Recently my wife inherited her father's 67 Dodge RT Coronet. The car was last driven in 1974. He kept it in an uncontrolled climate enclosed storage. It is in surprisingly good condition. I'm planning on rebuilding the engine (440). I'm new to this and will need some guidance in the proper way to restore this car without compromising it's originality. Can anyone provide with the proper steps in restoring the car's body and rebuilding the engine?

 

That's two questions that need a lot of explaining. You need to evaluate the condition of the engine. What makes you think it needs to be rebuilt? Does it run? How many miles on it? What is your experience level? Search for some videos on you tube to get an idea of what is involved with body work and engine rebuilding. Post up some pics of it. I'd love yo see it. Welcome to the forum.

 

^^^^Ditto^^^^^ This!


And you'll need a factory service manual (fsm) for your model. A hard copy is best but you can download it free as a pdf............
http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31


That site has a ton of reference information for the Mopar muscle cars.

 

Op?? Where did you go??

 

I'm pretty sure the engine has been underwater as it was in the same storage during hurricane Ike that hit the southeast texas coast a few years back. My experience level is: NOVICE. That's why I'm in this forum. To my wife the car serves as a constant reminder of her father who recently passed. We respect the car tremendously and want to preserve the authenticity as much as we possibly can. No worries as we are in no hurry and will not do anything to this car in hast. We really do know what a gem we now have in our garage. Might I add my wife was brought home from the hospital in this car after she was born in 1969. The paint is in incredibly good condition with only small surface rust spots here and there. It appeared as though her dad coated the car with wax prior to putting it in storage. The interior is in pretty good condition as well. Right now we just want to bring this car back to life. Get it on the road. Nothing drastic. Any advice from any of you guys will be VERY welcomed. I have pictures of the car. Is there a way to post them in this forum? Thanks guys.

 

Yes. Open a free account at photobucket, upload your photos there, then copy the "img" link and paste it in the thread. Honestly, there is way too much detail involved in the work you are about to undertake. My advise is download that manual from the above thread. Automotive restoration is not something that can be taught over an online forum. Sure, we can offer advise, but ultimately you are the one doing the work. As a self described novice, you are not in a position to start restoring anything at the moment. Not trying to sound ugly, but there is a certain amount of "book knowledge" you need first, then plain old "get in there and start doing it" knowledge. Just getting it running and back on the road sounds simple enough. Getting it running and safe to drive is something else altogether. If you have any acquaintances that are familiar with automobiles or body work, engine repair, etc, I strongly suggest you contact them and let them see the car in person. May get a better idea of what you are in for. Good luck and let us know how we can help.

 

Any recommendations as to what to use to remove mildew from vinyl seats?

 

Any mildew/stain remover that is safe for vinyl.

 

I hope i did this right. Here are some pictures of the RT after we pulled it from storage and after we washed the wax away.


http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/ji...a.jpg.html?o=7
http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/ji...6.jpg.html?o=5
http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/ji...c.jpg.html?o=9

 

Interior and exterior untouched. I took these pictures immediately after the car saw daylight for the first in i don't know how many years. One thing you can't see in these pictures is that he coated the whole underside of the car with a rubber based protector. alot of it is peeling away now. I'm sure this is due to that part of the car being submerged in water for some time.

http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/ji...b.jpg.html?o=8
http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/ji...7.jpg.html?o=0