Thanks for the welcome, folks!
I had been thinking about getting back to a collectible Mopar for several years, but I didn't want a muscle car (I'm spoiled by those new Vettes I mentioned above), didn't want to go to the trouble of restoring a rusty Dart....didn't want a lot of things associated with the hobby. I only wanted the "fun side", not the dirty, oily side things, LOL!
So, I got to thinking about the 71 Fury Grand Coupe that my parents had and that I drove back and forth to college...and loved. By 1981 it was officially "old", and the paisley stuff wasn't very groovy in the 80s, to it went to the junkyard. Meantime, I had my 71 Cuda, but eventually grew tired of being the caretaker of something I rarely drove anymore, and by 1999 sold it and moved to a 2000 Vette. I was out of the Mopar world. Sort of. I still followed it from the sidelines via magazines and the auction world. And Carlisle.
So, I purchased this Hurst at Mecum Indy on May 19. It's somewhere in shipment at this time. It was owned by a fellow in Amarillo TX, who purchased it from the O-Owner from New Mexico in 1998, restored it, and apparently enjoyed greatly it for 20 years. He attended many (58) shows with it, and is a member of the 300 Club. I won't mention his name here, but I'm guessing many of you might know him.
From what I can see, the car is in very nice condition. I'm hoping the systems all work correctly, because I'm not looking forward to fighting with power window or A/C issues. But I will, if necessary, since I did all that back in the 70's when I worked at a Chrysler dealership. The only issues I know about at this time is the vacuum trunk release wasn't working, and the passenger side power seat switch is missing the middle button (but it might still work). I've never seen it in daylight, but cosmetically everything looks good. I'll know more (hopefully not much more!) when the car arrives in a week or so.
So, do I really want to be a caretaker of a rare Mopar again? Time will tell. I may enjoy getting it mechanically perfect (as required), driving the giant thing for awhile, and then turning it loose in 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years to another appreciative caretaker. Dunno yet. I'm kinda busy with Vette stuff, sportbike stuff, touring bike stuff, and attending Mecum and BJ auctions!
But I'll certainly be reading lots and lots of threads here to polish my C-Body knowledge. I only have a few pics from the auction...nothing artistic yet.
Thanks again for the welcomes. This seems to be a very active, helpful group of Mopar aficionados and I'm glad to be here.
And finally, as per
detmatt's recommendation, I SHALL NOT mention Corvettes ever again!
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