Hi all, thought I might sign up on a discussion forum. I may eventually need help, and perhaps down the line even be able to help. Since being a lurker is no fun, here I be.

I had my eye on this very car about 10 years ago, but couldnt justify spending the money on something I didnt need. Now, Im getting old and give zero fcks. (can I say that here?)

The guy was in a pinch and selling. I got wind of his plans to raffle the car off and decided to just buy it from him.

She is in pretty good shape, interior near perfect but does have a single dash crack, and the drivers door armrest is kinda haggard. Otherwise, its damn clean and in good shape.

Exterior has some scratches and nicks; looks like from being stored and bumped into every so often. Frame looked great; little rust on the rear passenger quarter waaay down low where you cant even see it unless you're looking for it. All original, except his son got ahold of it and painted the valve covers orange - without removing them first. (one of my huge pet peeves - take the damn things off) That, and the wheels, obviously.







I think i got a pretty good deal on her too. She has 103k and I saw much rougher ones going for several thousand higher. Runs good, drives good, everything works except rear pass door stuck shut. (any help on that?)

383, but just a 2bbl and what appears to be a sippy straw for an exhaust. This thing is seriously choked off. Keeping it all original is appealing, but unlocking some of the potential of the 383 is also very tempting.

Im very new to classic Mopars, but have had my share of newer ones from the ol 87 Charger to Caravans to the 95 Avenger. Mostly a GMC fan, but this car was too awesome to pass up. I kinda want to have sex with it, but Im not sure how.

 

Nice score, there was one in my neighborhood for years but never for sale. It was also white. Very nice.

 

Well since you want to "unlock"some of it's potential, I would suggest getting the heads redone while you are at it. Leaded gas was sold back then and acted as a lubricant to the valve seats. leaded gas(for the most part)ended in 1986. Using the old heads with no lead gas the valves will wear it's self into the head. I know this from experience! Hardened valve seats heads came out around 1972. No telling how long this engine was run on unleaded gas so your heads may be all ready to far gone to have them fitted with hardened seats. I used to fill my tank half with premium(unleaded) and half with regular(pre 1986 with lead) to get the octane and lead. And yes i got a lot of strange looks because they didn't know why i did this. I had non hardened seat heads. You can do bolt on performance mods just keep everything so in case you deice to sell it down the road it can be changed back to original if need be.

 

Plot Twist:

Did some research and discovered that she is not a 383. She appears to be a poly 318 with the valve covers. Man that thing is huge. Silly intake casting + its size fooled me. I should have known better to take digits off of an intake manifold and determine the engine size, but meh. I wasnt alive in those days and dont know much about classics.

Not a lot of performance stuff around for a Poly 318, and what is there is pretty pricey. So, Im just going to put her back close to her original condition and drive it on nice days, maybe hit some local car shows now and then. All original is much more appealing than spending twice as much on go fast parts as I would an LA or any SBC/Ford motor. Especially since she doesnt need much!

As for the valve seats, I did read about that. More people than not say that they have been running their old rides on todays fuel without issues. I doubt they are DDs though; probably like what I intend to do - just take it out once in a while on a nice day. I have been using this stuff in my other vehicles for about 15 years though. All of the engines have far outlasted the bodies and interiors; though I am obsessive about maintaining my vehicles and always use the same exact oil and filter combination for as long as I own it. I once took a S10 to a mechanic about 10 years ago who was astounded at the engine's internal condition with 277,000 miles. He said the compression was damn near as good as a race engine. he just kept shaking his head and going on about it, so I must be doing something right. That one now has 347,000 and still runs perfectly, can beat the hell out of it and it just keeps taking it. I dont drive it any more but I did keep it in storage.





Would this stuff suffice as a lubricant, or should I start using a lead additive? It supposedly has an upper cylinder lubricant as well as being a type of cleaner. The stuff is more like oil than a fuel treatment - that stuff if like water. This is thick.

I dont plan on digging into the motor any time soon. Apparently these things have a reputation for taking a hell of a beating like a champ. id like to avoid messing with anything internally until its actually necessary.

 

How about some engine pics? There is no mistaking the poly! It's unlike any other mopar motor. Big blocks have the distributor at an angle in front of the motor. Small blocks have it 90* at the back. A lead additive is about the only choice you have. But the damage may have already been done. I will post a pic of the head i pulled off the motor i was using back then after lead was no longer available. The valve went into the head about a 1/8 to 3/16.

 

Nice! There's a site you might be interested in that specializes in these buggers, it's called the "C-body dry dock" (since they're considered land yachts lol). Lots of good info over there (or at least there used to be, I haven't spent as much time there since I lost my Monaco).

 

Well, I'm at work right now and don't have pictures, but it has the dizzy in the rear and scalloped valve covers. I saw a picture of one and she looks like a match. I believe years ago he said it was a 318 now. I'll post one up when I get some. I didn't take any because it's nothing special right now, just a dirty old engine bay. Not super dirty, but what one might expect on a 50 year old car. Cleanup and restoring the proper colors are top of the to do list after anything mechanical.