Why is it that Mopar owners are afraid to . ..

[Serious Satellite]

Why is it that Mopar owners are afraid to customize their cars like Ford, G.M., and other non American car manufacturer owners?

It's always been a strange situation with Mopar. . .I love the cars but it seems somewhat anally retentive to me when a Mopar fan asks why I'm not restoring to factory.

I know it's a personal issue thing, and one I've struggled with early on in my rustification project, but I just find it odd.

What do you guys think?

[Eric]

I'm a detail nut, so factory correct is my thing....but I can appreciate customs too[/u]

[Smellslike1974]

I agree with you %100

Me personally,I like to be different(even though my car itself stock was different)I still want to make it my own.People think because of Sundance package I should keep It stock because Its worth more that way...So,and How?Okay Its worth more stock,what am I ever gonna get because I own a car thats worth more stock?I don't plan on selling It,so I wont make money from It.I get no cookie or trophy for it being stock.(unless at like a show,well the trophy anyway) And If Its so valuable why have a car you cant drive because your afraid of putting miles on It of getting It weathered?Id spend the rest of my life dusting It everyday wondering what It would have been like with my touches.

I think a huge majority of Mopar owners,or car owners in general see the word "valuable" as a dollar sign,I consider my car valuable because its my* car,that i can do whatever to,and it is special to me.

[RS23-71]

Why customize something that came nearly perfect from the factory.... unlike chevys and fords.

[Smellslike1974]

If it came perfect you wouldnt have to restore it,lol

[orangerunner]

I'm not sure why customizing is looked down upon with Mopar.

It probably has to do with the relatively small production numbers of Mopars compared with Chevys and Fords.

When there is a seemingly never-ending supply of certain model, who cares if someone wants to paint it Honda Teal with a blue flame running down the side?

Leaving them original holds more value, not just monetarily speaking. For me, these cars are a rolling piece of art. As an owner, I feel I have a certain responsibility to take care of it. Just as a museum has a responsibility to take care of its works of art.

Customizing is a very personal thing. It's great you have the piece of mind of creating something that you really want.

You can also spend a lot of money customizing a car only to lose a lot of money when it comes time to sell it because the purchaser probably doesn't share your taste. If you leave it original or restore it to original, a potential buyer can't fault the car for being what it is.

I am not suggesting every car has to have the correct date coded plug wires and be religiously kept up to #1 car standards but if you choose to make changes to suit your own style make changes that can be easily reversed such as wheels, tires, steering wheel, or adding correct options that may not have been optioned on the particular car.

If you like to customize your car, that's fine as long as you appreciate not everyone is going to admire it the same way you do. If you find yourself in the position of having to sell it, the buyers will vote with wallets on what they feel has real value.

Originality and value go hand-in-hand in almost any collectible hobby from comic books to stamps to skateboards to Star Wars toys etc.

[Boss Ride]

It's hard to customize/modify a Mopar and make it look good. Some things can be done like shaving the handles and marker lights, but often times people get carried away and they don't look so good. Think about seat conversions... I've seen some perfectly good bucket-backed bench seats scrapped and crappy pontiac grang prix seats, or worse bolted to the floor. It looks out of place. Cheap-looking steering wheels and hack shifter conversions, too.. barf.

It takes a good eye and restraint to improve upon Mopar's stuff. They got it right. Modifications for modification's sense is not right. (think square headlight conversions) Modification for improvement is... like tubular K-frames and frame connectors. Most modifications only look good right when you do them, and then again in 30 years when everyone forgets why they quit making those mods.

Plus... Mopars, with everything being dated and numbered attract more conservative, anal-retentive types over the creative folks. Add that to six-figure values and dwindling supplies, and a preservation attitude has become adopted by the very same guys who used to believe in shackles, tunnel rams, N50's, trunk murals, and panel paint jobs.

