My new 1970 New Yorker

John Kelly

Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
62
Reaction score
292
Location
Berwyn IL
When I was a boy, around 8 or so, I would ride with my dad in his International Harvester Travel All, wing windows open, to pick up my older sister from dance class. At her dance school was an older girl, she was 18 and her name was Amy and I was absolutely smitten with her. Weekly, I ignored the 10-year age difference and would go out of my way to say hi to her just so I can hear her voice and have her smile at me. She was the most beautiful thing my 8 year old self had ever seen and she drove what I later figured out was a 1971 New Yorker hence the burning into my brain the connection of beauty and the New Yorker forever.
Fast forward a lifetime and numerous cars, 4x4s, and motorcycles later, I bought a 1970 New Yorker. I got the car from a member on this forum and had it shipped to me. It's a perfect car for me because it is not a perfect car; the body and engine do not have matching numbers so I don't have to worry trying to restore the car to 100 percent perfection, there is just the right amount of rust so I can "experiment" with body work, and the drivetrain has just enough issues will prompt frequent research for someone who has just enough knowledge on this topic to warrant caution.
My plan of attack is to get a new exhaust system asap as the one currently on the car sounds like the Ukraine after Putin went on a bender. I may need to replace the fuel pump (not sure about that yet) and the carburetor may need some tweaking. AND there is the power break booster; that needs fast attention also. Once I get the mechanical issues sorted out, I'll start my dive into the body. The vinyl roof needs replacing and there are small areas of rust on all four fenders. Luckily that's all the rust to worry about, the rest of the car is solid.
In the end, I am shooting for a driver, not a show car. I drove the car around my neighborhood when it arrived and, ignoring the exhaust, it felt really good. Really, really good. I am sure the interior being near perfect added to that feeling. That and the wing windows. I've always loved wing windows.

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Way to go, John Kelly,, way to go.....

( BTW,, in case you forgot,, you no longer live in Berwyn)... :lol:


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Sorry, I had to do that.


Looks like a great project you have.

Be sure to keep us updated on your progress.

Jeff
 
@John Kelly -- I am sure that with the group of friends in Illinois and SE Wisconsin, this NYer will soon be giving you lots of fun.

Could you post the tag, and tell us more about the car's history prior to your buying it? Looks like FP6 Teal to me -- a color that I love. It'd be great to have a reunion of turquoise/teal fusies in IL before Regina FQ3 heads east. @71Polara383 @sixpkrt @70 Sport Suburban
 
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When I was a boy, around 8 or so, I would ride with my dad in his International Harvester Travel All, wing windows open, to pick up my older sister from dance class. At her dance school was an older girl, she was 18 and her name was Amy and I was absolutely smitten with her. Weekly, I ignored the 10-year age difference and would go out of my way to say hi to her just so I can hear her voice and have her smile at me. She was the most beautiful thing my 8 year old self had ever seen and she drove what I later figured out was a 1971 New Yorker hence the burning into my brain the connection of beauty and the New Yorker forever.
Fast forward a lifetime and numerous cars, 4x4s, and motorcycles later, I bought a 1970 New Yorker. I got the car from a member on this forum and had it shipped to me. It's a perfect car for me because it is not a perfect car; the body and engine do not have matching numbers so I don't have to worry trying to restore the car to 100 percent perfection, there is just the right amount of rust so I can "experiment" with body work, and the drivetrain has just enough issues will prompt frequent research for someone who has just enough knowledge on this topic to warrant caution.
My plan of attack is to get a new exhaust system asap as the one currently on the car sounds like the Ukraine after Putin went on a bender. I may need to replace the fuel pump (not sure about that yet) and the carburetor may need some tweaking. AND there is the power break booster; that needs fast attention also. Once I get the mechanical issues sorted out, I'll start my dive into the body. The vinyl roof needs replacing and there are small areas of rust on all four fenders. Luckily that's all the rust to worry about, the rest of the car is solid.
In the end, I am shooting for a driver, not a show car. I drove the car around my neighborhood when it arrived and, ignoring the exhaust, it felt really good. Really, really good. I am sure the interior being near perfect added to that feeling. That and the wing windows. I've always loved wing windows.


View attachment 642281
70 new yorker build sheet_no vin.jpg

Here is the build sheet for the car. The engine and trans came out of a '67. Blue 440.
 
