FWIW: I installed a high torque starter from Direct Connection on a high compression 440 RB engine some years ago, and it sounded almost identical to the original one.
they all sounded the same you could start a Chrysler Imperial or a Plymouth Duster or a Dodge pick up they would sound the same I miss that bing a Chrysler Plymouth man
i remember my grandma used to have a car like this in Chrysler's Rosewood color at the time and it was a very nice car w Red interior and red steering wheel never seen one like it again it was so Amazing that people wouldLiterally steal the Crystal off the hood.
makes me think of growing up, we had two ford explorers, a 1992 and a 1996. both of them had this very distinct power steering whine. Every mechanic it was taken to would try to sell us on a new power steering pump saying that whine meant it was a bad pump. Nope, that's just how they sounded on those explorers
Can't agree more. The smoothness and raw power of a 383, or like this car, a 440 is something sorely missed by many. My first car, a 66, 300, had the police pursuit 440. I was spoiled at 16 and nothing compared for decades. I miss that car to this very day.
@@chuckhaugan4970 there is indeed something about the big, excessive V8s which makes them feel incredible in their own rights. And while you can reach their performance with small turbocharged engines you can't replace the feel nor sound with those.
@Poly Bun junk? I had numerous MOPES ,440,383,400, and the leaning Tower Of Power ,and can honestly say I’ve never changed one due to failure and they were all used cars ,some more used than others 😂😂
@@jeffrogosz9995 what about the non power steer ones. Did they also lack a lot of feel in the steering like the power steering ones? But at the end of the day they are all worm gear anyway so i guess non power steer sucked as well but not as much as the power steer ones
@@288gto7 no ,uh ha They were a little tough with 50 series tires at low speed,but really came into their own at higher speeds,,I mean if box was in GOOD shape, the power one is “Overassisted “ ,bad road feel feedback ,lots of trix to fix that now though
Growing up in a staunchly MOPAR family, that starter was the soundtrack to my childhood - a ‘71 Charger R/T, ‘69 Cornet 500, and a ‘78 Cordoba among others. Wonderful memories riding/driving in them. And incidentally, the ‘72 - ‘73 Imperial (with the vertical taillights) is one of my dream cars! Adam keeps teasing it…I cannot wait for the full review/drive! 😁
Yep, that's the Mopar starter we all love. It's even 'better' when the battery is slightly discharged. lol. Though the crank is slow by most modern day comparisons, it is an extremely good hd starter, that will spin over a high compression engine the same way it will a 6 or low compression 318. And they last forever! I searched for yrs to have 1 on my 79 300 just for that old school sound. 20 yrs later, it's been n/p. Think about all the Delco and Motorcraft starters from the 60s and 70s that cannot say the same!
Adam: oh man, you are so right on here! No other starter has that sound. Mopar starters are classic. My dad had a ‘63 Valiant, and that sound will be forever more burned into my brain. I still turn to look when I hear one start up. Thank you for doing a short segment JUST on the sound of a Mopar starter!
Believe it or not, my dad had one of these too! One of his friends passed away - this was years ago - and a '72 Imperial was his baby. After it sat for a few years his widow gave it to my dad because she new he liked it, would clean it up and take care of it. She also new he'd enjoy driving it. And he did. Hearing that Mopar starter brought back a flood of memories; not only of the Imperial but also of the '73 New Yorker and '73 Dodge Adventurer pickup he had. My dad's vehicles were always kept showroom clean so I appreciate the pristine condition of you cars.
Sounds just like my father's '68 Chrysler, and his '70 Plymouth. Best cars, ever. I'll never forget their luxurious interiors, stylish sheet metal, and their serene, comfortable rides.
Thanks for memory Adam. Yes! I remember the unique sound of Mopar Starters. There was a time when you would hear one in a parking lot and know a Chrysler product had just started up. They all had that distinct sound from the lowest Plymouth up to an Imperial.
True. Now all cars have gear reduction starters, it's the old GMs and Fords with direct drive Bendex starters that stand out. And sounding like a car that might not start. How times have changed. Every time I play this clip, I'm tempted to compare it to my Toyota Highlander, which sounds as close to a Highland Park Hummingbird as most other cars I hear. Certainly more than my Chrysler 200, how ironic. Maybe I should swap starters from both cars.
Funny how every old Mopar I have owned from a 225 slant 6 to a 440 Magnum all have the same starter sounds while cranking... Once the engines fired up, of course they sounded quite different.
I LOVE the sound of that starter; absolutely don't change it! I've always wondered how different starters are able to have their own unique sounds. Fords of the 60's and 70's have their unique sounds, Chevrolet as well. And Cadillacs also had a very unique sound as well. Love your videos!
I realize while watching videos like this how lucky I had been to work as a lot boy on a used car lot in the mid to late 70s started all the cars ect...and got to "GO AROUND THE BLOCK BOY TO WARM THEM UP" YES SIR!!
I worked at a car wash in 1976. I got to pull the cars around from the gas pump to the wash. All kinds of cars, and I loved that. Including a police car. That was so cool.
Love it love it love it. My first car was a 1968 Dodge Coronet with a 318. I love that car it was mint condition used car and the starter sounded just like your 1972!
A 440 coming to life, with resonators, is so sweet. The Flintstone whining sound affects and rumble of life.... Haven't heard that since my neighbor's New Yorker, way back in the mid 70's.
