Restore Old Photos

Jacksonville MOPAR man's reputation of meticulous restorations of old cars

Chuck Smith's love of MOPAR is all over his muscle car-filled AWR Restorations garage off Commonwealth Avenue, from a Plum Crazy 1970 Dodge Charger R/T to the Sublime 1971 Dodge Super Bee.

There's even a MOPAR joke in the airplane-shaped pedal car hung in one corner, as Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote drops an Acme bomb on the (beep-beep!) Road Runner on a poster below.

You see, MOPAR is the MOtor PARts and service arm of Chrysler, synonymous with its muscle cars of the 1960s through today. MOPAR has been legendary in NASCAR as well, from Richard "The King" Petty winning 200 races, most in Plymouths and Dodges, to the five Dodge Charger-shaped racers in Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

A MOPAR was a teenage Smith's first — a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner. Now, dozens of cars later, skills he started learning to keep that Road Runner running have led to a busy career restoring others' muscle cars.

And the man who once owned seven MOPARS at one time? He has none now, and that's just fine with him.

"That's the bad thing about a car guy, especially if he does it for a living," he said. "If you have a car that needs work, the last thing you want to do is work on it because you do it eight hours a day. ... I am having fun working on other people's cars and helping them."

Smith's restorations are so meticulous they even include the paint marks assembly line workers put on cars to make sure the right parts were installed down the line. That's why legendary drag racer "Big Daddy" Don Garlits gave Smith's 1971 Plymouth GTX a Best of Show at a recent show at his Ocala museum. That Dodge Super Bee won Garlits awards as well.

"It is very nice to have someone make sure a car is restored to save them for future generations," Garlits said. "I like the authenticity of them and the great pains he takes to put them back the way the way were made."

Smith credits his brother's muscle cars, such as a 1970 Dodge ("awesome car; wish he still had it!") Challenger R/T, for starting his interest almost 40 years ago in Dunkirk, N.Y. Working at a gas station at age 16, he kept wrenching until he joined the Navy at age 23. That brought him to Jacksonville, where he mustered out four years later and worked for years at a company that made convertibles for General Motors, then a carpet pad maker and a wire and cable company.

Cars were still part of his life.

"From when I was 16 until about eight years ago, I have had 47 MOPARs," he said. "I worked on other people's cars and I drag-raced them out of Pecan Park, and unfortunately out here on Imeson Road late at night.

Restore Old Photos and Film

We all have old photos and film either in our closets, garages, or even shoe boxes lying around and collecting dust. All photos of the memories we collect over the years. As time passes by those photos we love the most get worn and torn and fade; due to the heat and neglect.

Don’t let them collect dust anymore! It’s time to empty out those closets and grab those shoe boxes. I can help you restore your old photos and make them look like new! Get them converted to digital pictures. They can be restored, printed, or even made into a DVD or CD.

Want to take it an extra step or need a birthday, graduation, or wedding present?! Create new memories with your old photos. With a DVD slide show; which includes Music, Transitions, Titles, and Credits.

Check out the information below on pricing and printing. or contact me for more information. You can email me at photography@katbarko.com or call me at (954) 529-8152.

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