Go ahead, tell me how crazy I am...

[drpreposterous]

Lurker and long-time C-body admirer here. I've owned A- and B-bodies. Sold my '64 Dart GT three years ago and am miserable sans Mopar. I want to spring for another, but--unlike three years ago, when I had a winter car--this one would have to be an all-year daily driver. Sonny boy's moved out of state with my DD. Both kids are in college. Driveway space is tight. Is this a crazy idea? I'm longing to make a slab Chrysler (or even Plymmie or Dodge) my DD.

Considerations:

Fuel economy is not a problem. My commute is a scant 8 miles.
Winter driving? Hey, I've piloted RWD all my life. Sand bags in the trunk and a little finesse.
Safety: I intend to:

• Retrfit AAJ or Scarebird front disc brakes and dual MC (question: will stock wheels do?)
• Consult Daniel Stern Lighting for the best in light safety. Mebbe a third brake light for the idiots who text and drive.
• Shoulder belts. But no seat swaps for the sake of head rests. Seems garish, to me. Unless say a '73 c body seat swap is doable. Even then...hate to do that.

I'm a good nurse but have precious little in the way of mechanical skills. So, for reliability:

• Pertronix or some such electronic ignition
• Elect. fuel pump? (whatcha think?)
• And a modest budget for any immediate repairs needed.

As a passing nod at the Detroit winter salt baths (no illusions here):

• Thorough underbody coating of Rust Bullet or POR-15 or some such

Since the world under-appreciates the magnificence of the early Cs, I figure my initial outlay (along with planned improvements) shouldn't be outrageous. If I can get four good years out of it, I wanna try. Am I delusional? Your thoughts, slings and arrows are all welcome.

Brian

 

[CanCritter]

Lurker and long-time C-body admirer here. I've owned A- and B-bodies. Sold my '64 Dart GT three years ago and am miserable sans Mopar. I want to spring for another, but--unlike three years ago, when I had a winter car--this one would have to be an all-year daily driver. Sonny boy's moved out of state with my DD. Both kids are in college. Driveway space is tight. Is this a crazy idea? I'm longing to make a slab Chrysler (or even Plymmie or Dodge) my DD.

Considerations:

Fuel economy is not a problem. My commute is a scant 8 miles.
Winter driving? Hey, I've piloted RWD all my life. Sand bags in the trunk and a little finesse.
Safety: I intend to:

• Retrfit AAJ or Scarebird front disc brakes and dual MC (question: will stock wheels do?)
• Consult Daniel Stern Lighting for the best in light safety. Mebbe a third brake light for the idiots who text and drive.
• Shoulder belts. But no seat swaps for the sake of head rests. Seems garish, to me. Unless say a '73 c body seat swap is doable. Even then...hate to do that.

I'm a good nurse but have precious little in the way of mechanical skills. So, for reliability:

• Pertronix or some such electronic ignition
• Elect. fuel pump? (whatcha think?)
• And a modest budget for any immediate repairs needed.

As a passing nod at the Detroit winter salt baths (no illusions here):

• Thorough underbody coating of Rust Bullet or POR-15 or some such

Since the world under-appreciates the magnificence of the early Cs, I figure my initial outlay (along with planned improvements) shouldn't be outrageous. If I can get four good years out of it, I wanna try. Am I delusional? Your thoughts, slings and arrows are all welcome.

Brian

lve had real good results with rust bullet..tough as hell that stuff

 

[drpreposterous]

Thanks for input. Also heard Picklex 20 and Zero Rust are good.

 

[Cal55]

I say go for it, you might as well drive something you enjoy and be unique especially driving it year round. We survived driving rear wheel drive cars when we were younger through the winters before front wheel drives were around. Like you said put some weight in the trunk and I would probably put some snow tires on the rear, those definitely would help.
Joe

 

[commando1]

A four door Fury Polara or Newport is what you want. With a base V8. Plenty of them out there in real good condition. I'd do it!

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[mr. fix it]

I used Rust Bullet on my project last winter and it is great other than life threatening without a respirator

You have lots of working time with RB as compared to POR15.

All of these coating require good prep work & time to make them stick right.

Otherwise, if the rust isn't bad, I would under oil spray the car I understand that a product called Fluid Film is a great under oiling spray as well.

Auto Zone just started selling it

 

[D Cluley]

It is absolutely doable. I'm up by Lansing, and daily drove a '74 Dart from the Fall of 2007 until this past Spring.

Do go into this assuming that the rust is going to kill it eventually. Undercoating and such may help but sooner or later you will have a parts car, so don't pick something too nice to start with.

My understanding is that any of the disc brake options will need 15" wheels (considering the options for 14" tires these days, probably a good move anyway)

Electronic ignition is probably a good upgrade, but I'm not sure I'd bother with the fuel pump.

 

[drpreposterous]

Dan! Love the shot of the Dart bravely lugging through our amazing winter last year! Thanks for all the encouragement and words of wisdom, everyone! Stay tuned....!

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

my 69 300 in the snow

 

[bulldogchesty]

Brrrrrrrr. I remember those cold days in upstate NY.

 

[kmccabe56]

Lurker and long-time C-body admirer here. I've owned A- and B-bodies. Sold my '64 Dart GT three years ago and am miserable sans Mopar. I want to spring for another, but--unlike three years ago, when I had a winter car--this one would have to be an all-year daily driver. Sonny boy's moved out of state with my DD. Both kids are in college. Driveway space is tight. Is this a crazy idea? I'm longing to make a slab Chrysler (or even Plymmie or Dodge) my DD.

