cld
Active Member
Hi folks,
Just joined the forum and I've been impressed and inspired by all the helpful tips people are sending each other. I'm getting back into the Mopar world after many years away. I live in Austin, TX but have a '68 Fury III Fast Top back on the family ranch in Adams County, ND. It's got the 383 4bbl, auto, about 73,000 miles.
I bought the car when I was 15 or 16 (22-23 years ago) from the first/second owner (first owner died and his brother sold it to me). I drove it the way you'd expect a high-school kid to drive it, but then had to park it when I went away to college, then work, then grad school, then work and family. I can't believe it, but it's been sitting for more than 15 years. Here are some pictures from the last time my younger brother and I got it going (2007 I think). At that time, after 10 years sitting, it turned on the first crank after some basic prep!
Definitely one of those cars that looks great from a distance but has rough edges up close. Lots of big scratches, some cracking bondo on front fenders and hood (previous owner got drunk and drove it into a post in his shed). A few bubbles under the vinyl top. The trunk floor is toast -- that's the issue that is most worrying to me. The interior is overall pretty nice except for the driver's seat, which is completely worn and cracked out. A tom cat jumped in the window and peed in the car one of the last times I drove it before parking it. None of the cleaners I tried would get out the stink. It's gone now, though! So there's the only pro tip I can currently offer: if you have any pet odor issues, 1. treat with citrus cleaner; 2. let sit for 15-20 years.
Near term priorities: clean out fuel system, basic tune up, new belts, hoses, etc. Unfortunately we need a new power steering pump; that blew out the last time we had it running (sludged up from sitting, maybe?). Brakes are probably shot from sitting; maybe upgrade to front discs now instead of repairing current front/rear power drums? Need to get new leaf springs; currently has long brackets and towing-style helper springs to keep the butt off the ground.
Eventually: new exhaust (currently has the original high-flow manifolds and duals), go back to the discreet turn-downs. Get rid of the chrome wheels and go back to plain steel with dog dish hubcaps. Replace trunk floor (gulp). Get Sure-Grip (unfortunately it has the open rear diff). New wiring harness. Fix factory cruise control, which has never worked (some worrying crackling/sparking if you mess with the control stalk). Fix the factory AC, which has never reliably held refrigerant. Dream list: full engine and trans rebuild, get rid of the carb and get Atomic or similar EFI setup, reupholster front seat, full sandblasting and repaint (dark graphite gray with black top and black wheels, I'm thinking).
I have a lot of work and family commitments and no space or tools at home anymore, so I'm trying to find someone to do some work on it and also figure out how to get the car to central TX. I can't decide whether it makes more sense to have someone in ND/SD get it into road-worthy condition and then drive it down to TX, or have it transported in its current iffy state to TX, where I figure I'm more likely to find some dependable Mopar shops. I do not have a huge budget and I want to make the most of a few thousand bucks.
I know there's a San Antonio area guy with the same car on the forums and I am looking forward to getting his input. What about others -- any ND/SD people on these boards? Any shop you'd recommend up there?
Thanks
Chris
p.s. I just realized in that last photo you can just barely see a white '66-67 Dodge D100 pickup in the distance, if anyone's into those Sweptlines.
Just joined the forum and I've been impressed and inspired by all the helpful tips people are sending each other. I'm getting back into the Mopar world after many years away. I live in Austin, TX but have a '68 Fury III Fast Top back on the family ranch in Adams County, ND. It's got the 383 4bbl, auto, about 73,000 miles.
I bought the car when I was 15 or 16 (22-23 years ago) from the first/second owner (first owner died and his brother sold it to me). I drove it the way you'd expect a high-school kid to drive it, but then had to park it when I went away to college, then work, then grad school, then work and family. I can't believe it, but it's been sitting for more than 15 years. Here are some pictures from the last time my younger brother and I got it going (2007 I think). At that time, after 10 years sitting, it turned on the first crank after some basic prep!
Definitely one of those cars that looks great from a distance but has rough edges up close. Lots of big scratches, some cracking bondo on front fenders and hood (previous owner got drunk and drove it into a post in his shed). A few bubbles under the vinyl top. The trunk floor is toast -- that's the issue that is most worrying to me. The interior is overall pretty nice except for the driver's seat, which is completely worn and cracked out. A tom cat jumped in the window and peed in the car one of the last times I drove it before parking it. None of the cleaners I tried would get out the stink. It's gone now, though! So there's the only pro tip I can currently offer: if you have any pet odor issues, 1. treat with citrus cleaner; 2. let sit for 15-20 years.
Near term priorities: clean out fuel system, basic tune up, new belts, hoses, etc. Unfortunately we need a new power steering pump; that blew out the last time we had it running (sludged up from sitting, maybe?). Brakes are probably shot from sitting; maybe upgrade to front discs now instead of repairing current front/rear power drums? Need to get new leaf springs; currently has long brackets and towing-style helper springs to keep the butt off the ground.
Eventually: new exhaust (currently has the original high-flow manifolds and duals), go back to the discreet turn-downs. Get rid of the chrome wheels and go back to plain steel with dog dish hubcaps. Replace trunk floor (gulp). Get Sure-Grip (unfortunately it has the open rear diff). New wiring harness. Fix factory cruise control, which has never worked (some worrying crackling/sparking if you mess with the control stalk). Fix the factory AC, which has never reliably held refrigerant. Dream list: full engine and trans rebuild, get rid of the carb and get Atomic or similar EFI setup, reupholster front seat, full sandblasting and repaint (dark graphite gray with black top and black wheels, I'm thinking).
I have a lot of work and family commitments and no space or tools at home anymore, so I'm trying to find someone to do some work on it and also figure out how to get the car to central TX. I can't decide whether it makes more sense to have someone in ND/SD get it into road-worthy condition and then drive it down to TX, or have it transported in its current iffy state to TX, where I figure I'm more likely to find some dependable Mopar shops. I do not have a huge budget and I want to make the most of a few thousand bucks.
I know there's a San Antonio area guy with the same car on the forums and I am looking forward to getting his input. What about others -- any ND/SD people on these boards? Any shop you'd recommend up there?
Thanks
Chris
p.s. I just realized in that last photo you can just barely see a white '66-67 Dodge D100 pickup in the distance, if anyone's into those Sweptlines.
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