New, with a '77 Newport

Georges77

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Hey guys, I'm George, from Chicago, Illinois.

On a whim I went to check out a 77 Newport i definitely didn't need since I was up in Minnesota picking up a '78 Town Car for a buddy of mine. Found an interesting colored, very clean, running and driving 77. Since I have 0 impulse control I bought said car and drove it to my buddies farm on the Wisconsin/Illinois state line, where it will spend the remainder of winter, until i bring it home to start getting it all cleaned up and dialed in, to my liking. I love 70s stuff, and have had a bunch of 70s Fords, and now also own a '75 Oldsmobile 98, time to try a Chrysler on for size. Here's my olds,

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I do own a different Chrysler product, a '91 Dodge W150,

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On with the story, isn't there always a story?

Me and my buddy Dan went back up to Minnesota a week after I had seen the car for the first time. Arriving at the sellers gorgeous property shortly after dark, we swapped some good (more on this later) tires to replace the factory originals that were on there, cracked to the heavens but still holding air. This is a 53k mile car and everything bears that out, and its what really pulled me into the car, just a darn nice, original car. No rust to speak of, just a nice coating of dirt all over EVERYTHING. Not sure if this thing knows what a paved road is.

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Now I'll apologize for the pictures, not my best work here, sorry in advance. Only one crappy picture of the inside for now,

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Pulling out of Lake City at around 7, we stopped at a Kwik Trip to get fuel. Turns out the gauge doesn't work, definitely wasn't empty and only took 6 gallons, plus I had to get some snacks. Come back outside and was greeted by extended cranking and no start. A personal record for myself, being dead in the water 12.3 miles into a 400 mile trip, excellent. Popped the hood, everything looked good, I had spark, etc. Turns out the choke on the recently installed Edlebrock wasn't wired correctly and was staying shut. A snip, a clip, and a bump of the key and away we go! Well after like 40 minutes but whatever.

Cruising down Highway 61/14, eventually brought us to La Crosse. A quick pit stop was in order.

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Car was running good. The AM only radio was uhh well it works. Sounds like the audio equivalent of screaming into a tin can and a string, but I was able to pick up a AM rocker out of Palm Beach Florida that was playing some pretty good tunes. Heat was HOT. like wow, she burns, and being 19 outside, that was nice.

Now this seems to be an oddly equipped car, no vinyl, AC, cruise, tilt/tele, no rear defogger, AM radio, power seat. Interesting.

Anyway, now on Interstate 90 Eastbound and down, chugging along at 70, and other than a slight pull to the left, feeling great. Stopped again for fuel around Mauston Wisconsin, Dan in my car, my everyday driver, the German Coin Purse, my 2015 VW Golf, TDI, that can pull down 40+ MPG without a sweat didn't need fuel, but the Leisure Suit Newport, sure did. Getting about 15 or so MPG I roughly calculated, not bad, better than my 455 Powered Oldsmobile anyway.

Onward we went until about Janesville Wisconsin. I started to feel a bit of a shimmy, and thought, hmm thats not a good thing, so I bailed off about 55 mph of speed in good time, nice brakes by the way, and got it down to about 7-10 or so MPH then felt the poof.

We had a flat. Thankful for no damage, other than a frozen set of hands, I got the JR78 spare out and slapped it on, at least u filled it up! Bumper jack works too. Got the total 70s experience there, just needed some tighter pants and we would have really had all the bases covered.

Good thing was at this point it was only about 25 minutes to my buddys farm, so being the responsible adult i am, decided to take back roads and not hammer on the 44 year old spare. Of course all of the small farm roads were completely covered in ice, and it made for a nice hour to go 20 miles, because the ancient spare has the grip of a toddler covered in crisco.

Arriving at the farm around 3 AM I was beat! I had worked the night before and got off at 6 AM and didn't really sleep, but i was thrilled beyond belief we had made it. Threw the cover i had on it, as he won't be able to pull it into the barn until later this week, and said our goodbyes.

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Then we still had about an hour and a half to go, to get back to the city. Finally crashed into bed around 530 AM.

Plans are to clean clean clean this thing, give it a good going over with my polisher, then start getting it up to mechanical snuff. New tires, Lean Burn conversion, and all the consumables, as soon as we thaw out. I have a friend who has 2 Newports slated for Demo that I plan on picking over in the next few weeks, to stockpile everything he'll let me take, then we'll go from there. Just looking for a nice summer cruiser to add to the stable, and she fits the bill nicely.

Hope you enjoyed the read, and if not, well you read it anyway.

George
 
Welcome! Nice car and story to go with it. I like your writing style...I needed a chuckle!
 
Welcome from another 77 Newport owner. Looks like you live on the south side of the city, I am just over the border. we have an FCBO chapter in the Midwest, maybe you can hook up with us this summer, and meet everyone. Bill
 
Great story, great writing and looks like a great find. Good luck with the Newport.

I am curious, how does the Newport drive compared with your Olds 98?
 
Welcome.
From what I now know, I would have traded two of my loaded New Yorker Broughams for the simplicity of one base Newport.
Great story.
 
