What would you do?

[Triple Pickle]

My friend has this 74 Monaco wagon with title, no drive train and a 77 NYB that we think will run good. They are both 440 cars. The NYB has no title or keys. It’s solid as far as rust but, is in bad shape otherwise.
I bought the NYB and passed it along to him so he’d have something to play with.
We are toying with the idea of putting the drive train in the wagon and parting out the NYB. The wagon is not as solid as the Yorker, but not bad.
What are your thoughts?

 

[Triple Pickle]

The Yorker has 82000 miles around on it. We suspect that is when the lean burn went out and the owner gave up. (Long story). We got it to cough and run by pouring gas down the thermoquad and it sounded promising.
Of course, this all depends on the Yorker having a viable drive train.

 

[Davea Lux]

Wagon shows a lot of rust, so you are probably better off leaving the running gear in the NYB. The wagon also looks like it has been sitting on the dirt for some time so there may be issues with the frame rails and such. I would look into filing abandoned vehicle paperwork on the NYB to see if a title could be obtained that way before going any farther. Both of these cars are going to be major projects.

Dave

 

[Davea Lux]

The Yorker has 82000 miles around on it. We suspect that is when the lean burn went out and the owner gave up. (Long story). We got it to cough and run by pouring gas down the thermoquad and it sounded promising.
Of course, this all depends on the Yorker having a viable drive train.

You should probably check the timing gears while you are evaluating the engine.

Dave

 

[Triple Pickle]

Wagon shows a lot of rust, so you are probably better off leaving the running gear in the NYB. The wagon also looks like it has been sitting on the dirt for some time so there may be issues with the frame rails and such. I would look int filing abandoned vehicle paperwork on the NYB to see if a title could be obtained that way before going any farther. Both of these cars are going to be major projects.

Dave

Very good points. You are right in line with my thinking. The wagon hasn’t been sitting like that for too long and the Yorker isn’t as good as it looks body wise but the frame and floor are very solid. The wagon needs a close evaluation before doing this.
On the other side, not much money is involved in either one.
I do think the wagon would be cheaper on a full resto only because it has less options like power everything!

 

[Triple Pickle]

You should probably check the timing gears while you are evaluating the engine.

Dave

Yes sir, I agree! That should be done at a bare minimum.

 

[Triple Pickle]

I’m leaning towards the wagon a little, just because if the frame and body are equal, the wagon has less power options and stuff to deal with.
What I know so far is the Yorker has no functionality as far as windows goes, the wagons manually roll up and down fine, body wise, in the real world one is as bad as the other.
Structural integrity, frame? remains to be seen.

 

[Triple Pickle]

I’ll try to take a few pics tomorrow to give you more to go on.

 

[Davea Lux]

Another thing you will want to check as the rear axle assembly appears gone from the wagon is that wagons usually have a wider track than sedans, the axle housing in the NYB might be too narrow to transplant.

Dave

 

[Triple Pickle]

Update: this wagon is going to a new owner to be restored. I installed a rear end and go her rolling today...took the rear out of a 74 Monaco sedan. Perfect fit! The rear end that was in the wagon went in a Bluesmobile.

 

[75LandYacht]

If you decide to part the NYB.. keep me in mind please.. could use some Stuff.. thx

 

[Triple Pickle]

If you decide to part the NYB.. keep me in mind please.. could use some Stuff.. thx

Will do. I’ve passed it on to a friend who is soon going to take it to his garage for an assessment.
It has a bunch of extra parts in the trunk, what do you need in particular?

 

[75LandYacht]

It’s more body parts ( lower quarters) than shiny bits and trim. Let’s see if he’s gonna part it or keep it and we’ll go from there. The weathers been so crappy here in NY I haven’t had the chance to really dig into my car to see what ALL I need yet. But lower quarters for sure.

 

[Triple Pickle]

It’s more body parts ( lower quarters) than shiny bits and trim. Let’s see if he’s gonna part it or keep it and we’ll go from there. The weathers been so crappy here in NY I haven’t had the chance to really dig into my car to see what ALL I need yet. But lower quarters for sure.

These lower quarters are shot. They are made of tin and bondo. Sorry!

 

[75LandYacht]

These lower quarters are shot. They are made of tin and bondo. Sorry!

Understood.. keep me in mind to trip over one that’s clean enough.. maybe the old guy that you got this one from will part with his others..

 

[Triple Pickle]

Understood.. keep me in mind to trip over one that’s clean enough.. maybe the old guy that you got this one from will part with his others..

Will do. Sorry I couldn’t help you out on the quarters.

 

[75LandYacht]

Will do. Sorry I couldn’t help you out on the quarters.

No worries.. thx