Mopar Intro and Useful Terms

What does Mopar stand for?

Mopar comes from the words Moter Parts. Mopar is what Chrysler Corporation referred to as their Parts Department.

What is a Mopar?

A Mopar is literally any DaimlerChrysler (Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler, Jeep). It is used more to describe later 60's and early 70's Dodges, Plymouths, and Chryslers.

Body Types

A body - '64-76 Valiant, '64-69 Barracuda, '64-76 Dart, All Duster,      Demon, Sport, Scamp and Swinger

B body - Coronet, Satellite, Road Runner, Charger, GTX, Belvedere,      Super Bee, Cordoba, '76-78 Fury, '77-78 Monaco

C body - All Chrysler, '64-75 Fury and Monaco, Polara, '67-71 Imperial

D body - '62-66 Imperial

E body - '70-74 Challenger and Barracuda

Mopar Terms

Fender Tag - a tag located on the drivers fender which tells what the car came from the factory with ( Color, Options, Engine, Transmission, etc.).

Hemi - an engine with cylinder head's combustion chamber that are hemisperical, or half of a sphere.

Horsepower - is by definition, the power of an engine in comparison to horses.  For example, a car with 100 horsepower is as fast as 100 horses all rolled into one. Horsepower is often indicative of a cars top speed.  Horsepower does not necessarily mean that a car is fast from a standing start (see torque) but instead it is often indicative of the speed attainable by a particular car.  This being said other factors such as weight and grade will impact the final speed achieved.

HP - short for horsepower

Stroke - is the distance that the piston travels from bottom dead center to top dead center inside of the cylinder.

Torque - refers the an automobile's ability to generate pick up.  Torque is one of the most important factors at the beginning of any non-rolling start race.  It is the ability of the car to send power to the wheels and turn them - moving the entire car forward.  Torque is not the same as horsepower. 

VIN - stands for Vehicle Identification Number. A Vehicle Identification Number is used to uniquely identify a car.