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  #1  
Old 10-24-2012, 01:41 PM
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Default '62 Chrysler Newport

I haven't been around here for a long time. Other interests, work, lots of things get in the way.

I'm afraid my brother Dennis is close to losing his fight with cancer. It sucks; he's only 53. We're getting really tired of burying family, as most of them died far too young.

But I'm not here for sympathy.

Dennis has a car in his garage that's been in the family since about 1965. It's a '62 Chrysler Newport 4-door. Not a particularly rare or valuable car but the fact that it's been in the family for nearly 50 years makes it very valuable to us. It was our family truckster for years. By the time we were in high school, it was used by our sister, who drove it for a long time, including taking it to Thief River Falls, MN for a year of college. While she had it up there, my dad gave me my first experience at overhauling an automatic transmission during our annual vacation to the Land of the Chosen Frozen. By the time Shelley was done with it, I had left home so it was passed by me to my next younger brother Dennis, who has had it ever since (meaning he's had it since about 1977 or 1978). He never drove it much but thankfully, he kept it in the family.

Now, we're about to lose Dennis and he has told me that the car is mine.

So I'm starting to make some plans. Dennis has been a car guy for decades and my plan is to get the car roadworthy enough to take it out on the Hot Rod Power Tour within the next few years. I think it would be a nice tribute to him and to both of our long-gone parents.

At this point, I don't know what it's going to need. Last time I drove it (probably 25 years ago), the front end seemed pretty worn out. So I'll have to rebuild all the steering linkage, for sure. Not sure how the torsion bars are, and I haven't seen the inside of the car for a long time. The 361 is original but I do remember how miserable it was to get started when it was cold.

It's going to need a LOT of work but I really want to get this thing back up to daily-driver status.

A, B and E-body parts are easy to find. I don't know what I'm going to run into with this old C-body but there's a good chance I'll be back here from time to time looking for advice, assistance and maybe scrounging for sources of parts.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 01-18-2013, 10:11 PM
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This is Blanche (our sister gave the car that name for obvious reasons):









Blanche seems to have a soul. I hope it's not a soul like Christine had.

One day, probably in 1971 or 1972, Shelley took some of her high school friends to the town store during lunch. They made some disparaging remarks about the "old car" and when they came out of the store, Blanche absolutely refused to start. Shelley told her friends that they needed to apologize to Blanche but of course, they all laughed about that. However, after trying for quite some time to start the car, the friends relented and offered an apology.

Blanche started right up.

If all goes well, Blanche comes home with me tomorrow. I need it to be closer so I can start to assess what it needs to be roadworthy again. The engine probably hasn't turned in a decade or more, but it has been kept indoors for most of the last 25 years or so. So except for dry bearings, I don't expect any trouble. We shall see. But getting it running so I can move it in and out of my garage will be my first priority. Second on the list will probably be a complete front-end overhaul; last time I drove it, she wandered all over the highway and needed every single inch of whatever lane I was trying to stay in.

The interior needs refurbishing. And there is some surface rust here and there, so she'll probably get a new coat of white paint some day. I've already found new taillight lenses to replace the broken ones that are on the car now.

The odyssey begins tomorrow. I would love to run it on the Hot Rod Power Tour some day.
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Old 01-21-2013, 06:33 PM
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Sorry to hear of your brothers troubles, may God be with you and yours.

Looking forward to seeing the resurrection of that fine old Chrysler.
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Old 01-22-2013, 10:54 PM
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Thanks. Dennis was a good man. Too many years of smoking, working in a body shop and living in a 100-year old house with who-knows-what for insulation might be what got to him. We'll never know, nor will we dwell on it. Dad and Mom have been gone for years (1982 and 1991, respectively), so now it's just our sister, our youngest brother and me. I guess none of us get out of this thing alive.

After a bit of trouble getting the car out of the corner of the shop, caused by a locked-up brake on the front left corner, I got the car home last Saturday. Now that it's here at home, I can spend some time deciding what to do with it.

I hope to try to get her fired up this weekend. The car was last licensed in July, 1988. It's quite possible that it hasn't run since then. I've ordered an oil pump priming shaft so I can spin the pump before I try to start it. However, today I put a battery in her and turned on the key for the first time in perhaps a couple decades. All the lights worked and so did the radio.

Distributor looks pretty worn out, so I ordered an electronic conversion kit; new distributor, cap rotor, wiring and MP Orange Box ECU. I'll probably try to start it with the current distributor, if it'll work.

