Her name is Mamie

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I was originally dreaming of a Chrysler 300 but I was not able to fly around the country looking at vehicles that were a thousand miles away so I finally opened up my expectations to include other models and after three years of searching, I finally found her a mile from my house.

1966 Plymouth Sport Fury 2DR, 383 Commando 4-barrel, dual pipes, TorqueFlite automatic.
Old man car, documentation and receipts for every little thing, even a new gas cap when the old guy left the original at some gas station.

Here's what's wrong, it isn't much...

1. Most of the front suspension is freshened up but the steering box has too much free play so I think it just needs the adjustment screw tightened.

2. The 4-way emergency flashers make all the lights go on and off but the turn signal on the steering column does not work so I need to pull the wheel and replace the switch.

3. Single pot master cylinder, I thought everyone went to dual in 1966 but I guess it was 1967. I refuse to be Fred Flintstone if I bust a brake hose so she needs a dual pot installed.

4. She doesn't have air conditioning and I refuse to sweat so aftermarket A/C it is.

4. The "official" speed limit on most freeways here is 65 but EVERYONE does 80 to 85 and this 4000 pound beast needs front disc brakes.

Aside from that she's minty and she barks real good with 360 HP and 430 ft lbs of torque, not bad for an old car.

And the coolest part of all is how she got her name. Yes, this IS the REAL Mamie Van Doren.

 

[BitterPill]

I was originally dreaming of a Chrysler 300 but I was not able to fly around the country looking at vehicles that were a thousand miles away so I finally opened up my expectations to include other models and after three years of searching, I finally found her a mile from my house.

1966 Plymouth Sport Fury 2DR, 383 Commando 4-barrel, dual pipes, TorqueFlite automatic.
Old man car, documentation and receipts for every little thing, even a new gas cap when the old guy left the original at some gas station.

Here's what's wrong, it isn't much...

1. Most of the front suspension is freshened up but the steering box has too much free play so I think it just needs the adjustment screw tightened.

2. The 4-way emergency flashers make all the lights go on and off but the turn signal on the steering column does not work so I need to pull the wheel and replace the switch.

3. Single pot master cylinder, I thought everyone went to dual in 1966 but I guess it was 1967. I refuse to be Fred Flintstone if I bust a brake hose so she needs a dual pot installed.

4. She doesn't have air conditioning and I refuse to sweat so aftermarket A/C it is.

4. The "official" speed limit on most freeways here is 65 but EVERYONE does 80 to 85 and this 4000 pound beast needs front disc brakes.

Aside from that she's minty and she barks real good with 360 HP and 430 ft lbs of torque, not bad for an old car.

And the coolest part of all is how she got her name. Yes, this IS the REAL Mamie Van Doren.

View attachment 67571076

View attachment 67571077

Those 383's are my favorite Mopar engine.

 

[Trippy Trekker]

@Checkerboard Strangler -

Totally connecting to this thread with unadulterated Love

I have a hobby car named Joe JR. I bought my first one, same year same model, in 1985; named it Old Joe.

1948 Fluid Drive 4-door Dodge, 3-on-the-tree. Original 102 Brake Horse Power motor. I can tow mine directly behind my truck without trailer. Upgrades include converting from 6 to 12 volts, an electric fuel pump, electric horn and a bomb Bluetooth Stereo system.

Let’s celebrate with an hour of Leon Russell tunes beginning with ‘Lady Blue’ and ‘A Song for You’. Please pick the rest of the songs.

Once again, Welcome Back!

 

[BirdinHand]

I was originally dreaming of a Chrysler 300 but I was not able to fly around the country looking at vehicles that were a thousand miles away so I finally opened up my expectations to include other models and after three years of searching, I finally found her a mile from my house.

1966 Plymouth Sport Fury 2DR, 383 Commando 4-barrel, dual pipes, TorqueFlite automatic.
Old man car, documentation and receipts for every little thing, even a new gas cap when the old guy left the original at some gas station.

Here's what's wrong, it isn't much...

1. Most of the front suspension is freshened up but the steering box has too much free play so I think it just needs the adjustment screw tightened.

2. The 4-way emergency flashers make all the lights go on and off but the turn signal on the steering column does not work so I need to pull the wheel and replace the switch.

3. Single pot master cylinder, I thought everyone went to dual in 1966 but I guess it was 1967. I refuse to be Fred Flintstone if I bust a brake hose so she needs a dual pot installed.

