I'm bracing for flogging and the flame... Dumb questions...

BLUPORT

Carpe Diem Cras
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So, I've been trying to do my homework on the 1968 Newport Custom I'm picking up this weekend, and started wondering- Just how interchangeable are body parts?

(I feel like some of you just got an uneasy feeling in your guts and pushed away from your keyboard)

So, if I want to put a '66 Grille on a '68, how hard would that be? Or what if I wanted to put the stacked-headlight front end of a Fury on a Newport? I know it's not IMPOSSIBLE, I've seen F-150's with Mustang front-ends, but that's not what kind of "possible" I'm looking for. I also know it's blasphemy. That part, I understand completely. I just want to know how "involved" such a process would be. Is it more involved than removing the grille, lights, and basic bracketry, or is it cutting and welding?


Flame on, but seriously, I wanna know.
 
Cutting and welding on the steel parts to fit. Not sure what you would do with the pot metal though. And you're pretty much an island unto yourself here. I don't recall anyone doing it yet. Not that it can't be or that it should be, just ain't been done yet. At least that I've seen round these parts (forum).

Should be fun though. Keep us posted.
 
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I have nothing to do but think about the car for 3 days. My brain won't stop.
 
Easy to get carried away, but just hold on until the big day.......

I'd say first thing would be to get it driving (and stopping) safely. If there are power accessories, get those addressed. Then drive it around a while, get used to it; and THEN (but not until then), think about anything you might want to change. The front end of the '68's is almost a "transition" to the fuselage style introduced in '69. It's a key part of what makes the '68 look so cool, especially on a fast-top like yours..... you want to think long and hard before altering that....... I have family in eastern NC (Tarboro, Greenville, Wilson) and get through there from time to time. Maybe I can stop in a see BluPort for myself on a future trip!

Good luck with your sale/pick-up, let us know how it goes...........
 
Easy to get carried away, but just hold on until the big day.......

I'd say first thing would be to get it driving (and stopping) safely. If there are power accessories, get those addressed. Then drive it around a while, get used to it; and THEN (but not until then), think about anything you might want to change. The front end of the '68's is almost a "transition" to the fuselage style introduced in '69. It's a key part of what makes the '68 look so cool, especially on a fast-top like yours..... you want to think long and hard before altering that....... I have family in eastern NC (Tarboro, Greenville, Wilson) and get through there from time to time. Maybe I can stop in a see BluPort for myself on a future trip!

Good luck with your sale/pick-up, let us know how it goes...........


I don't have intentions of making a FrankenCoupe, I'm just keeping my mind engaged and learning what I can without having my hands on the car. I've been through a ton of the forum, and now I'm on page 15 of the Wheel & Tire thread. Normally I'm a fan of swapping wheels and tires, but I kinda dig the way it looks now. My only immediate plans are to get it home, double check all fluids and bulbs, let it warm up, check everything again, take it for a short drive, check it all again... Then it's straight off to the lift for all new brakes. I won't be doing a disc conversion or anything, but I want all new drums, shoes, springs, cylinders, etc. Above all, I want to make sure I can stop it before I make it "go."
Once that's done, I'll assess the wiring, make sure everything is in good condition, and replace anything that isn't- same for hoses, vacuum lines, fresh fluids and belts.

Then I'll tackle any rust.

Then I'll probably clean up the engine bay. I want to keep it pretty much stock, but it really looks like a cluttered mess in there.

68 NP.jpg



Once that's done, I'll work more on aesthetics. Repainting the air filter housing, wiper motor, brake booster, etc. Make it real nice and pretty, but not flashy.


I'm a planner and an overthinker. I research, I learn, I dwell.
 
I'll try and answer in a way you might understand based on your username...

Dear firearms forum: I'm new to gunz and was wondering what it would take to fire a. 45 round through a 9mm barrel? I notice that many 9mm barrels have enough excess metal to accept a .452 bore and I have a really good quality drill press that I got for Christmas.

Now some of you may say, "They’re both automatic pistols, and the average person could scantily tell the difference. Why not choose one and get good with it, or practice with both?" Other's might say I'll weaken the barrel, I am forgetting about re-loading and ejection mechanisms, or that the whole idea is pretty stupid and I'll be lucky if the worst thing I do is end up with 5lbs of scrap metal (vs. blowing my hand off).

To this I say "ha!" Much more important to me than becoming skilled, or enjoying shooting as a sport is answering a question that no one asked. You can in fact pound a square peg into a round hole, you just need an angle grinder and a big hammer
!

Should I write a version to the doughnut vs. danish forum?
 
I'll try and answer in a way you might understand based on your username...

Dear firearms forum: I'm new to gunz and was wondering what it would take to fire a. 45 round through a 9mm barrel? I notice that many 9mm barrels have enough excess metal to accept a .452 bore and I have a really good quality drill press that I got for Christmas.

Now some of you may say, "They’re both automatic pistols, and the average person could scantily tell the difference. Why not choose one and get good with it, or practice with both?" Other's might say I'll weaken the barrel, I am forgetting about re-loading and ejection mechanisms, or that the whole idea is pretty stupid and I'll be lucky if the worst thing I do is end up with 5lbs of scrap metal (vs. blowing my hand off).

To this I say "ha!" Much more important to me than becoming skilled, or enjoying shooting as a sport is answering a question that no one asked. You can in fact pound a square peg into a round hole, you just need an angle grinder and a big hammer
!

Should I write a version to the doughnut vs. danish forum?

