Oliver's 66 belvedere II partial resto

oliver · Jan 4, 2011

Hey guys, started to tear into my 66 belvy for some 'freshening'. Bought it off the original owner out of his barn, its a black plate california car.

Here are some exterior pics i just took today. A little rough around the edges, but im leaving the paint the way it is, chips, dings, and all. Its going to be a driver.

After i left it out in the rain for a month :eusa_naughty: i found the carpeting SOAKING with water, grass and mold was growing out of the carpet! I tore into the interior fearing the worse, but found 100% solid floor boards with only minor surface rust, there are no holes or thin spots at all.

oliver · Jan 4, 2011

Heres the trunk:

Heres how the interior was before

Little bit of rust in the rear right 1/4, only thru rust on the car.

I'll keep this thread updated, any questions or suggestions?

Meep-Meep · Jan 5, 2011

Dude, that thing is cherry! Does it have the leaning tower of power? I see 3 on the tree. Here's what I would do if it were mine assuming the direction is to make a nice driver out of it with minimal $$

Check and clean all wiring connections, especially the bulkhead. All grounds, etc..

Reseal the front and rear glass and other known leak points.

Check/replace brakes and running gear. 11" drums and a dual MC conversion are an easy swap or you can go with late model discs. BJ's compatible with 11" drums will be required for the drum swap. My 66 Bel has 11" drums that I put on.

Probably needs lower BJ's or maybe a front end rebuild anyway.

Window regulators may need attention.

Cooling system.

For the rust spots you can just treat the area with rust converter and use an epoxy based filler or even glass reinforced bondo. It's not like you have major Swiss cheese going on. After the repair you MUST seal the other side with something or it will rust through again. I suggest the oily waxy goo from Eastwood. If you can see the back side of the repair then you can cover with undercoating but chances are you can't so you will have to blast the goo into the crevices. Throw some white paint over the repair to keep it protected or just paint the car. It looks straight enough.

So are we neighbors? I'm in the SF Bay area too. What city are you in?

Meep-Meep · Jan 5, 2011

Oh yeah, do not loose that gas cap!!!!! Or if you are going to loose it you can loose it on my car!

oliver · Jan 5, 2011

Meep-Meep said:
Dude, that thing is cherry! Does it have the leaning tower of power? I see 3 on the tree. Here's what I would do if it were mine assuming the direction is to make a nice driver out of it with minimal $$

Check and clean all wiring connections, especially the bulkhead. All grounds, etc..

Reseal the front and rear glass and other known leak points.

Check/replace brakes and running gear. 11" drums and a dual MC conversion are an easy swap or you can go with late model discs. BJ's compatible with 11" drums will be required for the drum swap. My 66 Bel has 11" drums that I put on.

Probably needs lower BJ's or maybe a front end rebuild anyway.

Window regulators may need attention.

Cooling system.

For the rust spots you can just treat the area with rust converter and use an epoxy based filler or even glass reinforced bondo. It's not like you have major Swiss cheese going on. After the repair you MUST seal the other side with something or it will rust through again. I suggest the oily waxy goo from Eastwood. If you can see the back side of the repair then you can cover with undercoating but chances are you can't so you will have to blast the goo into the crevices. Throw some white paint over the repair to keep it protected or just paint the car. It looks straight enough.

So are we neighbors? I'm in the SF Bay area too. What city are you in?

Thanks so much, yes it is the slant 6 with a 3 on the tree.... i am going to be cutting the floor up for a 4 speed. heh, im getting a drivetrain out of a 70 challenger with the 340 in exchange for building a 512 ci big block stroker.

Front end is really tight, and i am going to dual circuit brakes. How tough is it to reseal the front and rear glass? The front window regulators are good, but the rear regulators are very stiff. I live in Orinda and my shop is in Vallejo.

Propwash · Jan 5, 2011

Real nice car Oliver.....real nice.

joemac1j · Jan 5, 2011

WOW!!!! It reminds me of my 66 HEMI Satellite Silver Buff. You are one lucky person. I used to live in the Bay Area, Fremont, San Rafael. See all my cars on HUB GARAGE under JOEMAC.
I am 71 and living in Alaska now.
LOL on the 66, you sound like a knowledgeable guy. I to have built my, and others, engines and transmissions for racing. Terry Eslinger and I used to own the A/SA record with a 64 Plym 426 Max Wedge. I see it is now for sale by a guy in Ill. $82,000. Out of my league. Have a good time.
JoeMac

moparstuart · Jan 5, 2011

very clean NICE FIND

oliver · Jan 5, 2011

Thanks alot guys, its my first older mopar and i think i got a real good deal on it. If i remember right i paid either 3200 or 3400 for it, not bad for being able to drive it at 65mph and not worry about it breaking down. Its a kind of rare car, but not desireable, so i don't mind cutting up the floor for the hump and putting a 340 into it. its going to be a real nice cruiser.

