The Hot Rod

I’m very lucky. I have a car that many people only dream of owning: a real Detroit muscle machine with a big block V-8.

My car is a 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T. And it’s a real one, not a base model Coronet dressed up to look like its more powerful and prestigious brother. It has everything a muscle car needs — a four speed, a 440 cubic inch motor, heavy-duty suspension and a bullet proof Dana 60 rear end.

I first purchased the car in 1998. I can’t believe that the last dozen-plus years have gone by so fast. At first, I wanted to buy a ‘68, ‘69 or ’70 Road Runner with a 383. There were a good number of Road Runners in my price range during the mid ‘90s. But one ad kept catching my eye.

In Deals on Wheels magazine, there was a Richard Petty blue 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T. And it was less than a three-hour drive away. There was only one problem: it was out of my budget. But it kept showing up for sale month after month. Finally, the car’s price dropped $3,000, and if I spent most of my savings, I could have it.

 But I was a little nervous. Shouldn’t I save my money and invest it wisely?  The answer is probably “yes.” But what the hell, you only live once and you’re only young for a short period of time. I missed out on the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Instead of Hendrix and Free my generation had Nirvana and Soundgarden. And instead of real muscle cars we had crappy Camaros and Mustangs — I’m not talking about the classics here. Despite any detriments to my future, I went for it. I wasn’t going to let a relic from the high point of American automotive history just slide through my hands.

It’s crazy how something that’s an inanimate object, like a car, can bring back so many memories. When I went purchased it I rode a bus to where I met a good friend who is now deceased. He was going to take me the final 50 miles to look at the car. The first sign of good things to come was when we went to an area casino and he won $350 on a slot machine; it was his birthday after all.

I remember when the storage shed where the car was stored in Vermillion, SD opened up and there was this blue beast sitting comfortably inside. I remember the rumble when it started up. I was so excited. Then came the test drive.

I rumbled through the streets of Vermillion. After turning a corner with the car in first gear I stomped on the gas. It broke the back tires loose in a cloud of white smoke. I had never been in a car with so much power and torque. I guess that was the selling point; there was no turning back after experiencing that.

I drove the car without any upgrades for a couple of years. Then I decided that the engine compartment needed to look a little prettier, so off came the rusty old exhaust manifolds. Like all simple jobs, it soon became much more difficult when a bolt broke off in the head. So off came the cylinder heads and then came a head port and polish job, larger valves and ported intake and exhaust manifolds. Now, the car really runs, yet retains the stock engine components and looks.

My car isn’t perfect and isn’t going to win any titles at the Mopar Nationals, but it’s all mine and it sure does look cool.