Mopar Memories -- yarns spun, stories told!
Tales of '62 to '65 Mopars that got away; that stole our hearts; that burned vivid images in our mind that still pleasantly shock us today....
Personal reminiscing
'63 Polara 500 convertible
Billy Neblett writes:
I've owned so many '62-'65 Mopars it's hard to know where to begin. I loved
them all and still do...my present play thing (one of many play things) is my
'65 426 Wedge Satellite. I have had many Mopars, my first '62-'65 being a '65
Coronet 500 convertible, red with black top and interior and the Hi-Po 273,
probably one of the best and most reliable cars I've ever owned. But my
second '62-'65 Mopar was something else!
The year was 1972 and I had just gotten out of the Army. I had a '70
Challenger 440/6 pack but was looking for something a bit older, maybe as a
project car and definitely a convertible. (No silly, I KEPT the Challenger!)
What I found was a '63 Polara 500 convertible that would knock your eyes out!
The car was bought new very late in '63. It was equipped with factory air
(rare for a Philly car back then) P/S, P/B, buckets and console, a 413 cubic inch 4bbl
and Torqueflite and a full array of gauges and courtesy lights. Three days
after delivery the original owner drove the car to a trim shop and had the
interior completely redone in white roll and pleats trimmed in black, complete
with fuzzy mirror muff and console trim (popular back then), and a custom
Grant wood steering wheel. A matching pleated top boot finished off the
sewing. Then it was off to the paint shop where it received something like 15
coats of hand rubbed candy apple red metal flake paint, after having all of
it's emblems and badges removed, and a set of dual sunken antennas installed
in the rear. Finally the car was lowered 1 inch all around, the undercarrage
detailed, duals with chrome tips installed along with chrome reverse wheels
with baby moons (another popular custom trend then) and the 413 was adorned
with a host of chrome goodies. Like I said, it would knock your eyes out!
From what I understand the car was shown on the east coast till about '69 or
so racking up just under 30,000 miles then was parked in a heated garage and
covered till about 1971. A year and 9,000 miles latter I bought her and she
was just as eye popping and great running as the day she began her show career.
You can imagine what a girl getter and guy stopper she was on friday and sat
nights at the old drive in! I kept her in as good as condition as possible
for a weekly cruiser, keeping her garaged most of the winter. In 1979 work
forced a move to Houston and I had to decide what to take and what to sell of
my by then considerable collection. I had bought and sold many a Mopar during
that time but the old cherry red '63 had remained with me. I had gotten
deeply into restoring DeSotos by then and had a '56 Firedome Seville 2 door
hard top with 18,000 original miles as my personal daily driver and so when
the decision was made the '56 and a couple of other DeSotos made the trip
with me. The '63 convert, which had been my 'personality' car so to speak for
so many years, was sold along with the rest of my collection. I know...I
know...what the hell was I thinking?!
Hind site is a wonderful and a terrible thing. Sure i wish I had kept
her...then again I can look on the wall of the hundreds of pictures of other
cars I have owned and can say the same thing about most of them. And can look
in my garage and smile at what I see parked there. But thanks to that '63 I
had my turn at being the coolest dude in the neighborhood.
My mom, who lives on the other side of the country informed me during her
christmas visit that she was assembling a photo album of me and my cars and
other things. She mentioned she had some photos of the '63 (she liked it
too). I promise I'll get my hands on them before she cuts them up for some
crazy collage, and send them along as soon as I can.
By the way, anyone out there see or hear of a sharp candy apple red '63
Polara convert former show car from the east coast, be sure to let me know!
Billy Neblett
Do you have a story about a 1962 to 1965 Mopar that you previously owned?
How about a story about one of these Mopars that somehow changed your life and made you fall in love with these beauties?
Or how about suggestions for links to other web sites with historical references and stories about these years' Mopars?
Send me a note and it will get shared with everyone viewing this page!
Thanks for contributing!
Gary H.
June 4, 2001
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