Since this car has some rather oddball brakes, and is a single-circuit system, I'll be putting a front disk brake conversion on it. I'll probably also have to put new parts in the front end, since last time I drove it, she hunted left and right so badly that she needed every single inch of the lane on the highway. We'll see, but while I have it apart for the brakes, that would be a good time to put new ball joints and tie rod ends in place. Maybe control arm bushings while I'm at it.

After washing the years of dust off, I find the body is still pretty solid. A little tinworm around the top of the headlights, some surface rust here and there, and some old bodywork on the driver's side door but otherwise, it seems to be in fairly good shape.

I've brought cars back to life that were in worse shape than Blanche. But in the past, I've always had Dennis to rely on to do the body work and paint. Looks like I'm going to have to learn to do that myself. At least the bodywork on this will be minimal and if I can get the prep done right, MAACO can apply the paint; this isn't planned to be a show car.

Anybody know where I can find a windshield for a '62 Chrysler Newport? The one in it now has a couple large cracks.
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Old 01-23-2013, 01:57 PM
Skwerly Skwerly is offline
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I love that car. Keep us posted!
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  #6  
Old 01-23-2013, 10:42 PM
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Some pictures after I got it home:

I've always loved the space-ship instrument cluster in this car. I'm pretty sure that's 121,677 miles on the clock. I know the odometer has been around the block once but since I also know the engine has never been out, it's unlikely to be 221,677 miles.


A little tinworm - very small spots - around the top of the headlights, probably can't see it in this picture. Surface rust on the grille surround which, I think, will be easy to handle. The holes in the hood are from an "airplane" hood ornament, possibly from an Oldsmobile, that my brother had on there at one time. It had lights in the wingtips. I have no idea where it is, so I'll have to weld these holes closed when I start on the body work. The right side of the grille sports an American Bi-Centennial medallion from 1976, probably something Dennis put on:


Some old bodywork in the lower, rear section of the driver's door. All 4 original hubcaps are in the trunk, plus I scored another nice set from eBay for only $40 for the whole set. That said, the disk brake conversion is going to force me to 15 inch wheels so the hub caps probably won't work on new wheels:


My little brother denies breaking out the top of the tail light lenses when he was little, but the rest of the family knows the truth. I've found new lenses so he's off the hook now:


The 361 in Blanche was ALWAYS hard to start in cold weather. I mean miserably hard to start. There is an electric pre-heater installed in one of the heater hoses (I suppose Dad put that in before Sis took it to college in Minnesota in 1973). I have the carburetor off, on my workbench and disassembled and have found 2 problems so far. The Stromberg WWC is supposed to have a bowl vent valve with the leaf spring operated by the accelerator pump linkage. The spring is missing and the bowl vent is just open to atmosphere. The other issue is that the choke plate wouldn't close because it wasn't centered squarely on the choke shaft. All the parts are in the dunk tank tonight and I'll re-assemble it this weekend. I've also received the new distributor, ignition module and wiring for the electronic conversion but I think I'll try to run it with the old ignition first to remove one variable from the equation. (Of course, on the other hand, the old ignition IS a variable in and of itself.)
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Old 01-24-2013, 12:03 PM
Rich Kinsley Rich Kinsley is offline
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That is a nice car. Good luck with your project. You'll get 'er dun :-)
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Old 01-25-2013, 09:52 AM
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Please keep the photos coming along with the progress.If you use the factory disc set up from 73-up you can use 14''disc brake wheels to keep the factory wheel covers. 62 is one of my favorite years.
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  #9  
Old 01-25-2013, 03:18 PM
Skwerly Skwerly is offline
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i love that it's a 361; cool and different.

CO -- i'm soooo jealous. that is my home state.
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  #10  
Old 01-25-2013, 10:32 PM
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Today's work:

Pulled the distributor and intermediate shaft and turned the oil pump for 7 or 8 minutes with a drill. Oil pressure came right up to the bottom of the safe band even though it was a fairly slow battery-operated drill motor. That was good news. My wife was watching the OP gauge and we commented that while I was turning the oil pump, Blanche was probably thinking something like, "oh, yeah, just like that. Don't stop." Like I said above, she has a soul.

Set the points in the old distributor and put it all back together. Then I put fresh plugs and new plug wires in place. This is my first big block car and the plugs were fairly easy to get to. I like that.

