Not a Restoration but definitely a project.

[condor74]

I figured I would share my current project. I have owned this car since 1992. Plan right now is to put a new motor in it and get it running to have some fun. It is ugly but has some good parts. The car is my 1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite. Original 318 auto car. Currently has a blown up 383 that spun a rod bearing 10 years ago and hasn't run since. Here is the rundown on the other good parts. 3.9 to 1 read axle with sure grip, 3000 rpm stall converter, headers with flowmaster mufflers 2.5 inch pipe, weld drag light wheels, Holley street dominator intake of manifold.
New motor is a .060 383 with forged ll.5 to 1 nos direct connection pistons balanced assembly and a mopar .509 292 purple shaft cam with 906 heads .
The bad is it is rough but hopefully will be fun.

 

[threewood]

I like it as is, looks rough but straight. Is it originally an A4 silver car?

 

[condor74]

It is originally Mist Green I believe. It does have the Roadkill look going for it.

 

[1967coronet440]

I thought it's sweet, I might sand it and shoot some primer on it?

 

[threewood]

It is originally F 1 Mist Green I believe. It does have the Roadkill look going for it.

Great color. My A4 had that greenish tint which is why I ask. If the underside is solid, build the drivetrain and drive it as is imho.

 

[condor74]

Great color. My A4 had that greenish tint which is why I ask. If the underside is solid, build the drivetrain and drive it as is imho.

I am not up to speed on my color codes but mist green is the color. Only rust issue is a little hole in the trunk other than that solid

 

[Bb70charger500]

Scuff it and clear it it looks bad *** the way it is !

 

[mrbelv2]

Looks like a fun project. Love the patina too! By the way, I lived in Taft in the mid 80's.

 

[condor74]

Here is another pic.

 

[condor74]

Here is the car back in late 90s or early 2000s The little girl in the pic turns 22 this year and graduates from college in a month. the boy is 20 lol My kids

 

[Kern Dog]

You will find that the car can be a bunch of fun to drive even with a ratty appearance. No worries about driving in the rain, no wigging out when someone opens their door against you...
The compression ratio sounds too high though. I'd see about having a good machinist mill some from the tops of the pistons to limit compression to no more than 10.5 to 1. It really is a pisser to have to run race gas to keep from rattling the engine apart. Many of the pop-up or domed pistons are pretty thick at the top, allowing them to be milled .040 or more. Dwayne Porter told me that a good way to modify pistons is to have the machinist cut .040 from the NON quench side.

 

[condor74]

I agree on the compression being a bit high. I got the pistons and block off of Craigslist about 10 years ago when the motor quit. I Think I paid 200 total for the 383 core short block with the new pistons and a few other parts. I looked into milling the domes but they are not solid inside and don't want to compromise the top of the piston.
i will probably run this engine for a bit and see how it does. I have 2 options after that. I can go through the broken 383 in the car and build a little more street friendly motor or i also have 1969 440 short block under my bench that shouldn't be to expensive to build. If you look closely in the first picture, there is a 1967 Dodge Dart sitting behind the plymouth. 383 might be fun as a bracket car engine in that.

 

[malex]

I agree on the compression being a bit high. I got the pistons and block off of Craigslist about 10 years ago when the motor quit. I Think I paid 200 total for the 383 core short block with the new pistons and a few other parts. I looked into milling the domes but they are not solid inside and don't want to compromise the top of the piston.
i will probably run this engine for a bit and see how it does. I have 2 options after that. I can go through the broken 383 in the car and build a little more street friendly motor or i also have 1969 440 short block under my bench that shouldn't be to expensive to build. If you look closely in the first picture, there is a 1967 Dodge Dart sitting behind the plymouth. 383 might be fun as a bracket car engine in that.

Just a thought on your compression, what's your elevation and would you be using aluminum heads on that 383? You might be ok with them with that 509 cam and a thick head gasket. Worth looking into.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

Leave the body as is for now. It looks like a true barn find and folks really like my 68 Sport Satty that is just a little worse condition than yours. Find the formula, do the math and install a thicker head gasket to lower your compression. Then you may have to use a thicker intake gasket to bolt it up..........................MO

 

[condor74]

I would love to put aluminum heads on it but my budget doesn't allow it at this point. I am an auto mechanic so the majority of the work is done by me. For now it will have the same 906 heads it has on the old motor. I did a valve job about 15 years ago but was probably 2000 miles ago. I built the short block 7 years ago but never installed it because the assembly didn't get balanced. I finally took it apart and had it balanced 2 weeks ago. It is ready for reassembly now. Life seems tongwt in the way and anymore time is just as hard to come by as money.

 

[condor74]

I figured I might go ahead and post some of my history of owning this car. I originally purchased this car from a guy I new back in 1992 because he wanted to enter it in a demolition derby. I paid $100 for it. It had been in an accident where it rear ended a Chevy truck. i towed it home and the radiator was smashed into the engine. I found that the front end damage was cosmetic and the engine had actually broke free from the motor mounts to come forward to hit the radiator. A new radiator and fan plus new motor and tranny mounts had it running again. I drove it like.that to college for a few years. It had a burned valve but still ran good enough to get more than 20 mpg. I eventually swapped to another 318 had dual exhaust installed and drove it. I would up trading it to another mopar guy for a 69 Swinger 340 car roller and a pile of parts. That was my firsy time selling the car. I bought it back from him for $ 600 or so about a year later.

 

[condor74]

I was hanging out a friend's house in 1994 or 1995 and wad talking how I missed my old satellite. Believe it or not it always got better mileage than my Daley driver 1967 dart gt with a 273. The guy I sold it to calls me out of the blue that day asking if I want to buy my car back and he needs money because he wants to buy a 72 cuda. I beg and barrow the money for the car and go pick it up. He had changed out the bent fender and hood and was driving it. It had a cracked flex plate so o changed that and drove it like that. In the mean time I am having my first daughter and she is born in May of 1995. She comes home from the hoapital in the Satellite. The car is a reliable daily driver for a few years and runs way better than that stock 318 ever should. I squire a 1964 belvadere 4 door with a chop top and good running 383 with headers around this time. The motor is a 1968 383. It finds its way into the plymouth in 1997sh . It is a stock 2bbl motor but has headers and a 4bbl intake. Next thing I install is the Holley street dominator intake I bought from a swap meet, a 3000 rpm stall converter and 3.9 to 1 gears I pillaged from a 1965 Dodge a100 van. I install a sure grip from my 1973 dodge van. The motor is still really stock and seems to float the valves at high rpm. It does pull low 14s at Famosa spinning the tires through 2nd gear though.

 

[condor74]

In about 1998 I bought a 1964 Barracuda and the Satellite wound up sitting a lot. At this point I had also bought a 95 neon so I could actually drive out if town with air conditioning and fuel mileage. The cuda and satellite both wound up sitting and my bills were stacking up. i had a 3rd kid and new wife so I sold the Satellite again and the cuda for 3000 in 2004. The guy wound up wrecking the cuda and i bought tbe Satelliteback as soon as i could.

 

[condor74]

Here is a pic of the car when I was buying it back

 

[condor74]

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