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Cruise Night has changed locations! It is now at 263 Market on York Road, just North of Street Road!

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Meet The Members And Their Rides

 

 
 

Member Name:  Ray Kuter
Hometown:  Roslyn, PA
Member:  Founding Member
Car:  1968 Plymouth Barricuda Converitble

I purchased my Barracuda in February 2005.  It is the third Barracuda I've owned.  I graduated from High School in 1968 and  I wanted a 68 Barracuda convertible more than anything else.  It took a long time but I finally got my High School dream car.  When I bought the car the body had been redone and the engine rebuilt.  The car was originally a six cylinder car but had a 340 in it when I purchased it.  The person that built the car never really got done what it needed and it had 9" drum brakes and a 7.25" rear.  The car was scary to drive with a built up 340
and 9" drums it would go great, stopping was an adventure.  So that had to change.  The car now had an 8.75" rear  with 10" drums in the rear and disks up front.  The disks are a Scarebird  conversion and they are Chevy Tahoe brakes.  Stopping  is much better now.  I also redid the interior from black to white which makes the Plum Crazy exterior "pop".  Under the hood, I detailed the engine and put lots of "bling" in there.   I plan to do some more detailing in the engine compartment and some other items.  But if you have an old car you know that it is never "finished", you always find something that needs doing.

Member Name:  Mark Carver
Hometown:  Abington, PA
Member:  Founding Member
Car:  1973 Dodge Charger SE 

I have owned my car since the fall of 1984, I traded a 1966 Mustang for it. Two weeks later I blew the motor up doing 110mph up Easton Rd outside of Hatboro. The motor was rebuilt in the winter of 1985, I replaced the stock 318 heads with heads off a 340. After that I added dual exhaust with a cross over pipe. When I was done with it it kicked out 245 HP. The car is a numbers matching car. In the winter of 2000  the car was repainted and in the summer of 2002 Ray and I redid the seats. In 2004 I placed 1st in my class at The Mopar Nationals at Raceway Park in NJ. Since then I have placed 1st in 2005 and in 2009.  One of the best things that ever happened was in the spring of 2006.  My car was chosen to be in The Mid Atlantic custom car show in Fort Washington PA. At the show Big Daddy Don Garlets signed my dash along with the Winwood brothers who built Big Daddys 1964 dragster. In 2008 local drag racer Ken "555" Montgomery signed my dash. I have him to thank for keeping my car street legal,  I have owned the charger for more then half of my life and I have a life time of memories in it. It drove my wife and I to our rehearsal the night before we got married.

 
Member Name:  Bob McDowell
Hometown:  Willow Grove, PA
Member:  Secretary
Car:  1966 Ford Mustang "Kathleen"


My love of classic cars goes back to when I was a kid. Growing up my parents had a 1966 Rambler Classic 770 (a real no frills type car) but I loved it. When my dad junked it in the late 70's I was so sad when him and my uncle towed it away. My first love of the Mustang came from seeing the Mustang II in Charlie's Angels. In 1994 my friend's dad had bought this Mustang and had planned on giving to my friend's sister but she didn't want it. After some body work and paint I bought it. At the time it was nicer than my daily driver (1978 Buick Le Sabre) but when I bought my first new car I couldn't afford the insurance on both so it got tucked away in my mom's garage then followed me when I got married (after all my mom wanted her garage back). Numerous times my mom suggested that I get rid of it since I wasn't driving it but I am glad that I didn't listen to her. Numerous times I have had people come up to me at shows and told me various stories of having a Mustang just like it or had a Mustang and wished they never got rid of theirs.  In 2002 I decided that it was time to start restoring my Mustang. I was introduced to Mark Carver and ended up joining Down the Road Cruisers. Through the years I have had numerous things done to it but it was mostly mechanical or underbody work but from late 2006 to mid-2007 I had the bodywork, paint and chrome done. My plans are to in the future have the interior and motor compartment redone. I have had several people tell me I should change things around (like having a 289 put in it) but I am restoring it to stock condition with the exception of the paint which I had done with a basecoat/clear coat finish. The Mustang is Dark Green Metallic with a 200ci 6 straight cylinder engine, MS, MB, C-4 automatic transmission and Deluxe Pony interior (White & Ivy Gold). Since I have antique tags on it I have a replica PA license plate on the front that reads 66Pony.
During the time I have owned it I have won various awards but the one that surprised me the most was in June 2009 at the Strawberry Festival show I won 2nd place which really caught me off guard. I love going to the different shows with the people from the club and taking it for drives in the area. After I had the bodywork, paint and chrome done I named her Kathleen after my mother. Eventually I would love to get a 1966 Mustang convertible to go along with my hardtop but we'll see what happens.

