68 Coronet 500 ragtop

[Chris-Turbo]

 

[69HEMICORONETR/TCONV]

Beautiful car !......I have a weakness for convertibles.

 

[Donny]

Wow, that Yellow is so sweet. Yellow is a very difficult color to paint, and have it come out good...yours is outstanding! Ducati canceled all Yellow production for 2006 on their motorcycles; they said they wanted a break for a bit. And, welcome, looking fwd to exchanging ideas.

 

[69HEMICORONETR/TCONV]

Wow, that Yellow is so sweet. Yellow is a very difficult color to paint, and have it come out good...yours is outstanding! Ducati canceled all Yellow production for 2006 on their motorcycles; they said they wanted a break for a bit. And, welcome, looking fwd to exchanging ideas.

WOW ! I didn't realize that Ducati took a "break" from yellow, that's like Ferarri taking a "break " from red.................That Yellow is Strikingly Beautiful on this car ! it's different, but I like it.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I had a buddy that drove around using a vice grip for a steering wheel!

Glad to have ya! Nice car!

 

[Clay Dots]

Nice Coronet!

Great story, great rescue, love to hear about the dead ones wasting away getting rescued and reborn. Congradulations, nice work. You did good:yes:
Look for ward to seeing the RR project. regards

 

[Propwash]

Thanks for all the great compliments guys.

I can't take credit for the nice paint job, I had that done by a gentleman that has run a body shop for years now that my family has been good friends with. As far as the color, to be honest I really cannot take credit for that either.

I deployed to AL Jaber Air Base about the same time the car was going into paint. I had left strategic intructions and the funds for my mother along with the paint color (with code), and the type of clear to be applied. The color I wanted it to be was a Charcoal Silver Metallic (a mid 90's Honda color) with some extra flake. It was originally Sunfire Yellow.
I didn't take on the project with the idea to restore this to factory spec's, so Sunfire was out of the question (just not a big fan of yellow).

When I got back from deployment all I could think about was getting to the body shop to check the car out. I had no idea that my silver car was actually yellow. I walked into the shop and had one of those "dumb moments". There sat a yellow Coronet ragtop. I thought "imagine that, another Coronet convertible at the same shop". Yeah, not so much.

It turns out I was about 700 bucks short for the silver paint job I requested. My ma made the decisive decision to go with that yellow which turns out to be a 1974 Corvette color and is her favorite color. Obviously being overseas, I wasn't like I was easily availible to talk too, I was attached to an expeditionary unit. So discussing options really never made it to the table.

At first I despised the color, "that belongs on a ferrari or something" not on the "USS Dodge". Of course I told my mom I loved it. Who wants to hurt their moms feelings? The color actually has grown on me now after several years.

So, to boil it down, the car is 1974 Corvette yellow applied in a single stage Dupont Centauri. No clear! The amount of wetsanding and buffing that took
place on the paint was phenomenal. He did a great job. As far as my mother, she takes the car to more car shows than I do. Says it reminds her of cruising around with my dad in the Roadrunner when she was younger. Hey, If it makes her happy, I have no quarrels. I'm just glad a car built over 40 years ago is still rolling down the road and creating memories for more and more people as the years go by. For me, that's what it's all about!

Thanks guys

 

[69HEMICORONETR/TCONV]

WOW ! , I would have flipped if had wanted silver and gotten yellow !......... but the car looks GREAT ! ..........Looks too good to repaint, it probably wouldn't look any better painted the Charcoal color than it does now, ...what size engine does it have ? ...........and Thank You and GOD bless you for serving Our Great Country.

 

[Propwash]

The car originally had a 383. The guy that bought the car off the original lady that owned it, blew that up and replaced it with a 400. The guy I bought the car from scraped the 400 and replaced it with a 70's era 440 out of a New Yorker. I now have a 1968 383 in it with a mild build.

And thanks... I am proud to have served our great country and would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[69HEMICORONETR/TCONV]

The car originally had a 383. The guy that bought the car off the original lady that owned it, blew that up and replaced it with a 400. The guy I bought the car from scraped the 400 and replaced it with a 70's era 440 out of a New Yorker. I now have a 1968 383 in it with a mild build.

And thanks... I am proud to have served our great country and would do it again in a heartbeat!

The 383s are Great engines, I like 'em, ...did you have any convertible parts left over from the restoration ? , I need a pair or rear window regulators for my 69 Vert.

 

[Propwash]

I really wish I could help you out with that, but unfortunately I have no spare parts.
If I run into any regulators i'll let you know..

I really enjoy the 383's as well. I always seem to find them in the strangest places

Exe : Under a truck cap in a Ford lovers back yard-Paid 1 case of beer for it
In the back of a burnt up El Camino- Did a brake Job for it.
Found one at a Christmas tree farm chained up to a chev 348- just strange but free
Found one in my friends grandpa's barn-John Deere Green valve covers and air cleaner. Free with removal
Had a couple others donated to me and bought a couple others...I guess I'm just meant to stick with 383's

 

[Donny]

Wow, single stage and yellow? Talk about labor intensive! The reason Ducati ceased Yellow in 2006 and early 07 was the warranty claims on Yellow, apparently they had some issues painting them and stopped for a while.

In the military? Cool, I retired from 21 yrs Active Army, glad to be out!

 

[Propwash]

congrat's on your retirement! Time for some R & R

 

[DavidElmore]

Welcome