A Newlife for the Newport

NWPT70

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I am starting this new thread so the discussion can be focused on this 70' Newport's rehabilitation rather then where it came from as previously discussed in the for sale thread which lead me to finding it.

Here is a link to that thread to whomever is interested in it

For Sale - 71 Newport Coupe + others at estate auction

Looking forward- > The Newport is now onto a new life!

Here are several pictures after it's first wash and wax. I used Nufinish. (my preference)

So far mechanically I changed the oil and have dropped the gas tank to get boiled/cleaned. I temperarily have an external 2 gallon tank hooked up under the hood seen in the engine pictures. I plan to get the carburetor rebuilt this week then re-install the tank once I get that back. New spark plugs will go in also.

Enjoy the pictures.

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Congratulations on your new acquisition!
Looks like a real fresh and solid car; even the vinyl top under the rear window seems to be bubble-free
 
That thing looks straight as an arrow :thumbsup: thanks for sharing the pictures

CE23: Chrysler Economy, 2 Door Hardtop

L0C: 383 290HP 1-2BBL 8 CYL, 1970
Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA

268284: Sequence number

E61: 383 cid 2 barrel V8 290hp
D32: Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission
FY4: Light Gold Poly Exterior Color
E2Y4: Trim - Standard Vinyl Bench Seat, Gold
FY4: Light Gold Poly Int. Door Frames
713: Build Date: July 13
129618: Order number

V1Y: Full Vinyl Top, Tortoise Grain
H51: Air Conditioning with Heater
R13: Deluxe AM Radio (5 1/2 Watts)
L31: Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
B51: Power Brakes
G11: Tinted Glass (all)

If you don´t know how old the master brake cylinder is put a new one right in. For me that´s one of the most
important things to do. They either working or they don´t there´s no process of the brakes deteriorating. You´ll
know that it´s broke when you hit the brake pedal to the metal without any response
 
Congratulations! Nice score! I'm very happy for you. Can't wait to see it out on the road. That gold interior looks beautiful!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Again- Nice car! Hope you have fun with it!

I wonder if the heads have ever been pulled to install hardened valve seats for unleaded gas?
I was always under the impression these cars were already capable of running regular gas based on this old 69 Newport commercial I found.

To answer your question from the original post- Yes, these cars would run "regular" gas when new. But "regular" gas back in this era was 91 octane! The bigger concern is that the original cylinder heads in these engines depended on the lead in all the octane grades to keep the valves and seats lubricated. Starting in 1972, all mopar heads had induction hardened valve seats to compensate for the wear associated with the then new unleaded fuels. Older heads can be retrofitted with pressed in hardened seats as a fix. With the noted mileage on your car, one has to wonder if the valve seats have ever been modified? As mileage and wear goes up with unleaded fuels, valve sealing and compression/performance goes down. Case in point- my 71 NYer was acquired in 2002 with 102000 miles, original heads, and running on 5-1/2 cylinders due to poor compression. The engine teardown revealed badly recessed valve seats on 3 cylinders. So much metal was lost in the heads that the machine shop was barely able to perform the repair!
 
Again- Nice car! Hope you have fun with it!




To answer your question from the original post- Yes, these cars would run "regular" gas when new. But "regular" gas back in this era was 91 octane! The bigger concern is that the original cylinder heads in these engines depended on the lead in all the octane grades to keep the valves and seats lubricated. Starting in 1972, all mopar heads had induction hardened valve seats to compensate for the wear associated with the then new unleaded fuels. Older heads can be retrofitted with pressed in hardened seats as a fix. With the noted mileage on your car, one has to wonder if the valve seats have ever been modified? As mileage and wear goes up with unleaded fuels, valve sealing and compression/performance goes down. Case in point- my 71 NYer was acquired in 2002 with 102000 miles, original heads, and running on 5-1/2 cylinders due to poor compression. The engine teardown revealed badly recessed valve seats on 3 cylinders. So much metal was lost in the heads that the machine shop was barely able to perform the repair!

Would you say running high octane 93 help prevent possible valve seal issues or is the lack of lead the issue today? If so do you recommend a lead additive?
 
Would you say running high octane 93 help prevent possible valve seal issues or is the lack of lead the issue today? If so do you recommend a lead additive?
Octane rating does not overcome lead content. If your compression is good on all cylinders and you only drive a few miles each year, a "lead additive" may get you by. Chemical additives, however, are not a good long term solution to solid mechanical upgrades.
 
The only leaded fuel out there today is 100 LL Av-gas. Available at your friendly neighborhood General Aviation Airport. It's expensive, we get $5.05 a gallon at ours but it is 100 Octane. I would think that if you filled up there then ran some "regular unleaded" and went back and forth you'd be ok.
 
Thanks everyone!

UPDATE: I got the carb rebuilt by a reputable shop and changed out the plugs. (sorry not pictures right now but will post them later today). The car runs very well now. (still running off the external tank).

The next thing I want to tackle while waiting to get the gas tank back is to replace the muffler since it has a hole in it. Upon searching online by year and vehicle model, it seems no one has a direct fit aftermarket for our cars. Does anyone know what the inlet/outlet sizes are? I can probably find an aftermarket muffler knowing that info.
 
Thanks everyone!

UPDATE: I got the carb rebuilt by a reputable shop and changed out the plugs. (sorry not pictures right now but will post them later today). The car runs very well now. (still running off the external tank).

The next thing I want to tackle while waiting to get the gas tank back is to replace the muffler since it has a hole in it. Upon searching online by year and vehicle model, it seems no one has a direct fit aftermarket for our cars. Does anyone know what the inlet/outlet sizes are? I can probably find an aftermarket muffler knowing that info.
My suggestion is measure the inlet/outlet with a set of calipers making note of any offset. Measure overall length width and thickness. Then start looking online and I'd be astounded if you didn't quickly find a match.
MoPar Muffler - NOS - '66-'71 Fury / Monaco / Chrysler w/ "440" - P/N 2660525 | eBay
 
The new gas tank just came in. It's a Spectra Premium CR20B. Looks to be an identical match to the original tank. Also ordered a replacement sending unit, filler neck gasket, and tank straps to go along with the install.

I decided to replace the tank for piece of mind after I began cleaning the original tank and small pinholes started opening up where the metal was pitted. I considered soldering the few pin holes but I did not want to risk having other thin spots end up popping into more pin holes especially after having the tank full of gas.

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The under side of the trunk pan above the gas tank is super clean!

Looks almost as fresh as the new muffler.

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