We are Ileana Gomez and Zack Nauth, and we have added a new classic car to our family: a few days ago Ileana drove home her new tan '64 Dodge 330, 4-door with 318 auto.
What a beautiful automobile! Definitely one of the best-looking cars of the era.
We already have a 1977 Checker Taxicab, so we know all about the joys and tragedies of owning classics (my father
got me started in 1976 with a 1948 Willys Jeepster out of a barn).
We found the car in excellent original condition near Zwolle, La., with 87,000 miles in the hands of the son of the original owner, a little old lady from Dallas, Texas. The owner had taken excellent care.
We would love to hear from other '64 Dodge owners for information on parts sources, problems and fixes, history, stories, etc.
Update: March 2002
Here are some pictures of my wife, Ileana, and her 1964 330, along with me and my 1977 Checker Marathon. Both cars sit in front of Huey P. Long's State Capitol in Baton Rouge (the "Kingfish" is buried on the grounds with a big statute dedicated to his fight for the "little man").
With luck and good fortune, I will soon have a "clone" of my wife's car, a Polara 2-door hardtop. Since she bought her car I have been green with envy. She has been very gracious, however, and as long as I toil to keep it running and clean, she lets me drive it. When I could take it no more, and began surreptitiously bidding on Polaras on Ebay, I broke down and asked for "permission" to buy one (or at least start looking). Being the sympathetic women to my car manias--a 1948 Jeepster when I was a teenager, 1957 Chevy and 15-year Checker Marathon owner (and now that she has an obsession of her own), mercy was quickly served.
We found her car in 2001 in Zwolle, Louisiana (on the Texas border) from an ad in the Shreveport Times when I happened to be on one of my many visits laboring for my union, helping organize low-wage workers. I went straight to Zwolle after calling Bill, the owner. Seeing it, I didn't have to look far to know immediately that it was well worth the price, as the owner--who took it over from the original owner, his mother Vivian--had kept in garaged and maintained it like an airplane at 80,000 miles. I was impressed with the honesty of Bill, who showed me everything he knew to be wrong with the car. I took a break to call my wife in a highly excited state, and she didn't have any idea what I was talking about, of course, not realizing she was in the market for a classic car. A day later, a picture helped clear her head, and she was intrigued. A weekend trip further awakened the senses, and it wasn't long before she was ready to buy.
We conducted a lovely negotiation with Bill and his wife, and in one week Ileana was driving home in style and power ("I want 8, I want 8"--as in V8--was her rallying car when her interest in a mid-60s classic ended up with a Mopar, our first. We didn't know what we were missing!
And now Vivian sits in a carport in Baton Rouge, La., roaring to life at any opportunity to get on the open road.
When I get my Polara, I would like a little more power than her 230 hp 318, but I may go the build up route. The engine I may be getting definitely needs a rebuild, and it will be my first; the next step in my mechanical self-training. I've learned by doing many different things on cars, such as body work and painting, removing and replacing parts (my Dad and I took apart that 4-cylinder Jeepster and put it back together in at least a little better shape without losing too many parts).
