldsmobile Regency 98, green, with four doors, and the only thing it shared with the Charger was the ability to drink fuel, I miss it.

Because it had four doors and plenty of room everybody piled into go to lunch in high school. The $10 a carload at the last drive-in theatre in central Ohio, no problem. Trips to the mall with six guys piled in to hang out and split the gas bill. Good times.

Come to think of it I still talk to two of the guys who rode with me on a weekly basis. Those first cars and the time spent working on them forged our friendships.

Another post worthy of the front page.

Thanks for the memories.

SteveLehto > aimawayfromface3
09/19/2014 at 14:05

Beautiful car!

SteveLehto > TStoff1
09/19/2014 at 14:07

Thanks for the note. And that reminds me. The Charger had tons of room. You could easily fit six people in it (the front seat had an arm rest that folded up and out of the way) - and the backseat was huge. I remember cruising with it packed to the gills. Wasn't as fast then (loaded down) but it WAS fun.

KnowsAboutCars > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:11

Yeah. I think I've heard about Suomi College before. It was probably mentioned in some English language school book.

Glenn Branton > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:12

Great story, what a cool first car. I also heartily recommend Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. It is one of the quintessential 1970s drive in movies, along with the orginal Gone In 60 Seonds. A bit of trivia, the car in the movie actually wasn't yellow, it was Limelight, color code GY3, a light greenish-yellow color. When editing the movie film processors thought the car was supposed to be yellow and "corrected" the color for theatrical release and was yellow in the subsequent home video reales. The movie was remastered and the car has been restored to it's original green color for the 2005 DVD release.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt007142…

SteveLehto > KnowsAboutCars
09/19/2014 at 14:13

Yes, the only Finnish college in the US. It is in the middle of a very big Finnish community in Hancock Michigan.

SteveLehto > Glenn Branton
09/19/2014 at 14:14

The movie is so classic in every way. When they bring out another Mopar to chase this one? Of course, what else would you do?

The movie car also had the stripe down the side. Kind of weird but we'll let it go.

Thanks.

Matthew Urso > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:15

i think i'm just used to all stories on the internet having sad endings

SteveLehto > Matthew Urso
09/19/2014 at 14:17

It was kind of sad when I said that I had to sell the car though . . .

Matthew Urso > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:18

stop it, i'm bawling

manijane > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:20

Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail

www.JOBS7000.CoM

Michael Zaite > KnowsAboutCars
09/19/2014 at 14:21

Hell finding a good 10 year old car (2004) for under $1000 is impossible.

negativezero89 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:21

Even more depressing was my second car. The car itself was fine. a 90's Chevy Beretta. Nothing exciting, but as a graduation gift coming out of high school, it was reliable transportation for a few years. The depressing part is what it could have been. My parents decided to get a used car down in Florida (where my grandma lived) since it wouldn't have been exposed to the, as you accurately mentioned, harsh Michigan winters. We visited a few lots, but at the one where we eventually bought the Beretta was a gorgeous third generation Pontiac Firebird. Probably an early 90's model as well. I test drove it and LOVED it. It was incredibly well maintained, had low mileage, and was just everything my 18 year old heart could've wanted at the time. Sadly, the cost of the car was beyond what my family was willing to/could afford to pay and insurance costs were a worry as well. I appreciated the fact that I had a car bought for me, but I sure couldn't hide my disappointment at the time when we were filling out the paperwork.

Glenn Branton > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:23

The ending is classic, much like Vanishing Point, the type of ending that is never seen in modern movies.

SteveLehto > negativezero89
09/19/2014 at 14:26

Oh, the ones that got away. We all have those car stories too.

Thanks.

SteveLehto > Glenn Branton
09/19/2014 at 14:26

But a sad ending nonetheless. Don't want to be a spoiler here but the car dies! Ahhhhhh!

CJHuskey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:28

thats awesome, i go to michigan tech but im from commerce michigan . great story, im a huge mopar fan

Quade > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:31

Jesus you're old!

That's about the same time I was in high school too...

SteveLehto > CJHuskey
09/19/2014 at 14:33

I spend a few weeks up there every summer. Ever heard of the Italian Hall disaster in Calumet? I wrote a book on that as well.

SteveLehto > Quade
09/19/2014 at 14:34

I tap-danced around saying "This was the summer of 1979" because it sounded old to me. But I guess you have to be old to have done some of the things I've done by now.

