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#1
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After too many years, another 30+ year old MoPar
Well I did it again.
Been hunting another MoPar, and really not intending to buy anything. Everything I looked was a ridiculous pile of junk. Wanted an "all there" car. Don't want a car missing fenders, seats, grill, motor ect. In general I avoided cars that are the result in a butchers attempt to restore. I have seen my share of those. Then the most amazing thing happened. I am driving down the road and spot a '72 Satellite Sebring Plus for sale. Hmmmm, look desent. Will need quarters, but the car doesn't look terrible. The interior is all there. I got ahold of the owner, he has had it since '92. 318 car 904 tranny, a real yawn maker. Needs a restoration, but for a complete running, driving car that is surprisingly straight $2000 isn't bad. He tries to starts the car up. "It is very cold natured" he says. Has to crank it several times to get it to run. I asked him if the heat riser valve was stuck open. He said he blocked the heat riser when he installed the aluminum intake. He tells me how he has "modified the 318 to 340 specs" What the does that mean? Did he build it with a 4.04" bore? No. X heads? No. 340 cam? No. What that means is he but a aluminum 4bbl intake on it, with a Carter AVS, disables the heat riser, and does not add and electric choke. So taking a 318 to a 340 specs means ruining a good running factory 318 2 bbl engine. He gets to run finally and it sounds like crap. He mentions the GLASSPACK he he installed on it. He then fishes around in the glovebox and pulls out an envelope full of reciepts of all the work he has done to the car. (Really....) He then tells me the transmission was rebuilt and there is probably not 200 miles on it. The front end is very tight and it drives like new. I let him talk, because I know he is lying. It doesn't matter. The 318 and the 904 tranny are coming out and a more exciting combo are going in when all is ready. My plans are for a rotissorie restoration and to have a NICE MoPar I can keep for my family and I to enjoy. At this point I am going to limp it home. I pay the man and drop by that evening to pick the car up. It takes forever to warm up enough to actually drive it on the street. The car was barely road worthy! I am making mental notes of everything that is wrong, and find myself laughing. The front end is worn so bad every time you hit a bump it sounds like the car is going to fall out from under you. The transmission slips like crazy. It might just be half empty on fluid. The engine runs like $hit and is making a loud valve tick noise. At least it isn't blowing clouds of smoke. I dare not drive above 40 MPH. I finally get home and pull it down into my dark driveway. No use hanging around to find more problems with it. I grab the envelope with the receipts to take a look at all the money he has invested in it. All the receipts are for 2 and 3 dollars here and there. Mostly motor oil, fluids, windshield wipers. One for a pair of shocks. Drives like they never got installed. Nothing really FIXED on the car in all those reciepts. Just about all the receipts were for consumables, very few hard parts replaced. The car is a real bomb and I knew that before I gave the guy the money. BUT, I'm back in the saddle again. I have a MoPar I can work on, hunt parts for, weld replacement panels in, and eventually polish for a show. A lot of work and a lot of money will go in it. Is it worth it? Probably not. But remember, I didn't buy the car to drive it. |
#2
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Before you build a house, you need the land to build it on! You wanted a starting point, and you got one. I hope it doesn't burn you. In either case, it sounds like you are ready, so enjoy it!
torch |
#3
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Gotta be a car guy
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If you look an old car you look at WHAT IS GOOD, and NOT at what is bad. You don't take into account how it drives if you are looking for a car to restore. Mostly you want to make sure it wasn't wrecked and isn't missing all the the hard to find parts. This car may be a bomb if you are looking at a driver standpoint, but for a restoration project it is a jem. |
#4
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Dr.R Hows the ride coming along. Reading your story made me smile a bit. I know what your talking about. It is allmost a wonder he didn't come up with something like, "It has a quazi-moto-semi-hemi with dual under cap lighting double strikers and a high input intake with the awesome super cherry bombs for note and powered exhaust. You know the regular cherry bombs aren't that great until they put in those spiral resonators inside to spin the exhaust out right?"