4. She doesn't have air conditioning and I refuse to sweat so aftermarket A/C it is.

4. The "official" speed limit on most freeways here is 65 but EVERYONE does 80 to 85 and this 4000 pound beast needs front disc brakes.

Aside from that she's minty and she barks real good with 360 HP and 430 ft lbs of torque, not bad for an old car.

And the coolest part of all is how she got her name. Yes, this IS the REAL Mamie Van Doren.

View attachment 67571076

View attachment 67571077

Love this for you!!

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

@Checkerboard Strangler -

Totally connecting to this thread with unadulterated Love

I have a hobby car named Joe JR. I bought my first one, same year same model, in 1985; named it Old Joe.

1948 Fluid Drive 4-door Dodge, 3-on-the-tree. Original 102 Brake Horse Power motor. I can tow mine directly behind my truck without trailer. Upgrades include converting from 6 to 12 volts, an electric fuel pump, electric horn and a bomb Bluetooth Stereo system.

Let’s celebrate with an hour of Leon Russell tunes beginning with ‘Lady Blue’ and ‘A Song for You’. Please pick the rest of the songs.

Once again, Welcome Back!

View attachment 67571078View attachment 67571079

I used to know how to shift those Fluid Drive transmissions the right way, not that there's all that much shifting needing to be done.
SWEET

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Love this for you!!

It was silly of me to drive it with the loosey goosey steering but I couldn't resist the other night.
I mean, she does stay in her lane but you have to really keep your mind on that steering wheel.
But anyway a Vette pulled up and I just had to let her go woof woof a little bit, I didn't race but I guess I took off with "some enthusiasm" and the Vette guy definitely noticed I was keeping up just fine for the first five or six hundred feet.
Then I let him blast away.
I could tell he respected the old girl..."Mamie" is going to be a lot of fun to cruise around in once I get the little details sorted.

She no longer has the old Highland Park Hummingbird original Chrysler starter motor but that's okay, the newer units are better, they just don't make that classic whining noise when you crank em up.

 

[Parrish]

Mamie is lovely. Seeing you back is lovely as well.
Enjoy the ride!

 

[btthegreat]

I thought the OP author was presenting us with our first thread about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamie_Eisenhower

 

[BitterPill]

I thought the OP author was presenting us with our first thread about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamie_Eisenhower

She, too, is a sweetheart.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

UPDATE:
Betty Boop does NOT like the Mamie car.
At least not yet anyway.
I'm going to have to feed her some treats IN the car so she will associate it with goodies.

But right now she despises Mamie because Mamie's dual pipes make some pretty tasty MoPar noises when she starts up and Boops thinks she's a big mean dog on wheels that's
aiming to eat her.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

@Checkerboard Strangler -

Totally connecting to this thread with unadulterated Love

I have a hobby car named Joe JR. I bought my first one, same year same model, in 1985; named it Old Joe.

1948 Fluid Drive 4-door Dodge, 3-on-the-tree. Original 102 Brake Horse Power motor. I can tow mine directly behind my truck without trailer. Upgrades include converting from 6 to 12 volts, an electric fuel pump, electric horn and a bomb Bluetooth Stereo system.

Let’s celebrate with an hour of Leon Russell tunes beginning with ‘Lady Blue’ and ‘A Song for You’. Please pick the rest of the songs.

Once again, Welcome Back!

View attachment 67571078View attachment 67571079

When I was growing up our nextdoor neighbor was a Hasidic Jewish pathologist who worked at the National Institutes of Health.
The Jewishness figures in the story because his conservatism figured in how he treated this exact same car.
Exactly like yours except for the fact that his was a very dowdy version, all black, and he was forbidden by his faith to drive it on Sabbath and certain other days and one day my father had to take him somewhere, and as both our cars were in use, Dad had to drive him in his own car, and my Dad, a Reformed Jew by the way, could not figure out the Fluid Drive system at first.

So there was a fair bit of Yiddish arguing for a few moments.
And my Dad's Yiddish skills were not all that good, so I'm sure half of it didn't make sense to Joe the Hasidic Neighbor.

The old 48 Dodge was eventually traded for a Peugeot, which I found fascinating when his daughter showed it to me.
I think I was maybe nine years old and I was confused by the French markings on the ignition.
The word for RUN (igniton on and started) was "marche" which I thought was "to MARCH" so I was amused at the thought of a car that could march, like it was a soldier.

So you've got a hundred horses under that long-ass hood but I bet the torque figures are respectable because Old Joe our neighbor had no difficulty climbing our hill in his 48, just don't expect a lot of acceleration. But his old black Dodge never stalled and never complained, it just trudged resolutely up that hill every single morning.
I can still hear the sound of that flathead six in my head.