Found the plugs from cylinders 1, 4, 6 and 7 were much sootier than the others. Looks like the left hole of the carburetor was providing more fuel than necessary. Naturally, I didn't mark the jets when I took them out so I'll have to inspect them carefully to see if one is bigger than the other. Even if they are, though, I don't know where to get new main jets for a Stromberg. I've also seen reference to a Carter BBD on some of these cars so if the Stromberg continues to be problematic, I might see about changing it out. I suppose a new manifold and an Edelbrock AVS or AFB clone would work, and parts are easy, but I'd really like to keep the 2-barrel if I can get it to work well.

This weekend's goal: get the carburetor back together and check out the fuel tank and fuel lines. I'll probably blow some air backwards through the fuel line to the tank to make sure it's clear. Not sure if I can see into the tank through the filler neck but will check that out to see what the inside of the tank looks like. If it seems OK, I'll put a couple gallons of gasoline in the tank and try to get Blanche to make her first noises in a couple decades.

I'll let you guys know how things go.
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Old 01-26-2013, 10:39 PM
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Put the carburetor back together this afternoon and found a few things.

The main jets are .065", meaning they are sea-level jets. I'm going to have to try to find some leaner ones for my 6500' elevation. The book says .063 for one-step lean and .061 for two steps.

The arm on the choke shaft which works the fast-idle cam link was mis-located on the shaft. It has a square hole but the design allows it to be oriented in 4 positions, depending on just how it's set on the shaft. Based on the pictures I was able to find, it was about 45 degrees too high. Basically, that means that the fast-idle cam was a little late dropping off, and the WOT choke unloader setting was 3/4" instead of the called-for 1/4". It also explains why the fast-idle link was bent all out of shape from what I saw in the drawings and pictures.

I had to fabricate a leaf spring for the float-bowl vent but that was simple enough to do. The carb kit had the new seal to put on the newly-made leaf spring.

Tomorrow's goals are:

1) Pull the rag out of the intake manifold and crank the engine for a while to circulate oil in the bearings and cam.

2) Investigate the condition of the fuel tank and lines.

3) If (1) and (2) go OK, install the carburetor, remove the anti-mouse screen from the tailpipe and see if she'll run again.
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Old 01-27-2013, 10:33 AM
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Maybe the choke problem caused the sooty plugs, although why only on one side I don't know. Also, maybe bad wires on that side.
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  #13  
Old 01-27-2013, 11:19 AM
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Oh, I think it's just over-jetted. As I remember, it always ran well when it warmed up. The carb problems I've found, though, might help solve the problem starting it when it was cold outside. It would sometimes take several minutes to get her running when it was 20 degrees or less outside. (OTOH, my high school car was a 46 Ford Business Coupe - which I sure wish I still owned. That flathead V8 would start within 2 revolutions even when it was 30 below zero.)

The carb has sea-level jets in it but I live at 6,500 feet elevation. Carbureted cars always run rich at this altitude unless something is changed. It hasn't been licensed since 1988 and for most of its life, nobody really cared if it used a lot of gas because fuel was fairly cheap then.

I've put out a couple feelers to some carburetor parts companies to see if anyone has (or can make) some smaller jets for it.
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Old 01-27-2013, 07:48 PM
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SHE RUNS!!

The starter relay isn't working so I had to use a remote starter switch. A lesson I learned years ago working on a Jeep is that you should NEVER crank an engine with the carb off if the ignition switch is ON. I'll tell you the story of a fire I started that way one day.

So I hooked up a remote switch to bypass the starter relay and cranked it without the carb to move some oil around the bearings and cam before I tried anything else. Within 10 seconds, fuel was being pumped all over the intake manifold.

Cool! At least I know the fuel pump works and the fuel line is clear. I used some rubber fuel line to extend the fuel line so that I could pump it into a bucket and moved a quart or more while cranking the engine.

It smelled like gasoline, so I thought, "what the heck!"

I put the carb on and asked my wife to be my safety pilot. She was in the seat with instructions to turn off the ignition switch if I looked like I was getting excited. With fire extinguisher at the ready, she turned on the key and I hit the remote starter. It took 15 or 20 seconds but eventually it started to make some popping noises. A little more cranking and it started pushing back like the timing was too early. A little twist of the distributor had her running for the first time in 10, 15, maybe even 20 years. She made a lot of mechanical noise; sounded like several lifters were flat and there was quite a bit of smoke out of the breather cap. Lisa said something about it not sounding too good but I told her if she had been asleep for a decade or two, she would make some bad noises, too, when someone woke her up.

