04-11-20, 12:00 PM
Hi Guys! Hope you all are well during these crazy times.
I have a '67 Coronet 500 that has been in our family since it was new. My Great Grandfather bought the car at Werner Dodge in Belford NJ in November 1966 when he was in his 80's. He drove it for a couple years, then sold it to my Father in 1969. Dad used it as his regular driver throughout the 70's and then handed it over to me for my 17th birthday in 1986. I took it to Florida during my college years and returned it to NJ in 1990 where it sat at my parent's house for several years. We would drive it on and off, going to car shows and continuing to enjoy it on weekends. In 2009, Dad and I decided it was time for an overhaul. The 318 had 185K on it and was really tired. We pulled the motor with the intention of having it rebuilt (more on that later) and had a friend and super body / paint guy restore the exterior. We had redone the interior several years before and it remains pristine today. As the body and paint were being done, we had another friend working to refresh the 318. At the same time, another Mopar friend was restoring a 1970 Road Runner and had a freshly rebuilt 1970 383 with 727 all ready to be installed when he decided to make a new 5.7 Hemi car out of it. So instead of reworking our 318, we bought the 383 with big dreams of our new big block car. Unfortunately Dad got sick in 2009 and after the body / paint was done, the car and the engine were relegated to my garage. I continued to do some additional work like removing the old fuel and brake system and cleaning up the underbody to prep for new mechanicals. And then life takes over as they say. House, family, job, volunteering as a firefighter, etc. all took priority. And so sits the coronet and separate motor covered in the comfort of my garage. I tried to find places to take on the task of putting it back together over the years with the hopes that Dad and I would get to ride around in it again, but to no avail. In April 2017, we lost Dad to cancer and I'm sad that he never was able to get that "one last ride".
So I've finally made the decision to start working on it again on my own, along with my 14 year old son. There are a lot of things I think we can do, but know for sure there are things of which we have no idea where to start. That's where you guys come in! I am hoping through this forum that I can bounce my questions off everyone and get some well needed guidance as we go down this road together.
I'll add some pictures later on, but shared one from 2001 that I hope you enjoy.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. Stay Mopar!
- Arts67
I have a '67 Coronet 500 that has been in our family since it was new. My Great Grandfather bought the car at Werner Dodge in Belford NJ in November 1966 when he was in his 80's. He drove it for a couple years, then sold it to my Father in 1969. Dad used it as his regular driver throughout the 70's and then handed it over to me for my 17th birthday in 1986. I took it to Florida during my college years and returned it to NJ in 1990 where it sat at my parent's house for several years. We would drive it on and off, going to car shows and continuing to enjoy it on weekends. In 2009, Dad and I decided it was time for an overhaul. The 318 had 185K on it and was really tired. We pulled the motor with the intention of having it rebuilt (more on that later) and had a friend and super body / paint guy restore the exterior. We had redone the interior several years before and it remains pristine today. As the body and paint were being done, we had another friend working to refresh the 318. At the same time, another Mopar friend was restoring a 1970 Road Runner and had a freshly rebuilt 1970 383 with 727 all ready to be installed when he decided to make a new 5.7 Hemi car out of it. So instead of reworking our 318, we bought the 383 with big dreams of our new big block car. Unfortunately Dad got sick in 2009 and after the body / paint was done, the car and the engine were relegated to my garage. I continued to do some additional work like removing the old fuel and brake system and cleaning up the underbody to prep for new mechanicals. And then life takes over as they say. House, family, job, volunteering as a firefighter, etc. all took priority. And so sits the coronet and separate motor covered in the comfort of my garage. I tried to find places to take on the task of putting it back together over the years with the hopes that Dad and I would get to ride around in it again, but to no avail. In April 2017, we lost Dad to cancer and I'm sad that he never was able to get that "one last ride".
So I've finally made the decision to start working on it again on my own, along with my 14 year old son. There are a lot of things I think we can do, but know for sure there are things of which we have no idea where to start. That's where you guys come in! I am hoping through this forum that I can bounce my questions off everyone and get some well needed guidance as we go down this road together.
I'll add some pictures later on, but shared one from 2001 that I hope you enjoy.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. Stay Mopar!
- Arts67