The later Peugeot had a much noisier transmission.
It ran well but it always sounded in my nine year old mind like it was "complaining".

 

[Trippy Trekker]

When I was growing up our nextdoor neighbor was a Hasidic Jewish pathologist who worked at the National Institutes of Health.
The Jewishness figures in the story because his conservatism figured in how he treated this exact same car.
Exactly like yours except for the fact that his was a very dowdy version, all black, and he was forbidden by his faith to drive it on Sabbath and certain other days and one day my father had to take him somewhere, and as both our cars were in use, Dad had to drive him in his own car, and my Dad, a Reformed Jew by the way, could not figure out the Fluid Drive system at first.

So there was a fair bit of Yiddish arguing for a few moments.
And my Dad's Yiddish skills were not all that good, so I'm sure half of it didn't make sense to Joe the Hasidic Neighbor.

The old 48 Dodge was eventually traded for a Peugeot, which I found fascinating when his daughter showed it to me.
I think I was maybe nine years old and I was confused by the French markings on the ignition.
The word for RUN (igniton on and started) was "marche" which I thought was "to MARCH" so I was amused at the thought of a car that could march, like it was a soldier.

So you've got a hundred horses under that long-ass hood but I bet the torque figures are respectable because Old Joe our neighbor had no difficulty climbing our hill in his 48, just don't expect a lot of acceleration. But his old black Dodge never stalled and never complained, it just trudged resolutely up that hill every single morning.
I can still hear the sound of that flathead six in my head.

The later Peugeot had a much noisier transmission.
It ran well but it always sounded in my nine year old mind like it was "complaining".

Yep, while Joe JR (my 1948 Dodge) lacks impressive acceleration, he climbs just fine, steady at it!

Running good this week. Wish I could channel your “KNOW HOW”. After a lot of rain, got a problem with my stereo system; no sound coming out of the speakers.

First World Problem: Hahaha

Still Loving Life. All Grins Regards to Karen.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Yep, while Joe JR (my 1948 Dodge) lacks impressive acceleration, he climbs just fine, steady at it!

Running good this week. Wish I could channel your “KNOW HOW”. After a lot of rain, got a problem with my stereo system; no sound coming out of the speakers.

First World Problem: Hahaha

Still Loving Life. All Grins Regards to Karen.

View attachment 67573565View attachment 67573566

Aww crikey that could be any of a thousand issues.
So I assume the stereo turns on, yes?

 

[Trippy Trekker]

Aww crikey that could be any of a thousand issues.
So I assume the stereo turns on, yes?

Yep. Bluetooth stereo turns on; no fuzz on radio or sound with any function.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Yep. Bluetooth stereo turns on; no fuzz on radio or sound with any function.

Do you have an external amp "after" the stereo?

 

[Trippy Trekker]

Do you have an external amp "after" the stereo?

No.

Besides my efforts to troubleshoot, two friends also gave it a shot. Ms. Trippy already called the shop that tricked out (6 to 12 volts conversion) the car and installed the stereo.

Classic cars and trucks | Forte's Classic Garage | Largo Florida

Classic and Muscle car custom builds and restorations. Customs. Hot Rods. Slammed Rides. Custom suspensions and brakes. A/C installs and more. Forte's Classic Garage

www.fortesonline.com

Not worried. Right now, I have it parked an hour’s drive south of our home on one of properties, under a newly installed aluminium carport. Car starts and runs fine; just missing my tunes.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

No.

Besides my efforts to troubleshoot, two friends also gave it a shot. Ms. Trippy already called the shop that tricked out (6 to 12 volts conversion) the car and installed the stereo.

Classic cars and trucks | Forte's Classic Garage | Largo Florida

Classic and Muscle car custom builds and restorations. Customs. Hot Rods. Slammed Rides. Custom suspensions and brakes. A/C installs and more. Forte's Classic Garage

www.fortesonline.com

Not worried. Right now, I have it parked an hour’s drive south of our home on one of properties, under a newly installed aluminium carport. Car starts and runs fine; just missing my tunes.

View attachment 67573632View attachment 67573633

I'm thinking of getting one of those carports for Miss Mamie.

 

[bythoughts]

It's impressive to keep a car from the repairable age going strong. Cubans would approve! The only thing is, I wouldn't want to call my car "Maim Me", just in case it was listening.

 

[Cordelier]

Sweet ride, @Checkerboard Strangler.