help on restoring a 69 Plymouth Sport Satellite For a noobie?

[Rigpig138]

I don't know much about my Plymouth, and i'm still in high school, but over the next 15 to 20 years i plan to restore it to its original beauty. My mother, a muscle car enthusiast (much like i hope to be, as i have a 69 Monte Carlo and a 70's GMC to also restore within my lifetime) bought the car for around 4000 dollars about a year before she passed away, so obviously the car has an immense amount of sentimental value and i don't plan to let it rot in a garage until i'm retired. it has a brand new 383 with less than 3500 miles on it. (one of my mom's beginning restorations) but most of the electrical work needs replaced. it has a drag racing oil pan that sits about 4 inches from the ground and the suspension is shot. Its body is a faded brown with an even more faded black roof (the picture uploaded is just a Google

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[/HTML][/HTML][/HTML][/HTML][/HTML] image search. its the same color but the roof isn't the same), and a small rust problem behind the right rear wheel. As of now it is an automatic, but my most drastic upgrade i would like to give it would be to put a manual transmission in it. I understand that this is quite the task, but my grandfather, who is restoring an old 70's Chevrolet pickup, thinks that it is possible. I'm not looking for a drag racer, but i would like to invest however much it takes into the car, so when it comes to the parts, I'm not looking for something cheap, and i would like to push the car's level of performance as far as it can handle. Some day i would like to see a 440 big block under the hood. I am very lenient with advice and I will take any help i can get. I appreciate anyone willing to help and I am glad to be in a community with people that know what they're doing, unlike me.


Thanks!

 

[69SportSatellite]

As a fellow owner of a 1969 Sport Satellite - welcome! Just a couple of comments - first, read and research as much as you can from the FBBO forum. I have learned a great deal from doing that; lots of knowledge and experience here. Second, be polite and intelligent in the questions you post; try to be specific in what you are asking and you will likely get an answer. Third -- good luck with your project and post pictures when you can.

Chris
Sacramento, CA

 

[Rigpig138]

Thank you very much Chris! I appreciate the advice! Thanks for your time!

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Welcome to the site man! Very cool of you to continue on with what your mom started. I was 19 when I bought my Charger a little over 2 years ago, and having started from where you're at now I can say you definitely came to the right place. There's a ton of really friendly knowledgeable people on here and even more information all over the site on pretty much anything you'd want to learn

To start with try and get as many good detailed pictures of your car posted up on this thread as you can so you can get a good idea of where to start, but from what you're saying the car sounds like it's pretty solid. Just having a look around the project threads will give you a good idea of some of the problem areas to check as far as rust goes. If you ever want to do that engine swap, it's literally as easy as pulling the 383 out and dropping the 440 in, both being big blocks it's pretty simple to do. And a 4 speed conversion is definitely possible, basically just need the trans, bellhousing, correct driveshaft length, clutch pedal assembly, and all the necessary linkages, and as far as the body of the car itself goes the only real modification needed will be the 4 speed section of the trans tunnel being put in in place of the automatic shifter hole. (AMD makes the 4 speed section specifically so no problem finding one) I have a 727 as of now so that's about all the help I can be there, but the search bar will definitely be your friend on this site haha

Good luck with your project and bring on some pictures!

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Also my friend Mike sells reproduction parts and has been a huge help through my project, really nice guy and knows these cars inside and out since he's specialized in mopar restorations for years and even did his own hemi '69 Roadrunner. Here's a link to his site, just give him a call and tell him what ya need!

http://www.musclecaralleyofsouthernoregon.com/

Also one of the most valuable tools I've used on my project was a wiring diagram from this guy:
http://www.classiccarwiring.com

Full color diagram that's easy to read, and with all the help it's been I've gotten way more than my $15 worth or whatever it was to buy it haha

 

[GetX'd]

I love to see these posts from inspired young guys that have or are buying a Mopar for restoration. You're the next generation and completely open to listening to advice from guys that have gone before you. Believe me this site is the MIT study group for Mopars. Hundreds of years of experience to be shared in every category.

There are hundreds of threads already here - so use the search bar and it's likely what you're looking for is already posted at an earlier date.

Be open and log on often and you'll find folks on here are an immense support group. I'm personally very happy I stumbled upon this forum and wish I had years ago. I wish you the very best. Do your mom proud and make this the baddest satellite around and enjoy the process. I bought my first car at 18 - a 68 GTX. I still own that car today 42 years later and am going thru a front to back restoration. I thoroughly enjoy the car and what I'm doing with it.

Good luck!

