Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
In Memoriam:
In 1979, someone walked into their Dodge dealer and ordered a snazzy Nightwatch blue Dodge Magnum. They checked boxes for the E58 (premium) 4bbl 360 and trailer-tow, which got you a 3.21 SG axle among other coolers and goodies. They also checked off T-tops, leather buckets, console and every other available option.
Then who knows what happened? It spent some time in Florida, which must have kept the rust at bay until I spotted it for sale; roughly 1992, in Michigan.
I came very close to buying it, but instead passed the tip to a buddy who ended up buying it. It replaced his 1970 NY'er sedan. He drove the Magnum all through college, eventually getting an engineering degree and to his early days working at FoMoCo. It made a trip to the Mopar Nats in '94.
By the late 90s, it was getting tired. Well over 100k and in need of some maintenance, but not hopeless. My friend replaced it with a 5-speed/5-liter Mustang LX. Yet my friend had such a soft spot for the car, he kept it with a goal of restoring it one day.
Unfortunately he paid (!) to store the car for almost a decade on a grassy lot. Someone broke a small side window. It filled with water. By that point, he had to admit the rust was terminal. I connected him to a buyer.
Years passed. I finally got my T-top Magnum, which while rock solid, was pretty low on options and had a hideous red interior. I started sniffing around for parts cars. Turns out the guy who'd bought it many years before hadn't done a thing with it. He sold it to me.
In 1979, someone walked into their Dodge dealer and ordered a snazzy Nightwatch blue Dodge Magnum. They checked boxes for the E58 (premium) 4bbl 360 and trailer-tow, which got you a 3.21 SG axle among other coolers and goodies. They also checked off T-tops, leather buckets, console and every other available option.
Then who knows what happened? It spent some time in Florida, which must have kept the rust at bay until I spotted it for sale; roughly 1992, in Michigan.
I came very close to buying it, but instead passed the tip to a buddy who ended up buying it. It replaced his 1970 NY'er sedan. He drove the Magnum all through college, eventually getting an engineering degree and to his early days working at FoMoCo. It made a trip to the Mopar Nats in '94.
By the late 90s, it was getting tired. Well over 100k and in need of some maintenance, but not hopeless. My friend replaced it with a 5-speed/5-liter Mustang LX. Yet my friend had such a soft spot for the car, he kept it with a goal of restoring it one day.
Unfortunately he paid (!) to store the car for almost a decade on a grassy lot. Someone broke a small side window. It filled with water. By that point, he had to admit the rust was terminal. I connected him to a buyer.
Years passed. I finally got my T-top Magnum, which while rock solid, was pretty low on options and had a hideous red interior. I started sniffing around for parts cars. Turns out the guy who'd bought it many years before hadn't done a thing with it. He sold it to me.
