My 1972 Newport: a true survivor car

Jon O.

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I post a lot about my Newport all over the forum. I finally decided to condense my project posts into one thread. Ill start with the history of the car, and then move onto the recent timing gear and chain swap.
The car was originally purchased in Belle Vernon, PA. In 1972 by Ms. Margaret Crawford. Margaret had no husband and no children. I believe the car was bought as a retirement gift to herself. The car was decked out with almost every factory option except the FM radio. Power everything. Ms. Crawford drove the car only on weekends to town. She drove it to church, the grocery store, and to get her hair done. She kept up on all of the maintainence, and kept the car undercoated. She never drove it in the rain or snow. As she got into her 80's she started getting small dings in the fenders, and called it quits when she drove through her garage door.
She sold the car to her neighbor, Tom in the mid 80's. She passed away shortly after. Tom used the car to drive back and fourth between Belle Vernon and his other home in Ohio. In the late 80's Tom passed away with the car parked in his garage in Belle Vernon, PA. 64,000 miles. There it sat waiting until 2016.
In 2016 Tom's house and all of the contens were auctioned off. Brad (whose grandmother was Margaret's hairdresser) bought the car for $300. New sparkplugs, new fluids, and a new battery later and he drove it home. He polished the car up and entered it in the 2016 chrysler nationals. It was in the survivor car booth.
I bought the car in september 2017 with 71,500 miles on it. I drove it 450 miles home to Indiana. I have rebuilt the carburetor, replaced spark plugs, replaced axle bearings + seals, replaced timing gear + chain , rebuilt oil pump, replaced water pump, belts etc.
The rest of the story is still being written.
 
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The car where it sat for years:
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chrysler nationals:
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Now onto the timing gear.
The original gear and chain with cracks:
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f
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The engine taken apart:
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5 1/2 cans of oven cleaner, acetone, and paint later:
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As she sits right now completely put back together:
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There were also a few vacuum hoses that broke while moving things around. I replaced any hoses that were brittle. The car is now a half a tap of the key to start when its warm. The old timing chain had so much slack in it, I didn't think it would make so much difference.
 
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Awesome car and great work!
Admittedly, looking at your disassembly photo, I can’t remember why I took off my intake when I did my timing chain.... either there was a reason and I’m getting old and forgot it.... or I’m getting old and took it off when I didn’t need to.
:confused:
 
Great! Thanks for this thread, which I’ll be watching for ideas and info. Details about what you did for the engine bay cleaning up would be highly welcome.

I’ve likewise dedicated a single thread, together with @71Polara383, for my ‘71 Monaco’s restoration. You may find it useful insofar as sources for hard-to-find parts, etc. The relevant posts start here.
 
Great car and a great story. Belle Vernon PA is only about 30 miles away from me. The Newport looks fantastic. Nice work.
 
Great car and a great story. Belle Vernon PA is only about 30 miles away from me. The Newport looks fantastic. Nice work.
I don't know if you have ever been to Belle Vernon, but the car was originally sold at Vizza Motors 414 Broad Avenue, Belle Vernon, PA.
 
Great! Thanks for this thread, which I’ll be watching for ideas and info. Details about what you did for the engine bay cleaning up would be highly welcome.

I’ve likewise dedicated a single thread, together with @71Polara383, for my ‘71 Monaco’s restoration. You may find it useful insofar as sources for hard-to-find parts, etc. The relevant posts start here.
I bought 4 rolls of GOOD paper towels, 6 cans of the yellow easy-off oven cleaner, a can of acetone, and GOOD rubber chemical gloves.
I started by using up paper towels to wipe off gobs of grease and dirt. I then washed the engine with dawn dish soap and water. I sprayed anything I wanted to clean with lots of oven cleaner and let it sit overnight. I washed again with dawn and then another layer of easy off. Repeat until you run out of oven cleaner. It takes forever but its a good result. Then get your chemical gloves and wipe it down with acetone and let it sit for a few hours. Wipe off what you can with paper towels. Repeat a few times. Any paint grease etc. will melt off. Don't do this on an engine you want to keep the paint on. Wipe down with acetone a few more times to be sure. Clean once again with dawn and water, dry with an air gun and wash again. Once its dry it is ready to paint.
If you need more information let me know!
 
Nice belts. I need to do mine soon. Could I trouble you for the part numbers. They might be a good cross reference starting point. I don’t want to overwhelm the parts counter kids.
 
Nice belts. I need to do mine soon. Could I trouble you for the part numbers. They might be a good cross reference starting point. I don’t want to overwhelm the parts counter kids.
For my 400 engine with air conditioning. All Napa part #'s:
A/c and alternator NBH 257580. Make sure to buy two belts.
Fan NBH 257360
Power steering belt PBH 15460 was too long and did not fit. I ended up using my old belt.
 
Soon I am taking a trip to Tennessee in the car, and I have been having trouble with the car misfiring on startup. I bought a new distributor cap, rotor and points. Cap and rotor were just cheap insurance, the points made the real difference. I just did a basic feeler gauge install, and haven't done real adjustments yet, but the car will actually start now. The old points were carboned and corroded on the contact surface.
I also ordered rear brake shoes, and an oil seal to replace the leaky one. I am going to get those done before I leave on Thursday.
 
Thanks for the info.
For my 400 engine with air conditioning. All Napa part #'s:
A/c and alternator NBH 257580. Make sure to buy two belts.
Fan NBH 257360
Power steering belt PBH 15460 was too long and did not fit. I ended up using my old belt.
My a/c was hacked out when I purchased the car. I’d love to ditch the ac compressor. Found a guy at Carlisle that showed me what was needed to get it done. I’d like to do my hoses too so I can extend the cruising range without worries. My vinyl top bubbles up in the middle too on extended trips in the warm weather when going over 45 or so. The tops in great shape, my guess is the adhesive has let go between the seams in the middle.
 
Soon I am taking a trip to Tennessee in the car
I also ordered rear brake shoes, and an oil seal to replace the leaky one. I am going to get those done before I leave on Thursday.
I did the brakes, and i should have just left them alone. Somehow air keeps getting sucked in near the drivers side rear brake line. I nearly died a few times on this 300 mile trip. I had strangers help me bleed the brakes 4 different times. Passing through Nashville Tennessee during rush hour in this tank with a pedal that goes to the floor is the most scared i have ever been.
 
Hmmm... 80% of your brakes are in the front. Front discs in 72. Dual chamber master cylinder. If you're losing braking ability while driving there is more going on than a rear brake losing fluid. There is a trick to bleeding brakes. Have someone press and hold the brake pedal while you open and close the bleeder screw. The pedal will go down, don't let off the pedal while the screw is open or you will suck air back into the line. Do all 4 wheels this way several times. The pedal should be hard to depress when done. Press and hold the pedal while starting. It should go down a bit when the engine starts. That's the vacuum booster doing it's job. If you still lose fluid after this you have a leak somewhere. Don't drive the car until you fix this.
 
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