Bought a 74 Mopar Today, But Not A B Body

[Bruzilla]

Bought a 73 Mopar Today, But Not A B Body

Picked up a 1973 Chrysler Town & Country to serve as a donor car for my Roadrunner. Has a 440 that hasn't been run in two years. The brakes went bad and the owner parked the car, then he passed away and his neighbor inherited it and he's smart enough to know he's never going to do anything with it, so I bought it.

It has an 8.75 rear and a factory towing package, and based on the amount of rust it was once a Northern car, so I suspect it's a SureGrip rear. So the engine is good, the trans is supposed to be good, and hopefully a SureGrip rear. Not bad for $800. It also has a decent hood and fenders, glass, and trim, so hopefully I can find some C body guys who need parts.

Guy I bought it from also has a 66-67 383 block and two steel cranks he's trying to get rid of if anyone is interested.

 

[YY1]

I might be interested in the spare tire hold down and panel locks

 

[moparmarks]

Having a tow package it is probably 3.55 gears
The tailgate will sell if it is good.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Looks like.............

 

[badlite]

It could well have a 9 1/4 rear.

 

[Bruzilla]

Not unless a 9.25 looks exactly like an 8.75

YY1, consider them yours. I owe you.

- - - Updated - - -

The eagle-eyed guys at forcbodiesonly pointed out that I just bought a 73, not a 74, Town and Country. Never take the word of a seller.

 

[Habib]

Would you believe I Had a set of NOS quarters for that Car? probably the only Ones in the world lol.

 

[Budnicks]

Makes me think of the Family Truckster {Suburban Wagon or Country Squire}
& the road trips we all did back in the day, with all the kids dogs
& all our crap, all piled in or on the roof of the wagon,
me sitting in the 3rd row seat 10 y/o facing backwards, waving to people,
as we drove down the hwy, to some new campsite,
some new destination or to a relatives house etc...
Seems we were always going somewhere...

Fond memories, I still love wagons...
I'll build one someday...

 

[Bruzilla]

I have some fond memories of our 75 Monaco wagon. I learned how to drive in that car, and nothing sucked worse than being a high school kid in a family truckster.

I'm really interested to see what all is in this car. The owner told me the previous owner used to "rip around the neighborhood like a mad man" in it, and it's got a gauge trio installed on the dash. Most wagon owners with a stock car don't go to the trouble of buying and mounting a gauge set, so I'm hoping this car has at least had a head swap over the past 40+ years. It'll also be nice if I can get the A/C working.

I'm also buying a 1,000 CFM Competition Series Thermoquad and intake from him, and will probably get his two forged crankshafts too. I figure I can trade them for any miscellaneous doo-dads I need.

 

[dieseldazzle]

Whats he want for these :

Guy I bought it from also has a 66-67 383 block and two steel cranks he's trying to get rid of if anyone is interested.

 

[Bruzilla]

Whats he want for these :

Guy I bought it from also has a 66-67 383 block and two steel cranks he's trying to get rid of if anyone is interested.

I got the cranks, but I'll ask about the block. He also has a couple of sets of heads, but they didn't look like anything special. He also has a narrowed 8.75 rear sitting in the weeds in his backyard I can check on for you.

 

[YY1]

The fender tag should tell if it has SG and the ratio.

So should the diff tag and/or button.

 

[Bruzilla]

One thing I really have to check will be the rear suspension to see if it has the insulated mounting system on the back. rom what I've been reading, 3.23 gearing was standard on these cars and 2.76 was an option.

 

[YY1]

I'd be surprised anything past 1974 would have lower than 2.7x, some were even 2.4x.

3.23 might have been part of the trailer package.

 

[Bruzilla]

I'm still trying to get the hang of these C bodies. I'm so used to dealing with 71-74 issues and these cars are 69-73. Very confusing.

 

[monaco66coupe]

If your lucky it might even be a forged crank? I have a late date 72 440 that was just that.

 

[Bruzilla]

That would be nice. I like surprises... good ones anyway.

 

[monaco66coupe]

What year Roadrunner/GTX do you have?

 

[tallhair]

If your lucky it might even be a forged crank? I have a late date 72 440 that was just that.

I have a Nov 72 440 that's a steel crank also. If I recall 73 was the last model year for steel crank 440's in cars anyway but could be wrong.

 

[Bruzilla]

What year Roadrunner/GTX do you have?

1974