C body networking

[Boydsdodge]

Great looking car on the site photos. Fender skirts?
Just went through the photos, you have a great solid car to bring up to snuff. I would not swap out the manifold and carb. You can block the EGR by just capping the EGR vacuum line with a small ball bearing or some aluminum foil over the nipple, then slip the hose over.

 

[1970FuryConv]

I looked at the pictures. Great body, interior, and undercarriage. Wow!
Did the car come with no air-conditioning belts? They told you the AC compressor was trash? Thanks, Ben

 

[Boydsdodge]

View attachment 534230
I looked at the pictures. Great body, interior, and undercarriage. Wow!
Did the car come with no air-conditioning belts? If so, did they tell you why they were missing? Thanks, Ben

I saw the missing belts. If the AC compressor is seized, that might be when I would go with a new AC conversion. But the Mopar electronic ignition is a very good ignition, and the Thermoquad can and is a great carb.

 

[73 New Yorker]

View attachment 534230
I looked at the pictures. Great body, interior, and undercarriage. Wow!
Did the car come with no air-conditioning belts? They told you the AC compressor was trash? Thanks, Ben

Thank you! You are the fourth person to say that and that’s the reason I took a gamble and bought this car. Streetside said the AC didn’t work and there was no AC belt when I received the car. A mechanic (that I trust) told me it was seized up and it would be better at this point to take it off. Upgrading the AC is a year or two away. I didn’t mention it earlier but I have a shelf in my garage dedicated to storing all the original parts.

 

[73 New Yorker]

Great looking car on the site photos. Fender skirts?
Just went through the photos, you have a great solid car to bring up to snuff. I would not swap out the manifold and carb. You can block the EGR by just capping the EGR vacuum line with a small ball bearing or some aluminum foil over the nipple, then slip the hose over.

The fender skirts were in the trunk when I received the car but there was no hardware on the back of them. As far as the manifold and carburetor, I’ve read about and talked to quite a few people that say from a performance and longevity standpoint this is the better option.

 

[CBODY67]

Be sure to check the sections of rubber fuel line hose, between the tank and the carb. If they are original, they will not wear well with ethanol'd fuels. Be sure, also, to ensure the clamps on the tank sending unit section of hose contact metal and ground the fuel gauge, too.

Nice car,
CBODY67

 

[73 New Yorker]

Will do. Thank you.

 

[HWYCRZR]

Your list isn’t too bad. If you can whittle down the list while keeping the car drivable you will have much more enjoyment.
In my opinion the more you can learn to do yourself the more enjoyment and pride you will have in your car. Also by learning these things you will be way more confident when talking on a longer road trip. I may have a little different perspective than some, but much of my enjoyment is tinkering with the car and envisioning what the engineers intended. The other part of the enjoyment is knowing I can jump in at any time and go on a 1,000 mile road trip.

I commend you for trying to find a mentor in your area to help you learn the car and it’s quirks.

 

[73 New Yorker]

The road trip. That’s what I’m working towards, thank you.

 

[Gelgoog13]

Nice looking car. Take your time. She will let you know what she needs next. I got my 69 Newport alittle over 2yrs ago. She sat for yrs in an old Indiana firehouse. Took us a month to get her reliable. When we put on the 4 bbl the fuel pump wasn't strong enough. Hold off on the big things for the months when you can't drive her. Next winter mine is losing the vinyl top and getting rid of her 20 yr old Earl Shibe paint job(found the touch up can in the console). Unless you are planning to flip her don't worry about what it's going to do to resale, make her yours. I've put 7k miles on mine and she runs stronger every time I have her out.

 

[73 New Yorker]

Nice looking car. Take your time. She will let you know what she needs next. I got my 69 Newport alittle over 2yrs ago. She sat for yrs in an old Indiana firehouse. Took us a month to get her reliable. When we put on the 4 bbl the fuel pump wasn't strong enough. Hold off on the big things for the months when you can't drive her. Next winter mine is losing the vinyl top and getting rid of her 20 yr old Earl Shibe paint job(found the touch up can in the console). Unless you are planning to flip her don't worry about what it's going to do to resale, make her yours. I've put 7k miles on mine and she runs stronger every time I have her out.

Thank you. And thank for the advice.
Beautiful NewPort. Are you changing the color when you repaint it?

 

[Gelgoog13]

No, going to leave her white. May do something like this. If I remove the vinyl top, it needs some color to break up all the white. I have a set of 300 tail lights and back bumper to put on her.

 

[73 New Yorker]

That would look sharp!

