'68 300 project

[cbarge]

Brakes, ball joints, shocks, tie rod ends almost done and it is tire time.

Currently the 300 has brand new, 30 year old G-7014 tires on it. I have been looking at comps and came up with 235 70 R 14, 225 70 R 14, 225 60 R 14, etc...

What are you guys running?

View attachment 354098

Factory size is 855-14 which is 28.1 inches tall.
The only broad market tire out there even close to that is 2157514 which is 26.7 inches tall.
Kinergy ST (H735) | Passenger Car Tires | Hankook USA
Even your brand-new-30-year old tires are at 26.8 inches tall!
Coker tire does offer the right size diameter but also very expensive!!

One of the main reasons the majority including myself went to broad market 15 inch tires to keep costs down.
I run 23570R15 on Magnum 500's..Not "original" but looks period correct.
At 28.0 inches tall,bang on regarding O.E diameter.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

I got the new tires on and the Red Sled is moving and stopping under it's own power. We have a few things to sort out yet but she is almost ready for a road trip. Does anyone have a diagram showing connections for the headlight cover vacuum system? That's next on my list with the marker lights, etc. I have headlights and taillights.

 

[Davea Lux]

Hose

 

[Ripinator]

I got the new tires on and the Red Sled is moving and stopping under it's own power. We have a few things to sort out yet but she is almost ready for a road trip. Does anyone have a diagram showing connections for the headlight cover vacuum system? That's next on my list with the marker lights, etc. I have headlights and taillights.

View attachment 357161

View attachment 357162

Mighty fine! Mighty fine!

 

[Big_John]

I got the new tires on and the Red Sled is moving and stopping under it's own power. We have a few things to sort out yet but she is almost ready for a road trip. Does anyone have a diagram showing connections for the headlight cover vacuum system? That's next on my list with the marker lights, etc. I have headlights and taillights.

View attachment 357161

View attachment 357162

The headlight doors are electric, not vacuum.

Consult your factory service manual for this info. Normally, I give the link MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - MyMopar Tools/Reference as a source, but they don't have a '68 FSM listed. If you don't have one, best bet is to buy either a paper manual or a CD version. I prefer these from Faxon myself. 1968 Chrysler Shop Manual CD 68 Imperial 300 New Yorker Newport Repair Service | eBay

 

[cbarge]

All sidemarkers use the body for ground.
The front sidemarkers screw onto thebumper with giant sheetmetal nuts and the sockets unscrew from the housings.
Given their location expect the sockets to be siezed or rotten.
The rear sidemarker bulb pop out of the housings inside the trunk. Again the housings use the giant nuts and body for ground.
Make sure all 4 markers have a good grounding surface on the sheetmetal of the bumper and quarter panels respectively.
Sometimes a jumper wire for ground may be needed .
With the park lights on using a test light check for power in the female yellow sockets going to the frt.markers.
The rears remove the bulbs and check socket for power.
Ground your test light to body.
You can bench test the frt sockets using a multimeter and test continuity if needed.
Hope this helps

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Hose

Second time I have seen the "hose" comment. What's the scoop? If you see a hose the next post is a "for sale"?

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Big John and Cbarge thanks for the info! Good detail all around. I think my partner in crime has a service manual. He is digging in his archives. As a GM guy working on Mopar for the 1st time this has been an interesting project. We did a compression check and she runs from 145 to 155 lbs on all cylinders and runs great considering she was in a shed for 30 years. Bringing her back to life has been fun.

 

[cbarge]

Big John and Cbarge thanks for the info! Good detail all around. I think my partner in crime has a service manual. He is digging in his archives. As a GM guy working on Mopar for the 1st time this has been an interesting project. We did a compression check and she runs from 145 to 155 lbs on all cylinders and runs great considering she was in a shed for 30 years. Bringing her back to life has been a amazing project.

Give her time...speaking from experience as time goes by,she will start to burn oil and get puffy. The rings can get weak and or be stuck if not already and blowby will happen.That or dried up valve stem seals.

La Chrysler sat for 20+ years dormant. I did a top end rebuild 6 years ago.
She used 5 quarts of oil going to Carlisle and back.Ran like a champ and still does when I swap out the plugs each spring,LOL!! The bottom end is due and does smoke from time to time.

