My wife's 67 Newport Custom

[Norwegianmopar]

Hi everybody.

Thought I would start a thread on my wife's 67 Newport Custom. We live in Norway, but I have been into musclecars for many years, and have also been importing cars for the last 8 years or so.

I bought the 67 together with a 65 New Yorker (both 2 dr ht) 4-5 years ago through my good friend in Michigan who's a real Mopar expert. Both cars have been sitting there ever since along with my 64 Dodge that's gonna be built as a Max Wedge race clone when the 67 is done.

When we were over there in 2010 she saw the 67 and fell in love with it, and we decided we would restore it so she could get it over here and enjoy it.

My buddy is taking care of this in between other projects and we plan to have it ready for next season.

To keep the budget as low as possible we traded the 65 for body work and paint.

All moldings along the side is removed to give it a cleaner look, and the roof will be painted instead of vinyl. It will be close to the original light blue metallic with some added flakes and the roof will be white. Some custom touches like ghost flames on the mid section of the front fenders, pin striping etc will also be added, but nothing flashy. The bumpers have new chrome. All stainless will be polished. The grille will be refreshed. The windshield is new.

Wheels are not decided yet, but I think it will be polished 18's or so. We like the style of Intro Santa Fe, Foose Nitrous etc. I also have new 8x15" Magnum 500's with 235/275 BFG T/A's that actually are some of my favourite wheels on B/C-bodies.

The car was absolutely rust free being from California since day one. It's also a well optioned car and all matching numbers. It's got buckets and console with original vacuum gauge and added tach. Air condition. Tinted windows. Cruise control. Power driver seat. Everything actually works too!

The motor is a incredible nice running 383 2bbl that will be converted to a 4bbl with hi-po manifolds and a 2.5" exhaust, MSD ignition etc. The trans only needs new fluid. The rear end will get a posi. New shocks and bushings, sway bars and disc brakes also.

Inside the buckets will get new covers and a new carpet will be installed too. A newer stereo will be added and hidden when we get it over here. The AC will be re-charged.

Right now the car is in primer and ready for paint. I will post a few pics from when we saw it the first time and how it looks now, and then update along the way.

All thoughts and input are welcome here, and tips/experience with this type of cars too. I've had several B-bodies like a couple of 70 Chargers and a 68 Super Bee before, but no "big boats" like this one.

 

[1978 NYB]

Welcome aboard!

:sFl_america2:

Nice car, keep the pictures coming.

 

[detmatt]

Welcome to the site from the Motor City! That will be very nice, can't wait to see it painted.

 

[440Sled]

Welcome!

 

[commando1]

When we were over there in 2010 she saw the 67 and fell in love with it, and we decided we would restore it so she could get it over here and enjoy it.

My buddy is taking care of this in between other projects and we plan to have it ready for next season.

Would you like to flip it before it leaves here?

 

[Norwegianmopar]

Would you like to flip it before it leaves here?

Well thanks for asking, but it's my wife's dream car right now so that's a "no can do". The painter has also hinted a few times that he would like to buy it...he says it's "straight as hell with perfect gaps", and I he knows what it will look like in the end...

I guess it will stand out in the crowd of Impalas, Caprices etc over here, and it's gonna be our daily driver in good weather and when going on road trips.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

putting 18" wheels on it will be a shame. Keep it original.

 

[Fratzog]

putting 18" wheels on it will be a shame. Keep it original.

Don't forget this is the better half's car and it always pays to keep them happy LOL. BTW welcome aboard and look forward to the updates.

 

[polara71]

Look at that........ nice car with a great interior. Welcome to the board

 

[Mr C]

Beautiful...I wish more North Americans appreciated these cars like Europeans do.

 

[polara71]

Beautiful...I wish more North Americans appreciated these cars like Europeans do.

A simple few words that leaves a lot of questions

 

[Mr C]

Ask away...its pretty simple: The car is beautiful. And more Europeans are willing to buy and restore to a very high level, the C bodies...you see nice C bodies leaving all the time. Therefore, I wish more enthusiasts appreciated these cars over here in North America, so that I'd get to see more more of them at shows etc...instead of being the only C body in a sea of Hemi Cuda clones.

 

[cm23uoc]

Just happened to be at a cruise in over here with cars from all nations (sorry no pics) and my constant observation concering US cars as a rule of thumb, you find very good original cars of the "undesirable" models and body styles like 4dr mid 60s Galaxies, Newports etc. or of this kind that were a very good resto basis and got a makeover on a rather high standard, while the ones that sell well and at higher levels in the US the ones that come over here are often second to third choice, like several C1-C3 Corvettes or a 58 Galaxie Skyliner retractable hardtop.

 

[commando1]

This is where you and I don't see eye to eye Mr. C.
Up to the time the bubble burst here in this country, we were buying up anything and everything and spending stupid money like crazy right down to reverse engineering a Superbird from an original air cleaner wing nut with a zillion dollars and calling it an authentic numbers matching car. Then our economy went belly up.
I believe the Europeans are in the same buying frenzy but froma different personal motivation. We spent stupid money because we had it and thought it would never end. I think the Europeans are currently flush with money but see the financial armedgedon coming soon for them and are converting cash to assets as fast as they can.
We're broke. They aren't, yet. Their having a better appreciation is bull puckey. WE grew up with this stuff. They look at pictures and are wannabes and are buying their way in. Nothing wrong with that but I'm offended by hearing that they appreciate these cars more. The Vatican has priceless treasures amounting to billions hidden away and unknown to the rest of the world and seen by no one and their inventorying of them is a closely guarded secret. They "appreciate" these works of art more? Pfffffffffttttttttt.