 

[MONC440]

If your goal is a safe road tip do all the small maintenance things hoses, lines, trans fluid, oil, ect. You can probably do most of that stuff yourself if you have some mechanical ability and watch some YouTube video's if you need to see it done first. I have been working on cars since before I could drive them (legally) and I still watch Youtube for stuff I have never done, or maybe I have done before but now I'm doing it on a different car. That way I know what I'm getting into.

The suspension stuff may or may not be bad, unless the tie rods or ball joints are shot they aren't going to leave you stranded on a road trip.

After you get the maintenance stuff done go for a Sunday drive put some miles on it. If you feel uneasy about it have someone follow you. Do it when you are not under a time restraint so if something goes wrong your not under any pressure. Hell you could road trip up to my place and I could tune that engine for you.

The problem I have with changing a bunch of stuff at the same time is sometimes you can build problems into the car if you don't have experience with the car. Then you don't know what part you changed that could cause the problem.

 

[Big_John]

The problem I have with changing a bunch of stuff at the same time is sometimes you can build problems into the car if you don't have experience with the car. Then you don't know what part you changed that could cause the problem.

^This^

Some of the new parts available are junk right out of the box. We've seen it many times here where someone has shot gunned a bunch of new parts at their car only to find that they didn't solve their problem and now they have a new problem on top of the old one.

 

[73 New Yorker]

The first two weeks I had the car I never drove it more than 10 miles from home. Five days after I got the car it over heated and dumped antifreeze on my garage floor. The radiator never leaked, all of the fluid came from the overflow reservoir.
The next day I had the hoses, water pump, thermostat and fan clutch replaced. The following week the hot light kept coming on. So I pulled the radiator and took it to the local radiator shop and they said it needed to be re cored. The car has been parked for the last six days waiting for the shop to finish the radiator.

The steering is so loose that the center of the steering wheel is sideways when your going straight down the road. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to invest in the steering box, steering pump and suspension parts. As it stands right now the car is unreliable and unsafe.
I think a lot of people reading my post think that I’m just investing in these parts on a whim. I probably should’ve
given a better explanation as to why I chose the parts that I did.

I appreciate all the advice you guys have given hopefully this gives you a clearer picture of some the issues I’m dealing with on this car.

 

[mrfury68]

Beautiful New Yorker. Such a great color combo and loaded with options. Get yourself a factory service manual, either printed or digital, it will help you understand how your car was put together. Prioritize your needed repairs. Obviously safety items first. Brakes, suspension & steering are tops on the list. Regarding your steering, there is an adjustment on the steering gear that helps reduce the free play. Or it could be a bad idler arm causing the car to wander on the road. That was a common issue on these cars. I don't want to overload you with more info than you already have but you get the idea of what we are all trying to communicate with you. Good luck with your new ride. They are such fun to drive but sometimes can be a real PITA to work on.

 

[73 New Yorker]

I have both the mechanical and body manual. I’m trying to use them as much as possible. I have received nothing but good advice from the guys on this forum. I will definitely be asking more questions. Thank you for your tip on idler arm.

 

[Big_John]

The first two weeks I had the car I never drove it more than 10 miles from home. Five days after I got the car it over heated and dumped antifreeze on my garage floor. The radiator never leaked, all of the fluid came from the overflow reservoir.
The next day I had the hoses, water pump, thermostat and fan clutch replaced. The following week the hot light kept coming on. So I pulled the radiator and took it to the local radiator shop and they said it needed to be re cored. The car has been parked for the last six days waiting for the shop to finish the radiator.

The steering is so loose that the center of the steering wheel is sideways when your going straight down the road. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to invest in the steering box, steering pump and suspension parts. As it stands right now the car is unreliable and unsafe.
I think a lot of people reading my post think that I’m just investing in these parts on a whim. I probably should’ve
given a better explanation as to why I chose the parts that I did.

I appreciate all the advice you guys have given hopefully this gives you a clearer picture of some the issues I’m dealing with on this car.

The steering wheel being "sideways" is a bad job with front end alignment. Basically the tie rods need to be tweaked to bring the wheel straight. If your front end mechanic doesn't understand this, find someone else.

A good mechanic is going to check all the parts in the front end and go from there. Usually the lower control arm bushing is bad though and they might not catch that if they aren't looking for it.

I'm not sure if you've driven these cars, but the steering is a lot different feel than a new car. What you feel as loose might just be normal. Again, a "new" box might not be any better. I've sent the steering box in my '70 300 to Firm Feel for a rebuild and had it changed to their "stage 2" settings. There's discussion here about others doing the same.

 

[73 New Yorker]

When I was a teenager I owned a 1968 Chevelle and a 1976 Cutlass Supreme. In your opinion do you think those cars should be pretty close to what I should be able to expect out of the New Yorker?

Did you notice a big difference after the rebuild to your car’s steering?