‘68 Chrysler New Yorker (The Red Menace)

JM_ART

Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2020
Messages
127
Reaction score
80
Location
Ballwin, MO
Greetings all! Thanks to everyone who gave me such a warm welcome in the new members area. It’s appreciated!

About three weeks ago my two sons and I drove to Crawfordsville, IN and bought our “new” ‘68 New Yorker. I’m the third owner. She was in the second owner’s family since new. AM/FM four channel stereo, rear defogger, Front and rear center armrests, power drivers seat, power drum brakes, power tilt/telescoping steering, cruise control, passenger front seat headrest, power windows, power antenna, 440/727 rebuilt approximately 1,000 miles ago, with a total of 120,000 miles on the car.

The first owner garaged her when she wasn’t being used. So, the body is straight and all metal, with only minor surface rust (I guess some folks might call it “patina”) on the frame/underside. He kept detailed maintenance logs and kept receipts. He also kept a hoard or spare parts. Some good, some not. We got the FSM he had, and other manuals, too. The interior is in fantastic shape for her age. The trim panel between the left front and rear seats is broken, and will have to be sourced from somewhere.

She started and ran fine while we were there. Almost everything works except for the rear power windows (which are rolled up, fortunately). The second owner wasn’t quite as kind to her, and didn’t are for her as well. His kid did a hack job installing an aftermarket head unit in the dash which, thankfully, wasn’t cut up in the process. We also, thankfully, have the original radio if we want to reinstall it.

Ends up that she was what I wanted; a good car to work on with my sons, and something to get them involved in the hobby. Bought it, gassed up, and started driving her back to St. Louis. My 14 year old was having a great time riding in the new-old car. Then we stopped in Decatur, IL and she didn’t turn over afterward. No power. Nothing. Had to put it on a flatbed to get it home. Drove through a storm and didn’t get back to home base until 2:00 AM. The car arrived at 3:30. The tow driver (who was a great guy) said she’d never been towed before. I guess he would know.

Just today I shunted the ammeter after reading some really great tutorials here. So, I have my headlights, interior lights, signals, wipers, defroster motor, power seat, and power antenna back, but she’s not starting. That’s a problem I owe to the new starter and what’s likely a bum solenoid, since it turns but doesn’t engage. The older one works, so back in it goes. Then I’m sure it’ll start up again. Going to finish bypassing the ammeter, too.

Over the next Few months we’re going to rebuild the front end, replace the front drums with a disc setup and all new lines from front to rear, then rebuild the rear drums. We’ll make sure she can pass a state safety inspection, then turn our attention toward freshening the interior, upgrading the A/C system, new wheels and tires, and installing a new sound system. Lots of work, but that’s why I bought her.

I’ve been learning a lot sitting in the background. Hopefully at some point I’ll be able to help others out through what I learn/re-learn.


Safe skies!

-John

72127FB8-4D01-49EA-8130-8DBC313BDF0C.jpeg


29C8E2D9-06F1-49FD-B93F-7505F2F236D7.jpeg


389EF0C4-F910-400A-AEB5-4A161D17732B.jpeg


5B3B3236-93D1-4F70-90FC-3C54845C66D9.jpeg


28A9563B-49D0-4A45-9DD1-30BAC8517D51.jpeg


F203EA6B-735C-42D3-B364-65313316251A.jpeg


D2D6F355-AB83-4D86-93BB-397D46518DAD.jpeg


BF52B29B-4A48-4724-8D0A-8AC1CF607A28.jpeg


8F422E87-A0EE-4CA6-A319-C53F65BC37B4.jpeg
 
www.mymopar.com has the service manuals for free download, you will find them in the tools/reference section from their home page. Manual is invaluable for repair work, wiring diagrams etc.

Dave
 
Nice car! Nice color combination!

CBODY67
Thank you! And thank you for writing the tutorials re: bypassing the ammeter! After reading so many posts from other owners with similar problems, and after some of my own diagnostics, that’s the direction I went. Worked like a charm! It was a real hurdle we’re glad to have behind us. Lots more work to do, but at least she starts now.

And that’s the original color, too. She was repainted in 2010. One of my boys wants to repaint it, but it’s such a beautiful color I can’t even consider it.
 
www.mymopar.com has the service manuals for free download, you will find them in the tools/reference section from their home page. Manual is invaluable for repair work, wiring diagrams etc.

