71 Dodge Polara Brougham coupe

No trunk floor in yet. Lots of little prep work before I take that final step. Plus I've gone through 2 grinders in the last week, and 3 brand new spot weld cutters have vanished. My Girlfriend helped me get the inside of the rails coated with rust bullet last night. Tops of the rails are coated with weld thru primer. Getting more cutters this morning, and will be spending an evening with the Brougham.

Everyone slept under the same roof last night.

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I got part of the floor welded in this afternoon. I am okay with it so far. I laid in the large portion to test fit. Trimming and welding in the rest in the morning.

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You sure are an ambitious young fellow! Wasting no time, are you?
I've spent alot of time doing other C body related things instead of working on the car. I wouldnt consider it wasting time exactly. But I should be a lot further along.
 
I've spent alot of time doing other C body related things instead of working on the car. I wouldnt consider it wasting time exactly. But I should be a lot further along.
You'll have 1000 miles on that before Volo the way you're going. I might have my plug wires on by then. :D
 
Very impressive Wyatt, considering this is new territory for you. Keep plowing along, you're doing a great job :thumbsup:
 
How were you able to get the pan in without removing the tail section? I had to fold mine down on one end, but yours looks like it slipped in without an issue. Nice work.
 
A turquoise 71, beautiful weather, and a deal on an air cleaner and intake pushed metal work off another day. Drove 300+ miles round trip. Northwest Illinois and Southwest Wisconsin is very scenic and hilly. Perfect cruising. Trunk update tomorrow.

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Wyatt, did you look at this '71 4-door Brougham when it came up for sale last year?

C-bodies in France.

The car was apparently inspected in Oregon, hence my question (yes, I know there are several states between IL and OR, but as you have said before, there are only so many Broughams left).
 
I should have bought that 4 door, the VIN is so close to my Brougham they're twins

Did you inquire about it at the time? Any info? Was any thread created on FCBO? I did not see any at the time.
 
I watched the video on youtube but got frustrated. Why do they all go overseas? Im 20 minutes from where most were built.
 
Found info from when that 4-door hardtop was sold. Its listing price was $1,750 at a place in Tacoma, WA:

1971 Dodge Polara for Sale | ClassicCars.com | CC-955897

The listing is not directly accessible anymore, but you can still find it cached on Google. It has a 383 and its VIN is DM43L1D166667, if one needs to Google it.

I downloaded the pics and am posting a few here for posterity:

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Here are the engine bay, the trunk, and the fender tag (can't read it, though). Bit of rust (surface in the trunk?) and a cracked water bottle, but my guess is it was in such a nice shape for the price (except maybe for what we can't see under the vinyl roof) that Wyatt is gonna have trouble sleeping tonight.

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More photos posted by Olivier here, from its later listed by Oregon Classics prior to its sale to France:

C-bodies in France.

The condition is not quite as nice as it looked like in the original listing in Tocoma, WA. The dash is cracked, the paint is old (not clear if original), etc. Still, at the original price, it looks like a good deal. Here is the fender tag, extracted from the OC listing:

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Its in! Still have a lot of clean up and little odds and ends to finish but its finally a permanent part of the car. Its not perfect, but they werent exactly perfect when they were new. Overall I am very happy with my first trunk pan of many.

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So tonight while I was working on Minnesota an older gentleman from next door I believe stopped in and told me he used to work at Belvidere Assembly when these cars were being built. He adjusted the hood and door gaps on the final assembly line. He checked out all 3 cars and didnt tell me much more. Then it popped into my head. "Sir, do you remember if there were any Polaras or Monacos built in GC8 Indigo Poly?" He didnt have a yes or no. I told him about there being a few Plymouths I've seen photos of but no Dodges I am aware of. He left me with this. If it was a color being sprayed at time, usually all models got it.

Then as I was looking through my body service manual for Minnesota I came across the refinishing section and found this.

While this may only be news to me. I'd love to find a real GC8 Dodge.
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