Primer King
Well-Known Member
Hi guys. I'm looking for opinions regarding my '63 Polara. It was cheap ($600); but really, really solid with just a soggy spot in the trunk floor above the gas tank. Floors, quarters, and firewall are all spotless and original with the original paint (and undercoating, rare for a CA car). There is a repaint and some rattlecan stuff over the original fawn or beige paint, but it's still there. Car was built in CA and stayed there till the guy I bought it from had it transported out here. Previous owner was a GM guy and realized he was in over his head. The car was stripped with darn near all of the interior gone and a 318LA and 727 dropped in. I think it probably was a parts donor for someone before I got it.
Anyway, it was a 361 or 383 car with a pushbutton trans. Somebody converted it to a 4speed with all the factory stuff except the floor hump and left the pushbutton shifter in the dash with the cable just coiled up and ziptied under the dashboard. So I found and bought a clutchflite trans for it and have located a 383 that was already hot-rodded but will get a teardown/rebuild just to be safe (trans will be rebuilt also).
My plan is to leave the car stripped and build a bare-bones hotrod as I don't have the time or $$ to restore it back to a stock Polara and don't really want to anyway. I guess what I'm shooting for is a poor man's interpretation of a "factory" lightweight. It will see 95% street use with maybe a couple passes at the track just to see what happens. I want to incorporate atleast a 4-point rollbar and subframe connectors but don't want anything overly invasive which might detract from the value as a restorable car. It really is that solid and rust free. I'm thinking US Car Tool connectors are probably what I want? Could they maybe even increase resale value or be an additional selling point if I ever want to sell the car?
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I did get the nose and the doors, they were all still attached when I bought the car. The door hinges were still kinda "stuck" to the doors with a greenish almost cosmoline kinda stuff between the hinges and inner door structure. I'm thinking they probably had not been removed before I got the car? Whoever hot-rodded it before I got the car swapped 65-later 8-3/4 in and they put it under the leaf springs. The springs are 7-leafs on both sides with 20-inch fronts ahead of the locating pins.
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More pics
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There was a handwritten note in the seat which came with the car. There is a December 18 1962 date across it with paint and body numbers that match my fendertag. Under that is hand written 413. Could it have been s special order 413 engine car? I'm guessing not because that would have been shown in the fendertag yes?
Anyway, it was a 361 or 383 car with a pushbutton trans. Somebody converted it to a 4speed with all the factory stuff except the floor hump and left the pushbutton shifter in the dash with the cable just coiled up and ziptied under the dashboard. So I found and bought a clutchflite trans for it and have located a 383 that was already hot-rodded but will get a teardown/rebuild just to be safe (trans will be rebuilt also).
My plan is to leave the car stripped and build a bare-bones hotrod as I don't have the time or $$ to restore it back to a stock Polara and don't really want to anyway. I guess what I'm shooting for is a poor man's interpretation of a "factory" lightweight. It will see 95% street use with maybe a couple passes at the track just to see what happens. I want to incorporate atleast a 4-point rollbar and subframe connectors but don't want anything overly invasive which might detract from the value as a restorable car. It really is that solid and rust free. I'm thinking US Car Tool connectors are probably what I want? Could they maybe even increase resale value or be an additional selling point if I ever want to sell the car?
- - - Updated - - -
I did get the nose and the doors, they were all still attached when I bought the car. The door hinges were still kinda "stuck" to the doors with a greenish almost cosmoline kinda stuff between the hinges and inner door structure. I'm thinking they probably had not been removed before I got the car? Whoever hot-rodded it before I got the car swapped 65-later 8-3/4 in and they put it under the leaf springs. The springs are 7-leafs on both sides with 20-inch fronts ahead of the locating pins.
- - - Updated - - -
More pics
- - - Updated - - -
There was a handwritten note in the seat which came with the car. There is a December 18 1962 date across it with paint and body numbers that match my fendertag. Under that is hand written 413. Could it have been s special order 413 engine car? I'm guessing not because that would have been shown in the fendertag yes?