Dave
Thanks Dave! I have the ‘68 Imperial/Chrysler service manual. It came with the car, in addition to a ‘66 Imperial service manual, a Holly fuel systems manual, and a few others. And just today I got my Chrysler body manual in the mail. Having them on a disc will be good, too! I’ve been using the FSM to trace wires so far. Cheers!
 
I'm willing to guess that the passenger front seat also reclines since it looks like you have a split bench seat. That is a really nice looking car. I had seen the ad for.

Thank you! The passenger seat does recline, and has its own headrest (kinda peculiar for one seat to have one, but not the other). The drivers seat is power, and still works just fine. My sons love sitting in the car. The 14 year old says it’s “really comfy.” Ha!

That fellow had been trying to sell it for some time, but had it priced too high. It came with 14 inch wheels and wheel covers, and practically new whitewalls, not the wheel tire combo in the photos.

We did get her restarted today. Thinking about backing it out and giving her a bath tomorrow. If so, I’ll take better photos. The ones in my original post were taken at the second owner’s place.
 
Last edited:
It is your car so it is your call ---
But that color Burgundy is very majestic.....
That should stay that color, I believe .....Very Nice....
(Just have to work out the "bugs"....)
 
It is your car so it is your call ---
But that color Burgundy is very majestic.....
That should stay that color, I believe .....Very Nice....
(Just have to work out the "bugs"....)
Thank you!

Oh I couldn’t possibly paint it a different color! My 14 year old thinks it might look good in a light metallic green, but I think it’s beautiful in that dark maroon as is. I am going to give it different wheels and tires at some point though.

Yep, a 52 year old car is going to have “character”. This one’s no different. Just have to work our plan and fix one thing at a time.
 
Burgundy Metallic was a great color in’68 and is my favorite color as well. You don’t see too many this color.
675EAD32-A066-4490-8FBC-3EC2CCFA8CC5.jpeg
 
In a pre-high back seats, for whip lash protection era, the head rest was on the Chrysler rh reclining seats to be just that, a "head rest" for when the rh seat passenger reclined the seat back. If it was not there, one's head would dangle without support. The lh side didn't recline, so no need for one on that side.

On the '65-'67 Chrysler buckets and the rh recliner (usually only with a black vinyl/leather interior), the opper part fo the seat back moves upward to form that additional support when the seat back is reclined. Which can also explain the way the seat back covers are configured/sewn.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
In a pre-high back seats, for whip lash protection era, the head rest was on the Chrysler rh reclining seats to be just that, a "head rest" for when the rh seat passenger reclined the seat back. If it was not there, one's head would dangle without support. The lh side didn't recline, so no need for one on that side.

On the '65-'67 Chrysler buckets and the rh recliner (usually only with a black vinyl/leather interior), the opper part fo the seat back moves upward to form that additional support when the seat back is reclined. Which can also explain the way the seat back covers are configured/sewn.

Enjoy!
CBODY67[/Zac JV

Good information, and thank you! Ours will stand to be reupholstered. They're cloth with vinyl trim, have faded, and have a couple small tears in the seams. I'm thinking of substituting the front split bench with nice power buckets and then reupholstering the back seat to match. We'd keep the split bench on hand, but I like buckets.
 
Welcome to you and your sons and your beautiful 68 NYer. That is such a classy color and body style on your Chrysler. You all will learn so much working on it and create some great father / son memories that your boys will have the rest of their lives. That alone is priceless. Keep us posted on any progress and don’t be shy with the pics. I really like that car.
 
Welcome to you and your sons and your beautiful 68 NYer. That is such a classy color and body style on your Chrysler. You all will learn so much working on it and create some great father / son memories that your boys will have the rest of their lives. That alone is priceless. Keep us posted on any progress and don’t be shy with the pics. I really like that car.

Thank you so much! Although I’ve always wanted a nice C Body Chrysler, I also wanted to get the boys involved and interested in something other than video games (nothing wrong with those, but it’s good to have other hobbies). As you said, we’ll all learn. Most importantly for them, they’ll learn how to repair and maintain a car the right way, acquire new skills and confidence, and enjoy meeting new people who share the same hobby.

