Who loves ya 69 4 door Coronet? Yeah, that's right....I do!!!

[Chargerjase]

Great car Bart. Can’t wait to see the reassembly.

 

[Dennis H]

Nice. Welcome. Thanks for taking proper care of the 69. My 69 Sport Satellite was the same color. Nice.

 

[BeeKool]

Glad to see you decided to keep the car.

 

[Bart K]

That is a sweet looking "more door" you are doing a great job with it.

Thank you very much Greg! I can't wait to see it in all B3 blue!!!

 

[Bart K]

View attachment 737493 Nice. Welcome. Thanks for taking proper care of the 69. My 69 Sport Satellite was the same color. Nice.

Sometimes cars come and go, but the 69 4 door is now part of my family, so I will do the best I can for her! Your Sport Satellite is one sweet lookin' ride!!!

 

[Bart K]

Glad to see you decided to keep the car.

I always wanted to keep her in the back of my mind, but I am happy I have made the official decision to keep her and give her the makeover!

 

[Bart K]

Great car Bart. Can’t wait to see the reassembly.

That makes two of us Jase! On one hand, I am prepared to be patient and just let things happen in their own time, but the kid in me (yes, there is still some kid left in this old fart) want's it to be done tomorrow!!!

 

[Bart K]

I spoke with Dave Moore who owns Precision Machine Service in Whetstone, AZ who is doing my engine yesterday (AKA 69Bee on this forum). Dave told me that he did not find a smoking gun for the noise in my engine after the initial tear down. He did mention that the crank did not turn as freely as he would have expected and said the engine was not line bored and there was different wear on the different main bearings. He also mentioned that the cam was starting to go away and there were a couple of lifters noticeably worn. He said dates on the bearings were from 1992 and 1996. The cylinders are .040 over, so we would have to go to .060 over. As best he can tell, this is a 1974 318, so he feels comfortable going to .060 over, but that is not the final decision. This was a quick and dirty look at the engine that Dave did for me because I was really curious as to what was making the noise. Dave will now start cleaning components and get my engine in the normal flow of his process and in my place in line along with everything else he is working on. After everything is clean, Dave will have a closer look and we will determine if we keep this block or look for one in better condition since it is not a matching numbers block anyway. Dave estimates 2 to 3 months to complete my engine which is totally fine with me since I am having a forum member and a Mopar engine expert doing the work! Dave if you are watching this thread and you have time, please feel free to chip in with any new information.

 

[BeeKool]

I spoke with Dave Moore who owns Precision Machine Service in Whetstone, AZ who is doing my engine yesterday (AKA 69Bee on this forum). Dave told me that he did not find a smoking gun for the noise in my engine after the initial tear down. He did mention that the crank did not turn as freely as he would have expected and said the engine was not line bored and there was different wear on the different main bearings. He also mentioned that the cam was starting to go away and there were a couple of lifters noticeably worn. He said dates on the bearings were from 1992 and 1996. The cylinders are .040 over, so we would have to go to .060 over. As best he can tell, this is a 1974 318, so he feels comfortable going to .060 over, but that is not the final decision. This was a quick and dirty look at the engine that Dave did for me because I was really curious as to what was making the noise. Dave will now start cleaning components and get my engine in the normal flow of his process and in my place in line along with everything else he is working on. After everything is clean, Dave will have a closer look and we will determine if we keep this block or look for one in better condition since it is not a matching numbers block anyway. Dave estimates 2 to 3 months to complete my engine which is totally fine with me since I am having a forum member and a Mopar engine expert doing the work! Dave if you are watching this thread and you have time, please feel free to chip in with any new information.

Yep & she prob still would have run for awhile longer. Hard to kill a 318

 

[Bart K]

Yep & she prob still would have run for awhile longer. Hard to kill a 318

One of the main reasons I chose to go with the rebuild is because of the speed limit here in AZ. In many places it is 75 and you can get away with 80 all day long. I had visions of the motor coming apart and the Coronet barrel rolling through the cactus in the median. If I did not die, I would probably wish I had died! Plus...…..I HATED hearing that friggin tic, tic , tic bouncing off the car next to me at every stop light!!! Plus, I just want the car to be reliable so I can enjoy it.

 

[Bart K]

OK, just a small update here. The engine is still with Dave at Precision Machine Service. http://precisionmachineserviceaz.com/ Dave says that this is not the original engine for the car which is no big deal to me. He also says that it is an older engine, so he is comfortable that it has enough meat left in the cylinders to go .060 over. The car will be trailered to the body/paint shop Saturday 5/4/2019. The transmission which has been identified as a 904 on another thread is already back from the transmission shop. I decided that if I am going to paint the car and rebuild he engine, it made sense to have the trans gone through. Here are a couple of pics.

 

[BeeKool]

Almost $1700 for an overhaul of the 904. Yikes!

 

[1969 Hemi RTs]

here's mine. almost entirely original. body. fun car!!

 

[Bart K]

Almost $1700 for an overhaul of the 904. Yikes!

Yeah, seems a bit high, but that does include removing the trans and getting it to the trans shop. The actual trans rebuild and the rebuilt torque converter were $1390 which still seems high, but I wanted it done to go behind the rebuilt engine. Since I don't know how to do it, I pay someone who does.

 

[Bart K]

here's mine. almost entirely original. body. fun car!!

View attachment 750868

Sweet ride you have there, looks really good!

 

[BeeKool]

Yeah, seems a bit high, but that does include removing the trans and getting it to the trans shop. The actual trans rebuild and the rebuilt torque converter were $1390 which still seems high, but I wanted it done to go behind the rebuilt engine. Since I don't know how to do it, I pay someone who does.

It definitely cost a few hundred more to have them rebuild the original than it does to just swap for a rebuilt.

 

[Bart K]

It definitely cost a few hundred more to have them rebuild the original than it does to just swap for a rebuilt.

I did not know that, and Jim let me know that the guy with the shop next to the engine builder would have done it for about $400 less, so anyone following this thread, pay attention and learn from my $400 mistake!!!

 

[Billccm]

I did not know that, and Jim let me know that the guy with the shop next to the engine builder would have done it for about $400 less, so anyone following this thread, pay attention and learn from my $400 mistake!!!

Some of it must be the mopar tax. Friend at work just had his 66 mustang auto rebuilt. Exactly $902 including R&R. I asked him to get a quote for a 727 when he went to pick up the car. He said the guy sorted smiles and said "mopar 727? About 3 grand". How can there be a $2100 differential in price between these cars?

 

[Bart K]

Some of it must be the mopar tax. Friend at work just had his 66 mustang auto rebuilt. Exactly $902 including R&R. I asked him to get a quote for a 727 when he went to pick up the car. He said the guy sorted smiles and said "mopar 727? About 3 grand". How can there be a $2100 differential in price between these cars?

It would be interesting to get an answer to that question!!!

 

[Bart K]

Ok, here is the next installment of the restoration! We transport the car to the paint shop and the painter (Shannon) and I start the tear down on a Sunday morning!