Considerations:

Fuel economy is not a problem. My commute is a scant 8 miles.
Winter driving? Hey, I've piloted RWD all my life. Sand bags in the trunk and a little finesse.
Safety: I intend to:

• Retrfit AAJ or Scarebird front disc brakes and dual MC (question: will stock wheels do?)
• Consult Daniel Stern Lighting for the best in light safety. Mebbe a third brake light for the idiots who text and drive.
• Shoulder belts. But no seat swaps for the sake of head rests. Seems garish, to me. Unless say a '73 c body seat swap is doable. Even then...hate to do that.

I'm a good nurse but have precious little in the way of mechanical skills. So, for reliability:

• Pertronix or some such electronic ignition
• Elect. fuel pump? (whatcha think?)
• And a modest budget for any immediate repairs needed.

As a passing nod at the Detroit winter salt baths (no illusions here):

• Thorough underbody coating of Rust Bullet or POR-15 or some such

Since the world under-appreciates the magnificence of the early Cs, I figure my initial outlay (along with planned improvements) shouldn't be outrageous. If I can get four good years out of it, I wanna try. Am I delusional? Your thoughts, slings and arrows are all welcome.

Brian

I swear by getting proper oil spraying of the undercarriage, inside the doors, fenders and quarters. But DO NOT use used motor oil. It has sulphuric acid in it, and that will just speed up the decay of the car. My Aspen wagon has been my daily driver for 7 years and it does not have 1" of rust on it. Anywhere.

An electric fuel pump is a nice luxury, for the winter but is otherwise not really necessary. If you're going to DD status, either cleaning/coating the inside of the fuel tank is highly recommended or replacing the tank with a new one. Unless you want to run premium in the car, the gas will have ethanol in it which attracts water. It's that water accumulating in the tank that rusts the tank from the inside out. The rust particles are finer than flour and will eventually plug up the carb. I'm now due for my third carb rebuild because I haven't coated my gas tank. Conversion to electronic ignition is relatively easy and will pay for itself in reduced frustration/improved drive-ability in no time. Switching to a set of 8mm spark plug wires won't hurt either.

Daniel will set you up with lighting that will let you see for miles. Shoulder belts were available in '68, so that will let you eat your slab sided cake and have shoulder belts too.

Depending on whether or not your 8 mile commute is on freeways, you may not need to upgrade the brakes. Discs were optional in '68 and you might be lucky enough to find a car with them. If you find a drum brake car, as long as they're working properly, they'd be OK for street use. Just remember you can't run as close to the car ahead as you can with a modern car.

For DD service, plan on a good overhaul of the cooling system. Rad flush/boil out, new hoses and thermostat.

Any car that has seen occasional or less use prior to your ownership will also likely need a new alternator & regulator sooner than later. Replace them on your schedule and not on the car's.

 

[drpreposterous]

Wow, neighbor! That's a barrel fulla good advice. Thank you!

 

[commando1]

Damn good primer there

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[68plymouth383]

It's not for me......... I prefer summer year round!!

Brrrrrrrr. I remember those cold days in upstate NY.

 

[commando1]

Peter? Any comment?

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[kmccabe56]

Wow, neighbor! That's a barrel fulla good advice. Thank you!

This is just the Reader's Digest version of what I've been through with various older cars that have become my DD. If you're daily commute is all surface streets (since it's only 8 miles), you might want to tighten up your oil change frequency as well. I change my Aspen at 2500 miles. Do your first one at one of the easy multiples of 2500 (0, 2500, 5000, 7500, 10000 etc) so that you don't have to force yourself to write down some oddball number. Since you're driving a car with a flat tappet camshaft, run in to your local GM dealer and ask for a bottle of "Engine Oil Supplement", the part number in Canada is 992869. GM talks about using this stuff as a break-in oil. But what makes it useful is that it's got a lot of zinc, manganese and the other good stuff that a flat tappet engine needs that modern oils don't have. (Anything with an API classification greater than about SG will not have this stuff). I can get four oil changes out of one 500ml/pint bottle. And the bottle was $6 and change which is bloody cheap insurance.

 

[twostick]

A couple of comments.

Disc brakes:

68 discs were the Budd system. RUN do not walk away from those. Rotors and calipers are $$$$ and the lower ball joint is made from unobtanium.

First choice would be late 72 or 73 spindles. They are a bolt on for a drum brake car as they use the same ball joints and the unicast rotors which are relatively cheap as are the calipers and pads. Second choice would be the 69-72 spindles. Same style brakes as the 73 but the rotors are 2 pce and a little pricey. I've heard rumors that they are machining the unicast rotors for the smaller bearings the earlier spindles take so this might be a moot point.

If you are converting from drums you will need a dual diaphragm booster as the drum one lacks enough oomph for discs. I'm pretty sure they used them up to 71. After that they went to a larger single diaphragm and while it will bolt on to a 68, it will interfere with the column shift linkage. If you score a slabside with a console shift this isn't an issue.

Oil:

Use a good quality diesel oil. 15w40 Shell Rotella, Mobil Delvac etc. More than enough zinc and phosphorus to keep a flat tappet cam happy without any additives and available cheap at any Walmart. It is also available in full synthetic 5w40 in the above brands if you are concerned about cold weather starts and heavier grade oils. Wix filters or NAPA gold which is a Wix filter. Fram makes a good paper weight. Google around and find pics/video of them disassembled. There will be no doubt in your mind which one you want on your engine.

End of long winded comments :blahblah: :sSig_lol2:

Kevin