Welcome! Nice collection you have there. Especially diggin' the truck! Nice!

"...has the grip of a toddler covered in Crisco"...Classic!
 
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the warm welcome. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the story, i promise future updates will include much, much, better pictures. I definitely cannot wait to get this cleaned up and going.

Bill, I see you're in Hammond, which is where I buy my gasoline and cigarettes, I'm in the city near 103rd and Vincennes. I'll definitely check out the local group!

As far as the Newport vs Ninety-Eight, I'll wait until I get new tires to make a full fair comparison, but here's my thoughts for now:

The Olds is BIG. You feel every inch of that car, not in a bad way, but you know its there. 235 inches and near 5k pounds, make for a smooth, very quiet ride. The 455 isn't a screamer off the line, but from a roll, with the Q Jets secondaries open, it'll move. Obviously apples/oranges, but the interior on the Oldsmobile is much more plush and comfortable to me.

The Newport drives very nice, and feels much smaller than it is. The hood looks short in comparison, and I have to say performance isn't bad out of the 400. Seems much easier to maneuver than the big Olds is. GMs radio controls are much more intuitive than the Chrysler set up, for blind tuning while driving.
 
So you like the subtle colors on your cruisers, great looking Oldsmobile and new Chrysler, but a high impact hue for the farm truck with the White Top :thumbsup:. Entertaining story, good to hear you endured. Welcome from a fellow Illinoisian.
 
Very nice Newport and a great road trip story, especially since your close to my old stomping grounds and pretty close to where I live. Look forward to more updates as you work on and enjoy your new Chrysler
 
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the warm welcome. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the story, i promise future updates will include much, much, better pictures. I definitely cannot wait to get this cleaned up and going.

Bill, I see you're in Hammond, which is where I buy my gasoline and cigarettes, I'm in the city near 103rd and Vincennes. I'll definitely check out the local group!

As far as the Newport vs Ninety-Eight, I'll wait until I get new tires to make a full fair comparison, but here's my thoughts for now:

The Olds is BIG. You feel every inch of that car, not in a bad way, but you know its there. 235 inches and near 5k pounds, make for a smooth, very quiet ride. The 455 isn't a screamer off the line, but from a roll, with the Q Jets secondaries open, it'll move. Obviously apples/oranges, but the interior on the Oldsmobile is much more plush and comfortable to me.

The Newport drives very nice, and feels much smaller than it is. The hood looks short in comparison, and I have to say performance isn't bad out of the 400. Seems much easier to maneuver than the big Olds is. GMs radio controls are much more intuitive than the Chrysler set up, for blind tuning while driving.
You are close to me. I was a mechanic for many years, starting with Chrysler, and leaving for Oldsmobile in 1979 so I can give you input on both vehicles. My preference is the Newport.
 
So you like the subtle colors on your cruisers, great looking Oldsmobile and new Chrysler, but a high impact hue for the farm truck with the White Top :thumbsup:. Entertaining story, good to hear you endured. Welcome from a fellow Illinoisian.

Thanks! Although the Newport is a subdued hue, every time we stopped the first comment was always "what an interesting color!". That truck would definitely not be the vehicle to rob a bank in!

Very nice Newport and a great road trip story, especially since your close to my old stomping grounds and pretty close to where I live. Look forward to more updates as you work on and enjoy your new Chrysler

Thanks so much+
You are close to me. I was a mechanic for many years, starting with Chrysler, and leaving for Oldsmobile in 1979 so I can give you input on both vehicles. My preference is the Newport.

Wow, very cool, and nice to have someone so knowledgeable so close, looking forward to meeting you all!
Great story, do you write for a living?

Thanks! Oh not even close, I'm a railroader! I work for the Burlington Northern out of Aurora, but no one can BS quite like a railroad man, so I guess I can attribute some of my yarn spinning to that
 
Thanks! Although the Newport is a subdued hue, every time we stopped the first comment was always "what an interesting color!". That truck would definitely not be the vehicle to rob a bank in!



Thanks so much+


Wow, very cool, and nice to have someone so knowledgeable so close, looking forward to meeting you all!


Thanks! Oh not even close, I'm a railroader! I work for the Burlington Northern out of Aurora, but no one can BS quite like a railroad man, so I guess I can attribute some of my yarn spinning to that
You know I am a retired railroad man also.
 
Good to see that Newport is getting a good home. These look so much cleaner without the vinyl top and skirts, but that's my personal opinion.
I remember looking at this one at the large C body auction in Lake City MN earlier this summer.
 
Good to see that Newport is getting a good home. These look so much cleaner without the vinyl top and skirts, but that's my personal opinion.
I remember looking at this one at the large C body auction in Lake City MN earlier this summer.

Thanks, and I agree with you! Yes thats where the guys I got it from had bought it in June. Took it home and never got around to doing anything to it. I ended up paying quite a bit less than they did, and feel like I got a pretty good deal out of it. I'm trying to piece together the cars history, one of those things to fill the time when its too cold to work on it, and my good garage is being monopolized by my interior project on my W150.
 
Welcome. Nice car. Sounds like your buddy's farm is close to me, I'm west of Beloit wisconsin.
 
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