Sunday 25th May 2008 was the Mopar Muscle Association UK meet at the Brooklands Museum. It rained all the way there but brightened up by 1:00pm and was a lovely sunny afternoon. It was good to see Taz and Andy and catch up with quite a few people I haven’t seen in ages!
The majority of cars there were Mopar, (Dodge & Plymouth), loads of Chargers, Roadrunners, Barracudas and also a good mixture of other yanks. There was a stunning original 427Cobra too. Apparently the guy who owns it has bought the old members’ restaurant and is going to make Cobras there and a Cobra museum…which will be great to see in time.
This is probably the ninth time I have been here and it gets better every year. This year I fell in love with the Norton Manx and Hawker Hurricane. Love to have one of each but would rather fly than be on two wheels!
If you haven’t been to Brooklands before and love all the nostalgia of old vehicles and planes this is a must! Such a historic and interesting place…too good to miss.

-Steve

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Tazet & I have just bought a basket case Dodge Charger. A ’69 with a 383 motor.
It’s, erm…got potential. So today’s trip to the Brooklands motor museum in Byfleet, Surrey for the Mopar Muscle Association’s annual Spring meet was more than just window shopping. We were shopping for a windscreen. And some new wings. And another set of doors would be nice. And a floor panel ….Fortunately there weren’t any traders there or wed’ve spent a fortune.
O.K, yes we’re biased cos we’ve just bought one, but there really isn’t anything to beat that deep throated, ground trembling V8 rumble of a big Mopar muscle machine. Mopar, short for Motor Parts, is the automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler LLC. The term was first used by Chrysler in the 1920s and has been in continuous use ever since. Mopar parts are original equipment manufactured parts for Chrysler vehicles. It’s gone on to become an inclusive word for any Chrysler-owned brand -basically any Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Imperial, or DeSoto, and later American Motors (AMC) or Jeep, vehicle.
Most of those marques were represented somewhere in the carpark today. Some lovely machinery, lovingly tended by …well, lovely people. We’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how supportive the Mopar guys have been to recent know-nothing converts like us. They’re happy to answer our stupid questions & show us around their cars & generally encourage us as we take the first steps of ownership of some classic American muscle of our own.
Brooklands is the home of British automotive racing, steeped in a rich history of time trials & speed records, as well as being at the centre of the development of the aviation industry. Wandering around the grounds, workshops & hangars, it’s very easy to imagine them alive with the sounds of pre-war engines, mechanics & drivers in their white boiler suits & brylcreemed hair scurrying about, readying vehicles for some long forgotten race. The 2 mile concrete oval circuit has long since fallen quiet, it’s steep banks beginning to crumble now, but a few short sections still remain. Thundering along the rim of the track, skittering & bouncing over the concrete sections at over 100mph in an aluminum bodied, chain driven missile must’ve been truly terrifying.
So when the MMA announced they’d arranged a photo opportunity on the bank behind the aircraft hangars & called for drivers to line up to drive up there, we were ready to follow them on foot. Our good friend Dave2Lanes was nowhere to be seen. A quick call to his mobile revealed he’d just bought a ticket for the Concorde tour. No problem, we could drive his Charger up there for him. Before the words had left the phone Taz was scuttling off to find him & retrieve the prized keys. And so we found ourselves joining the Mopar procession, rumbling our way up onto the hallowed bank in Dave’s big bad black Charger. How cool is that! Another unforgettable experience to add to the list.
Our fellow drivers grinned at us as we surveyed the line up on the track –“next year in your own car eh?”
Ohhh yes.

-Manky