Since 2001 members of the South Bay Mopars meet once a month to showcase the legacy of the rear-wheel-drive vehicles that rolled off Chrysler’s, Dodge’s and Plymouth’s production lines from the 1930’s to present day.

Some of the club members have maintained their four wheeled time machines and, in some cases, modified such classic muscle cars as Chargers, Roadrunners, Barracudas, and other Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth models. For other members, they own the latest production models produced by Dodge, including Chargers and Challengers.

Among the most eye-catching vehicles is the 1937 Dodge Brothers one ton “Humpback” Panel Truck owned by Patricia (Trish) and Russell (Russ) Stewart. Russ shares, “I’ve driven the car for a year and owned it 20 years before that.” And like most vintage car owners, Trish and Russ have a story of how they acquired the vehicle and their adventures of restoring it to its current condition.

Russ remembers he saw the truck sitting in what he thought was a vacant lot in Los Angeles. He drove by the truck a few more times before he got out and examined it. Surveying the property, he found a small house at the end of the lot. For over a year, he repeatedly visited the property leaving notes on the door and as he explains, “Speaking to every member of the family except the owner.”

After more than a year, he received a phone call from the owner of the vehicle asking if he was still interested in the vehicle, if so, he could have it if he could tow it off the property before the police arrived to clear the property. Russ promptly got over to the property in time and salvaged this piece of Dodge truck history.

Russ admits that he did not do a lot of the work on the truck himself and had most of it done by others. But even that proved to be quite a challenge. Early in the restoration process, Russ wanted to refabricate one of the front fenders. He found an owner of a body shop who said he could complete the work, but he needed to have the entire truck to ensure the new piece would properly fit the vehicle. Russ would periodically check in with shop owner asking for an update on the project. The shop owner would give him vague answers and Russ would press the owner to let him come to the shop and see the progress. The shop owner put off the visit by telling Russ, he could not allow him inside the shop because of insurance issues.

Eventually, one of Russ’s friends spotted his truck in a storage lot owned by the shop owner and told Russ that it appeared that nothing had been done to the truck. Russ contacted the shop owner and received another vague answer. Russ discovered that other shop patrons were having the same experience that he was. All of the other patrons suggested he contact a State of California consumer affairs agency to file a complaint. Russ continued his efforts with the shop owner, but seemed not to make any headway.

Then Russ received another surprising phone call, this time from a local police agency telling him he needed to get to the shop as soon as possible because they were about to impound the vehicles and parts found in the shop, however if he could identify his vehicle and parts, they would release them to him.

Russ was able to recover the vehicle and most of its parts and began his search for more reputable shop owners who would be able to do most of the restoration work. The necessary body work began with stripping off the exterior house paint that covered the vehicle’s shell and repairing the rust damage inside and outside of the vehicle. Russ admits it took some time and a lot of work to get his truck into its current condition. Russ says the current set of tires on the truck are the tires he originally put on the truck about 20 years ago and credits their excellent condition because he has not been able to drive the truck until about one year ago.

Russ attempted to register the vehicle, but found the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had no record of the vehicle. Some of the serial numbers found on the small plates inside the engine compartment and other areas of truck were partially or completely worn down, so Russ engaged the services of his local law enforcement agency to assist with determining a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and got the truck registered. Through Trish’s and his research, Russ was able to find the original license plate, with some restoration work, he is able to use this plate for his truck to register it with the DMV.

Russ states that this is a rare truck in the Dodge Panel Truck family. He says that most of the trucks of this era on the road today are half-ton vehicles, but there are very few one-ton vehicles. Some of the vehicles quirks are that it originally had a crank start, but there is also a spring wrapped rod on the floorboard just above the gas pedal that must be pushed to the floor to strike a lever on the starter to engage the motor. Also, among the original options at the time of purchase were a front passenger seat, an oil filter and an air filter.

Russ admits he decided to test how fast he could push his machine. With the ”pedal to the metal,” the steering wheel began to violently shake and felt that he was really pushing his machine. He asked Trish to take a look at her app on her cellphone to check their speed and in a calm voice Trish looked at Russ and reported, “We’re doing 37 mph.”

Club President, Robert Bernstein’s story of his ’69 Barracuda (Cuda) comes with a family tree. Robert’s mother and father originally purchased the vehicle as a compromise. Roberts says, “My mother was the hot rodder of the family and my father was an engineer and wanted to purchase a station wagon so he could bring home wood for home projects. The Cuda was a fast back and my dad could drop the rear seat and put the wood in through the back of the car.”

Robert remembers being driven to school in the Cuda on his first day of kindergarten and continued the practice until he reached eighth grade when the Cuda was sold to his next-door neighbor who would give the car to his teenage daughter.

When he was old enough, Robert took a job in a pizza shop saving his paychecks until he earned enough money to approach the neighbor to purchase the car. Robert’s efforts were successful, and he kept the car in its original condition as he drove to last years of high school and proceeded college. Robert says he used to take the car to a drag strip on Terminal Island and run the quarter mile for fun. Eventually, the car developed some transmission issues, and he parked it in his parents’ garage.

About ten years later, Robert says a friend talked him into going to a Saturday morning gathering of the Mopars which relit his relationship with his Cuda. Since that time Robert, with the assistance of his friends has upgraded the car’s engine twice, performed some body work, and completed other repairs to vehicle.

Robert says that initially was difficult to find parts for the car, but in the 1990’s reproduction parts became more plentiful which makes it much easier to keep these pieces of a bygone era on the road in the 21st century.

The South Bay Mopars meet the first Saturday each month at Rock Ola Jukebox at 1445 Sepulveda Blvd. in Torrance at 9:00 a.m.

For more information visit www.southbaymopars.com

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Steve Tabor Bio

This South Bay native’s photographic journey began after receiving his first 35 mm film camera upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. Steve began with photographing coastal landscapes and marine life. As a classroom teacher he used photography to share the world and his experiences with his students. Steve has expanded his photographic talents to include portraits and group photography, special event photography as well as live performance and athletics. Steve serves as a volunteer ranger for the Catalina Island Conservancy and uses this opportunity to document the flora and fauna of the island’s interior as well as photograph special events and activities.

Watch for Steve Tabor Images on the worldwide web.