Something Old, Something Older
Words: Roger Meiners
The rusty hulk sits on the immaculate floor of Mike Masich’s garage, looking maybe out of place around all the beautiful Mopar®s—but not for long. “The paint and body guy says we’re going to the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Nationals in Louisville this summer with the car finished,” says Masich. There is some doubt creeping into his voice as he describes the piece, a ’29 DeSoto roadster. Next to it sits a ‘57 DeSoto Adventurer HEMI® engine that’s going to power the roadster.
The DeSoto is the oldest car in the Masich collection, next to his ’36 Dodge 5-window street rod. It was built over 25 years ago, using parts cannibalized from a Plymouth Volare—the 360 engine and transmission, steering and even the wiring harness. It’s Mike’s daily driver from March to November.
Masich retired from Mopar about a year ago after 35 years at Chrysler. He’s been collecting cars for most of that time—as he carried out assignments all around the country, and in Europe, where he found a ’67 Sunbeam Tiger. That car was technically built by Chrysler because the company owned Sunbeam, a unit of the Rootes group of England. Masich also brought back a 1956 Citroen Traction Avant, a popular oddity owned by a few collectors in the USA, including former Chrysler executive Bob Lutz.
One of Masich’s favorites is a ’64 Plymouth Sport Fury that is done as a Max Wedge clone. The 4-speed car has a 500 cid RB big block Mopar engine. It has first place trophies from the Chrysler Classic, Mopar Nationals and the 2005 Autorama shows.
There’s an unrestored ’78 Li’l Red Truck in the collection with 42,000 miles on it. The vehicle is eligible for the Survivor classes at most car shows. The heavily-optioned truck has air, cruise, a woodgrain dash and an 8-track tape player in it.
The newest vehicle is a 2000 Prowler that Masich treated himself to for his 50th birthday. He’ll tour to Montana with the car sometime this year.
This varied and eclectic collection is a bit unusual. Most collectors concentrate on a specific era, such as ‘60s muscle, ‘50s Forward Look cars or pre-WWII iron, but Masich’s interests span all the years, with one common thread: high performance. That’s what Mopar means, after all.
