66 Coronet 500 Driver, Light Resto

[Nxcoupe]

Always wanted to do a build thread on this site. So, I got this car home about a week ago. I made the deal on it last year around August. It came out of the same barn my 66 Belvedere II H code car came out of. They sat side by side for about 20 years. When it saw the light of day, it was beautiful, paint was slick with minor sun fade in spots and interior was spotless. I went down to get it and unfortunately, I shouldn't have waited almost a year to pick it up, but it was 12 hours away in Florida. The sun literally baked the paint off of it unfortunately and the interior got a lot of water intrusion too. So these are how I got it, my buddy did the best he could to keep it safe, so at least it's home.
About the car, 66 Coronet 500, 2 dr hardtop, 361, auto, console, buckets, factory AC, AM radio, remote mirror, 4 way flashers, wood grain wheel.

 

[Nxcoupe]

I want this to be a very nice driver. I want it to run well and be reliable while restoring bits and pieces as I enjoy it. I don't want a hot rod, I have plenty of those, I want this to be a car I can take to car shows, go cruise with my family and maybe take on short trips. I want the ac to work, go down the road straight and smoothly, and have a good ride. I want it to look sharp and turn heads, which it will as I've never seen another around here.
I tried getting it running yesterday and today. I figured out the points were corroded and not letting the proper current pass thru them. I got some 320 grit sand paper and sanded them to clean the corrosion off. It took a few tries and I had to gap them a bit tighter when finally, poof! Spark! So I tried spraying some starting fluid in(brake clean), and it kicked over and promptly tossed a chunk of the cracked fan shroud up in the air. Lol. Fired up tho, even if for just a sec. Engine has had a 4 bbl put on it, looks correct for a 63 by the date cast in the intake. But it wasn't getting fuel up to the carb. So, today I decided to Roadkill it and pulled the inlet off the fuel pump and hooked a 5/16 rubber line up to it and put the other end into a gas can. I tried pouring gas in the carb and got it to sputter some, but when I put my thumb over the fuel line inlet and cranked it over, no bueno. No suction. So called up the parts store, 28 bucks, be in tomorrow. We'll see how close it is to the original when I get it.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Almost forgot, it is pretty much rust free, only spot I've found that's not surface rust is this spot on the door.

 

[mtbase]

Nice!

I have nearly the exact car, restored now...factory 4 speed, 361, 500 package.
I love it.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Nice!

I have nearly the exact car, restored now...factory 4 speed, 361, 500 package.
I love it.View attachment 1290892

Really like the color. What color is the interior?

 

[Nxcoupe]

So today the fuel pump came in, so I went to pick it up. I got there and he handed me the box, and it looked familiar. I figured it out on my way home, I got home and looked in the car, there it was, brand new fuel pump in the box with other parts. I took the one I just bought back to the parts store. Tomorrow I'm going to remove the old one and put the new one on. I hope it will start and run but I'm not gonna hold my breath. I figure the afb is filled with shellac and nasties and it won't run worth a crap.
I'm wondering if I need to replace the fuel tank or if it will be ok with fresh fuel? I should run my bore scope down the filler neck and see what it looks like down inside. I hope it's not too bad and I can get away with using it.

 

[mtbase]

AFB?
It should be a Carter B&B (two BBL). It must have been changed out, because the 361 only came that way.
I always try to stay as close to original as possible, mine is in the original color (modern paint) and I was hell-bent on making the 2bbl work before replacing it. I found a 66 4bbl from a 383 and put a Edelbrock 1406 on it...Big improvement. My mistake was not using a Edelbrock manifold, instead of that 60lb Mopar one...the carb gets too hot with that.

I think I'd try to get that old fuel out, could be all rust in there. At least add a fuel filter ( if there ain't one already) and be prepared to replace it a couple times.
You probably know that the 361 is the exact block ( except for casting #) as a 383...just bored out for 4" pistons, instead of 4-1/8".
Some of the 500's came through with the forged crank and 383 heads...mine was one of those

 

[Nxcoupe]

AFB?
It should be a Carter B&B (two BBL). It must have been changed out, because the 361 only came that way.
I always try to stay as close to original as possible, mine is in the original color (modern paint) and I was hell-bent on making the 2bbl work before replacing it. I found a 66 4bbl from a 383 and put a Edelbrock 1406 on it...Big improvement. My mistake was not using a Edelbrock manifold, instead of that 60lb Mopar one...the carb gets too hot with that.