I just let her idle and one by one, the lifters quieted down and the smoke from the breather subsided. Might have been a few stuck valves and rings but I think everything loosened up pretty quickly. As it warmed up and came down off the fast idle cam, it idled just as smooth as can be. Off-idle sucked, but when I hooked up my timing light/dwell meter/tach, it looked like I only had about 11 degrees of dwell, so that could explain a lot. Guess I didn't get the gap on the points quite right. But now that I know she runs, I'm going to put the electronic ignition system on. I'm willing to make concessions to modern day technology.

So now I need a new starter relay, new radiator and heater hoses, and probably a new water pump while I'm at it.

Blanche now not only has a soul, she has a heart again, too. Not sure if she has any legs yet but we'll take it one step at a time. Once she's mobile, things will get easier because I'll be able to move her in and out of my shop to do the work she deserves.
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Old 01-28-2013, 04:03 PM
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Excellent!
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Old 01-28-2013, 07:43 PM
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Keep up the good work won't be long now!
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  #17  
Old 01-29-2013, 09:11 PM
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I stopped in at the local NAPA store on my way home tonight to pick up a few items; a new starter relay, a new water pump and new radiator hoses. While they were pulling my parts, it occurred to me that when I get Blanche on the road again, I'm going to take it into the little village of Elizabeth, CO, where I grew up and where this car spent a lot of years. She's even in a couple pictures in the Elbert County, CO historical society's book. So pretty soon, if all goes well, Blanche will be back on familiar turf. I can't help but wonder if there's anyone left in that town that might recognize the car.

Left to buy this week will be a new thermostat and new heater hoses. That'll let me put coolant in the system so I can run it for more than a few minutes. I should probably just get the radiator re-cored or at least rodded out first, but I think I'll just take a chance and see how she runs as she sits.

Yeah, this is a fun project because of all the history we have with the car and this part of Colorado.
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Old 02-01-2013, 11:45 PM
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Finished the MP Electronic Ignition installation this afternoon. Once I got the timing close, Blanche came to life easily and now runs pretty well off-idle.

Pushed the big D button and after a bit, she began to move. Drove her right into the garage where she'll remain while I put the fresh cooling system parts in place.

Blanche has a soul, a heart and now, some legs. Still some physical therapy in the future but now I know she can move on her own.
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Old 02-02-2013, 02:20 PM
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I love it when a plan comes together.


John "Hannibal" Smith, A-Team
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Old 02-02-2013, 10:10 PM
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Tonight I took the drum brakes off the left front and installed the new rotor and caliper. With all the hardware bolted in place, the original 14" wheels fit fine. This is wonderful news. Not only does it save me the expense of new 15" wheels, it means I can still use the original hub caps. Plus, my brother has a set of almost new 14" tires he put on his Shadow just before the engine puked. If those tires are anywhere near the right size (I'm NOT holding my breath), it'll save me several hundred $$ on tires, as well.

I also replaced the heater hoses and got rid of that 40-year old block heater that I wouldn't ever trust. Installed a new lower radiator hose and am queued up to put the new water pump and thermostat in place tomorrow (the paint is drying overnight).

I got new belts for it, but the one they gave me for the alternator/fan is way too long. I'll take the old one into the parts house and let them match it up for me.

When I get this work done, I'll have all the routine maintenance stuff done on the old gal.

Can't wait to get her out on the road to see what other items need attention.
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Old 02-08-2013, 10:04 PM
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Man, I'd forgotten how miserable it is to remove those rear brake drums on these cars.

No amount of persuasion with a hammer could jar it loose. I tried PB Blaster and a propane torch. No luck. So I moved on to a rosebud tip on my oxy-acetylene setup. No good there, either. Called all over town looking for a puller that would work and very few people knew what I was talking about. Those who did know what it was, didn't have it. (I did have several helpful "tips" telling me to make sure I backed off the brake shoes first. I suppose they deal with all kinds of people. . .)

Today I went to a steel supply house and bought 2 pieces of steel. One piece is 3/8" thick, the other 1/2". Both are 8" square.

On the 3/8" piece, I used my torch to cut out a hole for the center of the hub, and cut holes for all 5 wheel studs. I also drilled and tapped 3 holes for 7/16" bolts. Then I used the lug nuts to bolt this piece to the brake drum.

The 1/2" thick piece got 3 holes for the 7/16" bolts.

