What's your story with your Mopar?
Rumble, I think we must be related somehow. I just became the proud staff member (not "owner") of a new kitten, found on the road where someone dumped it.
Car-wise, when I retired I knew I was going to get something classic to have fun with. I chose a 66 Valiant. After over a year of looking I found it on CL about 45 miles away. It was a stone-cold survivor, with only the radio (dash cut for a DIN, Grrrrrrrrrrr) and a manual choke cable being items that were NOT there when it left the factory. Everything else - paint, interior, drive-train - was still original with 126K miles. This one is getting a stealth rebuild this winter with everything you can't see from the outside getting replaced or upgraded. New spunked up slant, A230 swapped for the A904, 8-3/4, 3.55 gears, 15" tires and wheels, KH front discs, 10" rear drums, leaf springs, full front suspension, 1.03 t-bars, Bilstiens, front sway bar, and probably more I'm forgetting. I call it Gramma's Grocery Getter but it will be lots more fun and dead-nuts reliable.
Then I got the itch bad for a 69 Dart. I had a 67 way back in the day and have had a soft spot for them ever since. Again, several years of looking and finally I find one 10 miles from me. Sadly, the PO had passed away far too young, and his wife was selling the car. I think she was willing to let it go for what I could afford because she knew it was going to get fixed and driven, completing her husband's dreams. This one hadn't been registered for 25 years and was seriously a work in progress. It has some rust issues to fix - which I said I would NEVER get into but here I am - but otherwise it's straight and mostly in workable condition. Much to my surprise it's a 340 car with a 727 but I have everything I need to put in a 4-speed. The interior is shot, the paint was put on with a brush I think, but the bones are very good and it's pretty straight. It runs and drives but with no way to know what was done and what was not I'm going through everything before I take it on the street. Currently all the rear gear is out and it's getting new primer and undercoat then the new springs and 8-3/4, fuel tank and lines, 11" rear brakes and lines all go back in. Next will be the front end rebuild, QA1 adjustable shocks all around, front sway bar, and 73+ front discs. After that if I can get the electrical sorted out I will be taking this out to see what it will do. Here it is the day it got it's first bath in a quarter century, and where it is today on the lift.
Great idea for this thread!
Rumble, I think we must be related somehow. I just became the proud staff member (not "owner") of a new kitten, found on the road where someone dumped it.
Car-wise, when I retired I knew I was going to get something classic to have fun with. I chose a 66 Valiant. After over a year of looking I found it on CL about 45 miles away. It was a stone-cold survivor, with only the radio (dash cut for a DIN, Grrrrrrrrrrr) and a manual choke cable being items that were NOT there when it left the factory. Everything else - paint, interior, drive-train - was still original with 126K miles. This one is getting a stealth rebuild this winter with everything you can't see from the outside getting replaced or upgraded. New spunked up slant, A230 swapped for the A904, 8-3/4, 3.55 gears, 15" tires and wheels, KH front discs, 10" rear drums, leaf springs, full front suspension, 1.03 t-bars, Bilstiens, front sway bar, and probably more I'm forgetting. I call it Gramma's Grocery Getter but it will be lots more fun and dead-nuts reliable.
Then I got the itch bad for a 69 Dart. I had a 67 way back in the day and have had a soft spot for them ever since. Again, several years of looking and finally I find one 10 miles from me. Sadly, the PO had passed away far too young, and his wife was selling the car. I think she was willing to let it go for what I could afford because she knew it was going to get fixed and driven, completing her husband's dreams. This one hadn't been registered for 25 years and was seriously a work in progress. It has some rust issues to fix - which I said I would NEVER get into but here I am - but otherwise it's straight and mostly in workable condition. Much to my surprise it's a 340 car with a 727 but I have everything I need to put in a 4-speed. The interior is shot, the paint was put on with a brush I think, but the bones are very good and it's pretty straight. It runs and drives but with no way to know what was done and what was not I'm going through everything before I take it on the street. Currently all the rear gear is out and it's getting new primer and undercoat then the new springs and 8-3/4, fuel tank and lines, 11" rear brakes and lines all go back in. Next will be the front end rebuild, QA1 adjustable shocks all around, front sway bar, and 73+ front discs. After that if I can get the electrical sorted out I will be taking this out to see what it will do. Here it is the day it got it's first bath in a quarter century, and where it is today on the lift.
Great idea for this thread!
