Looking for good advice. I have something special.

Ok I don't need to be breaking any records but when the kids on the sidewalk say nice car man I would love to be able to squeal the tires a bit. I don't want to go to the track or roll race on the highway (I need my license and don't have the right to endanger anyone else). Does that kinda make sense. If I did do a swap the numbers matching poly would stay with me also. But a 4bbl and intake can be hide under the aircleaner pretty good. Do you think that would allow some tire squawking at least?. Maybe change rear end gears but then I think I would want a gear bender for the highway. I need new rear shocks so am going to try some air shocks to allow an easy change in ride and rear height. I have them on my jeep commander and like them so my mechanic is ordering some that will fit and do a good job for me. I appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts and knowledge and trust me I am weighing all these options and looking into costs and supporting changes for every change which is quite a time consuming task. I wish I knew enough to tell how the seat of the pants feel would change with the various options...
Anyone have a dash clock that works. That's something I know I want to fix. :)
I am sure I will have more questions as I look into this more.
 
Air shocks are generally a big no on these cars too because the crossmember that the top of the shocks are mounted to is not reinforced and not designed for air shocks.
 
66sfury1owner said:
I need new rear shocks so am going to try some air shocks to allow an easy change in ride and rear height. I have them on my jeep commander and like them so my mechanic is ordering some that will fit and do a good job for me.
Click to expand...
As @detmatt commented, the upper crossmember isn't really strong enough. I've had to repair the damage on one car myself (not fun) and seen others with damage with anywhere between messed up mounting holes to the entire crossmember torn up.
 
Big_John said:
After reading through this thread, you've stated something in the first few sentences that you need to give a little more thought to.

Cars are only original once. You've got something that a lot of guys would kill for... A fairly low mileage, original car, with known history. Topping it off, it's your Dad's car.

All the dreams of turbos and spray are nice, but geez... These cars are really built as cruisers. The 318 Poly is a pretty stout motor as it sits. You talk about driving 200 miles with it.. That 318 is going to be really nice for that. Looking at gas prices too and it may make more sense to keep this stock or very mild.

It's your car... and yours to do what you want with.. A 440 swap makes more sense than any of the other options. I'd just like to make an argument to leave it alone and enjoy it as it is. Cars with lots of "go fast" mods are cool, but honestly, they stay in the garage a lot because they often don't drive as well... or they need more maintenance.. and on and on. You've got a nice car that your Dad loved, think about leaving it like it is and just have some fun.
Click to expand...


"This is a special car to me." Then keep it that way.

Leave. It. Alone.

This was not, is not and will never be a 'performance' car no matter how many 'things' you throw at it. The more you do, the further away from original and sentimental you will get. If you want a performance car, buy a performance car or a car that someone's already screwed up in their attempt to build one and mess with that one. Don't try and make this particular car something it can't be.

If you want to chirp the tires to impress the kids, buy cheap skinny tires and do neutral drops.
 
Thanks for the info on the crossmember. I cringe thinking of neutral drops.. As people noted i dont want to drastically change her. I am still up in the air. A good cruise to the lake this weekend weather permitting will give me time to think. How much of a job is replacing the clock. I also have a blower fan as the one in it ticks like crazy. But if it is a crazy job to change clock and blower fan i will live with them as is. One of the fender signal lights quit working so i am going to look at that this weekend. Only other issue is the signal doesn’t shut off on right turns. Any guesses why?
 
And my Dad had used model paint for the red whit blue in the emblems and electrical tape for the black on the side trim. Any good solutions for that. The black in the chrome trim by the taillights is also looking its age.
 
66sfury1owner said:
Thanks for the info on the crossmember. I cringe thinking of neutral drops.. As people noted i dont want to drastically change her. I am still up in the air. A good cruise to the lake this weekend weather permitting will give me time to think. How much of a job is replacing the clock. I also have a blower fan as the one in it ticks like crazy. But if it is a crazy job to change clock and blower fan i will live with them as is. One of the fender signal lights quit working so i am going to look at that this weekend. Only other issue is the signal doesn’t shut off on right turns. Any guesses why?
Click to expand...
You need a new canceling cam on your turn signal switch or maybe a whole new switch.
 
If you open up the clock and spray some light lube on the mechanism. Then hook it to a 12 volt source. Then gently rotate the flywheel back and forth. I've done this numerous times with success. The flywheel should start going back and forth on its own. It might stop, but start it again. Once it's going strong Leave it hooked to the power source overnight or several days.
My experience is when the car sits the clock gets set in 1 place and just winding the spring isn't enough to get it going again. Also they aren't lubed for 55 plus years of service
This reminds me that I have a couple clocks that need this done
 
Is that a hard thing to find or hard to replace?
Something i forgot about is my friend used the car for his wedding pictures and the front hood ornament was broken. He found me one but it sits sideways and the original was front and back. Where should i look for the proper one? That actually bugs me while driving.
 