Thank you for posting! FP6 paint with V1L beige vinyl top and H1P6 cloth & vinyl interior -- very, very cool! This is a rare combo, and it turns out that I know the seller of your car. Look forward to seeing more pics and reading about your good times with it!

@69CoronetRT
 
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Great story and great car. It is amazing the reasons we have memories of a particular vehicle and how they stick with us for a lifetime. It is great that you found the car you wanted. It looks great and it is a car you will be able to enjoy and hopefully you can make more great memories with it. Having numbers matching and a car that is show car quality is nice but it has many draw backs. My 68 sport fury was a lot of fun to drive and use before I spent 6 years and unprintable amount of money (my wife would kill me if she knew the truth) My car came out great and was a dream come true so I thought. I used to drive it everywhere I always took care of it but if it got a scratch or something spilled inside no worries. Now It sits in the garage under a cover and has been driven about 600 miles in 5 years. I don't dare eat or drink in it and nobody is allowed either. I don't take it were it is to crowded or ever leave it unattended. I used to love taking it to the beach. It never goes there for fear of sand on the seats and carpet. It does get alot of compliments though and people when they here it say smoke em up. Something I gladly would of done before I made it my dream car. I love my rare 440 sport fury convertible "mint Showcar" but my family and I enjoyed it more when it had a hole in the floor some dents, scratches and a little rust. Enjoy your car it is beautiful the way it is. Hopefully some one will see our cars and love them as much as we do if we decide to pass them on. Good Luck and keep making memories with it.
 
Great story and great car. It is amazing the reasons we have memories of a particular vehicle and how they stick with us for a lifetime. It is great that you found the car you wanted. It looks great and it is a car you will be able to enjoy and hopefully you can make more great memories with it. Having numbers matching and a car that is show car quality is nice but it has many draw backs. My 68 sport fury was a lot of fun to drive and use before I spent 6 years and unprintable amount of money (my wife would kill me if she knew the truth) My car came out great and was a dream come true so I thought. I used to drive it everywhere I always took care of it but if it got a scratch or something spilled inside no worries. Now It sits in the garage under a cover and has been driven about 600 miles in 5 years. I don't dare eat or drink in it and nobody is allowed either. I don't take it were it is to crowded or ever leave it unattended. I used to love taking it to the beach. It never goes there for fear of sand on the seats and carpet. It does get alot of compliments though and people when they here it say smoke em up. Something I gladly would of done before I made it my dream car. I love my rare 440 sport fury convertible "mint Showcar" but my family and I enjoyed it more when it had a hole in the floor some dents, scratches and a little rust. Enjoy your car it is beautiful the way it is. Hopefully some one will see our cars and love them as much as we do if we decide to pass them on. Good Luck and keep making memories with it.
You totally get it. I have two kids, the oldest going to be 15 in a few weeks. This driver I'm building is for them as much as it is for me. Sand on these seats will more than likely happen, but the dog stays home when we go to the beach.
 
I met up with John yesterday to check out his new wheels, and got to drive his new entry into the C body world a few miles around the neighborhood and to his storage locker.
It's a really decent car. It shows some mileage, but all-in-all it's worth taking it to the next level. I really like the car (I jokingly offered him the standard C Body price if he wanted to sell it to me, but he ain't sellin)
The sedans I've seen in the past generally do not have as many options as this 70 NYer has on it, including power windows all of which work with working hand-crank vent windows with good seals. It also has power bench seat with no tares in both front & back, a good carpeting, nice door cards, a clean headliner, gauges work (speedo/ammeter/fuel/idiot lights) power antenna, 3-speed wiper, rear window defogger. Even has auto pilot, but some parts are missing.
One thing I never noticed before on the sedans is where the rear seat cigarette lighters are located, in the center section on the "lower post" area. 4 door hardtops always have the rear seat lighter in the armrest from what I can remember seeing.
Got the car up on some ramps and changed the oil/filter and adjusted the timing to get it running a little better that it was the day before when John took delivery.
The car needs some mechanical attention, and maybe the heater core looked at too after noticing the heater hose was looped.
Getting this NYer issues worked out won't take too much to bring it to a fun ride that he can take my nieces out on a joy ride or some around town cruzin.
 
