68 Coronet, slow project in Napa, CA

[fesser]

I decided to go ahead and start documenting my progress or lack thereof on this forum even though I can assure you that it will not be anywhere near as impressive or as fast moving as most of the builds/projects that are posted here. To be clear, this is not a "build". This is more like replacing damaged parts and trying to make the whole rig nicer. I am doing this mainly because it is the best way I know of to keep track of my progress while being able to ask questions on a forum populated with very knowledgeable people. So here it is.

I got this 68 Coronet R/T in September. I traded a pretty nice 70 Chevelle for it, and with 20-20 hindsight I definitely got the short end of the deal. It was a sight unseen deal and it would be fair to say that I was a lot more forthcoming and accurate with the description of my vehicle than the other guy was with his. That said, I have no regrets. If I sold the Chevelle I would have felt obligated to use the money in more sensible ways than buying another project.

The car is a "real" R/T" that has the rare missing fender tag, no build sheet, non HP 68 440, with no vin on the engine or transmission where it should be at the back of the engine. It would be nice to have all the correct parts but to be honest, I mostly wanted to know that it was an R/T. Not judging anyone, but I personally don't like the idea of clones/tributes/fakes. That's just me. People should be free to do what they want with their own cars.

Progress will be slow for all the normal reasons. I am also one of many people who is dealing with a bad back (severely limits bending, twisting, lifting, or quick movements) so I do what I can when I can.

This is what the car looked like after coming off the trailer.

 

[ckessel]

Looks like a nice start. Keep at it.

 

[fesser]

Been doing the typical ordering of parts that I am not ready to use yet. You almost have to order that way now. Interior stuff had a 29 week backorder. I did change out the mismatched mags for police rims and caps. Probably should have waited on new tires until it is closer to being a driver, but I couldn't help it.

 

[PlymCrazy]

Man, what a world of difference those wheels make right away. Nice choice IMO.

 

[RemCharger]

Nice project.
Hmm, wonder if anyone would want the old rear wheels... @33 IMP ?

 

[33 IMP]

I'm a fan of centerlines, I have multiple pairs. From what I can see, those aren't real centerlines, and the deep dish would make them hard to use, if they were.
And I'm a definite non-fan of the old slots.
Steelies and poverty caps ARE some of my favorites tho. Huge improvement!

 

[RemCharger]

Thought they were super tricks.
Time to crawl back under my rock

 

[33 IMP]

Thought they were super tricks.
Time to crawl back under my rock

No offense meant, or taken. To be honest, I think they are Fentons, a one piece cast wanna-be centerline or SuperTrick copy.
I have a pair of super trick skinnies, and they are LIGHT, but I wouldn't trust them on a street car. Centerlines are a different animal.

 

[RemCharger]

No offense meant, or taken. To be honest, I think they are Fentons, a one piece cast wanna-be centerline or SuperTrick copy.
I have a pair of super trick skinnies, and they are LIGHT, but I wouldn't trust them on a street car. Centerlines are a different animal.

..ahh right. Yes I had some of those, 15x9s. Heavy bastards.

 

[fesser]

No offense meant, or taken. To be honest, I think they are Fentons, a one piece cast wanna-be centerline or SuperTrick copy.
I have a pair of super trick skinnies, and they are LIGHT, but I wouldn't trust them on a street car. Centerlines are a different animal.

Bingo! Fentons in the rear. I forgot who made the fronts.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

33 Imp just had his wheel detection eyesight upgrade completed...

FWIW I agree, the cop wheel look much better & True old school Centerlines are a whole different animal... Tough & fairly light.. Not Super Trick light but much lighter than most wheels from that era..

 

[33 IMP]

33 Imp just had his wheel detection eyesight upgrade completed...

FWIW I agree, the cop wheel look much better & True old school Centerlines are a whole different animal... Tough & fairly light.. Not Super Trick light but much lighter than most wheels from that era..

I have a set of steelies and caps that i run on the street for my 62. 15x6 w 235x70, 15x8 w 255x70. I usually have 15x3 autodrags with 165s, and 15x8 1/2 autodrags with 10.5x28 slicks at the track.
The centerlines/slicks/skinnies are a solid 80 lbs lighter than the t/a's/steelies.

 

[Darter6]

I must say the 68 Coronet R/T is my all time favorite.My Dad bought one new.He also bought a 500 for my sister to go to collage.
Thus my love affair for the 68.Of all the Mopars that followed me home over the years the 68 has eluded me.
I'll be watching your progress.

 

[John Folz]

Your car looks identical to how my 69 Bee looks

 

[4speed68rt]

Nice looking R/T. Hang in there and get it all cleaned up and running good, at your own pace. Make it a fun driver.

 

[fesser]

Your car looks identical to how my 69 Bee looks

View attachment 1397188

View attachment 1397189

They do look a lot alike. Was yours originally red? Looks like some red peeking out above the bumper.

 

[4speed68rt]

Been doing the typical ordering of parts that I am not ready to use yet. You almost have to order that way now. Interior stuff had a 29 week backorder. I did change out the mismatched mags for police rims and caps. Probably should have waited on new tires until it is closer to being a driver, but I couldn't help it.


View attachment 1396890View attachment 1396891

When I took off the old hot rod wheels and put the stock wheels on mine, is when I really started to "finish" it. Great start, every little thing that you do will inspire the next thing...

 

[fesser]

The starter is shot and will no longer start the engine without a lot of horrible noise. Plan is to get it in the shop and replace it. Hoping it didn't tear up the ring gear. The plan may change though, as the transmission slips badly. Since buying it I have driven it about 50 feet. I keep waffling between pulling the engine so that I can paint the engine bay (someone rattle canned it and the trunk with an ugly red, not PP1) and replace the wiring, or fixing the starter and checking the transmission fluid level so that I can drive it a bit.

As you can see, I got bored and started removing some of the primer and bondo. Someone did a color change in the past but the red is still under there. Still working up the courage to get to the starter. Car currently has long tube headers on it that form a cage around the starter. Fun.

 

[4speed68rt]

Once you get that old starter out of there, replace it with a "mini". I like to stick with original stuff, but with the headers, the mini is the way to go, IMO. I did the same thing to mine with the paint. I started removing the top colors to get to the original layer, and the next thing that I knew (2 years later), it was re-painted in the original color. Yours looks better already!!

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Don’t worry about rushing it, it’ll get done when it gets done. And I know the feeling, head on collision with a pot head 10 years ago killed my back.

It took me 5 years to get this one driving, it was a slow painful process, but it was worth it and I’d do it again!

Good luck with your project!