1968 Dodge Coronet Deluxe Project

[YY1]

That car should be a tad lighter than a 440/550 or R/T.

That's in your favor for handling.

They can be made to handle very well, without even doing anything exotic to them.

If you like driving a dirt track car, or a go-cart, you can get it to handle just like that, and very predictable.

If your 73 parts car has good front fenders, save those.

Show us pics of it and we'll help.

 

[MidnightSpecial]

Hey guys thanks for all of the help. Im going to talk to my brother and see if he is trying to part the car out for a profit. If not I am going to ask him for some pickings.

Here are some quick shots I've taken over the last few weeks.

I have decided to chip away at the interior. Dont have money for the big stuff yet so I figured I would pick my battles

Here is the dash before I started.



After primer. Yes I know its not the most professional job haha. But this is a budget build for sure. My budget allows me to make a hot rod. Maybe one day I can start making it pretty.


This is the passenger floor pan right after I pulled the carpet.


The first pass with the grinder. Very please I had no rust through the floor. It has a patch panel with some booger welds but nothing to cause a problem.


And the money shot. I've had the car down for about 2 months while I save some money up. Nothing wrong with it but the battery crapped out and I have a charging issue I need to fix first. I'm 25 and just went through my first year as a homeowner. So I have been doing a lot of budgeting to make sure I can handle all the bills. I think I have a grasp on it now. Im hoping by the first of the year I can start with some big steps with big parts.

 

[conv67bdere]

And the money shot. I've had the car down for about 2 months while I save some money up. Nothing wrong with it but the battery crapped out and I have a charging issue I need to fix first. I'm 25 and just went through my first year as a homeowner. So I have been doing a lot of budgeting to make sure I can handle all the bills. I think I have a grasp on it now. Im hoping by the first of the year I can start with some big steps with big parts.

Good looking start and congratulations on the new homeowner ! ! Smart move on working on the budget and getting the bills in order . . . tough to balance the "want" to work on the car and get it moving and the "need" to take care of the finances . . . glad to see you're doing it in the proper order ! ! ! Will be watching as you start getting back to the car as money allows.

Thanks for sharing the updates ! ! !

 

[tallhair]

Thanks for the updates Midnightspecial. Very nice looking car.

 

[YY1]

You might find this interesting-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plymouth-Du...acc4475af&item=321254618543&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

 

[MidnightSpecial]

You might find this interesting-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plymouth-Du...acc4475af&item=321254618543&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Ah man that looks good! I'm not original anymore! haha

The gloss doesn't look half bad. The flat OD green I have right now is a placeholder until I get everything the way I want it. Paint will be last. I may be sick of the color scheme by that point haha.

 

[Budnicks]

welcome to the mix, MidnightSpecial, cool concept your going with, keep up the good work, great car to start with too...

New Member here,

Bought the car in March for around $4,000. Runs, Drives, and makes noise.

Basically bone stock

-273 V8 - Edelbrock intake, Edelbrock 1406 carb, M/T valve covers....thats it.
-8.25 rear
-Auto

Some of you OE guys may not like this build but I hope it brings interest.

My goal with the car is more Pro-Touring oriented. Would love to beat imports at the local road course or autocross.

Pictures to come!

When I picked up the car.

When I brought it home. I had been in the house for maybe 2 months before I bought the car. So you will see my garage progression as well! haha


And the current car. It was born tan, sprayed Sublime Green, repainted red, then I made it mean with an Olive Drab green...I couldn't stand the bondo patches.

The black trim is sprayed with plasti-dip not paint. I can peel it off.

we do like our car **** around here, you'll do well, keep the progress going & photos coming... good luck looks cool

Hey guys thanks for all of the help. Im going to talk to my brother and see if he is trying to part the car out for a profit. If not I am going to ask him for some pickings.

Here are some quick shots I've taken over the last few weeks.

I have decided to chip away at the interior. Dont have money for the big stuff yet so I figured I would pick my battles

Here is the dash before I started.