Our 17 year old has some gas in his veins and love cars to begin with. The 14 year old wasn’t quite on board, but then started looking at our project like, “Oh, you mean it’s sort of like a model kit?” And after he watched “Ford v. Ferrari” he was hooked. He asks lots of good questions, watches what I’m doing, and is really interested in this car, so he’s “hooked” now... haha!

I have some artwork I have to finish today, but I think we’re going to roll her out and give her a bath later. I’ll make sure to snap some more photos as soon as I can. Thanks again!
 
NICE Hardtop, striking in that color. Great that it has found such a good, new home. Even better that it gets the teens away from the computer/video games and gives them a new hobby. It looks very original/OEM as is. I'd say for now just enjoy getting it running reliably/safely, and take your time with making other decisions or changing anything. Is that original paint? My '67 has original paint, which was dull when it reached me. With time/elbow grease (and some good advice from others on this list) with lots of gentle, hand-rubbing/buffing, I was gradually able to bring back a nice shine glow. If yours does have original metallic paint, you really want to avoid abrasives or harsh chemicals.
 
NICE Hardtop, striking in that color. Great that it has found such a good, new home. Even better that it gets the teens away from the computer/video games and gives them a new hobby. It looks very original/OEM as is. I'd say for now just enjoy getting it running reliably/safely, and take your time with making other decisions or changing anything. Is that original paint? My '67 has original paint, which was dull when it reached me. With time/elbow grease (and some good advice from others on this list) with lots of gentle, hand-rubbing/buffing, I was gradually able to bring back a nice shine glow. If yours does have original metallic paint, you really want to avoid abrasives or harsh chemicals.

Thank you very much! It’s very stock. As you said, we’re going to focus on making everything safe and reliable, with improving creature comforts second. As I told the boys, doing a front end rebuild may not be exciting, but neither is breaking down on an Interstate or having an accident. They’re on the same page. Hoping one of them will want her as their own at the appropriate time.

That is the original color. She’s wearing one repaint from 10 years ago. No intention of changing the color. Just planning to wash-n-wax. Good job bringing back the shine on your car. It’s a lot of elbow grease, but so worth it when you’re done. I had a ‘72 (?) Coronet Sedan I that had really dull paint. Took a ton of work, but she finally buffed out and was shiny. Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Well, I replaced the older starter with a new Powermaster unit. No idea how old the existing starter is. It worked (meaning it only spun when I turned the key), but that was one of many parts I wanted to replace so I’d have a “baseline” on the age of the parts. Ended up putting the older starter back in because the solenoid wasn’t making the starter pinion gear fully engage the flywheel. Picked up a rebuilt starter, from Wilson, at the local mom-n-pop parts store and I’ll install it tomorrow.

We replaced the old battery ground cable, and a new positive battery cable is in order, too. I ordered and returned one (AC Delco) because it didn’t have a ring connector for the starter relay. Ordered another from my parts store (Standard), but it doesn’t have a ring connector either. Can I just splice a ring connector to that for the starter relay? Seems like getting one with the correct connector is going to cost quite a bit more money.

We want to finish bypassing the ammeter this weekend. The tutorial by @cbarge was great, and I’ve read the MAD bypass instructions, too, but I’m still a bit hazy regarding the black wire coming back from the ammeter to the starter relay and those connections. Not the connection inside the passenger compartment that bypasses the ammeter, but the one that comes back into the engine compartment to the relay, where it looks like it needs to be spliced to another wire before it hits the relay. Any guidance would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Hi from Chilton, Wi. great looking car. Can I give some advice.? Don't buy Chinese, no matter how decent a price. Take the time to either use your original or find an original core and have the item rebuilt by anyone of the suggestions you find on this site. might cost you a tad more but you'll have good ole "made in USA" . Take the starter as an exception, buy a 1997 Dakota high torque, you'll be glad you did. I speak from experience, just own the black NewYorker but the others were within the past 5 years, its a sickness.

DSC07099.JPG


DSC06341.JPG


DSC06331.JPG


DSC06334.JPG


DSC06359.JPG


thumbnail (12).jpg


DSC04740.JPG


DSC05322.JPG


DSC04779.JPG
 
Back
Top