– A fun-filled tour in the Southern California sunshine
– Mopar® Car Clubs unite for an event with lunch and cool cars
– Vintage and Modern Mopar Muscle in the vehicle mix
It all started in 1965 for Terry Ulmer, a native Californian who bought a brand-new 1965 Plymouth Satellite 2-door hardtop … and he’s been hooked on Mopar vehicles ever since! He grew up near the drag strips of Southern California (Lion’s, Pomona, Fontana, Orange County International and Carlsbad) and had raced his cars on them, totally getting into the high-performance scene and in a big way! In addition to his love of Pentastar power, he was in the Navy shipbuilding world for some 37 years and picked up huge amounts of skills and knowledge along the way in that industry.
ANCHORS AWEIGH IN ALPINE!
For Terry, it’s all about the preservation of history and his way to honor veterans and the survivors of Pearl Harbor. So what did he do? He built a to-scale replica of a USS Pilot House on his Alpine, California property, then positioned replica surface-to-air missiles on the land, then in addition to really add some further military history to his Mopar passions, a replica “Chrysler Red Stone Rocket” was added, which in military speak is an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) which saw duty in the 1950s and ’60s. And even a submarine and an AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) are now part of the exhibit. Lots and lots to see and learn and his place, a museum – a monument, really – which is located some 45 miles east of the San Diego coastline.
However, the primary focus for our visit was to view and check out, talk with the owners of the wide selection of Mopar Muscle that dominated the garage and parking areas. While the place isn’t advertised and open to the public, special arrangements were made for this gathering, which was for the Southern California Mopar car clubs. They came and saw, had a great lunch, all the while enjoying the friendly atmosphere!
WELCOME MOPAR FANS!
Angelina welcomed everyone to the event, and she directed all vehicles as to where they were to be staged on the property. It was a true slice of “Mopar Heaven” especially with the visiting Mopar vehicles from the club members, making for an exciting day! With the Mopar car clubs (including Mopars of San Diego, Inland Mopars, SouthBay Mopars, Chrysler Performance West Club, Synister) in attendance, plus members of the Little Guys Street Rods Group, it proved to be a lively collection of car fanatics, guys and gals!
CLUB MEMBERS ARRIVE
As Mopar club members entered from San Diego, Riverside, Orange County, Los Angeles and beyond, their cars were parked and we were able to capture a few images as they arrived. It made for a day of celebrating all things Mopar!
TERRY ULMER GREETED AS THEY ROLLED IN
Before the actual tour and presentation, Terry Ulmer was on hand to greet the visitors as seen here with Mopars of San Diego club member and the owner of a Challenger SRT® Hellcat Redeye Widebody! By the time everyone rolled in, the place was packed and had an ample supply of GEN III HEMI® cars.
MOPARS MAKE THE SCENE
THE INTRODUCTION
Terry Ulmer introduced himself and explained to the visitors what his Mopar Ranch is all about, and how his love of Mopar vehicles as a teen, and through the years, prompted him to buy up some rare cars before the prices went through the roof, and he personally restored them. In addition to the vehicles, he also shared his background in Navy shipbuilding and his military museum being his way to show respect to vets, and most especially Pearl Harbor survivors.
FUN WITH SUBLIME GREEN / LIME LIGHT GREEN
“High Impact Colors” is especially a favorite topic with Terry, and as example his ’70 ’Cuda 440+6 is an FJ5 car, a bright green hue AKA Lime Light, and he’s got a full uniform of clothing to match! And when some members of the Mopar Club of San Diego started to gather up “Sublime” color-coordinated materials, Terry joined in the fun! Both are the same color mix and no matter how it’s described, that Green hue jumps!
V-CODE WITH ELASTOMERIC
One of the crown jewels of Terry’s collection is this 1970 factory 440-6 ’Cuda, in Lime Light Green and with the rubber front bumper, known in Mopar speak as Elastomeric. Note the M25 “fish scale gill” body rocker moldings, just part of why the car is so cool!
HEMI RR W/DUST TRAIL
Another gem in the group is the 1970 HEMI Road Runner in FC7 (in Violet Metallic) along with 4-speed, plus the V6Y “Dust Trail” gold reflective side stripe. The 1970 version is a one-year-only body and these are highly cherished today.
1967 PLYMOUTH GTX
The 1967 GTX was advertised as being a “supercar” as the term muscle car had not yet become the buzzword for factory performance cars from Detroit. Terry’s example has the 440 “Super Commando” and while this isn’t the one, he did purchase a brand-new 1967 GTX off the showroom floor back in the day!
ICONIC 1968 DODGE CHARGER
Anyone who has ever seen the movie Bullitt has to remember seeing Steve McQueen running at high speeds with a villain driving a 1968 Dodge Charger! Known for the classic “coke body” styling, these 2nd Gen Chargers are a thing of beauty, the sheet metal was shaped in a fashion that provided a truly iconic and distinctive “B-body” shape. Terry’s got one, a factory A/C car and rare!
BEEP BEEP! ROAD RUNNER
When there’s a “Road Runner Rd” sign out front, the collection has to have at least one Plymouth Road Runner in the fleet! This is Terry’s 1969 “post” car, which is the “RM21” standard coupe body version. This one fitted with a 440 engine, era-correct “Day 2” Cragar S/S wheels and owner-added hood pins. Road Runners were favorites for the street racer crowds and greatly helped the Plymouth Division in capturing the youth market in the muscle car heyday!
N-CODE ’70 ’CUDA
Terry’s other 1970 ’Cuda is done from the factory in EV2 “Tor-Red” paint and with V6X Black Longitudinal Sport Stripes to call out the 383 engine, AKA “Hockey Stick” stripes. The N-Code 383 produced 335 horsepower and while not as potent as the HEMI engine, 440+6 or Super Commando 440, still delivered respectable performance. Not all owners could afford the bigger engines! There was also a 340 ’Cuda model.
GET DOWN TONITE CUSTOM VAN
Some consider the KC & The Sunshine Band’s hit song “Get Down Tonight” a real highlight of the music scene in the mid-1970s, and to celebrate the era, Terry did up a 1977 Dodge Tradesman 100 van in the spirit of the custom van movement! The interior has the custom touches that were part of the scene and along with custom airbrushing, bubble windows, and “mag” wheels, fender flares and side pipes, well, that song title makes for the perfect suggestive ID for this vintage boulevard cruisin’ wagon!
A newer model Ram 150 Dodge Van joins in the retro fun, this one to commemorate the Vanishing Point cult classic movie and the legendary Kowalski 1970 Challenger R/T.
DODGE RAM TRUCKIN’
Rounding out the Mopar vehicles in the main garage are a pair of Dodge Ram trucks, keeping faithful to the Dodge brand!
Inside, outside and everywhere you looked there’s Mopar memorabilia, further enhancing the “Chrysler Motor Parts” Mopar-themed ranch Terry has created.
IT’S ALSO ABOUT THE MOPAR PEOPLE
With an enthusiastic group of Mopar lovers in attendance, it was an ideal place to talk and visit with other car owners and admirers of Pentastar cars. Of course, talking production numbers, color codes, option packages and recent barn finds/purchases took place, all part of the communications of serious fanatics! No shortage of Mopar apparel as well, the day was rewarding for all who attended.
You know it’s a serious enthusiast when “Mopar Alley” is embossed into the cement during the construction! It’s a place to really enjoy all things Mopar, and this event was double fun as there were loads of modern and some vintage Mopar Muscle that joined in the day’s activities.
Check out a full review of MOPAR RANCH on Nicole Johnson’s DETOUR video presentation:
Author: James Maxwell
0 Comments