Meet Gertrude: the Newest Morris Mopar, 1968!

Gerald Morris

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As hinted, I now can thank my Lord it came to pass. Today, we purchased a 1968 Chrysler Newport convertible! It drove after the seller got her off his buddy's trailer, but RAN horribly! Since the man had warned me about this symptom and possible cause, I took it all in good cheer, already knowing what I would do, and what that in turn would do.

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Gertrude, drivers side profile-in front of Mansionem Mauritius. This car has ALL her original major parts, excepting the vinyl top. The new one is boxed up in the trunk. This weekend, Deo volente, we WILL get her covered properly. The motor drives the frame up and down just right! Nice to have such in working order. Courtesy lights in back seat all work too, as do the door pin switches!! Such makes prepping her for full Family Duty easier.


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Yonder carburetor came within a few nanometers of DEALBREAKING, despite prior warning about it. I remain AMAZED the old fool who sold me this thing didn't have the sense to TRY A DIFFERENT CARB, but also am VERY GRATEFUL he didn't! For had he done so, he would have SAS* KEPT this car. He admitted to me he still wanted it somewhat. Well, he got to wipe our meager savings out and take it home to his Desert Cactus Paradise near Mexico.

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The battery got a nicely refurbished, primered pan(from Mathilda) , new marine terminals and a brand new OEM battery bracket. Any of you see something WRONG in this pic? Look CLOSE at stuff.... NOW do you see anything WRONG with that battery or circuit leads?

The passenger compartment functions quite well, despite severe deterioration of the rear seat. Excepting the fuel gauge, very instrument in the instrument cluster works! I guess I'll leave the shitty old ammeter be for now, given that, though I WILL install my vital stats gauges as I had with old Tilly, as I hate relying on idiot lights to tell me that I just slagged my motor. Better to have QUANTITIES with which to assess Quality!
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Even the lighter is original! Could Gertrude be a ...... Survivor?

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*Sure As ****
 
I know you like to do the work yourself, BUT, convertible tops can be very tricky. I would invest in getting done by a good shop. (I have screwed one up myself, wasn't pretty).
 
Kool car Gerald, well done and it can be said officially, you suck!!:lol:
 
Kool car Gerald, well done and it can be said officially, you suck!!:lol:

Flattery won't move me! I now am going to research installing convertible tops. It SEEMS tricky, so I will take great care with this. If it gets too tricky, I might hire a pro, IFF there ARE ANY nearby. If only I can find some documentation......
 
I know you like to do the work yourself, BUT, convertible tops can be very tricky. I would invest in getting done by a good shop. (I have screwed one up myself, wasn't pretty).

Thanks for warning me. I hope to find SOME nomenclature on this. We'll see....
 
All, FWIW, I have a Kee top for Gertrude in the trunk. Anyone know anything about INSTRUCTIONS for re-topping one of these?
 
The service manual should say a few syllables about it. By ‘71 at least there was a separate body manual that covers it. I know because I didn’t have to reference it once while the top guy replaced the one on my Challenger for me.:rolleyes:
 
There should be something online as to instructions, I suspect. From what I know, you have two basic tack strips, one at the rear-middle, just in front of the rear window. The other one is at the header (front) of the mechanism. Plus something around the bottom of the rear of the top. PLUS the liner that everything lays in when the top is down.

Basically, lay everything out in the sun and let it get soft and unwrinkled. Start with securing the rear to the tack strip. Keeping everything TIGHT is important, which might take some doing. Once the front, middle rear, and bottom are secured, then the detail work of getting the sides stuffed into where they go can happen. As mentioned, it can be advisable to let somebody who knows how to do it, do it. When done, it should look like a factory "tight" top.

While the top frame is exposed, clean and oil and put some satin black paint on it. Check the hydrualics for leaks or the need of new cyls or lines. Most of the older systems used brake fluid for their working fluid, unless it might have been updated to a more modern oil-base fluid. Might contact the seller?

And THEN there is the weatherstrip for it all, too. Header, side rails, and rear quarter windows. MIght be some little things I'm missing? But when done, it can be a joy!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
Congrats Gerald! I recently acquired a 1968 parts catalog. I wasn’t in a desperate need for it, but just couldn’t resist when I came across it at a swap meet. Anyhow, if there is certain information that you might need, let me know and I can look it up/snap some pics of pages for you. Same offer from my ‘68 FSM.

