Here's a couple I've added to the fleet in recent years
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Nice Magnum. Tough stance. My dad had a '79 magnum, ugliest car I've ever seen up to that point, Mopar wise. It was a 318/auto with a sunroof, factory I think. It had some rust. It was triple green, not a nice green either, it was like a medium green metallic. It had a matching green vinyl top and interior. He bought it as a winter beater. He paid $275 for it, I was actually surprised that he bought it. It had about 130,000 miles on it and it hat a rod knock. Dad was a true diehard Mopar guy, so am I. The kid that owned it was asking $300, he obviously didn't take care of it.
During the test drive, I said to dad, "Your not actually considering buying this car, it's got a rod knock"!. To my surprise, dad replied "Eh, you've got to have more faith in these old Mopars."
He put 40,000 miles on that car before the old 904 gave up some gears, and that rod knock never got any worse. Trans first lost reverse, then within 2 weeks it lost 3rd, then 2nd. Dad called me & asked me to follow him to the junk yard & give him a ride home. As I was following him hot rodding through town, I thought the trans had quit when he got out and walked to my truck at a stop sign. He asked me if I would like to drive it the rest of the way in. So I got in it one last time. Smoked the tires at some stop lights, power slides at others, just as he was doing. When I got onto the road the junk yard was on I put the petal to the floor, planning to grenade the engine and coast it in. That 318, in first gear, topped out at 55 mph. The dash and everything else, including me, was vibrating, the needle was at 55, the petal was to the floor, my knuckles were white & my eyes were squinting, not sure what was about to happen. There was a guy walking on the side of the road up ahead, he spun around, then ran about 50 feet out into a field and just stood there and watched me drive by, he had to be thinking what I was thinking. But that little, tired 318 handled it just fine. I pulled into the junkyard and let it idle. That faint rod knock was still there, but not any worse! I surrendered it, and they gave us an extra $50 because it was a running engine. I gained "more faith in them old Mopars" that day.
Ah, the memories.