I know that back in the saddle again feeling. Tough when it's the daily driver, but I'm still glad to be back into it after a few years out of it. Whats the plan for the ride? |
#5
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A warm fuzzy feeling all over......
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The Coronet scared my wife (then Girlfriend) to death and she didn't want to ride in it anymore. You know what the MoPar panic attack is. When we nail the gas to pass someone and take a quick glance in the rear view mirror, and then fixing your eyes back on the road and you are terror struck to see we are ABOUT TO REAREND THE CAR IN FRONT OF US BECAUSE WE DIDN'T CHANGE LANES QUICK ENOUGH!!!! It would have required a violent and quick lane change, and I normally didn't drive like that. (no swaybars) I didn't want her to think I was some kind of gasoline sniffing maniac, so I sold the Coronet. I did not antisipate the heartache it would cause. I felt lost in a way for a long time. Seriously it took several months to get over it. So an old Plymouth is a soothing balm for a broken heart? Well yeah. Also I have an opportunity to pass on the Ways of MoPar to my son. I often lament the fact my Dad wasn't a car guy. In fact he never understood what the attraction was to MoPar muscle cars. But my son will know. He will be one of those lucky kids that drive a cool restored MoPar to high school. One that we restored together. As far as what I have done so far. I am headed to Ebay to look for an electric choke kit for the AVS in it. Need to at least have it start reliably cold so I can move it around. |
#6
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Have fun with the new toy. My ex-wife had no clue and the new wife says if you need it get it.As for your dad mine didnt get it either.My G'pa did.He told me my dad was just like G'ma.Just wanted to get there. G'pa wanted to get there as quick as he could and look good.Until he was 78 years old all he had was big block cars.Never forget the look on his face when he went for a ride in my 70 Duster 340 4 spd at the age of 86.Never forget the look my dad gave me either! LOL Out of five kids I have one other brother and one sister that get it.It is a disease.But a good one.-Don
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#7
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Quote:
One day I said that I would love to own one of those. She said get it, so long as I have a spot to park my car...... Dangerous words. |
#8
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Aint it great.When I was trying to decide on buying the RR I knew it would be car I would have for years.All the wife could ask is "Four Speed"?I am 45 and said I didnt want to be grabbing gears at age 75.Her reply was "I am four years younger,dont worry about it".-Don
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#9
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Mine ia kinda that way too. I just got a 72 Sport Sat that will be done up real nice with a 440 auto combo. I just got a lead on a 68 Charger for next to nothing with no powertrain, but I have another 440 auto setup for it. She wants one of them to do herself. YEAHH BABY! I asked her what kind of powsrtrain, she responded, "Something that will run with yours"!!! This is from the girl I dated at 17, and taught how to do a powerbraking burnout in a '78 Aspen S/W with a warm 318. The girl I taught how to drag race in my old pickup. The sweet, innocent girl that when I got the '89 Ram Van conversion, we broke it in by, oh, I can't tell that here!!!! PCRMike
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#10
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Quote:
Quote:
Nevermind..... |
#11
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Ahhh. Fold down rear seats.I had both a a 69 Cuda and 73 Duster with that option.And who says Mother Mopar didnt know what she was doing.LOL-Don
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#12
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"I didn't want her to think I was some kind of gasoline sniffing maniac, so I sold the Coronet. I did not antisipate the heartache it would cause."
My wife never made much of a secret about not being a fan of my choice in cars and when my '67 Charger had to come off the road for a while I switched to a Suzuki Samurai (actually a lot more fun than you might think - drove that thing like I'd stolen it and it kept coming back for more). Nice little car - shiny black paint, no rust or dings, chrome wheels, and didn't set off car alarms as we drove by like the Charger. Her response after we'd been driving it for a while? She didn't like it because "people don't point at us all the time like they did with the Dodge". Can't win... |
#13
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It was DWC 43 Roundy car.
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#14
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Hey, the best fold downs are under a big a$$ piece of glass, you just can't park near the street lights!
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#15
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That'll get some responses! I hope you got pepper spray, you're gonna have Mopar nuts from all over movin' to Minnesota! PCRMike
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#16
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They'd have to get through Hubby first!
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