The Dodge was given to me by my brother-in-law with just 30,000 original miles on the clock. This was when it was a 25 year old car. He was going to junk it until I intervened. An elderly neighbor entering a nursing home had given him the car when it had just 16,000 original miles. He used it for a couple of years as a winter beater and then was through with it.
In spite of the low miles, the old Dodge still suffered
from rust as the result of driving through many a Minnesota winter. When
I recieved the car the floorboards on the driver's side were completely
gone and a piece of particle board was in its place. When I say completely
gone, I mean from the door sill to the trans tunnel and a good 6 inches
up the firewall. My solution to the hole in the floorboard was not much
better than the particle board. For a long time I drove with a flattened cardboard
box where the medal should be. When that wasn't there it was possible to
view the road sailing under you (Fred Flinstone style) as you drove along
with your feet on the subframe. Finally, I pop riveted some sheet metal
over the gaping hole.
Another problem with the body was the passenger door which was missing a pin in one of the hinges. When the door was opened it would simply drop half to the ground. It would shut pretty tight if you lifted up while closing it, but at speed it would emit a high-pitched whistling noise which earned the car the nickname "The Whistler". The clutch slipped like a mother (when you let out the clutch the whole dashboard shook and trembled) and the rear main seal leaked oil like there was no tommorrow.
In spite of these faults though the Dodge quickly earned a warn spot in my heart by never letting me down. Other than the one starter I had to replace (a ten minute job on any Slant 6) I never had to spend one penny on the Dodge (other than for gas and oil) in the two years I drove it. No matter how cold the sub-zero Minnesota Winter night, it never failed to start and it never left me stranded. Most importantly it never cost me any real money in repairs.
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