Quote: "And actually no, I rarely turn on the radio in that car because I want to hear my engine!"
I am the same way.
I always play the radio low enough to hear my engine in case it starts acting up.
That is only because I am used to driving junk, with the except of a few cars I've had.
My 1965 Mustang looked great, but had major frame issue once we crawled underneath and took a real close look.
My dad had a 1968 Camaro convertible with racing stripes and all, and he gave it to my sister, who then gave it to her boyfriend at the time.
(if only I had access to a time machine just for a day)
Best of luck with your Mopar and I hope you get it sorted out, but it looks like you are very mechanically inclined so I have confidence you will fix it proper.
It very well could have been a manufacture defect, or even damage from a previous owner that was minor and got worse, unless you bought it new, then yes to the defect.
At least you have a good old car without all that unnecessary electronic and other emissions crap that you have to remove just to change the spark plugs.

Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1