Thanks for the note.

quarterlifecrisis > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:45

Awesome story. My dad's 2nd car was a 68 Super Bee bought in 69-70. I found out later on the car was bought and sold a few times between him and a couple other guys for the next decade, finally ending up back with him and sold...again in the early 80s for something well under $1000. But, in 1970 he had a chance to buy a cooler car, a heavily optioned 68 Charger with the elephant motor. Unfortunately, 17-18 year old Dad did not have the funds at the time. However....when the car came up for sale again 2 years later.

$1200 in 1972, still has the car today.

SteveLehto > quarterlifecrisis
09/19/2014 at 14:47

Wow. I love those stories. So hard to imagine a time when you could actually afford to buy a car with a Hemi. Might not be able to insure it, but that's another story.

Quade > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:48

It's funny, I don't feel old. Still playing the video games, still doing engine swaps for fun. It's only when I wake up in the morning and my back hurts that I feel old.

Graduated from high school in '81 so, my guess is we're right about the same age.

My first car was a VW Karman ghia. Like all air cooled VW's, it was a POS. Don't let any of the fanboys tell you otherwise. I really wish I'd had a car like the Nova through high school and beyond. Even your rust bucket was probably better.

Denise D. Mitchell > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:54

www.netjob80.com

EvilSuperMonkey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 14:57

You bet, I'm just in the processing of building a 53 GMC pickup so it's always fun to hear about stuff that other people have worked on. Nothing forges nostalgia like elbow grease.

SteveLehto > Quade
09/19/2014 at 14:58

Class of 80 here. I have toyed with the idea of buying an upright Defender game for my office but I have been told that they are getting harder and harder to work on!

SteveLehto > EvilSuperMonkey
09/19/2014 at 14:59

And you appreciate it more than if you just buy it and drive it.

BadLag > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:03

I was 16, I saw a 68/RT/383/727 at Downsview Chrysler across the street from my high school. I wanted this car but had no money, it was $300 uncertified. I went to my bank for a loan and as it turns out, it was not a bank loan but a Chargex (VISA) application which I was approved 2 weeks later. I went to my bank with my new credit card, got a 300 buck cash advance and walked to the dealer...THE CAR WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE!!! Bummer.

I still think of all the money I would have now when I sold that car at Barrett-Jackson (assuming of course I took care of it and did not roll it) Ah, we can dream. I did buy a 69 340 Dart Swinger years later keeping it in the Dodge family.

fraimurapy > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:04

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Charles Spratlin > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:04

we never forget our first, even if she isn't the most pretty of cars.

i wasnt lucky enough to score something that beautiful, mine was a 93 4 banger Mustang. not anything close to the fastest of cars, but boy she could take a corner when she was in the mood. and it was freedom, to go where i pleased so long as there was gas in the tank.

blasting it down deserted back roads late at night to practice, cruising to the beach with the moon roof panel in the trunk (made it kind of a convertible) and the radio blasting, scarring the shit out of my girlfriend on our first date when i popped a hard U-turn. so many fond memories with that car.

not the prettiest, and not the fastest. but she was mine.

quarterlifecrisis > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:05

Here's the sad part:

I'm 27, and have never ridden in the car. It's been covered since it was parked, and it was last plated in 1988. Presently, the hood is off, and the drivetrain is all sitting around the car. (Got that much done last year before I moved 700 miles away from the car.) It's getting sympathetically refreshed, and hopefully will be back on the streets in the next couple years.

It is a unique car though. A not too common color scheme, and I've never seen one optioned like this...it has all of them.

SteveLehto > BadLag
09/19/2014 at 15:06

Wow. What year was that (that you missed out on the Charger)?

SteveLehto > Charles Spratlin
09/19/2014 at 15:07

And that's what it is all about. Thanks for the note!

bokol > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:08

www.jobs7000.com

Charles Spratlin > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:09

thank you for sharing yours Sir!

Maxxuman > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:11

Kinja'd!!!

I imagine this is a bit closer to how the colors actually looked:

BadLag > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:13

My math says the car was 9 yrs old so 1977...it was not in mint shape and I was joking about Barett-Jackson but in 1977, we were not thinking about the muscle market 35 years later. Who knows how long I would have drove that car. I did buy a 1970 Monte Carlo 6 months later and kept it for 8 years.

SteveLehto > Maxxuman
09/19/2014 at 15:14

Yes, that is. Thanks. (I scanned these on a copier/fax/scanner combo and couldn't get the colors quite right - plus the pics are old).

