We hear it all the time here at RPM. “I used to have a Boss 429 Mustang…” or “My first car was a Hemi Cuda…” or “My cousin had an original Yenko Camaro, and I could have bought it for next to nothing back in the day…” Almost universally, such opening statements are quickly followed by “…boy, I sure wish I had that car today.” It seems muscle car regret is an almost universal affliction in the street machine world. We either wish we never would have sold a certain car, we wish we would have bought another car, or sometimes both.
For Tampa, Florida resident Dale Renner, there is no such remorse when it comes to his decision to hang on to his 1970 Plymouth Duster
he acquired in 1985 at the tender age of 15. However, that doesn’t mean he’s immune to the notion of regret.
Dale’s father, Earl “The Duke” Renner, immersed him into the muscle car era at an early age, hauling his bouncing baby boy home from the hospital in a Comet Cyclone and later cruised the neighborhood together in a Plymouth Road Runner.
“My early heroes were Kevin Wolfinger, Jef Fern, Matt and Debbie Hay, Rod Saboury, Ken Faust, Rick Dobbertin, Rocky Robertson, and Jim Geese. I always loved pro street,” Renner said. The plan was always to do the Duster up pro street style; however, after getting married, the project was mothballed due to lack of funds. “I got involved in dirt racing for four years but was just getting ready to get back to my passion of fat-tired rides,” he added.
Unfortunately, before the build could begin in earnest, Renner got the call no one ever wants to receive from a parent: his father was sick. It was lung cancer. And it was bad….
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