Biggredd2069
Active Member
Figured it would be a good time to give a detailed account of my 68 Newport convertible. disclaimer: If you only want to know about a car being restored to original only then turn away now, don't wanna hear how you don't like my rims or my stereo or tinted windows.
Bought this 68 Newport convertible Sept 2018 from the 2nd owner. This guys mom bought it in 1971 and they've owned it since. The guys mom died a couple years back and was time to part with it. It had been repainted at one point but has been long enough to start getting sun fade. the engine had been redone with a mild cam upgrade at some point but long enough ago that some of the seals were leaking and the carb needed a rebuild. They did put new carpet and a new convertible top on it at some point as well. The car was mostly garage kept and is in pretty good condition. Only one little surface rust spot above the rear wheel well which I sanded out and put a little primer and paint on for a temporary fix. I bought it just before winter so haven't been able to do a lot of the upgrades I wanted to do until lately.
There were a few things that needed fixing and some of been done easy, some hard...you can see other posts of the hard way. But long story short here are some of the things I've done to it. BTW its a 383 factory 4 barrel with dual exhaust. Had the transmission pulled and had some new gaskets and bands put in, new exhaust manifold gasket, newer edelbrock 650 carb, new alternator, new voltage regulator, new coil, new battery, pertronix electronic ignition, new headlight relay harness, chrome air filter, painted the valve covers to match the body and new gaskets, custom color changing halo headlights, new shocks, new trunk liner gasket, custom steering wheel, tinted the windows, removed original stereo and added a new stereo (sorry not sorry), got a new map light (old one had broken switch), new steering column wiring harness, new muffler (old one rusted through on one side), This car is for me, not a future owner. So I did put some 22" rims. I think it looks great. Had the paint buffed out, looks night and day different. Made a custom center console for speakers and a cup holder and lined it with some relatively close colored pleather. Pulled sagging seat and just added some carpet padding in the springs for now until I can do a full rebuild, but there's a noticeable difference. The car ID paperwork is there but barely, not much is salvageable about it. The seats in general are in pretty good shape for 50 years old. My main goal is just to be a reliable daily driver if I decide to do that. Starts normal every time, doesn't leak, and doesn't feel like I'm gonna die when I drive it. lol
Left to do. Apparently I need a new torque converter due to a leak in it. Kinda upset about this since they pulled the transmission and didn't advise about it and still had a leak when I got it back. I'm skeptical they didn't actually put the hole in it but I'll see when I get it swapped out. Finish up a little more stereo stuff just to tidy up the details. I think the engine is done for now for anything else I'm gonna do, aside from needing a new power steering cap that I lost. I could probably do a rebuild on the power steering pump, have a small leak but its low priority. Going to change the rear differential seal and fluid just for peace of mind. Have a kill switch I plan to wire to the starter soon. I didn't connect the horn after the steering wheel upgrade, it doesn't connect the same so that might be a task. Would like to upgrade to disk brakes up front but it stops pretty good right now. I'm getting close to a stopping point if I choose. Obviously it'll never ever be done cause there will always be something I wanna do. But after a lot of grief, blood, sweat, tears, success, failures, etc I'm pretty happy with where its at. I'm sure there is stuff I missed pointing out but this is most of it. I appreciate the help on here. I'm an amateur at this and learning a lot as I go.
Bought this 68 Newport convertible Sept 2018 from the 2nd owner. This guys mom bought it in 1971 and they've owned it since. The guys mom died a couple years back and was time to part with it. It had been repainted at one point but has been long enough to start getting sun fade. the engine had been redone with a mild cam upgrade at some point but long enough ago that some of the seals were leaking and the carb needed a rebuild. They did put new carpet and a new convertible top on it at some point as well. The car was mostly garage kept and is in pretty good condition. Only one little surface rust spot above the rear wheel well which I sanded out and put a little primer and paint on for a temporary fix. I bought it just before winter so haven't been able to do a lot of the upgrades I wanted to do until lately.
There were a few things that needed fixing and some of been done easy, some hard...you can see other posts of the hard way. But long story short here are some of the things I've done to it. BTW its a 383 factory 4 barrel with dual exhaust. Had the transmission pulled and had some new gaskets and bands put in, new exhaust manifold gasket, newer edelbrock 650 carb, new alternator, new voltage regulator, new coil, new battery, pertronix electronic ignition, new headlight relay harness, chrome air filter, painted the valve covers to match the body and new gaskets, custom color changing halo headlights, new shocks, new trunk liner gasket, custom steering wheel, tinted the windows, removed original stereo and added a new stereo (sorry not sorry), got a new map light (old one had broken switch), new steering column wiring harness, new muffler (old one rusted through on one side), This car is for me, not a future owner. So I did put some 22" rims. I think it looks great. Had the paint buffed out, looks night and day different. Made a custom center console for speakers and a cup holder and lined it with some relatively close colored pleather. Pulled sagging seat and just added some carpet padding in the springs for now until I can do a full rebuild, but there's a noticeable difference. The car ID paperwork is there but barely, not much is salvageable about it. The seats in general are in pretty good shape for 50 years old. My main goal is just to be a reliable daily driver if I decide to do that. Starts normal every time, doesn't leak, and doesn't feel like I'm gonna die when I drive it. lol
Left to do. Apparently I need a new torque converter due to a leak in it. Kinda upset about this since they pulled the transmission and didn't advise about it and still had a leak when I got it back. I'm skeptical they didn't actually put the hole in it but I'll see when I get it swapped out. Finish up a little more stereo stuff just to tidy up the details. I think the engine is done for now for anything else I'm gonna do, aside from needing a new power steering cap that I lost. I could probably do a rebuild on the power steering pump, have a small leak but its low priority. Going to change the rear differential seal and fluid just for peace of mind. Have a kill switch I plan to wire to the starter soon. I didn't connect the horn after the steering wheel upgrade, it doesn't connect the same so that might be a task. Would like to upgrade to disk brakes up front but it stops pretty good right now. I'm getting close to a stopping point if I choose. Obviously it'll never ever be done cause there will always be something I wanna do. But after a lot of grief, blood, sweat, tears, success, failures, etc I'm pretty happy with where its at. I'm sure there is stuff I missed pointing out but this is most of it. I appreciate the help on here. I'm an amateur at this and learning a lot as I go.