SteveLehto > BadLag
09/19/2014 at 15:17

Very cool. So many of these cars didn't survive. The ones that did are getting crazy expensive. You're right, just hanging onto a car for all these years would have been quite hard no matter what.

Thanks for the note!

EvilSuperMonkey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:21

Exactly the vehicle feels like something that you accomplished rather than found.

CJHuskey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:26

No ill have to look that up

SteveLehto > CJHuskey
09/19/2014 at 15:30

You've been up to Calumet? The main street is 5th. Two blocks over (on 7th) right around the corner from the Opera House, there is a little park where the Hall used to stand. 73 people died there in 1913 when someone falsely cried "Fire!" during a children's Christmas party. There was no fire. The victims were crushed in a stampede down a steep staircase.

bfisch1629 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:33

"Torqueflite" - one of the reasons I fell in love with Jeep Wrangler TJ was the 3speed Torqueflite inside it. (32RH) That sound - first gear into second that whirring whoosh that is so distinctive. And of course, the clunk into reverse too. It sounds and feels like every car of my early childhood.

SteveLehto > bfisch1629
09/19/2014 at 15:34

In later years I interviewed one of the chief guys on the Torqueflite program. They used modified Torqueflites in the Turbine Cars. I thanked him and told him about the robust one I had in my Charger.

bfisch1629 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:42

Loved your book, by the way. I was already a borderline Mopar/ChryCo fan but reading about that project made me really admire what they were able to produce. I read a good portion of it waiting for my FIAT 500 to be serviced and the rest while my Jeep was in the shop.

SteveLehto > bfisch1629
09/19/2014 at 15:44

Oh, then you knew about the Torqueflites in the Turbines! Thanks for the note. Good to know that people are reading the books.

And if you are on Twitter, follow me so as not to miss any posts @stevelehto

aimawayfromface3 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 15:50

Thanks, and same to yours. Your write-up got me pretty nostalgic for her. I spent 4 years restoring her. (Well, resto-mod: the tired 318 became a 440.) Then the law school loans started coming due, and the creditors came knocking, and she had to go. That car will always be the one that got away.

SteveLehto > aimawayfromface3
09/19/2014 at 15:52

You're a lawyer too? (So am I.)

There's nothing wrong with swapping engines if you're moving up from a 318. I don't care what ANYONE says!

SteveLehto > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 16:26

I have to thank Jaime who sent me the color corrected pic at the top of the post. I was going to go through and change them all but I worry about messing something else up. You know, Kinja and all.

Quade > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 16:40

Probably the best way to do that is buy a gaming cabinet, then fill it in with a computer running "Mame" (which emulates old game console hardware) then you can run all the old games on new hardware.

http://www.mameroom.com/Products_UAII_…

Sort of like this. I just game on my PC.

KremerK3 > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 16:45

Kinja'd!!!

Great pix, fixed 'em for you.

Kinja'd!!!

Steve in Manhattan > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 16:49

My uncle had a '68 Charger - metallic copper. Ooooh how I wanted that car.

SteveLehto > Quade
09/19/2014 at 16:51

So long as I could get the original controls. At one point I could play that game endlessly on a quarter . . .

SteveLehto > KremerK3
09/19/2014 at 16:51

Thanks. I may stick them in if that's okay. I just need to do it without messing up the rest of the post.

SteveLehto > Steve in Manhattan
09/19/2014 at 16:52

68 - 70 are the classic shape in my opinion. I'm partial to the 69 for obvious reasons but they're all cool.

Thanks for the note.

Jack E > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 17:14

Awesome story! If I could get a Charger for my first car (what are the chances) it would be sweet....

SteveLehto > Jack E
09/19/2014 at 17:16

I wonder what the equivalent would be today? When I got the Charger, it was only ten years old. Any cool cars from 2004 you can think of that you could afford if you only had a part-time, minimum wage job?

blundelltov > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 17:31

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 17:36

While it's no 69 Charger, I'm on my first car and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. It's a hand-me-down Ranger from my Dad, and while it's (very) slow, I have fun with it. As long as I can keep the frame together I plan on keeping it. My future plans for it are to someday make a prerunner out of it.

SteveLehto > Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
09/19/2014 at 17:38

Great idea. What a way for a truck to "retire".

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > SteveLehto
09/19/2014 at 17:41

My ultimate plan for retirement is to build it to qualify for a race class, like SCORE Mini trucks. Then, I'd race it somewhere. If I destroy it then that would be my way of sending it out.