After primer. Yes I know its not the most professional job haha. But this is a budget build for sure. My budget allows me to make a hot rod. Maybe one day I can start making it pretty.

This is the passenger floor pan right after I pulled the carpet.


The first pass with the grinder. Very please I had no rust through the floor. It has a patch panel with some booger welds but nothing to cause a problem.


And the money shot. I've had the car down for about 2 months while I save some money up. Nothing wrong with it but the battery crapped out and I have a charging issue I need to fix first. I'm 25 and just went through my first year as a homeowner. So I have been doing a lot of budgeting to make sure I can handle all the bills. I think I have a grasp on it now. Im hoping by the first of the year I can start with some big steps with big parts.

 

[MidnightSpecial]

I plan on posting some photos later today. I finally installed the dash pad. I have to say.....that was the biggest pain in the a$$ haha. Maybe I did it the long way around but good gracious it was much more difficult than I anticipated. But its in...I'll stop whining haha.

I'm still making my list of everything I want to do. Think I have it pretty squared away on my idea.

- 408 LA. I would go magnum but I would like to keep my current trans until I can upgrade. Plus there is just something about the LA I love.
- Tremec 5-speed
-Dana 60 w/ a 3.73 TrueTrac...I want a bruiser and a cruiser all in one. Once finished I will be road tripping the car....dont want to cruise at 3500 on the interstate. If any of you have a better suggestion let me know. This is one area I'm still unsure of.
- Will have 18 x 10's...need to get my backspacing. If any of you know I would appreciate the heads up
- 295/35/18 BFG G-Force T/A's. Ive heard you can make them fit all around but i will most likely get 255's-275's up front.
- Sit it about 2 - 3 inches lower. Maybe even lower to that. Not trying to make it a low rider but I want it to squat.
- Hotchkis TVS system all around. I've been tempted with the Alterkation coil over set up but I'm just hesitant to convert a torsion bar car to coilover, especially if you are throwing hard G's at it. Plus....its not cheap.
- Single adjustable shocks...for now
- Want a half roll cage at some point to set up a 4 point harness. Plus I'll get some rigidity.

A boy can dream right?

 

[Art Bee]

Hello. You can go pretty far on a car "body wise" with a small budget. Time is the factor and if you can't afford to "socialize" then you may as well be in the garage working ... besides the little lady always knows where you are. Patience is the key to near perfection results ... and that costs nothing when doing it yourself. Awesome choice on the car ... my first car was a 68 Coronet R/T that I bought in 1977 for $350 when I was 15 years old. It's so nice to see and hear of a young man like you being into 60's cars ... it's a rare site today and us older guys give you a pat on the back and encouragement. I have 19 year old twins (boy/girl) ... if I died and the boy ended up with either my 61 Chrysler 300G or my 69 GTX, he would trade it in on a Toyota ... the girl would keep them ... times have changed. Keep up the good work and never ever give up !!! Regards Art

 

[747mopar]

Cool car, looks sinister in that green and black. Keep the pics coming

 

[Basket case]

great project. do it to make you happy. and that's the way to do it, just chip away at it. too much real life ets in the way to get the toy car done quickly. furnance craps out in November,wife's car dies, Christmas, etc, etc,

 

[MidnightSpecial]

Hello. You can go pretty far on a car "body wise" with a small budget. Time is the factor and if you can't afford to "socialize" then you may as well be in the garage working ... besides the little lady always knows where you are. Patience is the key to near perfection results ... and that costs nothing when doing it yourself. Awesome choice on the car ... my first car was a 68 Coronet R/T that I bought in 1977 for $350 when I was 15 years old. It's so nice to see and hear of a young man like you being into 60's cars ... it's a rare site today and us older guys give you a pat on the back and encouragement. I have 19 year old twins (boy/girl) ... if I died and the boy ended up with either my 61 Chrysler 300G or my 69 GTX, he would trade it in on a Toyota ... the girl would keep them ... times have changed. Keep up the good work and never ever give up !!! Regards Art

Well my love with 60's cars came when I was young. No one in my family is really a hot rodder but just something about them I have always loved. Always wanted one. Ive been fortunate enough to graduate college and get a decent job for my age. Had some life goals to meet first then I splurged on a muscle car. I think everyone needs a project in life. Being young my goals have always been school related. After college it was to get a good job. Then it was to buy a house. After that it felt really strange not to have a goal. So the car is a perfect next step haha.

