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1965 2d New Yorker (added A Few More Pics)

My first Mopar. Been trying to understand all things Slab Side.

General Information

A 2 door 1965 Chrysler New Yorker I got from a guy about two years ago. His parents were the original owners. This car has lived its entire life in California, but it was born in Detroit! The New Yorker has been garaged since the late 90's. I'd call it's condition a "survivor" There's nicks and scratches in the paint. Door dings and minor dents in the sheet metal and rear bumper. The interior has the usual wear. The car has about 140ish thousand miles on it.

I been trying to freshen her up as best as I can. Serious radiator and block flush (3 times!), rebuilt the Carter AFB, new plugs and wires, new water pump and thermostat, new shocks in all four corners, new brakes all around, new electric window motor gear on the driver side (still chasing gremlins in the window switch), new belts, changed the oil a few times, the transmission seems to be rebuilt, but the pan gasket weeps a little. Aftermarket air cleaner to help the 413 breath better. It purrs like a kitten. The stock single exhaust is killing me though. Changing that is on the to-do list. I know in 65 there was a hi-output New Yorker with more of a cam and dual exhaust, not mine though, yet!

The car has a pronounced sag on the passenger side, (approximately 2 inches lower than the driver side). The new shocks, plus new wheels and tires straightened quit a bit of it out. There's maybe a 1/2 difference in the front and about and inch difference in the rear. I'm still thinking that one out. The spring packs have the same count of leaves and they seem to have the same sag. I dunno… The picture of her rear is before I straightened it out.

I have mildly customized the car. My wheel and tire selection may not be common, but I think they look great. I removed the "push bars?' from the front bumper and replaced them with hand polished stainless steel carriage bolts. It had a tow hitch on it, that I promptly removed. The original owners used the car to tow their boat to the lake. I'm missing one of the headlight shields(?) I have a plan for that, I just need to check with my local glass shops.

I have kept all the original parts. I intend to sell the car eventually, so the new owner can have a chance to return her to fully stock if desired.

I came across a Ditzler automotive finishes paint chip data sheet from 1965. According to it, my New Yorker is painted in French Ivory. Sounds exotic.

I've really had fun tinkering on this old girl. Let me know your thoughts.
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Comments

Car looks to be a solid survivor. The source of the sag on one side is likely bad spring bushing on the low side. Check all the bushings to see if they have deteriorated. The other possibility is that trailer towing could have damage one or both rear springs, but 1/2" difference between the right and left is probably not enough to bother with a spring replacement as the car appears to be riding at about normal height. I would drive it the way it is once you have determined the condition of the spring bushings. Another thing you can check is the adjustment on the front torsion bars. Measure the tensioning bolt to see if the part sticking out of the block is the same length on both sides, someone might has screwed with the adjustment.

Dave
 
Car looks to be a solid survivor. The source of the sag on one side is likely bad spring bushing on the low side. Check all the bushings to see if they have deteriorated. The other possibility is that trailer towing could have damage one or both rear springs, but 1/2" difference between the right and left is probably not enough to bother with a spring replacement as the car appears to be riding at about normal height. I would drive it the way it is once you have determined the condition of the spring bushings. Another thing you can check is the adjustment on the front torsion bars. Measure the tensioning bolt to see if the part sticking out of the block is the same length on both sides, someone might has screwed with the adjustment.

Dave
Thank you Dave. I will absolutely check those things out. So far, I've been to chicken to touch the torsion bar suspension...
 
Over time the rear leaf springs sag and the car droops in the rear. New springs just may have to be added to your to do list. As Dave said new torsion bars might help as well. Good luck.
 
Over time the rear leaf springs sag and the car droops in the rear. New springs just may have to be added to your to do list. As Dave said new torsion bars might help as well. Good luck.
Thank you sir. I have planned a date with those leaf springs.
 
Looks like a nice survivor there. I have had a life-long love affair with the '65 - '68 slab side cars. The more you drive, the more you enjoy. They DO however, sag in the rear over time, usually due to the springs, when I got my '67 Imp it suffered from that. Replacing them not only corrects that, but greatly improves handling. Here's a place I got mine from, in Danville, PA. Buy Quality Automotive Leaf Springs, Coil Springs and Suspension Parts for your Classic or Antique Auto. There are a couple others as well, one of which may be closer to you. Shipping on these isn't cheap, so if you're not able to order from a local shop, you might be able to pick them up from them at a show they'll be at, like at Carlisle in July, which I did one year.

I'd say to try and find out if your sag/droop is from the rear before messing with the torsion bars, etc., up front.

I'm normally a non-fan or non-original wheels, but these work in an interesting way. THANKS for posting this and good luck with it.
 
Looks like a nice survivor there. I have had a life-long love affair with the '65 - '68 slab side cars. The more you drive, the more you enjoy. They DO however, sag in the rear over time, usually due to the springs, when I got my '67 Imp it suffered from that. Replacing them not only corrects that, but greatly improves handling. Here's a place I got mine from, in Danville, PA. Buy Quality Automotive Leaf Springs, Coil Springs and Suspension Parts for your Classic or Antique Auto. There are a couple others as well, one of which may be closer to you. Shipping on these isn't cheap, so if you're not able to order from a local shop, you might be able to pick them up from them at a show they'll be at, like at Carlisle in July, which I did one year.

I'd say to try and find out if your sag/droop is from the rear before messing with the torsion bars, etc., up front.