Technically, it's more like "Can I put a Glock 33 slide on a Glock 27 frame" or "Can I use a Gen3 Glock slide on a Gen4."

The answer to both of those is "Yes, and safely so."

The difference is, I'm new to C-bodies, and wasn't sure EXACTLY about the different models on what was dissimilar. The message I got from a friend was, "Same platform/chassis, but different car."

Another example, you can take almost any GM F-Body and turn it into its counterpart, if your mullet is long enough.
 
Congrats on your purchase. I think the excitement grabbed you while waiting for it to arrive. Get her safe and reliable and enjoy. Welcome to the forum.:thumbsup:
 
66
'66_Chrysler_Newport_(Auto_classique_Bellepros_Vaudreuil-Dorion_'11).jpg

68
oh0908-73127_1@2x.jpg


I wouldn't attempt it for the world.
To swap a 68 300 front clip with a 68 Newport front clip (I still wouldn't do it) would be *less* work. With 66 Newport to 68 Newport ... you're talkin two very different cars. There's two stages to the slabbies: 65 & 66 then 67 & 68 and nary shall they meet.

*EDIT* .. Also, the lines between makes differ in each of the two categories of slabs. .. so a 68 Fury front clip on a 68 Newport would be, um ... challenging.

I don't intend to flame here but .. I once swapped a 67 Monaco 3 spoke steering wheel onto my venerable ole 68 Monaco (two spoke with horn ring). I couldn't live with it long enough to go around the block....
 
66
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68
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I wouldn't attempt it for the world.
To swap a 68 300 front clip with a 68 Newport front clip (I still wouldn't do it) would be *less* work. With 66 Newport to 68 Newport ... you're talkin two very different cars. There's two stages to the slabbies: 65 & 66 then 67 & 68 and nary shall they meet.

*EDIT* .. Also, the lines between makes differ in each of the two categories of slabs. .. so a 68 Fury front clip on a 68 Newport would be, um ... challenging.

I don't intend to flame here but .. I once swapped a 67 Monaco 3 spoke steering wheel onto my venerable ole 68 Monaco (two spoke with horn ring). I couldn't live with it long enough to go around the block....

That's exactly the answer I was looking for!
 
Technically, it's more like "Can I put a Glock 33 slide on a Glock 27 frame" or "Can I use a Gen3 Glock slide on a Gen4."

The answer to both of those is "Yes, and safely so."

The difference is, I'm new to C-bodies, and wasn't sure EXACTLY about the different models on what was dissimilar. The message I got from a friend was, "Same platform/chassis, but different car."

Another example, you can take almost any GM F-Body and turn it into its counterpart, if your mullet is long enough.

All this talk, and coming from a person that probably strongly believes that Polymer has no place in a AR platform? Oh the humanity!
 
All this talk, and coming from a person that probably strongly believes that Polymer has no place in a AR platform? Oh the humanity!

Polymer has its place, hand guards, stocks, pistol grips. Polymer receivers, not on any thing of mine, thank you.

Dave
 
All this talk, and coming from a person that probably strongly believes that Polymer has no place in a AR platform? Oh the humanity!

The only thing on any of my collection that is polymer would be some MBUS, and the grips on my IWI. Everything else is metal and wood.
 
So, I've been trying to do my homework on the 1968 Newport Custom I'm picking up this weekend, and started wondering- Just how interchangeable are body parts?

(I feel like some of you just got an uneasy feeling in your guts and pushed away from your keyboard)

So, if I want to put a '66 Grille on a '68, how hard would that be? Or what if I wanted to put the stacked-headlight front end of a Fury on a Newport? I know it's not IMPOSSIBLE, I've seen F-150's with Mustang front-ends, but that's not what kind of "possible" I'm looking for. I also know it's blasphemy. That part, I understand completely. I just want to know how "involved" such a process would be. Is it more involved than removing the grille, lights, and basic bracketry, or is it cutting and welding?


Flame on, but seriously, I wanna know.

Most of the time, body panels have creases and other styling features that are unique to a particular year and model of car. When you try to move one panel from one year or model to another, there is always something that looks out of place or does not line up. You might well wind up with a car that looks like it came out of Havana. A parts embargo made tacking on dissimilar body parts a necessity in Cuba. Think carefully before doing something like that if you do not have to. You might well destroy the collector value of the car.

Dave
 
Technically, it's more like "Can I put a Glock 33 slide on a Glock 27 frame" or "Can I use a Gen3 Glock slide on a Gen4."

The answer to both of those is "Yes, and safely so."

The difference is, I'm new to C-bodies, and wasn't sure EXACTLY about the different models on what was dissimilar. The message I got from a friend was, "Same platform/chassis, but different car."

Another example, you can take almost any GM F-Body and turn it into its counterpart, if your mullet is long enough.

Technically, it's not and my example is a lot closer to reality. Your Glock example is an exchange of parts without metalwork, and your C-body example (beyond the obvious differences in body lines which would inhibit things like doors opening, etc.) moves far from "plug 'n play".

The commonality between C-bodies, especially in their first generation ('65-'68) are items like mechanical parts and some glass, not exterior panels and trim.

If you expect to swap those around, you'll need grinders, torches, etc. And if you are asking an Internet forum, you probably lack the skill to produce much more than scrap. Somewhere on this forum you'll find a person with big plans to change his whole front and rear suspension, who then became stumped by removing the radio. What do you suppose the odds are of that car ending up no more than a pile of damaged parts?
 
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Much easier to just go buy a 66 Chrysler and a Fury you like then enjoy all three cars.
 
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