1966 coronet fixer upper

[Macxander]

So I came here for a reason and this is it. My 1966 coronet 440. My first car was a 1967 coronet 440 4 door with a 318. My dad bought it for me after I got my first job (that was the deal job = car) That was in 1990 and I was a sophomore in high school. I eventually rebuilt the motor, and after the front end went completely out of the car we pulled the engine and put it in my fathers 1969 dodge D100 pickup. My Dad sold the truck to a man in Colorado. That story being told I of course have always been looking for a coronet to re-live my youth and enjoy having an old muscle car. I have been around Chrysler my whole life, and my entire family still drives them to this day. So my Father in-law calls me one day and says he has found a coronet, and that he may be able to pick it up for a fair price and asked if I was interested. "Of course I am" I quickly told him. Now I am wondering what a fair price is, and wondering the condition of the car. My Father in-law says he is going to visit with the owner of the car the next day, and see if he can get it for a good price. Crap. Now I have to wait till tomorrow and think about this car all night and all day tomorrow. So I dream about this thing all night, and I don't have a clue on what engine it has or if it runs, or even if its in any kind of condition at all. So I get the call from my wife's dad, and he says he picked up the car, and will bring it over the next day on a trailer. Here we go again dreaming all night and having to deal with the anticipation and thinking... on a trailer? Great its a hunk o junk if it on a trailer. Well the car arrives and to my surprise it's not that bad. In fact, it's pretty good. 1966 coronet 440 2 door, matching numbers 383 4BBl. Sweet! My father in-law gave $500 for it and gifted it to my wife and I. It's been sitting a while, and needs some TLC. I received the car last fall, and have not had a chance to do to much to the car. I drove it around a while just long enough to blow up the old dried out transmission, but I have since had the tran. rebuilt good enough to hold up to 600 hp. So there it is. I have quite a few questions, and I know quite a little about these cars, so I am looking forward to talking with some other people about some things, and if you have questions feel free to hit me up. Let me see if I can send some pics...

 

[super-bee_ski]

Hi Macxander!
Great pics of you Coronet!
Nice car by the way.

And, you have a GREAT GARAGE to work in!
Congrads on your Coronet and your plan for the car.

Again, thanks for the pictures...
Keep us posted on your game plan.

"super-bee_ski"
PS: I love Coronets

 

[Macxander]

Thanks! It's funny you should say that about the garage, cuz it looks like a bomb went off in it now. As far as immediate future I have an old school shop that we take cars to here in town. The labor is really well priced, and there are a couple of good ole boys that work there. They will be fixing my electrical, rebuilding the carb, and getting my gas gage to work. I have no blinkers, and I have not been able to find out why. Fuses, lights, and blinker units are all good. The car runs poorly and it needs a tune-up. I have replaced the plugs and wires, and even the cap, rotor, and coil. I am sure the old gas in the system is very bad, and the carb I am sure needs some attention. Once my shop gets it running good (if they can) it will go down and get duel exsaust. The system that is on it is completely toast. My wife works for a uniform delivery company, and she has made some friends in the business that will save me some bucks on the work. I purchased some used craiger wheels from a scrap yard for cheap, and I am going to put them on the car as well. the problem is they are 15 inch wheels, and I need to find a comparable tire to the stock 14's that it normally runs. So that's it in a nut shell. I don't plan on spending a bunch on the body as it needs a ton of work done. That will come in time. I just want to get it street ready so I can get to driving it. Interior also needs some help but that will wait as well. If anyone knows what 15 size tire would work good I would appreciate the info as well. Thanks again, and I will get some new pics as soon as I get this thing going good.

 

[gdrill]

Nice Coronet! It looks like a great start. I am thinking of painting my '66 silver with a black vinyl top so yours is a good example for me. I like it.

 

[YY1]

Welcome.

I loves me a 66 Coronet.

Not to get off on the wrong foot, but unless someone's changed both fenders...

If it were a factory 383 car, it would have "383 Four Barrel" emblems on the fenders where yours has "V-8" emblems.

...and your VIN should start with WH23G6...

 

[Coyoteduster]

Great looking project, welcome to the site !

 

[mr. b]

nice looking project and welcome to the site

 

[747mopar]

Now that's a sweet gift! Very nice score and one of my favorites, good luck.

 

[Ron 73]

Man, WELCOME to the forum!!! That is one cool project and i hope you have some fun building it, ive always wanted a 66-67 i just love the body style and the grill in these, ENJOY!!

 

[Macxander]

Thanks for the input. So... I have been over this ground a little before, and as far as I can tell according to the VIN it should have a 361 however, the VIN also indicated that the car was made late in the year, and when the 361 engines became less available they started puting 383's in as a replacement. So the VIN is WH23F65I50592. I am greatful that you brought this up before I start doing something with a 383 and find out it is something else. This car came from the son of the original owner making me the third. The son said that nothing had been done to the car that he could remember, so I am iterested in your experience. Thanks for the post, and let me know what your thinking.

 

[Brandy]

Welcome to FBBO from Vermont. Gotta love the 66/67 Coronets. Mines a 67. Nice survivor to start out with. Good luck.

 

[YY1]

I'm pretty sure those "late build car with a different engine than the VIN" stories are never true.

There should be a displacement stamp on the block near the distributor.

Will have a letter, the displacement and maybe a few more characters.

The letter is the model year of the engine starting with A in 1965, so a 1966 Engine should have a "B".

Example- http://mmcdetroit.com/Date_Codes/date_codes_13_l.html
The hole visible at the top of the pic is the distributor hole.

I'd bet it's either the original 361 or a 383 someone transplanted in.

All good either way.

...also no such thing as "matching numbers" engines prior to mid year 1968.

You can check the casting date of the engine, which is cast into the block, and it should be a few months prior to the build date of the car.

- - - Updated - - -

It is entirely possible that someone put a "date correct" 1966 383 in your factory 361 car.

In fact that is much more likely than the factory building it that way.

It is not out of the realm of possibility that the engine was replaced at the dealership, again, more likely than being built that way.

Let's see more of the car, like inside and under the hood.

 

[YY1]

ThreadKiller strikes again---------bwahahahahahahaha

 

[jimmyd]

Nice car! mine's a '67 coronet. I'll be following along for sure!:sunny:

 

[red 69 runner]

Nice car and welcome to the site

 

[69Coronetrt]

I'm pretty sure those "late build car with a different engine than the VIN" stories are never true.....

Nice post.

WH23F65I50592 is certainly not 'late built' even for LA. It's only the 50,592nd unit built. WAG it's, what, an April SPD still leaving all of the last three months of production.

For legal, production and practical reasons, engines will match the VIN.

OP...nice find. Good luck with the project. The world needs more Coronets!