 
Member Name:  Odie Williams
Hometown:  Willow Grove, PA
Car:  1973 Plymouth Duster 

   In the summer of 1977 my older brother Robby came home from boot camp  with a new (used) car, a 1973 340 Plymouth Duster. It was a fun car to ride around in while he was home. He left for San Diego in the fall of 1977 for the start of his tour in the Navy. On January 22nd of 1978 he passed away.  It was a brutal blow for the family and especially me, since I looked up to him. I told my parents I would like to have the car. They looked into giving it to me but being only 16 years olds at the time, the insurance would have been about $2000.00 a year. They sold the car because we couldn’t afford to keep it.

   Fast forward to 1996.  I finally saved enough money to start looking for a car similar to his. After looking for about 10 years and going through various other cars on January 22nd (the anniversary of his death) of 2006 I found a car in Delaware that looked very promising. I called the next day and talked to the guy selling it.  After talking to my wife and a lot of other people, I was convinced to go and look at it. I thought it was too much money, but since they don’t make them anymore I went to look at it. It was in very good shape so I came home with it on January 24th and put it in storage until the summer when I could enjoy it.

    On February 24th of 2006 (1 month since I bought the car) I had a heart attack. I thought, as was laying in the hospital, I haven’t even had the chance to drive the Duster. When I got out of the hospital I said this car and I have a future together. I have been enjoying and driving the car as much as I possibly can since then.

    For those of you that know me and know the car at all, you might recognize the license plate, 56RWW78, the year my brother was born, 1956, then his initials Robby Wayne Williams, and the year he died, 1978. RIP Robby and know that I miss you, but a part of you will be with me the rest of my life.

   About the car. It is a numbers matching 340 duster that has 1 repaint, other than that the whole drive train has never been out of the car. It has everything on it, other than wearable items, that it left the factory with. Even all the undercoating is still intact. There are obviously things that are not perfect but t hat is what you get with a 36+ year old car. It has rare options like the space saver rear back seat, chrome moldings around wheel wells and under body side molding. It also has air conditioning, bucket seats automatic on floor with console and landau vinyl top, along with a lot of little options like inside hood release and light package.

                                              Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of our cars.


 
Member Name:  Edward A. Plazek
Hometown:  Roslyn, PA
Member:  Founding Member
Car:  1959 Chevrolet El Camino

   I was 7 years old when the 1959 El Camino arrived in the showroom, I fell in love with them.  Through my teens, I always said I was going to own one someday.  It was not until 1990 when I  finally contracted and bought mine.  This El Camino was restored by radio station KJAM in Madison, SD in 1989.  Although restored, it was only a 20 footer and still required work.  Like an engine, replating bumpers and adding a grill guard.  It is a driver.  It was only not driven 3 times as a result of a blown rear.  My hope is to someday energize it with a 348 as the current 283 just does not do it.  I think I would then be able to classify it as a muscle car!  My highlight in ownership was when I was contacted by a representative of West Coast Precision Die Cast and asked to have it photographed to produce a 1/25 Franklin Mint quality die cast model.  The model was produced and I am the proud owner of one.  As with most collector cars, there is always a search going on to upgrade the vehicle with refinished trim, added accessories, etc.  It has received numerous awards and lots of conversation at shows.  Referred to me as my "Red Sled".

  


 
Member Name:  Alan Orenstein
Hometown:  Jenkintown, PA
Car:  1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1

  

The story: It appeared that morning, June 13, 1998, in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  An hour’s drive to Coopersburg, PA. There it was, a non-rusted, original, one registered owner, unmolested ’73 Mach I, stored for the last 10 years. A quick on-the-spot negotiation (as the seller’s phone was ringing off the wall) and it was mine. Great but…it was green, dull green.

 

I grew up in the school of “restored down to the inspection stamps” restoration and proved it with a couple of totally, authentically, meticulously restored for show Continental 460 Mark IIIs, a ’63 and a ’65 T-Bird, and two finned MoPARs. But the Mach was green, dull green. I got out the factory Mustang paint chart for '73, but nothing did much for my Mach or for me. I could still at least pick a Ford color, right?  But I knew MOPAR's Candy Apple Red Pearl clearcoat, color sanded and polished would really “work” with the silver argent trim on ‘Stang.

Once I gave up on the stock color, I figured I might as well build the rest of the Mach the way I wanted it! What was Ford thinking anyway, when the factory front energy absorbing bumper was color keyed, but the rear was CHROME?  And while I was rectifying that, why not give the back end a more muscular "black out" treatment around the taillights and rear trim. And that matte argent silver finish on the hood and rear spoiler?  Well matte is DULL.  So that got the high gloss clear coat as well. A final exterior touch, those running stallions from the ‘79 Indy Pace Car.