I'm normally a non-fan or non-original wheels, but these work in an interesting way. THANKS for posting this and good luck with it.
Thanks for the info Imperialist! Shipping from Pa to Ca might be a bit rough. I've reached out to a couple of Ca based suspension companies as well. waiting to hear back. I hope to check the spring bushings today. I'll keep the forum informed of the adventure!
 
My Newport had the opposite problem: spring sag on the driver's side. Had the springs re-arched and the problem is gone. Some people say re-arch springs, others say it is a waste of time and just replace them. Re-arching has solved the problem for the moment. We will see how long it holds.

Really like how the front of this model year looked. But somehow, muscle tires/wheels on a car that was for luxury, not speed, just do not seem to fit!
 
Anyone ever notice how the luxury cars of the mid-1960s had headrests to prevent whiplash, whereas lesser models like the Fury lacked these safety features? Man, I feel a lot safer with them.
 
Anyone ever notice how the luxury cars of the mid-1960s had headrests to prevent whiplash, whereas lesser models like the Fury lacked these safety features? Man, I feel a lot safer with them.
Only the passenger gets the extra protection in my car. I'm assuming the headrests were an option and the driver said no?
 
My Newport had the opposite problem: spring sag on the driver's side. Had the springs re-arched and the problem is gone. Some people say re-arch springs, others say it is a waste of time and just replace them. Re-arching has solved the problem for the moment. We will see how long it holds.

Really like how the front of this model year looked. But somehow, muscle tires/wheels on a car that was for luxury, not speed, just do not seem to fit!
The wheels and tires are slightly rebellious, but a luxury car is only luxurious when its in good condition. This New Yorker is much more survivor than mint. Big whitewalls were the original idea (to expensive). I think white letters out still have a place in certain applications.

Ol' Chrysler reminds me of a car that maybe cant do what she used to , but she's found a 2nd life doing something else. Also, I like how the car looks like she could be seen on the back roads of Hazzard County.
 
Here's another suggestion on dual exhaust. My '67 New Yorker had new dual Flowmasters on it when I bought it. Probably wouldn't have been my choice to begin with, but the exhaust note (just enough rumble without sounding like I'm pretending to have a muscle car) have grown on me. Might not be as quiet as some think a New Yorker ought to be, but really enjoy it. The car runs VERY smoothly with them, and seems to breathe just fine, so I'm leaving well enough alone as a new Flowmaster fan. Others on this list are FAR more knowledgeable than I am on a good exhaust system, and could advise you better, but that's just my $.02. Good luck with your suspension work, new bushings are a good investment on these cars.
 
Here's another suggestion on dual exhaust. My '67 New Yorker had new dual Flowmasters on it when I bought it. Probably wouldn't have been my choice to begin with, but the exhaust note (just enough rumble without sounding like I'm pretending to have a muscle car) have grown on me. Might not be as quiet as some think a New Yorker ought to be, but really enjoy it. The car runs VERY smoothly with them, and seems to breathe just fine, so I'm leaving well enough alone as a new Flowmaster fan. Others on this list are FAR more knowledgeable than I am on a good exhaust system, and could advise you better, but that's just my $.02. Good luck with your suspension work, new bushings are a good investment on these cars.
I appreciate any input. Flowmasters do have a good exhaust note. I'm also with you on not wanting my car to sound like a wannabe hotrod, but a slight rumbly dual exhaust would compliment the old girl nicely. I'm also currently mentally preparing myself to buy and replace the spring bushings. I know in concept the job should straight forward enough, but I bet 55 year old bolts with the matching grit and grim will have different plans for me.
 
Here's another suggestion on dual exhaust. My '67 New Yorker had new dual Flowmasters on it when I bought it. Probably wouldn't have been my choice to begin with, but the exhaust note (just enough rumble without sounding like I'm pretending to have a muscle car) have grown on me. Might not be as quiet as some think a New Yorker ought to be, but really enjoy it. The car runs VERY smoothly with them, and seems to breathe just fine, so I'm leaving well enough alone as a new Flowmaster fan. Others on this list are FAR more knowledgeable than I am on a good exhaust system, and could advise you better, but that's just my $.02. Good luck with your suspension work, new bushings are a good investment on these cars.
Those old bolts do seem to hold surprises, there were some complications on the spring replacement for my '67 Imp, but it was worth the trouble. The spring people I told you about also have bushings you can get, and shipping is a lot more doable, not the only source out there, but they're a "known" good one. Best of luck!
 
Looks good from here. My 300 had sat low in the rear, installed load assist shocks in the rear, h.d. shocks in front. Had the torsion bars ckd and adjusted to to bring up the front because of the lift i got in rear
turned out good. I love the tire/wheel choice! Body looks solid, new paint will look Great!
 
Looks good from here. My 300 had sat low in the rear, installed load assist shocks in the rear, h.d. shocks in front. Had the torsion bars ckd and adjusted to to bring up the front because of the lift i got in rear
turned out good. I love the tire/wheel choice! Body looks solid, new paint will look Great!
Thanks man. I had some of those Monroe OESpectrum shocks/struts in my Summit wish list, but I chickened out and went with OE shocks instead. the new shocks straightened the back out a lot. I'm hoping the new spring bushings will finish it off. Thanks for looking!
 
You mention flushing the radiator and block three times. Is that because it runs hot? If so a timing chain is probably needed. Had a 66 Impala with a 396 that had overheating issues. A chain replacement fixed it. Was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why when an acquaintance at the time said it was the chain. Was amazed how it smoked the tires after that. With 140K miles it definitely needs it if it hasn't been done already. An easy way to tell is to floor it in 1st gear and see if the engine starts bogging down at low rpms. It should easily rev to 5K+ with no issues.
 

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