The little town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, became a Mopar lover's paradise in July as a sea of Chrysler fans descended upon the little borough. Great weather and some fine displays and show cars brought record crowds to the fairgrounds.
If you enjoy meeting some of the people that made Mopar history, Carlisle is the place. "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney were there all weekend signing autographs and making public appearances.
One of the more moving events during the weekend was the presentation of a fully-restored '73 Cuda by the Cuda-Challenger.com club to Don Moore, one of their members. Moore has returned to Iraq for his third tour. Sgt. Moore volunteered to go. His dad and about 25 club members bought the Butterscotch '73 Cuda in Arkansas, and totally restored the car in less than 6 weeks. The presentation of the car on Friday was accompanied by 20 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and the new Stryker armored combat vehicle. This was a total surprise for Sgt. Moore, and to say the least he was ecstatic! Look for a feature on this car soon.
The spotlight this year was on the popular aero cars, as well as convertibles of all years and models. The aero cars were built in 1969-1970 to compete in NASCAR. They dominated racing until they were banned after the 1970 season.
A new treat this year was the realistic 1967 Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealership set up in Building G, just outside Gate 1. Obviously, the show room was filled with '67 models, but every detail down to the TV playing Chrysler commercials, signage, coke machine and brochures was covered.
The Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals always brings a huge show field, car corral and plenty of vendors to find that part for your latest project. There was drag racing at South Mountain Dragway, a women's oasis, Kids at Carlisle and informative seminars to help you with your do-it-yourself projects.
Don't miss next year's All-Chrysler Nationals July 11-13, 2008.
Derrick Brown lives in the...
Derrick Brown lives in the great Northeast, of Massachusetts...
...and brought his '63 Max...
...and brought his '63 Max Wedge powered Sport Fury.
The nice thing about Carlisle...
The nice thing about Carlisle is that when you do find your part, you can put it on the car and not have to carry it out.
Henry George Jr. brought out...
Henry George Jr. brought out this re-creation of his father's old Super Bee racer. He still has dad's car...
...and the picture of his...
...and the picture of his mom with the original Bee, taken many years ago.
Some people just ain't right....
Some people just ain't right. $140,000 for this Daytona that needed more than just a little attention sounds a bit steep.