Dodge Chargers are hot commodities on today's marketplace. While the '68-'70 versions are probably the most popular overall, the restyling of 1971 was more than just skin deep. Options, graphics, and various add-ons made many of them unique cars individually. Those days, the big-inch R/T and Super Bee models offered Hemi and Six Pack power to the masses. Though one was upscale and the other a basic street stripper, they seem to get all of the attention now.inline_mediumwraptextright26738578/featuredvehicles/b_body/mopp_1001_1971_dodge_charger_383mopp_1001_05_+1971_dodge_charger_383+rear_view.jpgTrue

True speed freaks are never content. It's like a drug that you build your immunity to, and have to push the limits even further as you increase your tolerance. When a speed freak decides to build a Mopar, they usually start slow. As the addiction takes over all bodily functions, you become consumed in the drug and you end up with a car so far from where you started, you sit in the corner of your dark bedroom rocking back and forth telling yourself "it's going to be OK." For Chris Carlson, this scenario may have played out a little differently-sans rocking back and fourth, but the end result is the same-one extreme Challenger.inline_mediumwraptextright25625084/featuredvehicles/e_body/mopp_1001_1972_dodge_challengermopp_1001_06_+1972_dodge_challenger+rear_view.jpgTrue

High school is usually the time we all find our path with Mopars. Our minds were already predetermined at this point, and we're just waiting for the coin so we can get our first one. For 19-year-old Tate Hanson, this "first one" materialized as a '74 Plymouth Duster. Over the past few years he has built the car into something pretty grand, and used the car as a stepping stone to high education.inline_mediumwraptextright30990804/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_1001_1974_plymouth_dustermopp_1001_01+1974_plymouth_duster+front_angle_duster.jpgTrue

"Best Ever." Seems like we've seen that term used a lot to describe the '68 Dodge Charger. Starting with Ma Mopar's sales-number-counters, who saw the '68s sales easily top those of the wedge-fastback '66s and '67s combined, totaling some 96,100 Chargers and new-for-'68 Charger R/Ts-a total which would only be topped by Charger's biggest-ever sales year of 1973.inline_mediumwraptextright30580497/featuredvehicles/b_body/mopp_0912_1968_dodge_chargermopp_0912_02_+1968_dodge_charger+rear_view.jpgTrue

The Mopar hobby is a diverse one. Some of us are cruisers, happy to have wheels for Saturday nights. Some are mechanics, enjoying the effort of bringing a classic back to life. Others are preservationists, saving survivor-type cars or restoring cars back to their original appearance. Collectors look for the most unique examples they can find, and vintage race cars campaigned by well-known teams are at the top of the list. To have one is pretty special; to have several puts you into one of the most exclusive clubs in the enthusiast car realm.inline_mediumwraptextright30600960/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_0912_1967_ss_b_plymouth_belvedere_ro23_and_1968_barracuda_bo29mopp_0912_02_+1967_plymouth_barracuda_and_belvedere_stock_super_car+1967_barracuda.jpgTrue

Each of us had an influence that made us fans of Mopar. For 46-year-old Dana Motes, this influence dated back 36 years, to when he was 10 years old. "I was working on a Volkswagen with my father in a one car garage and he was slowly turning me into a gear head," he recalls. Thankfully, his time spent with "the People's car" didn't last long; otherwise this may be a feature in VW Muscle. Two years later, in 1974, Dana's brother, Calvin, purchased a brand new '74 Road Runner with a 400 engine backed by a Pistol Grip four-speed. After that, and with the support of his father, Dana's life would eventually be consumed by his passion to build the ultimate Challenger with his family by his side.inline_mediumwraptextrightDana didn't know the Challenger was High Impact Citron Yella until he pulled over to get gas and noticed that it had changed color.26352394/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_0912_1971_dodge_challengermopp_0912_06_+1971_dodge_challenger+front_view.jpgTrue

As Seen in November 2009 Mopar Muscle magazine

As Seen in November Mopar Muscle Magazine

It's amazing how quickly things can get out of hand. We all start projects with a good idea of what we want, but that plan always changes. In the case of Paul Jasinski's '70 Charger, small aspirations developed into a full-on restoration with no attribute overlooked.inline_mediumwraptextright26316742/featuredvehicles/b_body/mopp_0911_1970_dodge_chargermopp_0911_02_+1970_dodge_charger+rear_view.jpgTrue

The car was tubbed to fit the massive 33x22-15 Hoosiers it carries. It received a custom interior that Keith designed along with the owner of Alexie Auto Trim. The rear frame, roll bar, and axle housing were sourced from S&W Race Cars and his friend, Don "Flash" Gordon, assembled the motor. Ron Clark, owner of Clark Performance, modified the twin 600-cfm carburetors and his friend Ronnie Wechsler assembled the transmission.inline_mediumwraptextrightJust like hubby, a body color cage lets everyone know that there is enough power under the hood to get you into some real trouble.30551751/featuredvehicles/e_body/mopp_0911_1971_dodge_challenger_and_plymouth_cudamopp_0911_08_+1971_cuda_and_challenger+challenger_interior.jpgTrue

Being able to keep your very first project car is hard to do. You usually encounter a scenario in your life that involves you parting ways with it and it's something you talk about and regret to this day. We all recall our first project because it was special to us and got the ball rolling. For 30-year-old Livernois Motorsports lead mechanic, Tim Skardoutos, he doesn't have to remember what his first project was like because he can turn the key and drive it anytime he pleases.inline_mediumwraptextrightThe chrome yellow Dart was made to cruise and enjoy.30550980/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_0911_1971_dodge_dart_swingermopp_0911_01_+1971_dodge_dart_swinger+front_angle.jpgTrue

