For the 23rd year in a row, the Chrysler Performance West car club hosted its Mopar Fall Fling at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California. The Mopar Fall Fling is the sister show to the Mopar Spring Fling, which is also held at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California ever Spring. On October 27th, 2018, almost 200 cars attended this year’s Fall Fling, ranging from Chargers, Darts, DeSotos, and Barracudas. There is also a swap meet for Mopar parts and memorabilia on hand as well.

There were several rows of cars to walk down, where spectators could view the cars up close. Highlights included Randy Kerdoon’s 1964 Dodge Polara, which was painted in Ivory with red interior. Kerdoon is also the host of the podcast “Talking About Cars with Randy Kerdoon.” Parked next to Kerdoon’s Polara, was Mike Green’s 1957 DeSoto Firelite. Green had the car restored by Matt Means of Anaheim Rod & Custom in Anaheim, CA.

There was a large abundance of 1968 Dodge Chargers in attendance, one of which was powered by a 426 cubic-inch Hemi engine. Another ’68 Charger had the optional R/T package with the 440 Magnum installed. Eric Aubort brought the ruby red Charger to attend this year’s show. Mopar enthusiast Per Blixt, a native of Sweden brought out a trio of Mopars, one of which was a 1958 Chrysler 300C. Blixt’s 1958 300C is one of only 21 cars to be equipped with fuel injection. Parked next to the 300C was a beautiful 1957 Chrysler New Yorker, also owned by Per Blixt.

More highlights of the Mopar Fall Fling, were a fleet of 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, and a 1969 Dodge Daytona mixed in. The 1970 Superbirds were painted in the classic High-Impact colors that were available from Mopar from 1969 to 1973. Examples of the High Impact colors were Vitamin C Orange (also called Go Mango by Dodge), Tor Red (also called Hemi Orange by Dodge), Moulin Rouge (also called Panther Pink by Dodge), and In-Voilet (also called Plum Crazy by Dodge). Two of the Superbirds were painted in Top Banana (also called Lemon Twist by Chrysler), and Vitamin C Orange (also called Go Mango by Dodge). The Plymouth Superbird also gained some notoriety, after being featured in Pixar’s animated film Cars in 2006.

Another highlight of the show was a 1962 Dodge Dart Super Stock, powered by a 413 cubic-inch Hemi engine. This was one of the cars that was a staple of the 1960s drag racing boom. These cars would be often seen running down the 1⁄4 mile straightaway at places like Pomona, Bakersfield, Beeline Dragway, and Lions Drag Strip. Another piece of trivia about the 1962 Super Stock Dart, is that it was one of the cars mentioned in the song Shut Down, by The Beach Boys, which tells the story about a drag race between this car, and a Corvette Sting Ray with a fuel-injected 327 cubic-inch V8.

More of the attendees included a huge fleet of Plymouth Barracudas, and a 1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee, painted in Bright Blue Metallic with a white vinyl roof. This car was equipped with the optional 15-inch steel wheels and dog dish hubcaps, also in painted in Bright Blue Metallic to match the body. Additionally, the Super Bee was fitted with a 383 cubic-inch V8 sitting under its hood.

Survivor cars included a 1965 Plymouth Valiant, which was built at Chrysler’s plant in Los Angeles, prior to being delivered to where the car was sold new from a dealership in the San Fernando Valley. The current owner of the car has had the car for the last ten years, and was able to trace the car’s history from being sold to its first owner, up until being discovered in Lakewood, California, where the current owner found the car. This Valiant underwent an extensive restoration, and was repainted in Ruby, which was the same color this car wore when it was new. One of the big highlights of this Valiant was that the car still retained its original engine. This was a true example of a matching number car.

One of the standouts of the Mopar Fall Fling was Jim Cuny’s 1938 Plymouth Westchester Suburban woodie. Out of the 555 built, Cuny’s example is just one of three left in existence! This car was painted in Mercury Blue, and was brought back to life as a resto-mod. Underneath the Plymouth’s hood is a 383 cubic-inch V8, which was added during its restoration. Also added to the car, was a TorqueFlite transmission.

A couple examples of current Mopars were also on-hand for this year’s Fall Fling. The SoCal Challengers club brought out a few of their cars to show support for the annual event. One of the Challengers on display at the Fall Fling was a beautiful 2014 Challenger R/T 100th Anniversary Edition, owned by Keith Smith. Smith’s Challenger was painted in High Octane Red, with Molten Red Napa interior. Custom LEDs were added to the car’s front lights as a custom touch. The engine is a 5.7litre Hemi, boasting a whopping 346 horsepower, equipped with a cold air intake. Smith had a Super Track Pack suspension and brake package. The car also has a 5-speed autostick with an automatic transmission.

Overall, the 23rd annual Mopar Fall Fling was a great event. When Spring rolls around next year, the Mopars will return to Woodley Park for the annual Mopar Spring Fling, and will return next Fall for the Mopar Fall Fling. This is a great event to come to, and is one of the best Mopar gatherings on the West Coast. Be sure to attend next year’s event because you won’t be disappointed!

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