For the most part, I also seeing most of the stuff they are buying as polished turds. Can't sell it here? Pass it off onto them. Look through the European ads for Amercan classics for sale. Price notwithstanding, I rarely see cars that haven't been bastardized, distastefully tarted up, or are mechanically 100%. For the most part, I wouldn't touch one of them. They don't know what they're doing. Imagine buying a classic BMW from pictures, bringing it here, and giving them the Krylon/Armorall flipper treatment. How many Americans really know WTF they are buying? Very few.

 

[cm23uoc]

You're on the point Stan with your general observation from the originality standpoint in Europe, they don't know these cars from the days they came off the assembly line in original condition and there is a high percentage who don't care, they want to stand out in the crowd; I feel the Mopar guys are a bit more concerned and historically interested.
If they run and have no big repair issues it's mostly alright.
Knew a middle aged guy with a Walter Mitty complex that had to look up the model year of his 67 Cadillac DeVille sedan and did not have the slightest idea where this model ranked in GM or Cadillac model hierarchy

 

[polara71]

Stan the amount of cars leaving the shores is astounding and many of them are survivors. Cars that are not picked up by an American but rather a European. We dont want to bring a car 500 miles away because of cost and these guys are spending half the cost of the car on transportation and taxes, it doesnt make sense. These cars are appreciated here but it appears that is slowly going away... enough for us to loose the good ones and leave the rust buckets. Hell, Mark is having trouble finding a convertible and there are a bunch of them there, ones that he or I couldnt afford

 

[Norwegianmopar]

I wanna say thanks for all interest in our project here and the warm welcome

But, I also feel like adressing a couple of statements from you guys. (and I'm talking about the norwegian and swedish market here, not the rest of Europe)

Commando1, you say the quality of the cars and restorations are inferior to in the US. I beg the difference. I have imported over 80 cars for customers, everything from extremely built musclecars for stupid money and original unrestored ones. A lot of the "restored" cars from the US are painted with moldings/trim on, a lot of bondo etc. As a result of this there is an expression called "USA restored" meaning a car that looks good until you start picking it apart. A lot of people have heard of this and as a result are sceptical of buying restored cars. I get this all the time from customers so I know it's so.

BUT, and this is a big but, I am NOT saying this is how it actually is, but what a lot of people are saying as a result of cars imported with lots of flaws. There is no smoke without fire and so on....

When cars get restored over here they are USUALLY done right and built to last and be driven in good weather. It's much more expensive to restore a car over here due to taxes, shipping etc on everything from abroad, and people will therefore do it right when using money on their beloved hobby cars in the first place. I promise you, it's a lot of very nice cars here

That also adresses the claim of us buying stuff you cannot sell over there. That's just not true. Most people over here will NOT buy crap just for the sake of buying. When you take in account that we have to pay 25% (Norway) of the sales price and shipping it gets expensive in the end....That is mostly the reason for the prices over here also.

Also, most people here take really good care of their classic american cars since we don't have that many of them here as you guys do. It's popular to lower them, put on big wheels and so on, but I don't think that is to "bastardize" them...(just think of the popular lowrider style you have over there with chain steering wheels, hydraulics, golden spoke wheels etc etc...)

I feel that personalizing a car is better than to let it sit and rot instead, even if I don not approve of how it's done compared to my standards.

One thing i DO agree with is that we are kind of "wannabe's" when it comes to your culture. We love "the american way" with the cars and the music, the 50's and 60's in particular. Maybe in a way we do appreciate the cars more since it's harder for us to get one...?

I hope you guys understand what I'm trying to say here and don't take anything the wrong way. One good thing about this hobby is that there are as many opinions as there are cars out there. Imagine everybody wanting to drive a 69 Camaro...hoops of fun, eh..?

I don't want this thread to become a big discussion on wheather this or that is the right way, or "my dad is stronger than your dad" kinda arguments.

As I said I really appreciate the response and interest in our project, and I hope to learn more about C-bodies from you guys in here!

 

[Bryan]

I think there is far too much "us and them" going on. From both sides of the sea... As far as I'm concerned, I don't care who has it, or where it is, as long as someone is willing to enjoy and take care of it. Some of the cars that are exported from these shores have been for sale for some time, and someone here had the chance to do something about it. My observation of European restorations is pretty much the same as over here. Some cars are done correctly, and some cars are not. That all depends on the willingness and abilities of the owner. We all appreciate the same cars - and expanses of open water and political borders shouldn't make any difference. The Europeans have not invaded and stolen our heritage or exported our antiquities. They are car enthusiasts who are buying and restoring fine old motorcars. There are a lot of other things we could disagree on, such as... are fish and chips better than lutefisk (yes they are!), and is steak and potatoes better than both.... or is British Ale better than German Pilsner...

 

[commando1]

All I know is I won't buy domestic Feta Cheese. It has to come from Greece. And it has to be from Greek goats...

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

I think there is far too much "us and them" going on. From both sides of the sea... .

I absolutly agree