Blast from the past

[MarkJ]

I came upon a picture from one of my mother's photo albums on the anniversary of her birthday. she passed back in 2019. It was a picture of my very first new car. I had come over to her house to wash it because I was newly married and lived in an apartment where you could not wash your car and I didn't want to go to a car wash. I was fixing to leave, and she said, wait dear, let me get a photo. So she took it. It was 3x5 in her album so I blew it up to 4x6. 1973 Dodge Charger SE. I purchased it for $3995.00 plus tax, title, and license from Royal Dodge in Alvin where Nolan Ryan grew up. They had 5 of these cars, 4 with 400 2 barrel carburetors . 1 had the 440 4barrel carb for 500 bucks more but I already thought I was paying too much. Man I wished I had payed that extra money. the 400 was a dud of a car.

[stavanzer]

I had a '73 Dodge 3/4 Ton , Camper Special with the 400 Cu, 2 Barrel set up.

It was a dog of a motor and would sometimes die, going around corners. Rain made it worse. Three Different Shops had it, trying to fix the carb problem. All failed. I still wish I had the truck though. With What I know now, I think I could get the problem resolved.

[MarkJ]

3 hours ago, stavanzer said:

I had a '73 Dodge 3/4 Ton , Camper Special with the 400 Cu, 2 Barrel set up.

It was a dog of a motor and would sometimes die, going around corners. Rain made it worse. Three Different Shops had it, trying to fix the carb problem. All failed. I still wish I had the truck though. With What I know now, I think I could get the problem resolved.

Alan, i too had problems with the carburetor. The car would die at the most inopportune moments. Like trying to get on the highway from the apartment complex I lived at. Also trying to pass somebody on a two-lane highway, it wouldn't shut off, but it would stumble and then go. Very scary car to drive. I was so glad to sell it to my cross the street neighbor. When I did, he side swiped it getting into his garage. I think I only kept it for 2 years and replaced it with a 1975 chevy monza with a v8 and a floor shifter. I could never get my wife to learn how to use a clutch so i eventually sold it too. I finally got a 1976 Chevy laguna s-3 . but I got that with a 350 2 barrel and it was a dog too. The only way to get that car with a 4 barrel was to get the 400 small block that they were having trouble with the head gaskets so I didn't want one of those.

[stavanzer]

Funny, I had a '73 Chevy Wagon with the 400 Small Block.

Gobs of torque off the line, but a dog otherwise.

[MarkJ]

Most of the vehicles in the early seventies were dogs because they were trying to make them less polluting without the catalytic converter. That did not come out till 1975.

[Mike C.]

I found this old one from when we were kids back in the 70s. Summer, Wildwood NJ. My dad took my mom's '70 Torino and traded in for this Grand Prix. My mon later said she hated that car. That's my mom driving and 2 of my aunts on the sidewalk.  Us kids are in the back. 

[JollySipper]

That's a super nice Charger! My old man has this one (if it's okay to post it?), a '73 model 'Aztec' Charger......... Aztec was an appearance package.

As for the 400 engine, it was just a bored 383..... They were trying to replace high compression with cubic inches, running on that new fangled unleaded gasoline....

[MarkJ]

Thanks, guys for sharing. Those cars were such big battle ships back then but back then they didn't seem that big at all. Now everybody is driving around in small suv's.

[Repstock]

On 1/11/2023 at 10:45 AM, Mike C. said:

I found this old one from when we were kids back in the 70s. Summer, Wildwood NJ. My dad took my mom's '70 Torino and traded in for this Grand Prix. My mon later said she hated that car. That's my mom driving and 2 of my aunts on the sidewalk.  Us kids are in the back. 

Looks like my old Grand Prix! I liked the car, but my girlfriends' 1977 Monte Carlo drove better.

[Dave Van]

My first new car was a 82 Z28 I bought late 81 from CITY Chevy in Charlotte. Only Chevy I ever owned!!!! I liked the car.....it was fun!

[MarkJ]

Dave, my wife owned a gray 1984 z-28 which was the same generation as your Camaro. It had gold stripes and had the back glass louvers just like yours had. They rattled something terrible but looked really cool. Had a 4barrel 305 engine which was kind of a dog. We couldn't afford the IROC version or maybe it had not come out yet. I really can't remember.