Waygun revival

[BLIMP]

The previous owner sure looks happy to have found his pride and joy the perfect caretaker...appears to have been a jolly old fellow!
Thanks for sharing the background and restoration, I'll be paying attention

 

[1978 NYB]

Wow! That's the first 3 speed manual wagon that I've seen.

Very nice!

 

[TxDon]

Wagons = GOOD. I'm in.

 

[1978 NYB]

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this build.

Plenty of pictures please

 

[cbarge]

Measured the bores,rods and mains and no machining needed.
So I ordered a rebuild kit standard bore from Summit plus cam bearings.
The remainder of the short block gets torn down to send out the block for hot tank cleaning

 

[cbarge]

Judging by the bone white exhaust valves the tuning was the best it could be with stuck oil rings,dried up stem seals and years of carbon built up.
I have a set of 360 heads but on the fence on them or redo the original heads.
the 360 heads have bigger valves but the larger combustion chamber will drop the compression.

 

[cbarge]

This is the official before pic of the engine bay..
Yes power steering was an option in 1973..so was an automatic trans!
Wagons got power frt disc brakes standard equipment,FYI
Lots of cleaning ahead of me.

 

[cbarge]

Anudder pic for now stay tuned for updates!

 

[cbarge]

Please gawd, don't let it take as long as the last one. I'm 69....

Motor should be back in up and running. Progress is moving well!

 

[cbarge]

Today James stripped and cleaned the heads.
Prepped and ready for new valves,guides and springs,
All on order..

 

[cbarge]

Crank cleaned and journals polished.

 

[cbarge]

I will have to pick up the block Monday.
Had it hot tanked and the cylinders honed.
Dropping off flywheel same time to get machined for new clutch.
Basically now waiting on parts to assemble the motor later this week.
.....In the meantime I started the tedious job of cleaning up the engine bay.
Lots of Ziebart undercoating.
Using Varsol with a brass brush first to break it up and then a nylon brush when I get to the original paint.
Lots of rags to get to this point..

Compare to the other side....

 

[cbarge]

Hello fender tag!
It was not legible with the thick coating .
Now it looks like new!

And for the tag readers...
Code Description
E44 318-2 Barrel
D14 3-Speed Manual Column Shift
RH45
R = Plymouth Belvedere/Satellite
H = High
45 = 6 Passenger Wagon
G3R
G = 318 150HP(net) or 170HP(net) 1-2BBL 8 CYL
3 = 1973
R = Windsor, ONT, CAN
367878 Sequence Number '367878'
JY9 Paint Code: Dark Gold Poly
F2Y4
Trim Grade/Style/Color
F = F Class
2 = Vinyl Bench
Y4 = Gold
JY6 Upper Door Frame: Dark Gold Poly
705 Date Built: 7 / 05 / 1973
B01872 Order Number: B01872
JY9 Roof Type OR Color: Dark Gold Poly
C Built For Canada Specs
22 Radiator Diameter 22" WIDTH
B41 Front Disc Brakes Some Yrs. Power
F18 65 Amp Heavy Duty Alternator
H41 Heated w/ Upper Vent
J67 Heavy Duty Wiring Harness
J83 Roof Air Deflector
M21 Roof Drip Rail Moldings
M26 Wheel Lip Molding
M33 Body Side Moldings
M83 Rear Bumper Guards
M91 Luggage Rack Deck Lid
END End of Codes

 

[cbarge]

Tedious but well worth the effort..

 

[Xenon]

Perfect car to put in electric steering...
It is not expensive and parts are easy to find...
There was a person on ebay selling the control box
and and provides instructions on what parts to use
from OEM cars....
You can get universal kits pre-made but they are rather
pricey but is a one stop deal...

 

[cbarge]

Perfect car to put in electric steering...
It is not expensive and parts are easy to find...
There was a person on ebay selling the control box
and and provides instructions on what parts to use
from OEM cars....
You can get universal kits pre-made but they are rather
pricey but is a one stop deal...

Good idea that never crossed my mind.
But this wagon is such a character,an oddball that I will leave the armstrong steering alone.
The steering is surprisingly light when driving.

 

[Fratzog]

Seems like the PO,s faithful undercoating has preserved a lot of the original finish. I can imagine it is rewarding to see and makes all the hard work worthwhile.

 

[commando1]

Perfect car to put in electric steering...

Perfect car to NOT start mucking it up with Summit/Jegs crap.

 

[Dsertdog]

Perfect car to NOT start mucking it up with Summit/Jegs crap.

But PAAAWWWWW!

I only make it better!

 

[Fury440]

I feel your Ziebart pain! My Fury had so much it looked like it had been dipped. We used a bunch of wedge shaped pieces of wood for scraping and a propane torch to soften the really thick stuff. We used minimal solvents since the garage was not vented. Also had to be very careful with solvents because of the gas fired furnace.