Residing in the country where the muscle car originated, we Americans sometimes forget that our affliction with automotive power knows no boundaries. While we may have started the muscle car craze here in America, it certainly caught on quickly in other parts of the world, and Finland is no exception. This month Tero Ilola of that country reminds us that many Fins are avid automotive enthusiasts and drag racers as well, as he shares his rare find, which is a '62 Dodge Dart that just happens to be a part of Finnish racing history.inline_mediumwraptextrightAs Finland's Tero Ilola shows us this month, rare finds can be found all over the globe. This '62 Dart was once a famous race car in Finland, but was left to sit in the countryside for two decades before being rediscovered by local enthusiasts.30807048/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_0911_1962_dodge_dart_rare_findmopp_091100_rare_01_o+1962_dodge_dart+.jpgTrue

From one of the biggest perceived screw-ups in Ma Mopar's history emerged a lineup of "full-sized" cars that were considered hideously ugly by some, but were really a neat feat of engineering and became a vital part of both the Dodge and Plymouth line-ups for many years.inline_mediumwraptextright30979263/featuredvehicles/a_body/mopp_1001_1962_dodge_dartmopp_1001_09_+1962_dodge_dart_two-door_sedan+rear_view.jpgTrue

In the late 60's and especially in the early 1970's, Pony Cars with American Muscle made racing names for themselves with Dodge Challengers, Plymouth Barracudas, Chevy Camaros and Ford Mustangs challenging the road racing courses thorough the States in series known then as SCCA Trans Am and "A" Production. And while the series names and the definition of a Pony Car has been revised, the Competition among the Nameplates and the Teams that remember continues on.inline_mediumwraptextright25450421/featuredvehicles/race_car/mopp_091012_blackforest_motorsports_2009_dodge_challengermopp_0912_01_o+blackforest_motorsports_2009_dodge_challenger+.jpgTrue

It's no secret that many people find the Chrysler A-Body as one of the best platforms to build a hardcore drag racer from. Mopar Racing legends Ronnie Sox and Bob Reed were notorious for their Hemi-powered A-Bodies in the '70s, and all racers warmly received the cars. One look around any local drag strip's paddock area, and it seemed that everyone at the track had an A-Body that spent more time on its back wheels than it did on the front. When Dave Kitterman picked up this '72 Dart, a healthy 383 sat under the hood. It didn't take long before he decided he would take things a step further and shove a massive elephant in there.

If you could only order one factory option on a '60s-vintage Mopar, what would it be?

Joe McCaron has been building Hemi cars for himself for the past ten years. All of the cars have been two-door post cars, and all extremely detailed. His first was a '65 Belvedere A-990 clone, followed closely by a Viper Red '65 Dodge A-990 Coronet clone. He then built a '64 Plymouth Savoy Super Stock clone. For his latest Hemi project, Joe wanted to build a Mopar that looked different but performed as well as all the others.

Kevin Wehner of Tempe, Arizona, is a lot like most of us Mopar folks, and while driving around the places he typically travels he's always taking back roads and peeking in barns and open garages looking for a forgotten Mopar. Kevin admits that like most of us, he sees fewer Mopars out in the open these days, but as his story demonstrates there are still some very cool cars hidden behind houses, in sheds, or barns, just waiting to be found.

If Hemi or big-block powered B- and E-bodies are considered the diamonds of the Mopar world, then we'd have to say that cars with the same muscular body lines, but minus the muscular engines, would have to be categorized as semi-precious stones. Such is the case of this turquoise colored '69 Dodge Charger found in Jacksonville, Florida, by our neighbor Matt Koops who resides in nearby Lakeland. Though the 318 engine and matching soft factory suspension prevent this Charger from being categorized as a true muscle car, it does have the same body as its R/T counterpart, and like most Chargers it has a floor-shifted automatic and console, bucket seats, and the desirable rally instrument cluster. Matt says the nice thing about this car is that unlike a real R/T, he'll be able to modify it heavily without decreasing its value.

The Dodge brothers, Horace and John, founded their automotive company in 1900. They started out by assisting other automobile manufacturers in the Motor City, but Horace became fed up with relying on other manufacturers for their livelihood. In 1914 they introduced the Model 30. From this point on, Dodge would build their own automobiles and enjoyed great success through the teens and twenties. In 1920, both brothers passed away due to illness, but their name lives on.

Admit it. There's a car that you either used to have, saw around town, or just dreamed about when you were younger. And you've said to yourself that, given the right amounts of funding, time, etc., you'd have it (again). Include Bruce Clark in that category, and in the category of guys who got that dream car built.

Yagotta admit, John Balow's got it made. While the rest of us thrash ourselves to the bone working for the man, John is the man. Owner of Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, John gets to see, touch, and be around cars the rest of us dream about. Hemi drop-tops, wing cars, one-offs, and late model conversions, the stuff MCR turns out is well-known throughout the hobby. But when it comes to his personal stuff, John had a little secret.

To my surprise it was a "barn fresh" '70 AAR 'Cuda, and it was FJ5 to boot. The car retained most of its original paint from the beltline up. The lower rear quarters had some real shady bodywork done to them, and the lower heels of the front fenders had some noticeable work done as well. After looking closer, I was blown away by how original the car appeared with the exception of the butchered patch jobs. Immediately I asked him how much for the car and of course his original response was "It's not for sale." I continued to talk to him but, concerned his kindness would be receded, I decided to lay off.

We all have a favorite something, be it a football team or brand of car. Over the years, most of us end up with a car or maybe two cars that we can play with and drive on the weekends. A few of us even cruise our rides on a daily basis. Kevin Hand, of Greensboro, North Carolina, turned his success in the new car business into a nice collection of truly premium muscle cars, so nice that they frankly don't get driven very often--except one.