 

[Ripinator]

Second time I have seen the "hose" comment. What's the scoop? If you see a hose the next post is a "for sale"?

Its kind of an inside joke. . . It stems from the fact that almost every Craiglist-for-sale ad associated with a C-Body almost always has a hose somewhere in a posted picture. The impression it evokes is that of a flipper who has just hosed down the car, so that his pictures will look better.

 

[MOVE N UP]

Please realize that on a 68 300 - the front marker lights will operate with the switch in “running lights” position-but will go out as soon as you place the switch in the headlight on position

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Give her time...speaking from experience as time goes by,she will start to burn oil and get puffy. The rings can get weak and or be stuck if not already and blowby will happen.That or dried up valve stem seals.

La Chrysler sat for 20+ years dormant. I did a top end rebuild 6 years ago.
She used 5 quarts of oil going to Carlisle and back.Ran like a champ and still does when I swap out the plugs each spring,LOL!! The bottom end is due and does smoke from time to time.
View attachment 357327

We gave this car a steam bath, the top end anyway. Once we had it running and warmed up we dumped water down the carb in small doses...about 2 quarts in total over a couple of days.
We did this to clean and hopefully un-stick any rings, etc. So far so good...

It's also had a another oil change and set of plugs. The tranny is the leaker at the moment.

EDIT: The gent in the blue shirt in this video is my pal Terry W. He is good at making things run really well, my '67 442 is a great example. And at making things go really fast. The engine in the clip is his build and he uses it for
boat racing. Give it a listen...it's a beast from another world. He has hit 177 MPH in front of that motor. I've got a video of that too. He is the brains behind my projects. I just turn the wrenches.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Please remove if not allowed. I got the wiring diagram for the 300. I also have one for my 442 and it's made life much easier. Classic Car Wiring . Com : Home of the original color laminated classic car wiring diagram Does anyone else use one of these?

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Greetings and questions... The "bezel" for the taillights is Silver on this car and looks like crap. Is it a hard job to pull it for painting? Or, should I leave it alone since I think it's OEM.
I am trying to stay rock stock but that thing is fugly.

Also, the other 300s I've seen on this site have a black bezel. Were there multiple color options for that piece?

Thanks!

 

[Davea Lux]

Your bezel looks to have been argent silver as there is no indication of any flat black finish. The bezels were usually mounted with studs that stuck thru the butt panel into the trunk. You should find some trim attachment nuts on those studs that are removed to free the bezel panel.

Dave

 

[PH27L7]

Greetings and questions... The "bezel" for the taillights is Silver on this car and looks like crap. Is it a hard job to pull it for painting? Or, should I leave it alone since I think it's OEM.
I am trying to stay rock stock but that thing is fugly.

Also, the other 300s I've seen on this site have a black bezel. Were there multiple color options for that piece?

Thanks!

View attachment 361730

There was a running change from argent to black (or vice versa?), can't remember my info source. Mopar & others sell argent paint for that. Sharp 300!
Mopar Performance P4529876: Wheel Paint Argent Silver | JEGS

 

[Big_John]

There was a running change from argent to black (or vice versa?), can't remember my info source. Mopar & others sell argent paint for that. Sharp 300!
Mopar Performance P4529876: Wheel Paint Argent Silver | JEGS

My Dad's '68 300 was bought in September of 1968, so I believe that was a later built car. It had a black tail light surround. I've seen the both even with the same body colors.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, as I don't think anyone, especially me, was thinking about build dates then.

 

[dart1962_440]

My Dad's '68 300 was bought in September of 1968, so I believe that was a later built car. It had a black tail light surround. I've seen the both even with the same body colors.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, as I don't think anyone, especially me, was thinking about build dates then.

My March built 300 has a black taillight panel.

 

[dart1962_440]

Greetings and questions... The "bezel" for the taillights is Silver on this car and looks like crap. Is it a hard job to pull it for painting? Or, should I leave it alone since I think it's OEM.
I am trying to stay rock stock but that thing is fugly.

Also, the other 300s I've seen on this site have a black bezel. Were there multiple color options for that piece?

Thanks!

View attachment 361730

Any possibility of cleaning it up? It's only original once..

 

[D Ray's Alien]

My March built 300 has a black taillight panel.

This car was built on 12-15-68 per the VIN tag. It may have been one of the last cars down the line that year.