73 Monaco wagon

[MonacoBlue]

I don´t know if there is something clearly for Mopars or cheap by the other matter: RetroSound. Modern Sound for Your Classic.

C-bodies have different mounting configurations than A-and E- bodies, unfortunately, as 70SportSuburban has pointed out to me. The market demand for C-bodies is too small (supposedly) for “manufacturing” companies like RetroSound to justify creating a batch of specialized niche products.

 

[MonacoBlue]

And now for this brief intermission. Saw this at the dealership today. And a lanky dude with a broad brimmed floppy leather hat, (tear drop aviator?) sunglasses, and leather vest with a white T-shirt. Quite possibly the owner of said vehicle. It was all very surreal.

 

[MonacoBlue]

And now for this brief intermission. Saw this at the dealership today. And a lanky dude with a broad brimmed floppy leather hat, (tear drop aviator?) sunglasses, and leather vest with a white T-shirt. Quite possibly the owner of said vehicle. It was all very surreal.

View attachment 235627

It’s the roadies van that follows the band bus, direct from 1978.

Perhaps it’s the “Make J.C. Whitney Great Again!!” demonstrator vehicle...or something like that.

I kind of wish I’d had the gumption to get closer to it and see the interior. I dunno. Maybe not. I see it has curtains, and the classic dashboard fan. Must not have A/C. Ouch. Wonder if it had a bed/fridge/porta potty.

Don’t want to dis on someone’s pride and joy. Actually, it has a certain appeal. A Mopar minimalist house on wheels, not quite a Winnebago. What used to be common is now rare. It is in good shape for its age, especially in this region of the country, i.e. still far enough north in Appalachia that most stuff like this rusted out and went to the crusher and the blast furnace, to get converted into a Chinese skyscraper/aircraft carrier, long ago.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Anybody have recommendations on vinyl dye that will match the factory color - seats. It’s an off white, I think...Parchment?

 

[azblackhemi]

Anybody have recommendations on vinyl dye that will match the factory color - seats. It’s an off white, I think...Parchment?

Any automotive paint supplier can mix up vinyl dye to match a sample.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Any automotive paint supplier can mix up vinyl dye to match a sample.

Thank you, that’s helpful.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Issue on vent controls. Plastic knee panel under steering wheel has slot for right hand vent control, but what was on the car there was a lawnmower choke cable (!) Jerry-rigged to control the heater valve. Where it gets interesting - there is no right hand floor vent. There is a vent that appears to come in through right front fender. But it is controlled by a vacuum diaphragm.

So the question is...what went into the slot in the knee panel where a right hand vent control would have gone?

 

[ImpJay]

My Imperial has an original vent control to the right of the steering column (the slot you´re asking about), but it´s not attached to a cable anymore. I don´t know, if Dodge made it the same way.

The aftermarket vent control is to the right of the choke cable.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Thanks for the info. I understand A/C cars didn’t have the right side floor vent. Maybe there never was anything there?

 

[BLIMP]

On my AC equipt 72 Monaco the right slot was merely empty...I've since added the right vent door and cable, it's fairly simple to do.

 

[MonacoBlue]

Thanks for the info Blimp. That further confirms my suspicions about A/C equipped cars being right hand vent cable “option delete”.

 

[MonacoBlue]

My Imperial has an original vent control to the right of the steering column (the slot you´re asking about), but it´s not attached to a cable anymore. I don´t know, if Dodge made it the same way.

View attachment 238120

View attachment 238121
The aftermarket vent control is to the right of the choke cable.

Re-reading your post. What year is your Imperial? I wonder why it would have a control, but no vent? And what do you mean by “aftermarket” - it was something someone added to the car after it left the factory?

 

[MonacoBlue]

Re-reading your post. What year is your Imperial? I wonder why it would have a control, but no vent? And what do you mean by “aftermarket” - it was something someone added to the car after it left the factory?

And that’s a great looking interior. Well preserved.

 

[ImpJay]

Re-reading your post. What year is your Imperial? I wonder why it would have a control, but no vent? And what do you mean by “aftermarket” - it was something someone added to the car after it left the factory?

It´s a 73 and yes, with aftermarket I mean a part later added on. So now it has a new vent cable routed to the left of the steering column and the vent works, but one of the POs has left the original vent cable knob/lever in place to the right and down of the steering column. I don´t know, if ``aftermarket`` is a valid term around these 1:1 scale (real) automobiles, but in the model car hobby it´s widely used. Sorry for having a habit sticking in a wrong context.

 

[MonacoBlue]

No I get it. Understood. I work in automotive, so when the word “aftermarket” is used, it has a definite ‘business terminology’ implication in my mind, like it was ordered from a JC Whitney catalog or something, back in the 70’s....but it’s totally correct in the context you used. PO made a change ‘aftermarket’. I just wanted clarification, thought there might be some/a larger story/history about aftermarket vent cables on these cars. Thanks for the insight.

 

[ImpJay]

No I get it. Understood. I work in automotive, so when the word “aftermarket” is used, it has a definite ‘business terminology’ implication in my mind, like it was ordered from a JC Whitney catalog or something, back in the 70’s....but it’s totally correct in the context you used. PO made a change ‘aftermarket’. I just wanted clarification, thought there might be some/a larger story/history about aftermarket vent cables on these cars. Thanks for the insight.

Explaining hurts nobody. I´m glad that I was able to define ``aftermarket.``

 

[Big_John]

Hmm, that sounds interesting. I will dig into that. I found a specialty shop a few hours away that may do stuff like that. Short term I will probably go with some low cost “minimally invasive” Walmart unit.

I suggest sending your radio off to http://garytayman.com/stereo.htm

I've had two radios converted by him and the results are great. Great sound etc.

I've used the Retro Sound speakers a couple times now with poor results. I ended up using the Custom Autosound versions of the dual coil speakers and first thing I noticed was a distinct improvement in sound quality. I can't attest to longevity, as I installed their speakers (in two cars) this summer. The Retro Sound speakers never sounded that good to me and only lasted a couple seasons before failing miserably.

 

[MonacoBlue]

I suggest sending your radio off to http://garytayman.com/stereo.htm

I've had two radios converted by him and the results are great. Great sound etc.

I've used the Retro Sound speakers a couple times now with poor results. I ended up using the Custom Autosound versions of the dual coil speakers and first thing I noticed was a distinct improvement in sound quality. I can't attest to longevity, as I installed their speakers (in two cars) this summer. The Retro Sound speakers never sounded that good to me and only lasted a couple seasons before failing miserably.

Thanks for the info, Big John. Both R/S speakers are wired up and the Kenwood is installed.

 

[MonacoBlue]

A shout out of thanks to 70sportsuburban for locating this pristine dashpad for my never ending resto. Gonna dye it tan for the Monaco.

 

[71Polara383]

A shout out of thanks to 70sportsuburban for locating this pristine dashpad for my never ending resto. Gonna dye it tan for the Monaco.

View attachment 244640

That was going into my squad car until I sold it. Glad parts are being saved from that poor 73 fury police car, damn demo guys.