I met up with John yesterday to check out his new wheels, and got to drive his new entry into the C body world a few miles around the neighborhood and to his storage locker.
It's a really decent car. It shows some mileage, but all-in-all it's worth taking it to the next level. I really like the car (I jokingly offered him the standard C Body price if he wanted to sell it to me, but he ain't sellin)
The sedans I've seen in the past generally do not have as many options as this 70 NYer has on it, including power windows all of which work with working hand-crank vent windows with good seals. It also has power bench seat with no tares in both front & back, a good carpeting, nice door cards, a clean headliner, gauges work (speedo/ammeter/fuel/idiot lights) power antenna, 3-speed wiper, rear window defogger. Even has auto pilot, but some parts are missing.
One thing I never noticed before on the sedans is where the rear seat cigarette lighters are located, in the center section on the "lower post" area. 4 door hardtops always have the rear seat lighter in the armrest from what I can remember seeing.
Got the car up on some ramps and changed the oil/filter and adjusted the timing to get it running a little better that it was the day before when John took delivery.
The car needs some mechanical attention, and maybe the heater core looked at too after noticing the heater hose was looped.
Getting this NYer issues worked out won't take too much to bring it to a fun ride that he can take my nieces out on a joy ride or some around town cruzin.
As I said before, Tim is a good big brother! His help and knowledge on this adventure has been and will continue to be unmeasurable. Thanks T.
Enough of that, back to work; Can someone post a good link that describes dashboard removal? The break booster has to come out and since I am taking that out, I might as well look at the heater Tim mentioned above. Tim says it's a b!tch to do, so I want to read up on it before I decide my next steps.
 
When I was a boy, around 8 or so, I would ride with my dad in his International Harvester Travel All, wing windows open, to pick up my older sister from dance class. At her dance school was an older girl, she was 18 and her name was Amy and I was absolutely smitten with her. Weekly, I ignored the 10-year age difference and would go out of my way to say hi to her just so I can hear her voice and have her smile at me. She was the most beautiful thing my 8 year old self had ever seen and she drove what I later figured out was a 1971 New Yorker hence the burning into my brain the connection of beauty and the New Yorker forever.
Fast forward a lifetime and numerous cars, 4x4s, and motorcycles later, I bought a 1970 New Yorker. I got the car from a member on this forum and had it shipped to me. It's a perfect car for me because it is not a perfect car; the body and engine do not have matching numbers so I don't have to worry trying to restore the car to 100 percent perfection, there is just the right amount of rust so I can "experiment" with body work, and the drivetrain has just enough issues will prompt frequent research for someone who has just enough knowledge on this topic to warrant caution.
My plan of attack is to get a new exhaust system asap as the one currently on the car sounds like the Ukraine after Putin went on a bender. I may need to replace the fuel pump (not sure about that yet) and the carburetor may need some tweaking. AND there is the power break booster; that needs fast attention also. Once I get the mechanical issues sorted out, I'll start my dive into the body. The vinyl roof needs replacing and there are small areas of rust on all four fenders. Luckily that's all the rust to worry about, the rest of the car is solid.
In the end, I am shooting for a driver, not a show car. I drove the car around my neighborhood when it arrived and, ignoring the exhaust, it felt really good. Really, really good. I am sure the interior being near perfect added to that feeling. That and the wing windows. I've always loved wing windows.

View attachment 642281

Congratulations. May it see many salt free miles in the days to come.
 
Can someone post a good link that describes dashboard removal? The break booster has to come out and since I am taking that out, I might as well look at the heater Tim mentioned above. Tim says it's a b!tch to do, so I want to read up on it before I decide my next steps.
@71Polara383 @david hill
 
Congrats, @John Kelly.
There are a lot of guys in ILL, so you should make some friends there. I've met a few of them by taking a trip with @ayilar, he's an ambassador for sure.

Glad to see that car stayed in the FCBO family, I thought it was a striking car when I saw it for sale. Good colors.
 
Nice ride. Looks like a good driver and cruiser. I had my Newport rebuilt, almost as new now, lots of money thrown at it to get it to where it is. I do drive it a lot, you only live once, and everything will turn to dust one day, no matter how well you take car of it. Such is the world in my opinion anyway ;P no regrets
 
Congratulations John, I'm happy you finally got into a C body. I.look forward to seeing it at Tim's show this year.
 
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