Cool car, looks sinister in that green and black. Keep the pics coming

Thanks! I will update as I can nothing too much right now. At least not picture worthy.

great project. do it to make you happy. and that's the way to do it, just chip away at it. too much real life ets in the way to get the toy car done quickly. furnance craps out in November,wife's car dies, Christmas, etc, etc,

Yeah I have learned early the "oh $#*%" reserve money is NEEDED. haha. I had money saved up for new brakes then BAM, the alternator goes out on my truck. Then bam the A/C wouldnt blow cold. Gotta love it haha.

 

[Ron 73]

Thats a great project you have going there! I love it and the 68 is one of the nicest, i like them all for one reason or another i guess, but i really think if i had my choice of a 68 or 69, the 68 would win out, i love the way they made those tail lights! Have fun and good luck with it!!

 

[MidnightSpecial]

Alright guys so here is a quick update of a little progress I made.

I finally finished cleaning up the floors in the car and got it ready for sound proofing.

I researched and researched and decided to go with Second Skins Damplifier.

I want to say I am THOROUGHLY impressed with this companies product. I decided to get the thinner of the two with weight saving in mind. I bought 40 ft. for $150. Literally 2 hours after ordering it was shipped. Hats off to these guys for their quality and customer service.

I was able to cover the entire floorpan with 3 sheets to spare....I feel I received a great value. Even without carpet in the car I can tell a WORLD of difference. Here are two pictures right after I finished laying it down. I ran out of foil tape so thats why there are so many gaps.




On a side note my girlfriend of 2 years left me no choice but to marry her after my christmas gifts this year.....



Very fortunate to have a girl that is supportive of my unhealthy obsession haha.

 

[Basket case]

shoulda held out for a new welder.........congrats!

 

[MidnightSpecial]

Alright so the next purchase will be a new wiring harness. 2 wires burned up over the course of this weekend and I no longer trust the wiring job of the previous owner because well.....I discovered the fuse box was not connected to anything.

Which is the best (easiest) harness for the money? Of course i have been looking at Painless but I've heard mixed things.

Also I plan on pulling out all the factory A/C stuff as I will not be using it.

What would be a fair price to ask for the ENTIRE under dash assembly? Its in decent condition

 

[snakeyes]

looking good there :headbang:

 

[Darter6]

Look or call Ron Francis wiring. They have a Mopar spcific basic kit for under $300. I have looked into several kits and really don't need 18 or 22 circuits that most kits have for $600 or more.That's if you don't or want to have as many electronics like the space shuttle. Just a thought.

 

[MidnightSpecial]

looking good there :headbang:

Trying to keep progress going. Don't want it to sit too long without progress. Thanks for keeping interest!

Look or call Ron Francis wiring. They have a Mopar spcific basic kit for under $300. I have looked into several kits and really don't need 18 or 22 circuits that most kits have for $600 or more.That's if you don't or want to have as many electronics like the space shuttle. Just a thought.

I looked into this after you mentioned it. Seems the "retro" series is exactly what I need. I do plan to put a stereo in it later down the road but I'm sure I could figure it out when the time comes.

Not looking forward to a complete rewiring....i took a vocational course in high school on DC circuits but that has all went away after all the beer drinking in college haha

 

[Basket case]

just a thought...any chance you are pulling the windshield? If so that's the perfect time to pull the dash. piece of cake to run a new harness, and makes it alot easer to change the master cylinder and the dried out seals on the wiper pivots.