Flys-Lo
Well-Known Member
Hello all. I'm starting this thread to introduce myself, or more importantly my 67 Satellite project.
History: The car was bought in the early 80's by a young man who after a repaint pulled it into his mom's garage and started disassembling the drivetrain for a planned upgrade (318 to 440). Story goes that he met a girl, got married, had kids and started the American Dream, leaving the car behind. Then in 2011 -realizing the fact that he was never going to return to finish what he started 25 years earlier - he and his family decided it would help mom out if he let the old Satellite go.
My story: I discovered this car after years of casually looking for a project car that checked all the right "boxes" in my mind. Two friends - closer than brothers - have helped in choosing the car and will be working side by side with me throughout. One has a beautiful 73 Dart and the other his father's 68 Coronet 440 - original owner car, mid-restoration. We found this car sitting on blocks in a garage, all it's innards scattered around underneath on carpet. The first challenge was how to get the car out of the garage with no drivetrain. After measuring the Satellite and using the Coronet as a guide we built a 2x4 wooden buck to attach and slide the car onto the trailer. It saw sunlight for the first time in 25+ years last fall when we yanked it from it's slumber. After we got it to my garage we set it up and my two oldest boys and I started to strip the interior. School soon started, the weather got cold, snow came and we've not done much other than filling shelves with parts since.
The plan: Right now we're operating at 20,000 feet - meaning that we haven't gotten much into the details yet. Our goal is to take what Detroit gave us and improve on everything it does - power, handling, braking - all while retaining the classic style and soul. Some might call it OEM plus, maybe Pro-tour. We'll see how it takes shape as we put our plan together on a modest budget.
Next up? We'll continue to gut it - interior, glass, trim and then tackle the undercoating prior to media blasting. In my many weeks and months reading through the forums I've learned a little and will be purchasing a needle scaler "gun" for the undercoating - suggested by Propwash in his thread (Thank you). I was glad to see that tip as I wasn't looking forward to the torch/scraper/gooey-face method. I'll come back and update this thread as we go along but obviously this isn't an overnight or quickie project. We'd love to hit the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2013... or 14 - who knows?
On to the photos:
This is how we found it - with the 1 inch of grime removed. Every part, nut & bolt underneath.
Finally outside - after 25+ years.
On the way home - Received a lot of thumbs up and one comedian who took his life into his hands when he commented "It takes a good Chevy to tow a Mopar".
New home. Before the work begins.
Hood shows how grimy the car was before it was wiped down.
One of my favorite photos. My four on the right.
My oldest removing the interior.
My 8 year old sweeping up decades old dirt and pennies.
Thanks for looking - and thank you all for an informative website and great motivation.
Mark
History: The car was bought in the early 80's by a young man who after a repaint pulled it into his mom's garage and started disassembling the drivetrain for a planned upgrade (318 to 440). Story goes that he met a girl, got married, had kids and started the American Dream, leaving the car behind. Then in 2011 -realizing the fact that he was never going to return to finish what he started 25 years earlier - he and his family decided it would help mom out if he let the old Satellite go.
My story: I discovered this car after years of casually looking for a project car that checked all the right "boxes" in my mind. Two friends - closer than brothers - have helped in choosing the car and will be working side by side with me throughout. One has a beautiful 73 Dart and the other his father's 68 Coronet 440 - original owner car, mid-restoration. We found this car sitting on blocks in a garage, all it's innards scattered around underneath on carpet. The first challenge was how to get the car out of the garage with no drivetrain. After measuring the Satellite and using the Coronet as a guide we built a 2x4 wooden buck to attach and slide the car onto the trailer. It saw sunlight for the first time in 25+ years last fall when we yanked it from it's slumber. After we got it to my garage we set it up and my two oldest boys and I started to strip the interior. School soon started, the weather got cold, snow came and we've not done much other than filling shelves with parts since.
The plan: Right now we're operating at 20,000 feet - meaning that we haven't gotten much into the details yet. Our goal is to take what Detroit gave us and improve on everything it does - power, handling, braking - all while retaining the classic style and soul. Some might call it OEM plus, maybe Pro-tour. We'll see how it takes shape as we put our plan together on a modest budget.
Next up? We'll continue to gut it - interior, glass, trim and then tackle the undercoating prior to media blasting. In my many weeks and months reading through the forums I've learned a little and will be purchasing a needle scaler "gun" for the undercoating - suggested by Propwash in his thread (Thank you). I was glad to see that tip as I wasn't looking forward to the torch/scraper/gooey-face method. I'll come back and update this thread as we go along but obviously this isn't an overnight or quickie project. We'd love to hit the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2013... or 14 - who knows?
On to the photos:
This is how we found it - with the 1 inch of grime removed. Every part, nut & bolt underneath.
Finally outside - after 25+ years.
On the way home - Received a lot of thumbs up and one comedian who took his life into his hands when he commented "It takes a good Chevy to tow a Mopar".
New home. Before the work begins.
Hood shows how grimy the car was before it was wiped down.
One of my favorite photos. My four on the right.
My oldest removing the interior.
My 8 year old sweeping up decades old dirt and pennies.
Thanks for looking - and thank you all for an informative website and great motivation.
Mark
Looks like the beginnings of a great project and you have all the help right there good luck sweet ride!
