1968 Dodge Monaco 500 Cleanup

[dsquared]

Following up my first post on this forum from a few months ago: Welcome dsquared to FCBO!

I was able to start tearing into the car and coming up with a game plan: fix rust, refresh the interior, clean up the outside, put a new vinyl top on. The paint on the car is an old repaint, but appears salvageable. Car was obviously apart for the paint, but it's not show quality. It is, however, better than I can probably do in my garage, so before new paint I will try to save the existing. Some pictures before I started tearing it apart:

 

[dsquared]

A little rust in the trunk, not too bad. Some rust inside the front fenders up at the front, probably through where the bubbles are.

 

[dsquared]

The floors are not too bad.

 

[dsquared]

The real problem areas: right subframe end is kinda bad and rear window/roof is pretty bad (stupid vinyl top). I think both issues are weldable.

 

[LocuMob]

The back window area is common for rust as water pooled up there and well, you see what happens. Nice car, I just picked up a '68 Monaco 500 last month from a member here. Welcome to the Fastop club.

 

[dsquared]

I am missing the following non-generic parts, so if anyone has anything they can sell from the list I would appreciate the help:

left front cornering lens/glass
left front fender wheel chrome trim moulding
rear seat interior Monaco-500 emblem or whole center piece
two/three front headlight surrounds
antenna (?)
front bumper rubber side pieces (pic to come)
front seat plastics
top right dash trim piece (pic to come)
dash vent trim pieces (junkyard ?)
parking brake cables
fan shroud

Perhaps someone could help me with the following questions:
The dash/dashpad has two vents (for the windshield) - are there any trim pieces that cover up the vents, or is the dash pad the only item on top of the dash?
The front seat plastic backs and sides are all broken and deteriorated - is there anything that would fit acceptably well considering I plan to re-upholster the seats? Has anyone made these pieces out of fiberglass? Do other years/car seatbacks fit up? I understand I will probably need to simply reupholster without the trim.

 

[dsquared]

I am missing the upper side trim piece (small piece) on the passenger side. It is circled in red on the drivers' side.

This is one of the plastic bumper side pieces I would like to replace. I assume this part is hard to find.

 

[LocuMob]

Welcome to the world of C Body parts hunting. Scouring the for sale section is a start, you might find some parts that way. (Type in what you are searching for, and it might tell you there are no results, just do the exact same search again, and it will show the results, kinda screwy but it works on the second try) Google is your friend, but expect lots of dead end leads. Sounds silly, but buying a parts car for one or two things does happen quite a bit. And it often leads to gaining more parts than you thought you'd need.

Then you have junkyards. You can ask your local yard to help locate some things, if they are that kind, or look around the country on the internet. It takes time to find leads and parts, but you will start to figure out who has what.

There's a member selling a bunch of '67-68 cars, not sure if he's selling parts too, but go back a few pages in th Recent Posts and you'll see the For Sale ad, they have a red for sale box at the beginning of the title.

I couldn't find parts for my cars before inioined here, now I've bought five cars over the last year and a half. Watch out, you might need a bigger garage soon!

Good luck in your hunt.

 

[dsquared]

I originally planned to repaint the car, however seeing as it is already a repaint and there is some overspray in places, I think another coat might make it look worse, especially since I am not a professional. The window rust will be fixed with a cut and weld - not a pro so it won't look great, but I think a new vinyl top will hide it well enough. The rust bubbles near the trim holes will need to be ground, por15'd, paint matched, same for bubbles on front fenders (and por15/glass inside). Floor pans I am thinking just Por15 and glass - only two small holes in the metal. Thoughts on stripping entire underbody and por15ing? Lots of work but might look better...

 

[dsquared]

LocuMob, thanks for your advice. Parts cars are out of the question wife will not appreciate "another" dinosaur of a car, especially if it doesn't move

I'm hoping my needs are small enough that a parts car won't be necessary

 

[LeBaron1973]

Others will comment but the floors are best to be solid metal, no fiberglass.

 

[LeBaron1973]

Have you tried Murray B. Park for your parts requirements?
Www.cbodies.com/categories.asp?cat=78 which is the listing for 1968 C body Dodge parts, chances are some Plymouth, Chrysler, or Imperial parts are interchangeable.

Good luck.

 

[dsquared]

Thank you LeBaron1973! I have not reached out to Murray B. Park yet, figured it's the weekend... I'll give him a call this week.

Makes sense that floors should be metal. I was hoping to hear otherwise as I think rust-proofing after cutting and welding is harder. Oh well... Gotta do it right.

 

[dsquared]

What is the point of this retainer by the visors? Is it for the upper seat belts to clip onto?

 

[LocuMob]

What is the point of this retainer by the visors? Is it for the upper seat belts to clip onto?

View attachment 236398

I would say yes.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Yes. Before the single connection 3 point harness, shoulder belts were retained with various clips and latches. GMs were even worse... two spring wire clips that were a pain...

 

[Fratzog]

The dash/dashpad has two vents (for the windshield) - are there any trim pieces that cover up the vents, or is the dash pad the only item on top of the dash?

Congratulations from another 68 Monaco 500 owner. Most impressive to me is the condition of the lower wide aluminium trim in the pictures. The dash pad on mine doesn't have trim over the vents.

 

[dsquared]

Thanks Fratzog for info about dash pad vent trim (or lack thereof). Thanks Ross Wooldridge for info about seat belts. Do members on here remove the upper belts or keep them? They seem kind of an afterthought and not very convenient.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Much safer with shoulder belts than without. Use them - they may save your life.

I got the stowing of my shoulder belt in my 72 Bel Air down to an art... a little practise and you'll get it happening.

 

[Fratzog]

Do members on here remove the upper belts or keep them? They seem kind of an afterthought and not very convenient.

I've kept them and have become used to them. They have turned out to be a bit of a conversation piece.