At last, my introduction from the UK

[Steve B]

Hi everyone, been rightly shamed into introducing myself on FCBO....sorry its taken so long!! My name is Steve and I live in Solihull, England. I have been a lifelong fan of American cars since I was a very young boy in the late 60s and early 70s. In those days, the only way I could see these great cars was in books and on TV shows. About 4 years ago, I took the plunge and bought my 68 Polara sedan. She is a 383 HiPo car, 727, 8 3/4 rear with 2.73:1 highway gears (thankfully as fuel is very expensive here). She was originally an Arkansas car (completely rust free believe it or not!!) that ended up in New Jersey, then here to the UK. She is cream, with a factory original black vinyl roof, black interior and magnum 500s. I LOVE her!! I have upgraded her to HEI ignition, fitted relays to the lighting circuit and completed the MAD alternator up grade. She runs great now!!

I also have a 66 Fury 2 door hardtop that I have just finished a resto on. She is a 383 Commando (originally 2bbl but now 4bbl), 727, 8 3/4 with 3.23:1. I have had to do lots of panel fabrication and made a new trunk floor, drop offs and lower quarters etc. I learned how to MIG weld and did it all myself on my driveway. She is nearly ready to register. I plan to sell her on to release some cash to work on my next project, a 72, triple white, 440 New Yorker 2 door hard top. Its sitting at the port in Houston at the moment so cant wait to see her in the flesh.

There is a great scene here in the UK, lots of new C bodies arriving on our shores and the show season is almost upon us. Added some pics.....Polara first

Thanks for a great forum everyone and all the best from the UK

Cheers Steve

 

[Steve B]

 

[Steve B]

 

[Steve B]

Pictures seem to be all over the place but you get the idea, Im sure! I picked up the mats from a gent in Winnipeg and we have become very good friends through our love of cars, they are hard to find here so they are a great addition to the interior. Wont bore you with tons of pics but will just add a couple of the Fury and the New

Yorker....thanks Steve

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

Hi Steve,

welcome.
I have seen your Dodge at the Mopar Nats in Santa Pod

Carsten

 

[detmatt]

Nice car! Welcome to the site from the Motor City!

 

[Steve B]

Finally, the Fury engine. Had a lot of chrome etc but Ive replaced the original air cleaner (I painted it etc) and found some original rocker covers that I stripped and painted the original colour blue. New water pump, rewired turn signals (orange all round) and some additional earth leads on everything that earths through the body (alternator, VR etc)....cheers Steve

 

[Steve B]

Thanks for the welcome gents!! Carsten, Im really proud of the Polara, she won the first ever top 5 plus 1 trophy (think they felt sorry for me as I didn't quite hit the top 5) and last years trophy for 'Most Original Mopar'. The competition at the Mopar Nats is very stiff as the place is littered with top notch A, B and E bodies from all over Europe. Quite a few C bodies as well these day which is really nice to see.... Cheers Steve

 

[commando1]

Always amazes me how guys across the pond do these incredible restos. Welcome.

 

[Steve B]

Nice car! Welcome to the site from the Motor City!

How is life in Detroit these days?? I know your City has suffered quite badly in the recession. We are just emerging from it and only just!!

 

[Steve B]

Thanks Commando....thankfully there is a great car scene her in the UK and mechanical parts aren't difficult to find. We just don't have donor cars for interior parts, body panels and trim etc, they are a real pain to find and VERY expensive to ship to the UK. Here are some pics of the work I did on the trunk of the Fury.....I cut the rusted panels out, made up replacements using 16 gauge sheet stock and used an old bead roller to roll the grooves into it. Nearly correct but not quite...close enough though and rock solid now....

 

[LocuMob]

Welcome from Minnesota! Nice cars, I really like that Fury! Please do bore us to death with pics, we can't seem to get enough.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

Thanks for the welcome gents!! Carsten, Im really proud of the Polara, she won the first ever top 5 plus 1 trophy (think they felt sorry for me as I didn't quite hit the top 5) and last years trophy for 'Most Original Mopar'. The competition at the Mopar Nats is very stiff as the place is littered with top notch A, B and E bodies from all over Europe. Quite a few C bodies as well these day which is really nice to see.... Cheers Steve

Hi Steve,

I know, I have attended the Mopar Nats UK 13 times (Santa Pod and Avon Park Raceway before).
Usually the juding is done by three (Tony O., Stuart Keen and me when I was there) so there is at least a 2-1 decision for the prices. I didn't make it last year but took care of it before

Carsten

 

[tallhair]

Welcome Steve. Nice work

To solve your crowded pic problem remember to hit enter a few times after your text and before you insert your pics and hit enter between the pics. You can do this by clicking on the pics, hitting left or right arrow to get between them and then hit enter.

I edited the post with your fury pics as an example

 

[1978 NYB]

Welcome .....nice car.

 

[Steve B]

Thanks men and I will try harder next time with the pics....nicely sorted!....Cheers Steve