Meep-Meep · Jan 5, 2011

oliver said:
Thanks so much, yes it is the slant 6 with a 3 on the tree.... i am going to be cutting the floor up for a 4 speed. heh, im getting a drivetrain out of a 70 challenger with the 340 in exchange for building a 512 ci big block stroker.

Front end is really tight, and i am going to dual circuit brakes. How tough is it to reseal the front and rear glass? The front window regulators are good, but the rear regulators are very stiff. I live in Orinda and my shop is in Vallejo.

We're not far apart. I'm in San Ramon. We might need to have a Belvedere convention!

The windshield has a rubber gasket but I'm not sure about the back. I know the 68-69 cars are glue in but the earlier ones might have a seal. Either way make sure you have a way to reseal the glass (as in gaskets in hand) then just cut them out with a razor knife. Also, I wouldn't even mess with reinstalling the old windshield unless it's perfect (rarely the case). Over time they get sand blasted from road debris and who wants to look through that? I will be doing the exact same thing to both my 66 Bels at some point.

Yeah, I'd say a 4 spd conversion is a no brainer decision! The 340 should be an improvement too.

JKLNHYDE · Jan 5, 2011

Meep-Meep said:
Oh yeah, do not loose that gas cap!!!!! Or if you are going to loose it you can loose it on my car!

If you need a gas cap LMK, I have quite a few laying around.
Great car, looks to be very solid.

roadrunnerman · Jan 7, 2011

that is a nice clean car

1badgtx · Jan 7, 2011

Hey thats a clean one for sure!!!!
Petty Blue 67 GTX

68sportsatelliteragtop · Jan 9, 2011

Don't forget to seal the windshield wiper pivots. The rubber umberella seals really work well. It is surprising how much water makes its way in through that area.

oliver · Jul 10, 2011

Well well well... looks like i have my engine.

Here's what i tore it out of

This is gonna be a fun engine in the belvy.

oliver · Jun 25, 2013

Maybe i should update this thread... I ended up completely rebuilding the 340, its now a 350ci solid roller, h beams, keith black hypers, about 10.5:1 compression, ported/polished j heads, harland sharp rockers... i could go on. Heres the engine in its various states.

- - - Updated - - -

I also built a 8 3/4 with sure grip, 3.91 gears, aftermarket axles.

I ditched the slant six k member and put in a v8 one that i stitched welded the seams and reinforced the steering box mount, i also added front discs, new master cylinder, .92" torsion bars, and stiffening plates to the lower arms.

- - - Updated - - -

I also went ahead and cut the tunnel for the trans hump. I am using an a833 behind the 340.

Dropped the motor in, added the block plate, aluminum flywheel, clutch, and lakewood blow proof.

Installed the trans, rebuilt the shifter and bolted everything up.

- - - Updated - - -

Heres the motor more put together, im going kinda for the sleeper look.

And heres it finally running, its dumping right out of the headers and i used a cell phone so sound quality is pretty bad. motor has real good response and im barely blipping the throttle.

[video=youtube_share;E4oxVJaY_rk]http://youtu.be/E4oxVJaY_rk[/video]

oliver · Jun 25, 2013

Started fabbing up the exhaust with random bends and an x-pipe kit. Im also trying to get it as close to the floor board as i can to avoid bottoming out.

68 Sport Satellite · Jun 25, 2013

looking real good! I'm in San Jose and up at Meeps shop in San Ramon often. You gotta bring that thing over so we can check it out!

oliver · Jun 26, 2013

68 Sport Satellite said:
looking real good! I'm in San Jose and up at Meeps shop in San Ramon often. You gotta bring that thing over so we can check it out!

When is the next time you guys are meeting up? The interior is pretty rough at the moment and the body will only be getting a wash. Ain't gonna be a show car. hah

oliver · Jun 26, 2013

Heres the completed x-pipe. Next time im going prefab. haha

Oliver's 66 belvedere II partial resto

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