The engine bay. Ford Blue is always OK, but those big Cleveland heads deserved cast finned Mustang valve covers and a chrome air cleaner. And once there was some bling, what the heck, more is better - alternator, master cylinder cover, upper shock mounts, coil, stainless steel hoses, etc.  The yellow wires, a few other yellow accents, and some strobe lights add a little something for the younger gear heads. 

Now what about that 351C asleep under the hood?  Despite all the factory

de-tuning by '73, it still ran well, but was as dull as that green paint.  An Edelbrock Performer intake, 600cfm Performer carb, and 3.00:1 Ford 9” rear woke the Mach out of its sleep.  With a set of Hooker Headers and Flowmaster 40 mufflers underneath and Sony radio w/CD and JBL speakers inside, the sound became better all around. With R134 in the factory air, the Mach was now cool inside and out.

American Racing wheels replaced the factory dog dishes that went to storage along with the trim rings, the blue valve covers with the inspection stamps, the emissions stuff... all there in a large dry crate for some future "restorer" like I used to be. 

 

The specs and mods:

Original 351 Cleveland Rebuild

Block

·        Bored .30 over for approx. 355ci

·        Pistons:  SpeedPro flat top, hypertectic, moly rings

·        Compression Ratio:  Original - 7.9:1,  Now - 9.6:1

·        Bearings: Federal Mogul

 


 
Member Name:  Barb Kuter
Hometown:  Roslyn, PA
Car:  1966 AMC Marlin

 I love my car!  It's different, it's rare, it's fun!  It's a beautiful curiosity which I almost didn't find.  I had been looking for a car.  I had in mind an early Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Lancer or early Plymouth Barracuda fastback.  As you can see, I like unusual cars.  I was getting frustrated in my search for "The Car" when a friend asked me if I'd thought about a Marlin.  I'd never even heard of a Marlin.  Being one who likes to do her homework, I started researching the car.  I was intrigued and I knew that I wanted a 1966 Marlin.  I found my Marlin nearby in Allentown.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted that car!  I loved the color combination but could I drive it?  It's not a small car!  Test driven, I wanted it!  I felt like it was just waiting for me to find it. 

 

A big thank you to my husband for buying the car for me and for spending so much time working on it for me. (It's not even a MOPAR)  Barracuda Boulevard now has a Marlin in the tank! 

 

Thank you too, to Mo for sending me in the direction of the Marlin.  Thank you to Harry for the hook and to Paul and Frank for your expertise in carburetors and other issues.  And thanks too, to all my car club friends who have enjoyed watching me have so much fun with this car.

 

I hope to have many more years of fun with this car, it's my trophy!


 
 
Member Name:  Craig Marvill
Hometown:  Langhorne, PA
Car:  1967 Pontiac Firebird

The first Firebird I ever saw up close was a '67 or '68 at a used car dealer when I was about 14 or 15 (1969 or 1970). I rode my bike home and convinced my dad he had to see this car. We drove to the dealer after dinner that evening. The car was the same color as mine is, dark blue, but was a convertible with white interior and top. The guy at the dealer let me sit in it and I was hooked. I said to my dad "You have to get this car." His response was a little different. He said "You're crazy if you think your mother would get in a car like this." We drove home (without the Firebird) but I thought I'm gonna get one someday. I saw them for sale over the years but the opportunity was never right to buy one. It turned into a "one of these days" things. In 1999 a fellow I worked with, Dave Valentine, said that he had  a 1967 Firebird that his grandmother had bought new. Dave and his dad had plans to restore the car. I asked Dave to keep me in mind if they ever decided to sell the car. In 2001 Dave's dad passed away. He couldn't look at the car anymore and asked if I was still interested. I said yes and in early 2002, with my wife's blessing, finally got my Firebird. A true "little old lady" car with only 43,000 miles. It had door dings, the paint was tired, it needed carpets and some TLC. Over the years I had picked up trim pieces, emblems and new carpet. In 2007 I had the body work done and the car was repainted. I have added correct but non factory options-dual exhaust, Rallye II wheels, spoilers and hood tach. I have an AM-FM-CD player in the glove box but the original push-button AM radio is still in the dash set to 99 WIBG of course. I am trying to keep it as stock looking as possible. It has a 326 cubic inch engine putting out a whopping 250 hp with 2 speed powerglide transmission, power steering and four wheel drum brakes (stopping is an adventure). I would like to eventually convert to disc brakes. It is a fun car to drive to shows and cruises. The comment I hear the most is "Boy, you don't see many of these around. All you ever see are Camaros." I just wish my dad could have seen it.