70 Coronet R/T refresh

• Almost certainly a Cali car all its life. This underwent a full resto in the 2000s and I have some pics. There was literally no rust of consequence on the original body panels.
• Engine block is definitely numbers-matching. I'm told it was bored 0.030 over during the rebuild.
• Transmission is allegedly original internally but the case was replaced due to a crack. Oh well. This gives me an excuse to throw in an overdrive trans if I want to someday.
• Exterior color is NOT the original Mopar metallic green, but a darker metallic green (I'm trying to get the paint code, allegedly it's a GM). The black stripes are metallic black and are painted on.
• Vinyl roof and interior are now black, but were originally green.
• Other than the colors, the wheels, and the radiator, it seems effort was made to keep the car original. Even the original front disc brakes are still there.

• Perform a full detail at some point.
• Fix small paint bubble near rear window trim. (It's not rust, maybe bad surface prep. Inject glue?)
• A few exterior plastic pieces are somewhat tired and should be replaced.
• The center of the hood doesn't quite lineup properly with the bumper. Resolve this.
• Replace hopelessly pitted driver's side remote mirror.
• Replace hopelessly pitted vent window brightwork (ugh, working with vent windows SUCKS, I know this from my GTO).
• Replace wheels and tires with something more period-correct.
• No spare came with the car. Source spare-tire hardware.
• Replace all fluids in the car so I have a fresh starting point.
• The Wizard radiator has a leak and will be trashed. Get a new one (another Wizard? An OEM Mopar repro that doesn't suck, if such a thing exists?)
• Touchup some paint on the engine.
• Replace some of the things in the engine bay that should be shiny but won't cleanup.
• Transmission and oil pan gaskets have slow seepage. Replace the gaskets.
• Replace the Magnaflow mufflers with my favorites, the Flowmaster Super-40s.
• An exhaust pipe is pressing up against the floorboards and causing vibration. Fix that.
• Decide if I want to add QTP exhaust cutouts so I can dump headers at will.
• Replace busted rearview mirror.
• Fix bad sun visor ball joints.
• Replace the tired steering wheel and horn cap with OEM repros (for an absolute fortune, but they are in disastrous shape).
• Fix the broken horn.
• Fix the broken autocancel on the turn signal.
• Wood veneer trim in the car is mismatched and mostly tired. Replace as needed.
• Diagnose and fix non-working fuel gauge.
• Alternator gauge reads backwards. Fix it.
• Diagnose and fix non-working blower (and maybe heater core?).
• Diagnose and fix non-working wipers.
• Replace incorrect and tired armrests.
• Restore or replace the janky glovebox.
  
• Dash pad is in good shape, but the metal area in back of it needs repainting or major touchup? Do this.
  
• Replace various tired interior switches, knobs, and other misc pieces.
• Right quarter window doesn't go up all the way. Fix.
• Clean or polish out old stains/scratches in side windows.
• PO added a thing under the dash to hold an aftermarket radio, along with kick-panel speakers. Replace all this with more modern hardware.
• Replace front seatbelts with 3-point seatbelts.
• Replace rear lap seatbelts with new lap seatbelts.
• Install a Lojack.
• Get personalized black Cali plates.

PurpleBeeper said:

Wow.....beautiful car. If you don't mind me asking, how much did that car set you back?

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4mayhemi said:

Usually a love it or hate it front mug - glad another lover surfaced - great R/T!

Is it my eyes or is the bottom green-tinted rhino lining?

On the wheels, one partial trick (when it hasn't been repainted) is to look under the decklid at the spare factory mark: "F70" (x14) or "F60" (= 15" rallyes). Not having the broadcast sheet it would be a guess on which 14s, but one assumption is that someone ordering this low-option R/T wouldn't spend the extra money on rallyes or magnums. You'll never know, but that means no wrong answer in the period rollers you choose. Since you don't know the GM paint, I wonder how black steelies with dishes would look matching the black side scoops/top/stripe?

Very thorough to do list - couple ideas:
Radiator: GlenRay is correct and quality IMO
Jack: you need 1104 hook and Tbar mast, good luck with that. Pics@ nicksgarage.com.
3 point: if you're talking modern self-retracting, I've seen adaptors for E-bodies, don't think they can be used in B-bodies as bolt-in.

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69L48Z27 said:

Nice ride!

The paint issue you have looks like the molding was not removed when they painted the car. Looks like material build up then tape removal. Or, the molding was installed too tight before the paint hardened and it moved the paint around. I don't see a rust issue.

I order to fix that you will need to remove the molding and pull back the vinyl top. Once it's all pulled back plan on sanding, priming, blending then clearing the entire quarter. Hopefully ending at the Dutchman panel seam. Chances are your blend line will look similar to the problem you have now if they build up too much material.

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Stereolab42 said:

I was smoking crack. The bubble is not hollow but just paint over material buildup (good call 69L). It's really small and hard to see so I'll just leave it be. But I found out why my brakes are kinda spongy:

View attachment 663617

Jesus wept. I ordered a proper reman 2944477 on ebay (none of that Cardone crap). Should I replace the brake booster too while I'm "in there" or leave that be?

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WP29440SE said:

good grief man , if it were me I would go through the entire brake system . I imagine the calipers probably look a like that too.

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• I've begun compiling a shopping list of parts and am getting quite a shock. On my GTO, literally EVERYTHING was reproduced, and was just a mouse click away on opgi.com. On this car, however, about half of what I want is not, and you have to get creative.
• I think I'm going to bite the bullet and replace the dash wiring harness. YearOne has a near-identical repro for a decent price. I'm not sure yet if any of the non-working electrical stuff is due to old wiring, but replacing that old crap will rule that out for sure. It's also a "now or never" moment.
• As for the heater box there is zero chance I'm going to rebuild that myself. Will send it out to one of those rebuild services in a couple months, I suppose.