1996 Dodge Ram - My first new truck, purchased new in April 1996 as a college graduation gift by my parents (they gave me the down payment and I paid the rest). With that truck, I went through two law enforcement academies, US Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, lived in five states, had my first date with my wife, got married in it, and had it when my kids were born.

I drove it daily for 130,000 miles until 2003 when my wife was pregnant with our second child and I needed something with a backseat.  Having just gotten home from an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, I had some cash to spend and bought a new 2004 Ram Quad Cab, which I still have. 

However, since nothing will replace the memories I have with my black truck, I couldn’t sell it and in true hot rodder fashion, I built what I had.  I replaced the original 318 cubic inch with a mild 408 stroked small block in 2005 that was dyno'd at 487 HP at the crank.  I still run it with the OBD II computer with all the A/C and power accessories and it gets 17 mpg on the highway (empty).  Plus I can still tow my boat.  Its best quarter mile times are in the low 13s but I know it has 12s in it.  It’s a neat hot rod.

I did a driving restoration on that car, never having to take it off the road for any extended period of time while I worked on it.  It’s got a very strong 440, 4 speed and a Dana 60 rear, and they are all original to the car. I also have a book of original documentation for it, including the bill of sale from Chrysler Military Sales. I drove it on the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2006 from Georgia to New Jersey plus frequent road trips to Carlisle, PA, Columbia, SC and it makes the 500 mile round trip from my home in Gloucester, VA to my current duty station at Camp Lejeune, NC at least once a month. It’s a street/strip car that doesn’t know it’s a reliable driver!

1972 Plymouth Fury I Virginia State Police car - I’m a police officer in my civilian job, as well as a Mopar guy so I had to get a police car!  The ‘69-‘73 440-powered Dodge and Plymouth police cars are THE legendary cruisers, the only car to break 145 mph in tests conducted by the California Highway Patrol and Michigan State Police, which are the benchmark tests used by law enforcement agencies all over the country to evaluate police vehicles. 

Only the 2006 Dodge Charger broke the records set by the old Mopar cop cars.  See it really does take a Mopar to catch a Mopar!  I found the Fury in 1999 in an ad listing old Mopar police cars for sale in Ohio.  They were mostly later Diplomats but he had one old ’72 Plymouth from Virginia.  How could I pass that up!  I had the car shipped to me in Texas and it was very rough. Every single body panel had serious rust, but I had committed myself since it took over a year to find one and since this car still had its original drivetrain (most police cars had been pilfered of their 440s for upgrades to 318-powered Chargers and Barracudas). I found a rust-free ‘72 Fury sedan donor parts car and got my saws out. The quarter panels, rocker panels, rear doors, entire floor pan, trunk floor, inner fenders and front subframe were cut out and welded onto the my police car.  I rebuilt the engine myself and sent the transmission out.  I finished it in 2007 and now take it out to shows and parades. Next May, I’m going to bring it to the Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington DC for Police Memorial Week. 

1968 Plymouth Valiant - My Dad's first car was a blue 1968 Valiant that he got soon after he and my Mom were married.  Being from New York City and relying on mass transit, he never needed a car until after he got out of the Marines, married my mother and started having children.  He was never a car guy by any means, they were just a tool to get from point A to B for him but he always spoke fondly of his Valiant. 

In 2005, I had an idea to get a Valiant, restore it and give it to him in time for his 65th birthday in 2006.  I started a search and found this one in Oklahoma (Valiants are hard to find!)  It was mostly rust free but needed some restoration work.  I got the drivetrain done, the legendary 225 Slant Six with Torqueflite automatic, and started prepping it for paint when he had a sudden heart attack and passed away one month before his 65th birthday.  I finished the car as a rolling memorial to my father who I love dearly.

1969 Charger - This is my current project and I’m doing a rotisserie restoration on it. No progress pictures yet, but it will be a Pro-Touring car powered by a 500+ cubic inch big block. I’m still considering a Hemi but that may wind up being cost-prohibitive. I’ll add in a Tremec 5 speed, big disc brakes, a modern suspension and 17" wheels on modern tires.  It’s an original R/T SE car that became a drag car at some point in its life. It was sitting in a field near my families' land in South Carolina and I brought it home in 2007.  I grew up on the Dukes of Hazzard so the 1969 Charger is my favorite car. 

1973 Plymouth Duster - I drive this one every day. I just picked it up six months ago and its a 50,000 original mile six cylinder/3 speed stick shift car that has gotten as high as 28 mpg.  It’s a typical old lady car, bought new in May, 1973 by a coal miner and WW2 veteran's widow in West Virginia.  She got too old to drive it a few years ago and sold it to a friend of mine who is her nephew. He wasn’t doing anything with it so I picked it up. It’s a cool old car to drive every day instead of a boring modern car. I added the vintage Keystone mags and Duster 340 hood scoop to add a little more cool to it. I may hot rod it later but for now the six and its 25+ mpg stays!

1968 Road Runner - Another recent acquisition from the same buddy I got the Duster from. Looking forward past getting my Charger done, I saw this Road Runner and had to have it as a project to build with my kids as they get older (they are 8 and 5 now). It was originally a 383 car with a bench seat and painted light blue metallic with a white top and interior so it was a pretty car when new and now it has a 440 in it. Supposedly it was a known street racer around the Richmond area in the 70’s and 80’s, but somewhere along the way someone started cutting it up to be race or Pro Street car. It’s actually a very solid car that will only require new quarter panels and a trunk floor. I’m looking forward to putting this one together.

1977 Grand Prix - You only get one first car and this one's mine!  I inherited it from my brother in 1990.  There’s a lot of memories in that car.... It’s at the painter's now getting a fresh coat of Brandywine Metallic.

By Dan McSweeney

Dan is an avid collector of Chrysler cars.