'68 300 project

[D Ray's Alien]

Any possibility of cleaning it up? It's only original once..

I think I am going to start there. That paint is so thin I can see primer though it in places. My Dad had two Mason badges stuck on either side of the "300" and that residue may not come off without the paint.

 

[PH27L7]

This car was built on 12-15-68 per the VIN tag. It may have been one of the last cars down the line that year.

That should be 1967. If it were that late a date it would be a 1969. You actually have a relatively early build date.

 

[HWYCRZR]

If you do decide to paint it. Check out
8774paint1. That’s his phone number and web site. He mixes all kinds of Mopar trim paints and puts them in a spray can or will sell by the pint. Very nice guy to talk to and helpful. He has years of Mopar paint code knowledge for trim an accessories.
He mixed my Silver Argent for my grill and taillights, my Suede Aztec Maroon for my dash and the tail light red for my rear taillight panel. If you don’t see it on his site call him. Around $20 bucks a can but accurate color and texture.

 

[HWYCRZR]

That should be 1967. If it were that late a date it would be a 1969. You actually have a relatively early build date.

Correct, December 15, 1967 was the scheduled build date. Model years ran from August through late June.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Correct, December 15, 1967 was the scheduled build date. Model years ran from August through late June.
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Thank to you and PH27L7 for the detail. It's cool finding the history of this beast.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

If you do decide to paint it. Check out
8774paint1. That’s his phone number and web site. He mixes all kinds of Mopar trim paints and puts them in a spray can or will sell by the pint. Very nice guy to talk to and helpful. He has years of Mopar paint code knowledge for trim an accessories.
He mixed my Silver Argent for my grill and taillights, my Suede Aztec Maroon for my dash and the tail light red for my rear taillight panel. If you don’t see it on his site call him. Around $20 bucks a can but accurate color and texture.
View attachment 361796 View attachment 361797 View attachment 361798 View attachment 361799

I think you just sold two cans. One for the bezel...maybe, and one for the color match that runs thru the middle of the grill. Thanks for the tip!

 

[PH27L7]

Nice work & car HWYCRZR!
Couple things on the 300. Hopefully you relubed the front bearings when the brake job was done. You should also look at & grease the rears as well. The old grease gets petrified & wipes out the bearings. Normally just remove axles & clean out grease with brake clean & relube bearing using a needle attachment to grease gun. Change inner seals, new gaskets & set endplay with adjuster.

Also, you might want to remove the lower aluminum trim, especially the quarters. Dirt tends to collect inside & when it gets wet it promotes rust. Just remove lower screws & push up as gently as possible so as not to break the clips which will be fragile. The clips are hard to find but can be bought here-
65-68 Rocker Moulding Clip-Repro

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Nice work & car HWYCRZR!
Couple things on the 300. Hopefully you relubed the front bearings when the brake job was done. You should also look at & grease the rears as well. The old grease gets petrified & wipes out the bearings. Normally just remove axles & clean out grease with brake clean & relube bearing using a needle attachment to grease gun. Change inner seals, new gaskets & set endplay with adjuster.

Also, you might want to remove the lower aluminum trim, especially the quarters. Dirt tends to collect inside & when it gets wet it promotes rust. Just remove lower screws & push up as gently as possible so as not to break the clips which will be fragile. The clips are hard to find but can be bought here-
65-68 Rocker Moulding Clip-Repro

We did as you suggest re the bearings, etc. I have not touched the trim...that's a good tip.

Gotta say, this site is awesome! So many helpful folks here
.

 

[Davea Lux]

We did as you suggest re the bearings, etc. I have not touched the trim...that's a good tip.

Gotta say, this site is awesome! So many helpful folks here
.

Another tip, if you do not move the adjuster for the rear axle bearings, and mark the location of its holding tang, you won't need to change anything when you put the axles back in, saves some work (This assumes you are just repacking the existing bearings).

Dave

 

[D Ray's Alien]

The carb on the 300 just wasn't wanting to play fair so we are going to try a freshly rebuilt Holley 600 CFM.

 

[Davea Lux]

The carb on the 300 just wasn't wanting to play fair so we are going to try a freshly rebuilt Holley 600 CFM.

View attachment 365265 View attachment 365266

The 4160 Holley was troublesome when they were new, so good luck. The secondary vacuum port was poorly placed so the darn things usually would not open the secondary until the engine RPMs were over about 3500, even running the weaker diaphragm springs. They provided good torque out of the hole but miserable mid range performance. If you are not able to get it to run to your satisfaction, a good fix is the AVS with the appropriate manifold or a 650 Holley with manual secondaries.

Dave

 

[Luke Pokrajac]

Nice car!! I've enjoyed reading this thread. Did you end up changing the timing chain on the 440?

 

[detmatt]

This car was built on 12-15-68 per the VIN tag. It may have been one of the last cars down the line that year.

They started building the ‘68s in July of ‘67 and stopped in June of ‘68 so yours was built right in the middle of the model year.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

Nice car!! I've enjoyed reading this thread. Did you end up changing the timing chain on the 440?

Not yet... I know you recommended we do so when we had the chance. Call it living dangerously.

 

[Luke Pokrajac]

Not yet... I know you recommended we do so when we had the chance. Call it living dangerously.

Yep...my engine was pristine inside and there still was a bunch of timing chain wear. Fortunately the nylon gear was in good shape. No better way to ruin a good engine. Mine definitely did not need to be rebuilt...doing the chain pushed that out awhile.

 

[sixtyf]

Very nice '68, congrats. My mate has one in New Zealand, they are very cool cars. ( The wanna be B body bum stripe is being removed )

 

[D Ray's Alien]

I drove the 300 down the road today. I bet I put a whole half mile on it! 1st time in 30 years on the road under her own power. I need to take it to muffler shop, get the turn signals working and it should be ready for inspection.

 

[D Ray's Alien]

I drove the 300 down the road today. I bet I put a whole half mile on it! 1st time in 30 years on the road under her own power. I need to take it to muffler shop, get the turn signals working and it should be ready for inspection.

View attachment 370834

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[D Ray's Alien]

Does anyone have a source for the two wings nuts and hold down bracket I am missing for this jack assembly?

 

[D Ray's Alien]

The red sled is loving the 650 Holley. Next big spend is a new exhaust. Keeping it single and hoping to make it stealthy with a big Walker muffler.