(I was going to send you my info as a PM, but your inbox is full :poke:)
 
There should be something online as to instructions, I suspect. ....
....
And THEN there is the weatherstrip for it all, too. Header, side rails, and rear quarter windows. MIght be some little things I'm missing? But when done, it can be a joy!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

Not exactly a plethora of online instructions for these. I saw an outfit on eBay that sells DIY kits, using Kee tops. THOSE come DEAR I see! I'll investigate what pro labor costs down here, continue to seek out any detailed instructions, and make another Cost/benefit analysis, then see to toppinng this old gal. Theoretically, Uncle owes us about $16k in tax refunds, but I've spoken to many fol this year who, like us, have YET to collect a PENNY from the thieves! I'm not holding my breath. In fact, I might try screaming and such down at the Fed downtown if **** gets worse for us here. We had to bust our piggy banks to get Gertrude! We talked this over, and opted for her instead of a modern throwaway precisely because, they're... THROWAWAYS!!

5 years of slab sided C body Mopar ownership and operation has left us well tooled and equipped for supporting these machines! I saw the empty and extra boxes from NAPA left by Gertrude's previous owner. Reckon I'll let this asiatic stuff run while it will, then replace with MY Good NOS stuff as needed. Of course, occasionally, NAPA still gets some US made stuff.

AAAAAnyway, we're now broke, but VERY pleased with Gertrude! Once I undid that crapped up Carter carb the guy likely tried to rebuild his self, (I found the kit) and installed my Stromberg WWC, this old kitty purred, "Let's run!" and it does, very sweetly. Of cours,e the former owner is older than I am, so he likely recalls something about how to install breaker points, so forth, but he was NO mech genius! He made a few electrical BOO-BOOS too, which I also had to fix before they caused a fire.

Did you find the error in the wiring near the battery yet? It might NOT be directly visible, but a good zoom of that pic may reveal it. I WILL treat that **** VERY soon too.

Good night and God bless you and all the Good Moparians.
 
Congrats Gerald! I recently acquired a 1968 parts catalog. I wasn’t in a desperate need for it, but just couldn’t resist when I came across it at a swap meet. Anyhow, if there is certain information that you might need, let me know and I can look it up/snap some pics of pages for you. Same offer from my ‘68 FSM.

(I was going to send you my info as a PM, but your inbox is full :poke:)

That's cool bro! Hang on to it. I'm ordering the Detroit Iron CD tonight.
 
Gerald,in case you did not know..The MADE IN USA tag was for cars bult for EXPORT!
IT IS A VERY RARE FIND ON A C BODY!
If you can post a Pic of the fender tag so I can verify if the car was built for export.
if you are lucky,find the broadcast sheet and post it. It too will have a columns for built for US,Canada or Export.
Most cars with export tags were ordered by servicemen whom were overseas on either side of the North American continent.
When they returned home they picked up their cars.
Also,
Some export cars did get shipped and saw service in US bases in Europe.
When the soldier got sent home,the US of A shipped back his car for him.

ASo do some diggin and let me know.
If only Gertie could talk!.
BTW,the drivers manifold is a HP unit incorrect for the 2bbl engine.
 
Gerald,in case you did not know..The MADE IN USA tag was for cars bult for EXPORT!
IT IS A VERY RARE FIND ON A C BODY!
If you can post a Pic of the fender tag so I can verify if the car was built for export.
if you are lucky,find the broadcast sheet and post it. It too will have a columns for built for US,Canada or Export.
Most cars with export tags were ordered by servicemen whom were overseas on either side of the North American continent.
When they returned home they picked up their cars.
Also,
Some export cars did get shipped and saw service in US bases in Europe.
When the soldier got sent home,the US of A shipped back his car for him.

ASo do some diggin and let me know.
If only Gertie could talk!.
BTW,the drivers manifold is a HP unit incorrect for the 2bbl engine.

Oh, she has the "Made for Export" STAMP inside the driver side door! She spent her life at Ft. Huachuca, but may have seen foreign shores for all I know.

I THOUGHT that HP manifold was mighty peculiar there! Well, its been there a LONG time from the look of things. This car was owned by ONE married couple from 1977 until May this year. Also, it has an electric engine heater to warm the coolant up before starting. I'd guess this sled saw some duty in a VERY COLD PLACE!
 
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The service manual should say a few syllables about it. By ‘71 at least there was a separate body manual that covers it. I know because I didn’t have to reference it once while the top guy replaced the one on my Challenger for me.:rolleyes:

Thanks big BIG 4 that little datum! Gotta get the FSM, and then see what else can be had 4 it. I think I'm going to take a more conservative approach to what I do w this one.
 
Here ya go! She clearly did time Abroad, and SURVIVED!
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With the "Made for Export" tags, would the 383 2bbl have been specific to export and also have a lower compression ratio, as a result? With a different VIN engine code or markings on the block, too?

The key to the lh exhaust manifold might be IF the head pipe is factory, too? Rather than something a muffler shop might have done? Which might mean a normal joint rather than the factory ball-joint connector on those lh pipes?

Seems that Gertrude has her mysteries!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
Faxon has the body manual.....more info than the regular FSM on the top. There is a used 1968 FSM on Ebay for $20 right now

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