 

[Rigpig138]

Thanks man! super helpful!! im kinda nearish Oregon so it should be easy to contact him!!!

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awesome! I cant wait to see his sight! Im about 15 hours away but I have relatives I owe a visit down there soon so ill see about seein his shop or something! thanks a lot man!

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Thanks man! super helpful!! im kinda nearish Oregon so it should be easy to contact him!!!

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awesome! I cant wait to see his sight! Im about 15 hours away but I have relatives I owe a visit down there soon so ill see about seein his shop or something! thanks a lot man!

No problem! I'm pretty sure he ships everything UPS so shipping to you shouldn't be too bad. I'm sure it'd be better than Year One in any case lol

And yeah any time you're down this way ai'm sure he'd be down to show you around! This is his car I helped work on every once in a while, original 426/ 4 speed/ Dana car now packing a 540 hemi. Came out awesome!

 

[old_skool]

First off, let me say Welcome, and this has to be the most intelligent, coherent, thought out, proud, humble, new member post from someone in high school I've read to date. I don't have to run your post through a super computer to decipher text lingo, grammar or spelling from another planet...you have a plan but do not have an unrealistic overnight timetable, your mother would be proud, and not just because you honor her with your Mopar build. Lean on your Grandfather for support throughout your build, come here as often as you can, we love pictures, plenty of people here with varying degrees of knowledge, you'll be asset to this community!! I look forward to your future build thread.
Rich

 

[eric383]

Welcome to FBBO and the Mopar fraternity.

 

[Budnicks]

welcome to FBBO, good luck with the 69 Satty project

 

[HawkRod]

Welcome to the site from PA!

As others have said, this is a great site and I personally get lots of help and support here. As said above, ask detailed questions with pictures (we love pictures!) and you are sure to get help.

You have a great car, and I look forward to seeing future build details.

One of the most important aspects you have to do is determine a "vision"for what you want the car to be. Show car? Drag car? Rare use street car? More routine street car that is comfortable and truly usable? Once you have your vision established, be sure all the modifications you make support that vision. There are lots of guys out there that want (or need) a more regular use car but put drag racing parts on it. Their car ends up running like crap, isn't dependable, etc.

Assuming you want a street car that you can truly drive and enjoy, I'll throw out a few tips:
1) I would suggest replacing the wiring first. Yes, I did say replacing, not fixing. Yes, you can fix the wiring, but it is 45 years old. The insulation will continue to crack, and it can give you lots of headaches and can even cause a fire in your car. If you want a reliable driver, I think this is an important upgrade. Year One carries what most people consider to be the best "drop in" wiring components. Not cheap, but they fit and work great.

2) The 383 is a great engine. I would run what you have for now and upgrade this last when money allows. If it is the original engine and you want o keep that, be aware that there are stroker kits that can stroke that little 383 to 496 cubic inches and put out lots of power. Of course, the 440 is the almost defacto standard, so you can't really go wrong with one of those.
Oh, and if you plan to drive it on the street, get rid of that oil pan before you smash it to bits...

3) To change over to a manual transmission, you will need to change out your automatic pedal to a brake/clutch assembly, you will need to cut your transmission tunnel and weld a manual trans hump, plus you will need linkage and lots of small stuff. You will also likely need to drill your crank for a manual transmission. All the parts are readily available, but it will be some work. Also, assuming you have a column shifted auto, you may wish to change out the column too.

Best of luck with it!

Hawk

 

[Photon440]

Hi, and welcome. I hope you're going to be here awhile and let us follow your build. All of your plans are quite do-able, and you'll find lots of experience here to draw from.

Good luck with your Sport Satellite!

 

[Donny]

Nice! Have at it! Welcome!!

 

[Redhorse719]

Welcome to the site.

 

[Rigpig138]

Thank you so much! this has been very helpful. I hadn't heard of the stroker kits before and I'm glad to hear about them! I will certainly invest in a decent one. any particular brands you prefer over others? Thanks again!

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Thanks so much for the help! Im glad to hear about the stroker kits! any particular brands you recommend? thanks for the help!!!

 

[HawkRod]

Thank you so much! this has been very helpful. I hadn't heard of the stroker kits before and I'm glad to hear about them! I will certainly invest in a decent one. any particular brands you prefer over others? Thanks again!

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Thanks so much for the help! Im glad to hear about the stroker kits! any particular brands you recommend? thanks for the help!!!

Here are some, just to get an idea: http://www.440source.com/strokerkits.htm

 

[snakeyes]

hi and welcome to the site ,kick back and enjoy the site :headbang: