My 18 year old daughter got me a sign for my birthday too. No, not a nice Stihl one like HJ's one from his wife. Actually something "better", this ones a Mopar ........................... . My Dad had a "69" 383 Mag yellow one that he drove to a rust bucket, then gave it to one of my sisters. She beat it some more (were talking Buffalo winters here) before finally selling it to a neighbor kid. He started a restoration on it, but it mostly sat for a few more years. Finally, he sold it to a local businessman who fully restored it and drives it in his local TV commercials now! Way to go, I want one again bad (or a Challenger, Charger, Road Runner, Barracuda etc.)
That's an awesome sign with a great back story. Those cars (all 5 you mentioned) are some mean rides! Had a buddy in high school who grandfather had a restored Super Bee and gave his grandson, a 70 or 71 Charger. It only had a 340 (no 440 with a 6 pack), but it was a great 18th birthday present. All white with 2 black stripes around the trunk.
A good friend of mine was a MOPAR nut in his youth. Had lots of them and other classic iron. The one that stands out in my memory tho is the '71 Challenger. Plum Crazy purple, was originally a 318w/AC. Previous owner did a half-assed conversion to a 440 R/T but left a 4bbl on the 440 under the hood. My buddy rebuilt that 440 .060 over and swapped out the 4bbl for the Six Pack carbs. What a beast that car was!
The first "fast" car I ever rode in was my friend's dad's challenger. I was probably 12. It had a built 426 that he swapped in. That car was a monster.
I almost forgot about the tires. The 69 Bee came with whatever bias ply tires of the era. My Dad was a mailman and a place called "Leo's Tires" was on his Delaware/Sheridan-Kenmore NY route. Leo, who had family back in Italy in the tire business, always had the latest tire magazines and such that my Dad was always skimming and BS'in about. My Dad read about something new called "Radial Tires" from a company called "Pirelli". Leo said he could "special order" some for him to put on the Bee. That Super Bee rode on what might have been the first radial tires in the WNY area long before other folks ever heard of them. I was always bragging to hotter car guys how they might take me on a straight-away, but I'd pass them on the inside on the curves with my Pirelli!
