CyBeRdEmOn12345
Member
So I figured that since I'm new here, I'd take some time to introduce myself to the FBBO community so here goes!
My name is Gary and I was born and raised in the great state of Indiana and I'm 22 years old. At the age of 20 I joined the Navy and got stationed out of San Diego, California where I first laid eyes on a 2014 Challenger, because unlike Indiana, a vast majority of Californians seem to own sportier cars than the rest of the country, I guess? Up until this point, I'd never really owned a car (if I had, it would have just been to get from point A to point B because up until then I never really looked at cars as anything other than a mode of transportation) but I just remember thinking that those Challengers were indeed the sexiest things on the road and in my eyes, the last true muscle car. It was at this time that I proclaimed my undying loyalty to the Dodge brand. So I set my sights on getting a new Challenger, and for awhile I was actively pursuing the idea, going to dealerships, looking online, etc. At the time, I had also been looking at older Chargers and Challengers on craigslist and found them to be even sexier than the Challengers of today, but convinced myself I could never afford one in the condition I wanted and that it would always need work. Then, one day while just scanning craigslist I came across a car that looked like a Charger, but was a sedan - a 1971 Dodge Coronet... for $3000. Now it just so happened that I had been saving up money to put a down payment on this new Challenger I was so deadset on getting and I had amassed exactly $2500. At first, I was iffy because it was a sedan, not a coupe like most muscle cars and I just kept weighing it in my mind on if I was going to spend my money on a classic instead of a downpayment for a newer vehicle. So I contacted the seller and with it being craigslist, I opted to start out with an offer that was low, but not so low as to insult the guy because after all the car was, from what i could see, in pretty good condition. So I asked him if he'd take $2300 and he told me just to stop by his place and take a look at it. So, that weekend I drove out with a mechanic buddy of mine to Spring Valley and we went to go look at the car, which I was still on the fence about. I just remember walking up the drive way and seeing her all cleaned up, chrome bumper shining in the sun and maaaaaan, was she pretty. Now some people don't believe in love at first sight, but after I seen this car I was a believer. Before we even got into the details of how good it ran (which was pretty damn good for a 43 year old car) and what all was wrong with it, I was hooked. She was wide and long with a coke-bottle figure and she seemed to kind of dip in the front and her rear up seemed to be lifted up, which i just found really attractive. AND THE GRILLE! Oh, the grille. I don't know what it is about those open-mouth grilles, but to me, that's probably the sexiest thing to me about her; a big thick chrome bumper with four big 'ol headlamps to fill in the corners. But I digress. The guy showed us around, couple knicks and dings due to the fact it was his wifes daily driver for some time, but really the car was in pretty good shape both inside and out for the guy having not done anything to it cosmetics-wise; everything was pretty much stock except for an MSD ignition box in the engine bay. And she ran and sounded like a dream! When we finally got down to business and started talking price, he told me flat-out, "I know you said you could do $2300, but do you think you could do $2500? I mean, any less than that and I'll probably just have to take her with me to Texas." (Oh, the reason he was selling the car was because he was moving to Texas and already had a '60s Mercury Cougar he was taking with him). So of course, having already fell in love and everything and having the *exact* amount I need, I agreed with absolutely no hesitation; we shook on it and the rest is, as they say, history. That was back in July of 2014 and needless to say, I haven't looked back since. In those couple months, I've gotten new 15x7in wheels to replace the hideous, white 18in wheels the guy put on as well as a drum to disk brake conversion kit. I realize thats not very much for 7 months, but I've done a lot of planning for my restoration in that time and been saving money (as much as I can, given how little I'm currently getting paid), buying everything one paycheck at a time.
I look forward to chatting with you guys here on FBBO with my project or whatever the topic of conversation is at that given time. I'm also looking forward to hopefully learning a lot while I'm here and making a few friends along the way! That's pretty much it for me but if theres anything else y'all would like to know feel free to ask!
My name is Gary and I was born and raised in the great state of Indiana and I'm 22 years old. At the age of 20 I joined the Navy and got stationed out of San Diego, California where I first laid eyes on a 2014 Challenger, because unlike Indiana, a vast majority of Californians seem to own sportier cars than the rest of the country, I guess? Up until this point, I'd never really owned a car (if I had, it would have just been to get from point A to point B because up until then I never really looked at cars as anything other than a mode of transportation) but I just remember thinking that those Challengers were indeed the sexiest things on the road and in my eyes, the last true muscle car. It was at this time that I proclaimed my undying loyalty to the Dodge brand. So I set my sights on getting a new Challenger, and for awhile I was actively pursuing the idea, going to dealerships, looking online, etc. At the time, I had also been looking at older Chargers and Challengers on craigslist and found them to be even sexier than the Challengers of today, but convinced myself I could never afford one in the condition I wanted and that it would always need work. Then, one day while just scanning craigslist I came across a car that looked like a Charger, but was a sedan - a 1971 Dodge Coronet... for $3000. Now it just so happened that I had been saving up money to put a down payment on this new Challenger I was so deadset on getting and I had amassed exactly $2500. At first, I was iffy because it was a sedan, not a coupe like most muscle cars and I just kept weighing it in my mind on if I was going to spend my money on a classic instead of a downpayment for a newer vehicle. So I contacted the seller and with it being craigslist, I opted to start out with an offer that was low, but not so low as to insult the guy because after all the car was, from what i could see, in pretty good condition. So I asked him if he'd take $2300 and he told me just to stop by his place and take a look at it. So, that weekend I drove out with a mechanic buddy of mine to Spring Valley and we went to go look at the car, which I was still on the fence about. I just remember walking up the drive way and seeing her all cleaned up, chrome bumper shining in the sun and maaaaaan, was she pretty. Now some people don't believe in love at first sight, but after I seen this car I was a believer. Before we even got into the details of how good it ran (which was pretty damn good for a 43 year old car) and what all was wrong with it, I was hooked. She was wide and long with a coke-bottle figure and she seemed to kind of dip in the front and her rear up seemed to be lifted up, which i just found really attractive. AND THE GRILLE! Oh, the grille. I don't know what it is about those open-mouth grilles, but to me, that's probably the sexiest thing to me about her; a big thick chrome bumper with four big 'ol headlamps to fill in the corners. But I digress. The guy showed us around, couple knicks and dings due to the fact it was his wifes daily driver for some time, but really the car was in pretty good shape both inside and out for the guy having not done anything to it cosmetics-wise; everything was pretty much stock except for an MSD ignition box in the engine bay. And she ran and sounded like a dream! When we finally got down to business and started talking price, he told me flat-out, "I know you said you could do $2300, but do you think you could do $2500? I mean, any less than that and I'll probably just have to take her with me to Texas." (Oh, the reason he was selling the car was because he was moving to Texas and already had a '60s Mercury Cougar he was taking with him). So of course, having already fell in love and everything and having the *exact* amount I need, I agreed with absolutely no hesitation; we shook on it and the rest is, as they say, history. That was back in July of 2014 and needless to say, I haven't looked back since. In those couple months, I've gotten new 15x7in wheels to replace the hideous, white 18in wheels the guy put on as well as a drum to disk brake conversion kit. I realize thats not very much for 7 months, but I've done a lot of planning for my restoration in that time and been saving money (as much as I can, given how little I'm currently getting paid), buying everything one paycheck at a time.
I look forward to chatting with you guys here on FBBO with my project or whatever the topic of conversation is at that given time. I'm also looking forward to hopefully learning a lot while I'm here and making a few friends along the way! That's pretty much it for me but if theres anything else y'all would like to know feel free to ask!
aboard
...enjoy!