66sfury1owner said:
How much of a job is replacing the clock. I also have a blower fan as the one in it ticks like crazy.
Click to expand...
Clock shouldn't be too hard. I've never done one in a '66, so I can't tell you exactly.

Bet the "ticking" in the blower motor is a leaf or something like a seed from a Maple tree.
 
What would u expect for all the screws being able to remove with wrecking them. So many are chrome I am nervous to mess them up and have replacements not match good.
 
If clock keeps stopping it pretty much needs lube.
1 thing you need to do to remove the clock is remove the knob that you adjust the time with.
There is a tiny nut type thing inside the knob. . You use a small flat screwdriver like a jewlers screwdriver.
Hold the knob and unscrew the nut. Then the knob pulls off. You can't get the bezel off without first removing the knob.
Sounds complicated but not that difficult.
The rest is just regular screws. And taking it cool
 
You say you want more umph from your 318. Have you considered going thru the trans? On my Newport, when I had it rebuilt to withstand the performance build for my 400, I had them install an extra low 1st gear and a looser torque converter. Factory gearset for 1st gear 727 torqueflight is 2.45:1, the new set is 2.77:1 IIRC. That increases torque multiplication for getting that big heavy car off the line and simulates a numerically higher ratio rear axle without sacrificing top end highway gearing. Then I chose a converter that spooled 400 RPM higher than stock, to get the engine to rev a bit higher before engaging the trans. Kinda like a stick shift, when you hold off engaging the clutch to allow the motor to build up torque then dumping the clutch for launch. Together with the two, the car launches harder and faster than stock and allows me to do burnouts when I so feel inclined. Toss in a shift kit and a rebuild and it'll feel like a different car.

Motor wise, a solid rebuild with maybe a 360 crank to stroke it, 9:1 pistons (10:1 if you can afford to fill it with premium gas every time), a good cam, 4 bbl intake & headers and you might bump a hundred extra ponies out of it. Or just F*** the dumb S*** and drop in a dedicated 360 crate motor that's already built-up from the factory, shelve the 318 for later.

I won't lie to you, I had a local shop build my torqueflight with red line clutches, heavy duty sprags & servos, ended up costing me 25 large to carry it out and install it myself. The gearset alone was over $700. That's not including the deep finned pan or the 8 line cooler, which is strongly recommend for a tough S*** rebuild. That loose convertor will get it hot and if additional measures aren't taken to shed that extra heat, the transmission won't last long. So far it's been 2 years and it shows no signs of trouble. It won't hang against a Hellcat, but I'm no longer embarrassed by a Prius at the stoplights.

Just a few things you might consider.
 
66sfury1owner said:
. This is a special car to me. The first owner was my Dad
Click to expand...
Then just keep it as original as possible.
It is a family heirloom .
If it aint broke..dont fix it.
Modifications, engine swaps, etc. will cause problems
To improve the Poly's performance, go electronic ignition with a recurved distributor and use a hotter coil like Accel Super Stock or MSD Blaster 3.
Dual exhaust helps as long as you keep the pipes at 2 or 2-1/4 diameter.
Fine tune the 2 barrel carb and ignition timing.

4 barrel intakes for Poly's are rare and expensive-- even aftermarket intakes which have been discontinued for ages.
If you want tire squealing, put a 3.23 rear gear in her. It will also have more pep at the lights and still be 401 friendly.

"He told me that the s fury (that's also the license plate) was a Windsor, ON build. I guess there were 2 different factories? "
Despite the 1965 Autopact agreement, cars sold in Canada had to be built in Canada using Canadian parts suppliers.
An example of this is when new, your Dad's car came with a cast iron Prestolite points distributor. American cars came with the typical aluminum Chrysler version. So the cap and guts do not interchange and there is no Pertronix kit for the Prestolite.
Hence my recommendation to go Mopar electrionic ignition.
Same distributor for LA318 slides in.
Windsor built Fury's had the spare mounted flat on the right said of the trunk just like a convertible car.
American Fury's the spare sits far back atop the hump under the package tray.
It took about 4 or 5 years where there was no difference the cars regardless where they were built.
Hope this helps
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

66-300
Purchasing 66 300
Replies
8
Views
468
kowalski1970
kowalski1970
B
Thanks
Replies
0
Views
344
bigblock
B
REBELLE 300
Rebelle 300
Replies
12
Views
495
66sptfry
66sptfry
oliver
Need advice on parting with my '72 New Yorker 2 door
Replies
18
Views
1K
Rustyrodknocker
Rustyrodknocker
MONC440
Us Mopar Guys Need to Stick Together
Replies
6
Views
884
MONC440
MONC440
Back
Top