Need urgent advice on 67 Coronet!

[louder50]

I am going to look at a 67 Coronet 440 Convertible tonight that is in need of full restoration but appears solid and have some urgent questions before I potentially make a deal. Are there parts available for these cars such as sheet metal patch panels, interior stuff, exterior trim, etc? I am also wondering where on this car I should look for rust out? Are there places where they usually have bad spots? Are there spots on the chassis I need to pay close attention to? Thanks guys!!!

 

[bdb67rt]

You can still get floor and trunk sheet metal. There are repro patches out there. A patch for lower front fender and lower patch for rear. Exterior trim for a 440 is out there, ebay and mopar classifeds Some interior trim (door handles, headliners, carpets) are available from remanufacturers. Try aftermarket catalogs like year one. Look for rot in trunk where rear leaf springs are mounted. Also look at torsion bar mounts. If you get it i may have some parts. Good luck

 

[YY1]

Bottoms of fenders- patch available
Quarter in back of rear wheel- IIRC patch available, but might not be best quality
Quarter over rear wheel- new (at least to me) patch available- jury out on quality
Floor- available
Look close at front frame rails between shock tower and firewall. I've seen several with holes in this area. Can be fixed, but not easy with motor in car.

If floor is rusted, look at T bar cross member.

Those are the main areas, but within the past 10 years I've seen a rash of-

A- cowl above doors
B- C pillar at quarter seam
C- under rear window

...and on convertibles- the panel between the quarter panels (dutchman?).

For some reason 1st gen Chargers, and a very few Coronets and Plymouths, rust from the inside out on the tops of the doors, quarters behind the doors, and fenders by the cowl. Those cars also usually have the door corners rusted as well.

Almost all trim eventually will turn up if you look long enough.
Vert specific parts are more scarce- top/windshield/back seat stuff.

Hood lip and headlight surrounds get dinged up real easy, hard to find in EC/GC.
Bumper (esp front) gets pushed in, and can crease fenders in hard to fix ways.

 

[Cranky]

These cars cost more to restore than later model cars do generally and bring less return if you ever decide to sell it....at least in my part of the country.

 

[Budnicks]

Rust issues in the corners of the front & rear windshields, under moldings & trim pieces, bottom of all fenders & behind the wheels front & back, debris in the cowl causing rust, leaky vent window rubber, bad felt around windows on doors to allow moister to rot out bottom of doors, trans cross member areas that holds the rear of the torsion bars, rusty floors under front carpeting from leaky window rubber, trunk floor from bad seals, front & rear frame sections at suspension attaching points, sediment in the fuel tank, bad sending units, bad fuel & water temp. gauges or bad voltage limiter, leaves & debris in heater box vent area causing rust... If the car has been garaged the rust issues will be much less, If the car was from a dry climate the rust issues will be much less, If the car was parked for a long period of time there can be many more issues than just rot & rust, If the car was from up north or north east it will more than likely have some serious rot & rust in frame members, from salted roads, If it is from a snowy or very wet climate check for issues in all the areas listed... Good luck Happy Moparing