1980s Road Trip Stories — Motoring Lane

We walked through row after row of classic Chryslers, Dodges, and Plymouths, taking in all the cars and talking about everything we saw. Right after the show, before we knew it, we had bought a 1989 Dodge Daytona. We loaded it onto a trailer and headed home, excited about the project we had just taken on together. That Daytona became more than just a car. Over the next 12 years, my dad and I spent countless hours working on it and going to countless car shows.

Four years later we found a 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z for sale on Craigslist. My parents knew exactly what it would mean to me. I remember my parents surprising me with my Daytona on a rainy day after we went and saw the car for the very first time. My obsession with 1980s Chryslers had started years earlier in Carlisle, and now they were giving me a chance to own another piece of that era.

Throughout high school, we built a new engine, repaired the wiring, rebuilt the suspension, and slowly brought the car back to life. There were plenty of frustrating days, but there were just as many good ones — days spent in the garage, figuring things out together and learning along the way.

Then, for my high school graduation, my parents gave me a gift I will never forget. They had my Daytona painted. After everything my dad and I had put into the car, seeing it finished and looking better than ever made it feel like all those years of work had finally come together.

But the story didn't end there. Years later, I began making brand new parts for my car — designing and producing parts no longer made and hard to find. What began as an interest in some old 1980s cars had grown into something much bigger: a hobby, a collection of memories, and a way for my dad and me to spend time together.

Looking back, these cars are special, but they're not really what I remember most. I remember every trip to Carlisle since 2012. I remember bringing that first Daytona home on the trailer. I remember the hours in the garage, the problems we couldn't figure out, the things we learned, and the friends we have made.

What started in 2012 with a trip to a Chrysler show became a lifelong journey with my dad — and somewhere along the way, the cars became part of our family story.