'66 Newport 2 Door hardtop

[carguy300]

When I installed mine on my 300, I ordered the wiring harness from Evans, had it made for solid state charging system and electronic ignition. Made the swap very simple with out a bunch of wire splicing, I ran charging wires to amp gauge through firewall instead of bulk head. Had no ptoblems.

 

[darth_linux]

When I installed mine on my 300, I ordered the wiring harness from Evans, had it made for solid state charging system and electronic ignition. Made the swap very simple with out a bunch of wire splicing, I ran charging wires to amp gauge through firewall instead of bulk head. Had no ptoblems.

I got it running. Went through a very thorough diagnostic procedure and couldn’t find anything wrong (I was getting spark from the coil to cap). I put some di-electric grease on the two wire connector coming from the ECM to the distributor, jammed it together real good, and it fired right up! I think I just had a poor connection to the distributor because I didn’t make changes or adjustments to anything else.

SUCCESS!

 

[darth_linux]

Also, today I fixed my ignition switch, which had rotated due to a sheared off alignment pin, and I rewired my map light, which someone had buggered up profoundly. Really cool to have a working map light again.

I had to use a butt connector to repair the yellow wire that goes to the bulb - someone was using a "wire nut" to hold them together and it came apart (of course). And then the other yellow wire which is coming from the passenger door jam switch was lost under the dash and I had to fish it out with some bailing wire. Luckily at some point in the distant past, a PO hacked up the glove box just enough to unscrew a few screws and pull part of the glove box out, giving me the room to reach in, grab the yellow wire and fishing wire, tie them together, and then fish them back over to the hole in the center of the dash where the map light lives.

The terminals on the switch itself are riveted and crimped, and both yellow wires had torn out. I did some surgery to open up the crimps a bit, get rid of the remaining insulation, and then I soldered the wires back onto the terminals. It was a bit tricky since I was fighting gravity, but the dual ashtray/coin tray saved the day and provided a surface for the light to rest on while I soldered.

 

[darth_linux]

Nice weather today so I drove her to work! She needs a wash, but that’s what the weekend is for.

 

[stubs300]

Nice weather today so I drove her to work! She needs a wash, but that’s what the weekend is for.

View attachment 587586

You gotta a stance pretty close to mine! Looks good!

 

[carguy300]

Theres just something about that 300 front end!! Looks Great!

 

[darth_linux]

You gotta a stance pretty close to mine! Looks good!
View attachment 587608

Thanks Stubs! New rear springs and shocks all around seemed to have helped.

 

[stubs300]

Theres just something about that 300 front end!! Looks Great!

That and the 66 GTO have the best front ends that year!

 

[darth_linux]

Changed out the carb today from the ‘70s Carter BBD to a mid ‘60s Stromberg WWC. No real problems. The carb was rebuilt 2 weeks ago. Swapped out the idle screw for a longer one since I was running out of adjustment.

Made my own fuel line since the inlet is on the side instead of the front. Took a little trial and error, but I got it eventually.

I’ve got it set slightly lean for idle. Haven’t put the vacuum gauge on it yet but it’s idling smoothly at 600 rpm. It’s still stinky though so I’m gonna try to fine tune it tomorrow. <edit> I was backwards on my carb adjustments; thinking I was making it leaner, I was making it richer. Fixed now!</edit>

Here are some photos.

 

[darth_linux]

Here's a short video I shot of the car idling with the rebuilt carb. Like I mention, I have some tweaking to do, but it's running better than it was 2 months ago when I bought the car.

 

[thethee]

Those belts look pretty loose, might want to tension them up or even replace them.

 

[darth_linux]

Those belts look pretty loose, might want to tension them up or even replace them.

They are newer, but I'll give em a little bit of a tightening. Thanks.

 

[darth_linux]

Installed my tachometer today. I’ll paint the hoseclamp at some point, but good enough for now.

There is a slight amount of interference when turning, but the mounting bracket has enough flex in it to absorb that.

 

[darth_linux]

This weekends project …

 

[darth_linux]

Got S.S. Anderson on a lift today to do a checkup and attempt to fix a few things.

Here you can see my steering gearbox leaking from the bottom (out of focus, sorry).

Going up!

Engine block casting 2468130 (4). 1959-1971, 383 B-series big-block. Seems like the original engine. What is that "4" on the end for?
I was going to add a new thermal spring for the exhaust manifold flapper valve, but the "stop pin" that holds the end of the spring in place was completely gone save for a tiny nub. Oh well!

Casting # 2468130 again.

Transmission casting #2466900 - seems like that's probably the original transmission. It is painted "cast iron" over the aluminum, and the flex plate was a medium blue, so I know it's been rebuilt, probably within the last 5 years.

Only part of the floor pan that had any rust/rot was right here near the driver side footwell.

Little bit of fluid leaking out the tail shaft of the trans. Looks like at one time the shaft went further in than it does now. Not sure why.

Passenger side motor mount looks recent.

As does the drivers side motor mount.

 

[darth_linux]

A few more photos.

PO put KYB Excel-G shocks all around, as well as replaced the leaf springs/shackles/bolts, and put on new brake shoes, cylinders, soft lines and hard lines.

Passenger side front brake.

Inspection cover was left off after the rebuild. Not sure why, but PO included it with the car, so today it got put back on. Missing one bolt . . .

Muffler clipped the ramp when it was off-loaded from the shipping truck - tweaked this hanger and bent the muffler a little bit "in half." Time for a replacement.

The muffler, tailpipe and mid-pipe were all relatively new. The head-Y pipe appears to be original.

 

[carguy300]

The bottom half looks pretty decent. Sure do need a lift like that, im way to old for jack stands and a creeper!

 

[carguy300]

I believe youve got really nice 66 newport for sure!

 

[darth_linux]

I believe youve got really nice 66 newport for sure!

thank you. I've added some notes/comments to the photos, in case you missed them.

 

[darth_linux]

Got some missing stickers from Performance Car Graphics. A bit pricey at $10 each, $10 shipping and then tax, but I guess that’s partly due to them being “made to order.” They look great and have what I believe to be the correct font.