[landon1]

mine is done right now to be "retro"...what might have been done back in the day - slot mags, sidepipes, black hood, chrome 3 spoke wheel...the big thing that makes my car stand out now is the RTS-style stripe...modified a lil bit from the show car, but gets the point across, and it appears factory to most cuz of all the wild mopar ideas.

when i get the chance to re-do the whole car, it's gonna be somewhat like factory...
*b5 blue/white painted roof
*chrome bumpers/argent grille
*blue interior (pry gonna do my seats in white - supposed to be blue bench, now buckets - it tie the outside to the inside, as well)
*i will pry keep the 69 440 drivetrain-maybe do a Gear Vendors OD, though, as well as other performance goodies
*would like to do steel wheels as original, but with the price they are, may just get some cragar s/s or american racing torq-thrusts (they're vintage, anyway)
*def keeping the headers (half the weight of manifolds), go dual exhaust out the back with hidden turn-downs

so, basically it will look almost exactly how it did, but have the performance drivetrain/parts that people swapped for back then, anyway

i've found that a lot of your everyday mopar lovers don't care if it's not the right color, engine, etc. collectors and some others care, but appearing factory is the main thing as well as performance cuz they look and perform way better than the chevys and fords (i even like the "ugly" early/mid 60s cars)- everyone loves big blocks, 6 paks, factory or not - and we all appreciate the slant 6 three on the tree cars (at least i do)

chevy guys like resto-mods (that look like crap imo) and they MAY have taken the time to at least put in a decent performing motor. ford guys, i think are more into factory stuff along with the mopar crowd, but droppin a 302 or 351 is acceptable, just like the 318 guy that wants a 440

i like the cars the way they came, but i also like how the people that had them back then changed them with chrome wheels, dress-up kits, dual exhaust with big tips, cherry bombs, big fat tires, helper springs, etc.

[Serious Satellite]

I don't know of anybody back in the day that kept their Mopar car factory. We all changed 'em to our specs. Whether it was a different sound system, jackin' up the back end, wheels and tires, different shifter kits, different paint jobs, shag carpet instead of the nylon loop. . .we changed a lot on 'em. If we didn't like 'em, we dove into 'em and made them ours.

The only guy I knew that kept his car factory was a young man who was . . .. .slow to put it kindly. He had a Gold Duster and it left him as it came, straight stock from factory. But this was the kind of guy that would accidentally shift into reverse while driving. . .

I guess that's what bothers me the most. . .remembering how we did it back then and listening to the Mopar purists now. . .

[ROGERLEE]

you are so right, back then when it was the 70's these cars were a dime a dozen, you don't know how many times i have heard from the junk yard owners that havebeen in business since the 60's, if i would have known how valuable these mopars would have become i would have treated them better or stored away or something on those grounds, my first good car was a 70 dodge charger in 76, i remember taking off the magnum 500's and putting on cragers, cause everybody did it, i remember putting fog lites on front, cause everybody did it, same as jacking the car up, putting shackles, a cheap cb antennae(scratching up that burnt orange paint), putting those decals in the right and left rear side windows, we did what we did, cause we wanted to customize our cars, if you saw a sport hood in the junk yard, off yours went and on yours, big dodge and plymouth decals anywhere you knew they look good, i told my boy he is 26, that i wouldn't trade the 70's for nothing

[Boss Ride]

Fog lights! Yess... I got a NOS pair or round ones for my car, and an old Cobra CB... I want the trunk-mounted antenna. I already have the Hi-Jackers decals on the rear window.

[rav440]

i dont like customs but i do like the 70s mod look . in fact i getting a BAREFOOT gas pedal installed on my runner .

[73sunroofSSP]

Mine will never be numbers matching because it wasn't when I got it. So I'll build it my way and heck with the purist that looks down their nose at it and I don't mean to offend anyone w/ that line. I have had people look at it and go you ruined a good car. Well if they don't like it don't look at it. Sorry I needed to vent a little not having a car tends to do that. She's my main means of transportation and she's been down for 6 months. I want my baby back!!!!!

[landon1]

yup...idk i'm kinda into the stock look my car would have had, but i dig the racecar look as well, plus the jacked rear end, so not sure what i'll end up doing really

[Smellslike1974]

All i know is if,i ever am able to make a car movie(directing is one of my goals* in life)I know the perfect bunch for a car movie.People here have cars as unique as themselves.