68 Fury 3 questions

[68furyIII]

Hello all

Little background, my grandfather has had a 68 plymouth fury 3 in the family since the 70s. He drove it, my parents drove it, and yesterday I was given it as a graduation present. It really means a lot. Original interior, paint, engine etc.

Unfortunately they haven't kept it up and it has more or less sat for the last 15 years. It as been taken out maybe once or twice a year. It has just over 93,000 miles on the original motor. I would just like to get it back into running condition just so it can be a weekend cruiser. I am somewhat mechanically inclined and have done minor work on cars in the past (do all my own brake and oil changes little things like that).

As of now none of the gauges work besides the speedo, and D-C current gauge. The engine "runs hot" according to my grandfather. I know its leaking coolant, he added water and I could hear it boiling minutes after he turned it off following an hour drive. It infrequently will stall when turning at very low speeds. I imagine the carb needs to be rebuilt and am wondering what else you who are more knowledgable think I should or need to do to get it into weekend cruiser condition.

Thank you

 

[tallhair]

Welcome and you came to the right place

Post some pictures of your 68 .. I'm a fan

the how-to is in the 'linky' in my sig

 

[commando1]

This is my new car checklist every time.
Buy a Factory Service Manual.
Oil, filter, and grease job. Don't forget the U-joints.
Flush system coolant and then new thermostat, heater and radiator hoses
Air filter and PCV valve and fuel filter.
All belts.
Pull drums and inspect brakes and brake fluid.
Check tranny fluid.
Tires of course including spare and jack.
Check steering, braking, handling, and ride.. New shocks are very likely.
Examine exhaust.
Check all electrical components: head lights, brake lights, parking lights, directionals, rear plate lamp, side marker lights, interior lights, instrument panel lights, switchs , and gauges,

That's before you put it into weekend duty. Deal with everything else individually as they pop up once on the road.

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[68furyIII]

Thank you very much for both of your responses. I'll get some pictures up in a little bit. Black convertible, red interior, white top.

Has new original tires. But the brakes and brake fluid I'm sure aren't in great shape. Same goes for the trans fluid.

Having never worked on pre ABS and fuel injection cars I've heard drum brakes aren't that hard to change if and that rebuilding a carb isn't too hard either. So I was going to start there but will look into all of that, specifically the entire cooling system.

Are there any website you guys recommend for parts? I was just looking at classic industries.com

 

[tallhair]

Great advice Stan.

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Is this a big block? Distributor in front of engine?

I'd also suggest checking the water pump housing connections to ensure they are not coked up and blocked off and make sure the lower nose is not closing off due to suction and no spring inside

 

[68furyIII]

Also as mentioned pretty much nothing on the dash works as far as gauges. The radio doesn't work either. Any tips on where to start as to tracing the problems?

I don't believe its a big block I'll run out and check. V8 yes but there were multiple sizes offered correct?

 

[commando1]

Use Rockauto.com for reference and then buy the parts at your local parts store.

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[tallhair]

Also as mentioned pretty much nothing on the dash works as far as gauges. The radio doesn't work either. Any tips on where to start as to tracing the problems?

Check bulkhead connections and look for burnt wires coming from it under the dash on the opposite side. Wise to convert the amp gauge to voltmeter .. lots of amps coming into that gauge which feeds the rest of the dash and interior and unsafe design.

 

[commando1]

First you start by buying an FSM off of eBay. It will answer 99% of the questions before you need to ask them in the forum. Having the wiring diagram in your hand is priceless.

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[tallhair]

Also as mentioned pretty much nothing on the dash works as far as gauges. The radio doesn't work either. Any tips on where to start as to tracing the problems?

I don't believe its a big block I'll run out and check. V8 yes but there were multiple sizes offered correct?

Stan's correct about the FSM and if it's a big block it will be a 383 or 440 if original and I'm certain it is based on the family history.

If it's a small block it's a 318. All very good engines.

 

[68furyIII]

Thanks, I'll go order one of those now. Upon closer inspection there appears to be a new distributor or at least cap/wires.

The engine fan only has 4 blades on it, and seems small. Wondering if that could contribute to the overheating.

Took some pictures of what I believe is the coolant leaking, and also some possible leaking brake fluid?

Let me get the pictures up....

 

[68furyIII]

 

[commando1]

Love it!! Looks very unmolested. A "survivor" in the very loose sense of the word.
That's a 318 engine by the way.

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[tallhair]

Holy **** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice ride young brother

 

[tallhair]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves but appears to be some anti freeze here possibly from failed head gasket or even warped head if it's gotten hot enough. I don't want to scare you .. it's all fixable but I wouldn't be driving long distance until this is sorted.

I imagine a compression / leakdown test might be in order. Go back to Stan's check list though and let's take it easy

I'll let the real pro's take over on the diagnosis

 

[68furyIII]

I was concerned about that. I have a family friend who owns an auto body shop but is basically a general mechanic so it just needs to make the one hour drive to his shop and he's going to help me get a lot of this sorted out this upcoming week. Very exciting stuff.

 

[tallhair]

I was concerned about that. I have a family friend who owns an auto body shop but is basically a general mechanic so it just needs to make the one hour drive to his shop and he's going to help me get a lot of this sorted out this upcoming week. Very exciting stuff.

Like Stan said this appears to be a survivor and is a car many will drool over including me. I don't know what you may want to do with this car but if you have any thoughts of keeping it original document the hell out of what it looks like now and how things are put together and keep the parts that come off for the time being even if you are going to modify things or change them up.

And to keep things straight get some heavy duty zip lock bags and put the nuts and bolts and small parts in them and label them by writing down what they go to on pieces of paper or labels and put them inside the bags showing through to keep it organized. Marker writing on the bags will rub off

Go help the friend while he/you take stuff off to keep it all straight as it comes off

 

[68furyIII]

It looks great but there are definitely some issues you can't see. Paint has some rough patches, as with 40 year old paint, drivers seat and dash are ripped/cracked and need repair. I don't have plans to really modify it as of now just get it back in good running shape. Appreciate the love though.

 

[mgm1986]

That's a great looking car!

 

[greasemonkeyman]

Good luck with your car 68 Fury III. That coolant leak looks like it could either be a head gasket or intake manifold gasket. You can go about testing it a few different ways.Do you notice any milky looking substance in your oil? When you look into the radiator do you notice any oil mixed in with the antifreeze? You can also do a compression test as Stan stated and you can probably find a compression tester from Harbor Freight,Sears, or your local auto parts store. Youtube will have videos on how to do the test.There is also a coolant pressure tester that is available.It looks like a bicycle tire pump but it actually connects in place of your radiator cap.You pump it up to your rated cooling pressure(anywhere around 16-18psi,and look for the leak.It's not that hard to replace either one but you will need a torque wrench to install your parts back onto the engine. The Factory Shop Manual will give you lots of information.This would also be a good time to flush out your entire cooling system with a hose while the engine is running.Flush out your radiator,remove your lower hose to let the crud out of your engine,and replace your thermostat when done.I would also disconnect your heater hoses at the firewall and use a hose to flush out your heater core in "both" directions and it would be a good idea to replace your old hoses if they weren't done within the last 2-3 years.Best of luck!