Hello all,
Brand new member here from Rhode Island. Itching to "show off" my new daily driver for the summer. Picked up a RUNNING 65 Coronet sedan for little more than scrap value that had been sitting in an old timer's yard not far from my university. Sitting on bias ply tires and sporting paint baked down to the factory primer in some areas, the car seems to have been rarely touched since 1965, as even the original shock absorbers are present complete with overspray from the factory. Although a New England car, the only areas of advanced rust are two small and common areas on the passenger rear quarter and front fender. All floors including the trunk are rock solid as well as all frame rails and torque boxes. The chrome is also in very nice shape for 52 years of age.
A 225 automatic(904 w/ column shift....I was hoping for push buttons haha) car with 104k on the clock the slant six fired to life after what I was told a 3 year slumber. All that was needed was a fresh battery and a little octane boost/MMO cocktail in the tank to get it to fire. Apart from a little smoke out the breather, a basic carb cleaning for the Carter BBS and a new water pump was all that was needed to get the motor ready for daily use. Checking in the glovebox I found paperwork from a local Transmission shop showing that the 904 had been rebuilt in 2010 and has less than 1000 mi on it. SCORE. So far I have taken the car on several trips to Boston and NH and it ran flawlessly with little oil consumption.
Since bringing the car home, I have done several small modifications and repairs. Apart from the obvious replacement of fluids and tune-up items, I upgraded to electronic ignition using a Petronix kit. Added a El-Cheapo Sun II tach. For an added margin of safety as this is a 4 wheel manual drum brake car, I swapped the single circuit master to a 1967 and up dual circuit as well as bent up all new hard lines, replaced all hoses and rebuilt the wheel cylinders. Wheel Bearings were also cleaned and repacked. Overall, the car is a great driver, starts right up every morning and most everything is still functional, even the AM radio after I replaced the disintegrated factory speaker.
My plans for the future including upgrading to dual exhaust(Dutra Duals hopefully after some research on the forums) with some Smithy's Glasspacks for that 60's vibe. I have swapped the wheels for some 15x7 Mopar police items with the dog dish caps. I have white letter radials on at the moment but they are more fitting for a muscle car. To really get the cruiser look, I need to drop the stance down alot more, easily with a crank of the torsion bars and a small block in the rear, paired with a skinnier set of "white stripe" radials. I also think an Appleton pillar mounted spotlight would complete the look. A 2bbl swap also seems worthwhile. People either love or hate the "patina" of the original paint. I love the color but the whole weathered look is in so in the meantime it will be getting preserved with linseed oil. I am also planning on patching the small rust areas as well as stopping heavy surface rust with Eastwood Converter.
Hopefully I will be able to make the 6 hour drive to Carlisle, PA in the big Dodge for the Chryslers at Carlisle event this July.
