69 Coronet R/T 440 overhaul and upgrade

[BLosapio131]

My pride and joy, a 69 coronet R/T car raffle prize, has been dead in the garage for almost 10 months now. Patiently waiting for all the parts she needs to get her back out on the road again. She developed a knock in the bottom end. And when that bottom end starting knockin', I answer. Toasted the crank pretty good, spun a rod bearing, oil pump was scored up pretty bad. To say I was devastated would be putting it lightly.

But, I'm not a quitter. been slowly acquiring all the parts I need, plus some upgrades, and Finally have collected everything I need to get her back on the road and driving better than when she was when I won the car two years ago. I gotta say, theres nothing a wallet fears more than the words "Well, while I've got it out..." especially on my College kid with a part time job budget.
I've got a new set of aluminum heads, new rings, bearings, A new comp cams Xtreme energy cam thats a nice boost from stock, but still fairly mild as far as performance cams go, some long tube headers, a TCI saturday night special. Could I have put a stroker kit in it? maybe. Did I want to? Nah. Maybe one day...
Engine block is still at the shop getting inspected, cam bearings installed, honed, hot tanked, and the new crank balanced. So when that comes back I'll be painting it, putting it back together, prepping it for break in, putting it back in the car, and praying I don't wipe a lobe during the break in.

So close to being drivable again, I'm daydreaming about it while writing this.

 

[R413]

You will get it there. Great car and colors. What is interior color? What trans? Console?

 

[RR Fan Dan]

22 years old and wins a 69 RT in a raffle. Some people have all the luck. Nice car.

 

[ckessel]

I'm a me too on future engine and budget. Machine work is done. Got new pistons, rings, bearings, freeze plugs, balanced. Just have to generate more funds to assemble.

 

[BLosapio131]

You will get it there. Great car and colors. What is interior color? What trans? Console?

Black Interior, 727 trans, the black trimmed woodgrain automatic console. It's got the standard dash with a clock instead of a tach too.

 

[Dave6T4]

Congratulations on your prize win of your beautiful '69 R/T! It really sux that the 440 spun a bearing, though. While you are building your powertrain, I would advise against too many modifications that may pull value away from your rare and valuable R/T convertible. I would paint the aluminium heads in original block colour to disguise them. I also would retain the original Magnum exhaust manifolds, which do not really give up much power to capped headers. Headers tend to be noisier than factory exhaust, and can rust out. I have never been a fan of them. Just my opinions, but as always, it is your car, your call. Thanks for your pictures. I have a '67 R/T hardtop.

 

[Dave6T4]

Just out of High School, a good friend of mine won a new 1966 Chevelle Malibu SS. Red, with Black bucket seat interior. It had a 275/327 and PowerGlide. Quite a win for an 18-year-old!

 

[BLosapio131]

Congratulations on your prize win of your beautiful '69 R/T! It really sux that the 440 spun a bearing, though. While you are building your powertrain, I would advise against too many modifications that may pull value away from your rare and valuable R/T convertible. I would paint the aluminium heads in original block colour to disguise them. I also would retain the original Magnum exhaust manifolds, which do not really give up much power to capped headers. Headers tend to be noisier than factory exhaust, and can rust out. I have never been a fan of them. Just my opinions, but as always, it is your car, your call. Thanks for your pictures. I have a '67 R/T hardtop.

Thank you good sir! This is my goal. keep it as OEM looking as possible. Really the only thing that will be noticed under the hood will eventually be the headers. I did a minor restoration to the manifolds (wire wheel, rust remover, and coat of enamel) to make them look a little nicer for the time being before getting the exhaust modified and sticking the headers in it. The new heads will be painted to match the engine block.


This is what The engine bay looked like before I replaced the water pump, housing, and alternator late last year. Got the original rad recored many months ago so that'll be going back in with the rebuilt engine. I'll keep the big ugly aluminum one just in case I need a backup for whatever reason.

I have a few buddies that have told me I should stroke it, put the 4 speed in it or put an A518 in it to give it an overdrive, but The 727 trans in it is original, numbers matching, to the car. Same with the engine block. I can appreciate a good restomod, but I love the car's originality. It gives her a lot of character. I'm not really at all concerned with how much that would make the car worth at an auction, It's just super cool to me to have a mostly original classic mopar.