The story of my 1966 Polara, "El Cacharro", in several posts
- Thread starter Fishfan
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greasemonkeyman
Well-Known Member
Here's just a few things that I always carry in case of roadside repairs:
A four-way space-saving screwdriver
Duct tape(fixes hose leaks,etc)
Small trolly/floor jack
Vise grips,pliers,adjustable wrench,cutters
A small spool of wire(never know)
A small socket set
Heavy duty lug wrench
Small hammer
Road flares/warning triangle
Gas can
And AAA card helps too
flj
New Member
The 15" steel wheels from the early 80s full size Dodge and Plymouth cars will fit your car just fine. Then at least you are buying 15" tires. There were some 15" hubcaps available for the mid 60s cars with disc brakes but otherwise getting period correct hubcaps is tough.
The "dog dish" hubcaps will fit the 15" steel wheels which can look very good if the wheels are painted body color.
Also, the latest Mopar Action or Mopar Muscle magazine has an article about old tires. The article is titled "Are you driving a Death Trap?"
I think you've already dealt with most of the common ones. IIRC, you've replaced the radiator and heater hoses, (bypass hose as well?), plugs, points, condenser, cap & coil. A spare ballast resistor in the glove box is/should be standard equipment on these cars. Master cylinder and wheel cylinders? Flex hoses? Do you regularly use the parking brake to keep it exercised? You do engine oil & filter changes regularly? And a shot of grease into all of the front end components every oil change doesn't hurt either. Speaking of grease have you disassembled and greased the u-joints on the drive shaft? 48 year old grease just doesn't work like new grease does.
There's a maintenance schedule somewhere in the owner's manual for your car. It will outline "Normal" service and "Heavy Duty" service. I always recommend to people that they follow the "Heavy Duty" maintenance schedule. If you were driving the wheels off the car, following the HD schedule would make a difference in your wallet, but using the car as a pleasure only, occasional use vehicle, it shouldn't.
Replacing vacuum hoses (brake booster, PCV valve, vacuum advance) every time one of your kids graduates from one school to the next is sufficient.
Replacing the rubber hoses on the gas lines with ETHANOL RESISTANT hose is a must if you haven't already. Ethanol does just NASTY things to the steel gas tank, steel fuel lines and the rubber hoses. It also means you'll need to rebuilt the carb every few years to clean out the silt that will accumulate. No fuel filter available can catch that silt.
Or long story short, concentrate on the things you haven't worked on yet. They're getting ready to conspire to get you unless you get them first!
Most of that stuff I've either taken care of over the years or doesn't apply (no brake booster). I was more thinking about emergency gear I need in the car. Already some great suggestions and some obvious things I overlooked like jumper cables. Your suggestion of ballast resistor is also very good.
But your list is good mental checklist of maintenance items. I'll bookmark it.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
A CC and some cash in my wallet, and my cell phone with a complete address book programmed in it including all the tow companies. How many of you have tow companies in your cell phone?
New seat belts (pics included)
Thanks to Mr. Fix It for starting this thread (http://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/showthread.php?13505-New-Seat-Belts&p=191719#post191719) and finding the vendor.
A couple of notes:
The car came with four lap belts. The main thing I wanted to do was have six because that's how many ride when my whole family is aboard. The old ones were a light blue, somewhat matching the interior. Obviously I wasn't going to get two new ones of a different color so I needed to buy all six. I didn't trust the color samples on the website (there's a lot of different shades of blue already going on inside the car so I went with white despite the fact that they aren't going to stay white for long.
Also, on placement. The original owner's manual says the seat belts should be "crossed". In other words the latch mechanism closest to the passenger is for the driver and vice versa. With six seat belts it's a little more complicated. You're always going to have two of the latching mechanisms right next to each other. Still I suspect the best way is for the belts to "cross over".
Very happy with the end result.
Thanks to Mr. Fix It for starting this thread (http://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/showthread.php?13505-New-Seat-Belts&p=191719#post191719) and finding the vendor.
A couple of notes:
The car came with four lap belts. The main thing I wanted to do was have six because that's how many ride when my whole family is aboard. The old ones were a light blue, somewhat matching the interior. Obviously I wasn't going to get two new ones of a different color so I needed to buy all six. I didn't trust the color samples on the website (there's a lot of different shades of blue already going on inside the car so I went with white despite the fact that they aren't going to stay white for long.
Also, on placement. The original owner's manual says the seat belts should be "crossed". In other words the latch mechanism closest to the passenger is for the driver and vice versa. With six seat belts it's a little more complicated. You're always going to have two of the latching mechanisms right next to each other. Still I suspect the best way is for the belts to "cross over".
Very happy with the end result.
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Very nice thread, loved it and love the car and your persistence!
I don't need the phone number for a wrecker. My F-wagon doesn't break down...........
66Monacovert
Member
Hi Fishfan,great story.Along with the ballest resistor that was mentioned,I always keep a spare voltage regulator,starter relay, and some fan belts..One never knows do one..John
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
What's an F-wagon?
Aspen/Volare
greasemonkeyman
Well-Known Member
They don't break down but they sure in hell rot away! lol
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
My daily driver doesn't. It gets Krown-ed every fall (proprietary oil spray)
I'm sure Fred and the guys saw it at Moparfest.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Great story! Four-door cars rarely get preserved/restored. Yours is a very nice Polara; and I agree about the Ford shade of green looking nicer than the original Mopar shade.
greasemonkeyman
Well-Known Member
I can remember my father buying a brand new 77 Volare wagon and having it recalled within 2 years due to the tops of the fenders rotting out.I guess they managed to use some of that Chinese sheetmetal that GM had left over back in the mid-70's
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