I always liked the sound of a Mopar starting up. My dad bought GM cars but his parents had big Chryslers and Cadillacs, so the sound of this Chrysler starting reminds me of them. 💜
I was part of the team at RM that restored the 1999 Eyes on Design winner. 1959 Aston Martin db2-4. Love these vintage Chrysler as I own a fully loaded 1977 NYB. Love the vids!!
How I miss the sound of my Valiants, Darts and Barracudas, my Dad's Chryslers and my Uncle's Desotos. Thanks for the memories and actually driving your cars.
Hi Adam, I was invited to show one of my car at Eyes on Design in 2013. The best part of the show was watching the blind judges feel the cars and picking a winner. I hope you had a great day. Thank you,
Awesome!! Music to my ears and memories of my 1971 Plymouth Gran Fury III Gorgeous mint Imperial!! How people like you find these low milage cars is beyond me!!
thank you for posting -- omg!!! i had a 74 dodge truck at 16. the sounds bring back the smell and feel of it. i could listen to this over and over all night.
Looking forward to the detailed overview on this one. One thing I've always appreciated about these older Mopars (and even some of the more recent ones) is they retained actual gauges to monitor coolant temperature, voltage/amperage and oil pressure versus the idiot lights that Ford and GM went with.
Great video. Authentic retro sound. I’ll bet 90% of all people couldn’t recall how the alt meter immediately upon starting went into the charge zone, and remained there until the battery recharged from that starter exertion. I used to try to point that out to people and they couldn’t understand or remember it so that a few minutes later they scrubbed it from their memory.
Thank you for including the familiar sound of the engine starting. Your Imperial has the gear reduction starter system, used for many years in Chrysler Corp cars and trucks. I know, because I had 1964, 1966, and 1974 Darts, plus a 1966 Barracuda. The 1966 Dart was a 273 V8 convertible, a nice car then. Have also had a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, and currently own a 2019 Wrangler S. Good luck with showing your cars.
Yup back in the day my great aunt's Dodge Dart Swinger must've spun for like 20 revolutions before it finally caught but it did always start! Used to HATE the Chrysler starter sound, in retrospect I miss it almost as much as my old great aunt--not quite, but almost! :)
I always wondered why. I'd normally expect a rapid spinning starter like the hummingbird to start easier. By the looks of it, Chrysler put out too many innovations prematurely, so they still had bugs to sort out.
What a beautiful sound, love it! My very first car was a 1974 Dodge Challenger, both the 318 engine that it came with and the 440 that I built for it sounded the same, no mistaking a Chrysler starter. Cool cars and a cool video, thanks for sharing!
@@lyleware2479 Love the sound of the 2 stroke Detroit Diesel. They powered the buses in the NYC MTA fleet back in the 60's and 70's. I grew up in a building that had a bus stop outside so I heard them all the time. It sounds like a mechanical symphony to me.
Love this. Grandad had a 68 1 ton dodge pickup and a buddy had a 69 roadrunner. That sound meant ‘ let’s go!’. Iconic. Non mopar guys and gals won’t understand 😂
My '73 Newport 2dr. Hardtop was my favorite car ever. I grew up riding in the back of a 1960 New Yorker hardtop wagon, then a 1966, and learned to drive on my mom's 1968 4dr. Newport. Great memories of them all, but being a small kid in the rear of that 1960 was like being in my own world. The Chryslers of the 60's and 70's are among my favorite memories.
I had two Plymouth Valiants,a Newport,Volare,and a Cordoba,all had that distinctive whine when starting them,cool video and what a nice Imperial you have👍
It's much more resonant from the outside....That sound brings me back to Senior year in High School..1981...walking out to the parking lot at 2.15 pm.....and all the Scamps, Darts, Valiants, Dusters came to life at the same time.
Wow You get it!!!!! So many people don't get it but you do. Fender mounted turn signals , the little light that light up the ignition key hole and, and of course the high torque starter. Perfection !!!!!!
Always a bone of contention in my house. My dad had a 67 Polara and it started like this. Years later, my brother owned a Dodge... He had a 75 Royal Monaco Brougham and it was always hard starting. He had to pump the accelerator to get it to eventually start. "That's just the way it is" he'd say, and my dad would go "No, get it adjusted - I can show you..." and then "No - dad you don't understand"....and on it would go :) My dad and my brother's relationship in a nutshell! :)
Did you like heavy dog the starter when you were cranking it? I would have loved a challenging hard start in that car with multiple cranks just to hear that starter whine more!
A friend of mine who sadly passed away in 2013 had what I think would be the ultimate C-body Mopar. Legend has it that it was ordered by his mother, and when she walked into the dealership she sat down, placed her purse on the table and they slid an order sheet across the desk to her. She then elegantly drew a line across the whole order sheet, signed it, and slid it back to the salesman. What she ordered was the most LOADED 1969 Imperial Crown Coupe I've ever seen. 440 TNT, Air, Tilt, Telescope, Cruise, Auto Temp, Dual A/C units, Power seats, windows, locks, ventipanes, trunk release, headlight washers, AM/FM/8-track, 4-wheel disc brakes, Anti-Skid braking system, 15" wheels, dual exhaust.... the list just went on and on. The car had TWO window stickers, that's how loaded with options it was. But I never heard anything about the estate. I would've loved to own that car not only as a connection to my friend, but to carry on the legend that was his mom. You gotta admit, that's a LOT of car for a woman in 1969.
love mopar starter sounds. best sounding starter ever. I agree the high torque starters are great for hard to start cars but an old mopar has to have the classic sound.
Universal Studios used that one Chrysler gear reduction starter SFX for just about every car start, regardless of what make it was on all of it's early 70's TV shows.