I think I'd try to get that old fuel out, could be all rust in there. At least add a fuel filter ( if there ain't one already) and be prepared to replace it a couple times.
You probably know that the 361 is the exact block ( except for casting #) as a 383...just bored out for 4" pistons, instead of 4-1/8".
Some of the 500's came through with the forged crank and 383 heads...mine was one of those

Yeah, I made note that it should have been a 2bbl and the intake has a 63 casting date. The AFB is probably correct for whichever 383 the combo came off of. Everything else about it is original. I agree that if there is any fuel in the tank it's nasty. I may put another filter in the line before the pump. I have an extra. I also have some seafoam cleaner that I may dump in it. I'd like to try to get it running with the existing tank as my shop is sucking up all my money currently. Thanks for the input. I may go with an edelbrock as well.if the engine ever comes out or apart.

 

[Nxcoupe]

So attempted to swap fuel pumps out without success. Been a while since I've done one and it bit me. The pushrod slid out and got stuck at the bottom on the access plug and I was unable to get it to slide back up. I'm going to have to pull the plug and pull it out, grease it up slightly and then get it to stay up so I can get the pump lever in there and the pump bolted up. What a pain. Small blocks are a lot easier. Maybe tonight when my wife plops on the couch and leaves me alone, I can go out and finish it up.

 

[mtbase]

I don't remember having trouble with that.

Just a thought...may not be a good one:

What if you "gravity feed" fuel from a gas can, to get the engine running. Then use a fuel hose to the "out" side of the fuel pump and collect all the bad gas from the tank...add clean fuel and repeat.

This tank is not bad to drop out....I think there's only one strap. The worse part may be the filler neck hoses, factory clamps need to be cut off. Preserve the hoses and don't disturb any connection that doesn't need to be....hit everything with Break Away now, just in case.

 

[Snook]

Pretty car, especially with the big block as factory. These cars are great drivers, will be great when you're done.

Chuck (snook)

 

[Nxcoupe]

I don't remember having trouble with that.

Just a thought...may not be a good one:

What if you "gravity feed" fuel from a gas can, to get the engine running. Then use a fuel hose to the "out" side of the fuel pump and collect all the bad gas from the tank...add clean fuel and repeat.

This tank is not bad to drop out....I think there's only one strap. The worse part may be the filler neck hoses, factory clamps need to be cut off. Preserve the hoses and don't disturb any connection that doesn't need to be....hit everything with Break Away now, just in case.

That's not a bad idea at all. Yeah, I dropped the tank and replaced it on my 66 Belvedere last Summer. This should be identical.
Reason I don't want to drop the tank now is I'm contemplating running a Holley Sniper on it and the tank would need to come out for me to put an in tank efi pump set up in it. I'm a Holley EFI dealer, so I like to put it on just about everything, lol.
Thanks for the input! That's what I like about this place.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Ok, so it runs! And runs good too! I figured out why he parked it, the driver's side very rear exhaust manifold stud is broke off and it's leaking exhaust badly. Also, it needs a matched pair of AC belts too. Lastly, the distributor shaft has copious amounts of side play and wobble, so it needs to go.
The afb idled and even the accelerator pump worked. Choke worked, idled about 500 so I set up the idle a bit. It went into gear forward and reverse. Power steering worked and no leaks I could see.
I used a gas can with a hose to the inlet of the new fuel pump. I used a magnetic screwdriver to get the pushrod back up and pump went right on.
Tomorrow, I'm going to put a filter inline before the pump, there is one after the pump already, and put some fuel in the tank and see if it will run that way for now.

 

[xs-ivv]

That car is going to be a fun driver. Are you going to try to buff out the paint or leave it with some patina?

 

[Nxcoupe]

That car is going to be a fun driver. Are you going to try to buff out the paint or leave it with some patina?

For now, as is. It's a damn shame to as the car was gorgeous when it came out of the barn. A year in the florida sun wrecked what turned out to be a cheap paint job. Eventually I'd like to fix the paint, but this is not going to be a strip everything down to the shell resto. I've seen way too many of those end up taking 10 years to finish and I'm not missing out on driving this one. So patina for now, yep!

 

[xs-ivv]

I would do the same. I think it looks great as is!

 

[Nxcoupe]

I would do the same. I think it looks great as is!

Thanks! I want to clean up the interior and the outside as best I can. Primary focus is get the ac fixed, exhaust leak fixed, distributor replaced with electronic, and that should let me drive it this summer.

 

[mtbase]

Legendary has all the original seat covers, if needed, but perhaps you drive it around awhile and get an understanding of the mechanical reliability.
Is there dual exhaust on it...just wondering if someone upgraded that already. It's worth it!

 

[qkcuda]

I'm asking this question because I don't know if it would work, but since it appears to be the clear coat on top that is peeling, could you just sand it down and re-clear it for now?

 

[Durandal25]

I've got the 67 Coronet 500 Convertible, and both the 66/67 share so much DNA...except the trim......oh my lord. 67 500 trim, moldings, are almost impossible to find.