I backed the axle nut off several turns, then used the 3 7/16" bolts to fasten the thick piece to the thinner piece. As I tightened down on these 3 bolts, the thick piece applied pressure against the axle nut and put tension on the wheel studs.

I actually wound up with my impact wrench turning the bolts but it didn't take long for the loud BANG to announce that the job was complete.

Simple and inexpensive. Cost me about $21 for the steel and I already had the hardware. Essentially a steel sandwich which pulled on the studs and pushed against the axle nut.

You can't use cheap bolts to do this job, though. The ones I used were actually cylinder head studs from an old Ford flathead V8. If I'd bought new bolts, I certainly would have gone with Grade 8 hardware.

As soon as the second drum was on the ground, I stopped for the day. This weekend I'll pull the rear brakes apart and try to figure out what they need. The front disk conversion is done, and I have new tires on the wheels so as soon as I get the rear brakes reconditioned, she'll be ready to take out for a short drive. I'm also going to get rid of those left-hand thread wheel studs that remain on the left rear. I wouldn't mind having BOTH left wheels using left-hand thread hardware but the disk brake kit has right-hand thread studs. So the rear will be converted to match the other 3 wheels.

<I also learned that my skills with a cutting torch aren't as good as I remembered them to be. But for this job, they were adequate.>
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Old 02-09-2013, 01:03 AM
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Im interested to know how you are going to replace the studs in the rear drum. I would like to do the same thing. I have the brakes apart on my rear currently because I needed to replace the brake lines and wheel cylinders.
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Old 02-09-2013, 03:32 PM
John Kunkel John Kunkel is offline
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Resist the temptation to just drive the studs out of the hub, doing so can warp the hub and/or enlarge the hole. The studs are swaged to retain the drum, the correct way to remove the studs is to cut away the swaging with a special cutter. The pic below shows the stud before and after swaging.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Drumstuds02.jpg (67.6 KB, 9 views)
File Type: jpg Swedge_cutter.jpg (7.4 KB, 9 views)
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Old 02-09-2013, 05:17 PM
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Old 02-09-2013, 06:30 PM
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Oh, I'll let a shop with the proper tools do the work, I suppose. First thing I have to do is decide which 2 of the 4 brake drums are the best (I believe all 4 are the same) and then I'll get new studs put in both rear hubs and drums.

Got the wheel cylinders rebuilt today and back on the car. I have to go to Los Angeles next week and don't want all the fluid to leak out onto the garage floor while I was away. Before I bleed the brakes, I'll put in a new flex line between the body and axle. That'll make all the rubber brake parts new and I shouldn't have to worry about them for quite a while.

So it looks like I won't get her mobile again this weekend - unless I get that flex line tomorrow and find the time to bleed the brakes. Once I get these brakes squared away, I'll be able to move her in and out of my garage for work and can still have a place for my commuter when the winter weather sets in (I absolutely HATE scraping windows in the morning).
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Old 02-22-2013, 06:32 PM
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Change of plans.

Since I've confirmed that the front disc brakes kit accepts the 14" wheels, and since SSBC states clearly that the rear brakes will, too, Blanche will now get the rear disc brake conversion. If all goes well, no more drum brakes on the old gal.

Front kit is installed, now waiting for the parts for the back end.

On another note, the '69 Newport convertible is now licensed and insured and waiting for nice weather to bring home.

My yard is getting way too full of cars.

I love it.
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Old 02-22-2013, 11:00 PM
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Where did you find the kit for the front disc conversion? I am curious about price also. I have contemplated doing this myself.
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Old 02-23-2013, 01:54 PM
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Bought both kits from Summit Racing. Kits are made by SSBC (Stainless Steel Brakes Corp.). Summit was cheaper than direct from SSBC. Prices vary depending on your car. Just look up SSBC or Summit Racing on the internets and plug in your vehicle data. Also, shipping for the 90 pound box was only $13, IIRC.

The front was very easy. Removed the brake backing plate and bolted the caliper adapter in its place. Rotors are one-piece (hub and rotor) and go on with a spindle spacer and new bearings. Caliper and pads appear to be from a 67 Mustang and bolt to the caliper adapter with 2 bolts and spacers. The master cylinder bolted right up to the booster but I did have to shorten the pushrod - nothing to it. The proportioning valve got mounted to the inner fender. The line from the rear circuit connects to the PV outlet and a new line connects the PV to the MC. A new line also connects the front circuit to the MC to the original tee-fitting (that used to split the fluid front to back). A plug goes into the tee-fitting where the rear circuit used to screw in.

