General Information
My father bought this car in 1977 for $350 to save it from a demo-derby fate. He drove it daily until 1988 when the engine dropped a freeze plug, overheated, and blew a piston. It sat in our driveway in Fremont, CA for several years until I got my license. My brother, my father and I swapped in a rebuild and the tranny promptly took a $hit. So, after a rebuild and a shift kit, I was cruising along. I had the interior redone; nothing fancy. I fell in love with the car, as did all my friends, but I knew I'd never be able to fix 'er up the way she deserved. 4x4's were all the rage so I traded for a Jeep. Stupid! I know. My brother passed away and I got pretty sentimental. I missed that old car and kicked myself in the *** for selling. So, I started searching Craigslist a few months ago. I knew the car ended up in Southern California and was probably fitted with hydraulics and an Aztec warrior mural. I finally saw an ad for a 300 right near my parents' house. Long story short; my old girl made her way all the way back home! The seller was very empathetic to my story and gave me a great deal. I started doing some work; just to discover that I had to do more and more work- of course. The car had been lowered but also fitted with some nice vintage Cragars. The previously black over white paint was now gray, which I think really sets off the stainless and chrome trim. The plain-Jane re-upholstery must have been done with some damned heavy vinyl because it still looks about the same. I discovered that the transmission was shot- again, likely due to the lack of kick-down linkage. A large chunk of the bell housing was broken off and a couple teeth on the ring gear were missing. I assume that, due to the car being so low, it must have struck something at some point. Anyhow, I've since had it rebuilt by Grant & Dan's in Fremont. A shift-kit was still intact; likely the one I had installed way back when. They replaced the broken case and torque converter. I'm installing a universal kick-down cable. She still has a 383 but now with a lumpy cam, some fancy valve covers, a Demon double, and big fat dual pipes with Flowmasters. A groove had worn into the driveshaft from where it was scraping the tunnel so I had it re-balanced and replaced the u-joints. The spring shackle bushings were worn, allowing lateral shift of the differential and the locking pawl on the right axle was missing. Those factors allowed the axle end-play to increase so much that the seal leaked, the bearings wore, and fluid saturated the brake shoes and drum. The right front drum was an incorrect part and the shoes and cylinders were shot along with all the shock absorbers. I'm swapping in a dual-pot master cylinder. I've replaced every associated seal and hose along the way, bead blasted and painted whatever I could. There's too much for me to list and I've a long way to go but it's been rewarding and very fun. I feel like my brother's looking over my shoulder as I go. Also, Dad's still kickin' and I can't wait to take him for a ride. I'll post some pretty pics as soon as I can get her out to Highway 1 for a sunset.
