Mel's Major Survivor Group - Seasoned Veterans

Have you ever heard the urban legend about the guy who finds the vintage (insert Superbird, Hemi Challenger, and so on) in a barn, where some loving first owner put it up on blocks before he went to Vietnam, only to never return? The truth is, while that particular story may not be more than a tale, unmolested examples of Chrysler's finest still exist, and those who attend the Mopar Nationals are able to enjoy them in one big display. Organized by longtime Mopar enthusiast Mel Majors, the Chrysler Survivors display was backed by the now defunct High Performance Mopar magazine in 2001, and featured no less than 32 cars. These ranged from a '62 Max Wedge Dart (featured in this issue), to a nice variety of performance and production vehicles, to the end of the "old" Chrysler Corporation.

Indeed, Mel's Survivor group seems to just keep getting bigger and bigger. Year after year, people discover and procure these unrestored pieces of automotive history and bring them out to the Nats for fans to admire and appreciate. To be part of the Mopar Survivors, little is required except that your vehicle be a legitimate piece of factory production history. Your car should have at least 80 percent of its original paint and interior. Obviously, the need to repair accidental damage cannot be avoided; in other words, if the right front fender of your 20,000-mile Duster gets hit and has to be fixed, it doesn't mean the car is no longer a survivor. However, if the lower 5 inches of your car rusted away and you had to replace all the metal, then repaint the car, it's not quite a time capsule any longer. On the same note, engines and engine bays that have received mild maintenance-related changes are not disqualified (perishable items such as hoses, belts, and tires can be overlooked if replaced with stock replacements. The same goes for the exhaust). Rebuilt engines aren't necessarily looked down upon, but it's preferred if they aren't rebuilt. In the end, it becomes Mel's responsibility to decide if a car is eligible for inclusion, and he's made some exceptions to these "rules" (remember, this is for fun) to allow exceptional cars into the program.

If you think you own a car that may be considered of this special group, the simplest thing to do is contact Mel himself by phone or e-mail. He maintains a regularly updated database of all the survivor cars he has received information about. Currently, this list has grown to include more than 200 vehicles that have met the criteria he has established, a large number considering the attrition rate of the musclecar-era cars. This is a passion for Mel, which is done on his free time and at no cost to persons who are listed on the register. Due to the work involved, the Survivor class can only appear at a limited amount of shows each year, so Mel sends everybody in his database a flyer during December with a list of shows the "Survivors" plan to attend. Members of the registry can then reply, letting him know which shows they would like to attend. It's not required to attend any shows, but this gives Mel an idea of who will be attending what shows and he can plan accordingly. There are no awards and no prize money but this Survivor class continues to grow; maybe this has something to do with the old-time family-like atmosphere.

If you're interested in the Survivor program, contact Mel Major at (814) 734-1565 or via e-mail at mkmajor@surferie.net.