All parts are included in the kit except brake fluid and hardware to mount the PV. I did have to buy one new piece of brake line because the one they sent wasn't long enough to connect the MC to the front circuit.

It was literally a "bolt-on" deal. Very simple. I hope the rear is as easy as was the front.
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Old 03-03-2013, 06:28 PM
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DanL DanL is offline
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Brakes are done (rear brakes were a little more trouble than the front due to minor wheel/caliper interference issues). Blanche went for her first drive in more than a quarter century yesterday. Had to add 2 quarts of ATF to get her to go and the shifting was a little sluggish at first. 2 mies to my brother's place and 2 miles home and by the time I got home she was shifting better.

I also found the radiator leaking again after warmup, and a steady stream of antifreeze from the area of the heat control valve under the cover on the firewall.

But now I can move her in and out of the shop for work, meaning I won't have to scrape icy windows on my commuter any more this winter!
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Old 12-13-2014, 07:24 PM
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Been away from this project for quite a while. Turns out, I was diagnosed with the exact same type of cancer that took my brother Dennis 2 years ago; esophageal. Dennis was a heavy smoker and drinker and we blamed his cancer on those habits. But I've never been a smoker and my drinking is very light. Doc said this was caused by acid reflux, which became Barrett's Esophagus, which ultimately turned cancerous. Good news for me is that my wife pushed me hard to go to see the doc when I started having problems swallowing food and they caught it very early. I went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments in January and February of this year, and that was followed up with surgery in April.

2 things I've learned:
1) if your doctor says you have acid reflux, please, please, please take your medications. I actually didn't even know I had it, yet it still damned near killed me.
2) Recovery from major surgery like this (my stomach now lives behind my lungs rather than below my diaphragm) is a lot harder than I expected.

But I'm not here for sympathy. I am once again starting to focus on getting Blanche roadworthy again.

Since my last post here over a year and a half ago, I've found some things that have caused me to change some plans. A differential compression check showed some leaky valves on both sides. I'm certain this motor has never been apart, meaning it has the original heads. I assume that to mean it doesn't have hardened valve seats. By the time I get the valve seats installed, new guides, and who knows what else, the economics don't look so good, especially when I was able to score a set of NIB Edelbrock aluminum heads for less than the quote from the machine shop.

Also, the old Stromberg carb is still giving me fits.

I have an Edelbrock Performer intake for a B-block (NIB, also, found at my late brother's place) and a small Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor. I bought a new cam, lifters and timing set so I can do everything from the block up.

Today, I rolled her into the garage and started the top overhaul. Amazing how easily she came apart, considering most of this hasn't been apart since she rolled off the assembly line in September, 1961 (making it one of the first 62 models produced). No trouble with any fasteners, not even the nuts on the exhaust!

I ran out of gas about mid day but got it mostly apart. I still have to remove the right head. I discovered I can't get the old camshaft out without removing the grille, and at that point my brain just vapor-locked and I decided to call it a day.

There's a noticeable ridge at the top of each cylinder but it's actually far less than I expected. So I think I'll just leave the short block alone. Oil pressure is excellent and the differential compression test I did last winter didn't make any seriously objectionable noises from the breather, so I think the rings are still serviceable. No blue smoke from the tailpipe under heavy load, either, so I think I'll get by with this.

I know the heads, manifold and carb are overkill for this motor and this car but economics (and the parts/tunability of the new carb) have made these decisions for me. I have a very light foot when I drive anyway, so I don't think the secondaries on the carb are going to see much use.

I did a conversion to the flatback alternator and electronic voltage regulator to solve an erratic charging issue. I also put relays in the high and low-beam headlight circuits to unload the firewall plug/ammeter/headlight switch when the lights are on. Plus, they're much brighter now.

On another note, in January of this year, I hit a deer with my Intrepid commuter car. That was the "energizer car", because it just kept going and going and going. But the deer was the end. I was only going about 30 but it smashed the windshield, wrinkled the hood and right front fender, wiped out the right side mirror and caused some large coolant leaks. I was only 2 miles from home and was able to drive it that far, but before I even got it home I realized it was beyond economical repair. It gave me nearly a quarter million miles without any major repairs. I was sad to see it go away. (This is a Mopar forum so I won't explain what I'm driving now).

So I guess I'm caught up. Hopefully, 2015 will be a better year and I can actually get Blanche licensed again. After I get the engine up to snuff, the next priority will probably be tightening up the steering and suspension.
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