66 Town & Country Wagon 1st run

Finally got dad's wagon out to see day light after 20 years!

1. Pulled the plugs and sprayed some WD40 in each cylinder and let it sit.
2. Pulled the wheels and installed Bendix Brake Shoes and EIS Wheel Cylinders.
3. Surprisingly in 20 years the tires never went flat, but filled them up to 32 psi.
4. Opened the fuel line and drained some gas to checked it out - IMO it seemed ok to me.
5. Sprayed carb cleaner all over the carb in/out
6. Changed the plugs, engine oil, brake fluid (and bled MC) and got a new battery.

Since everything looked good I decided to give it a go and bite the bullet so........................
I activated the choke with one depression of the gas pedal and turned the key.... VROOOOM!!!!

THE ENGINE FIRED RIGHT UP ON THE FIRST CRANK - AND THAT WAS WITH 20 YEAR OLD GAS IN THE TANK!!!! I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EARS!!! THAT'S GOOD OLD DETROIT IRON FOR SURE!!!

I pulled the car out of the garage, gave her a little wash down and took her out to spread her wings. The engine purred like a kitten, ran smooth and strong and the new brakes worked flawlessly. Since I wanted to really stretch her legs I took her out on the freeway. After getting up to freeway speed I put the pedal to the metal and a low growl sounded as the secondarys opened up. Although the ride was a little bit bumpy due to the flat spots on the tires (expected), the ride was quite nice and the suspension tight with no signes of any rattles or squeeks. I expect new radial tires to be a huge improvement.

Next on the list is to replace the air filter, fan clutch, upper/lower radiator hoses and thermostat, heater hoses, all the vacuum hoses, front and rear rubber brake hoses, dizzy cap, igniton plug wires and install a Pertronix Igniter II EI with a Flame Thrower Coil.

I'm also switching over to 15" wheels and decided on the Mopar "Rallye Road Wheels". For tires I'm going with Hankook 235/75r15 with 1" white wall to match as close as possible the OD of the original 9.00x14 size tires that came with the car.

I just posted one photo in this thread, but have provided a link below to additional photos taken today.

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=525e4924cd2a9d71&sid=0FZsnDRi3ZPjA

 

Congrats, great looking car!!!
My 67 T&C have the same color.

 

looking good fella , I can't wait to get mine on the road

It's not as good as yours :confused:

 

My T&C looks good on the top, but the underneath is partly very bad.
Have to do some rust work!

 

Mine is the other way around seems solid as a rock but needs fresh paint

Nice to see another European here :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Nitoh, Looks great! What type rims you have... are those chevy rallye wheels?
What size are the rims and tires?

 

Comicfish, with the love and care you put into it, it will look GREAT!

 

Cars that were built in the 50's-60's are long gone. IMO we have the best of the best, but then I'm just being partial.

People tell me everyone prefers classics with the original paint and especially those with patina & they don't mind the bumps and scrapes because it gives the car character. So, if you have any intention on selling it later it would be best to keep it as is.

My dad painted the car himself in the garage back in the late 70's. He did a pretty good job, but he wasn't much of a body guy. He patched the small door dings etc, but he didn't do too good of a job blocking the panels smooth so you can see ripples here and there. I'd like to cherry it out and repaint it, but everyone is telling me to leave it alone. I sort of agree with them because right now if it gets bumped and scraped it wouldn't faze me. But, if I got the body/paint redone and then something happened to it I would be very upset to say the least.

So leaving it as it is I can just drive and enjoy it and not worry about it.

 

Very nice looking!

 

Welcome to the nuthouse we call Home. GREAT wagon, and a great tale. Glad you did not run into any issues with the VERY old rubber bits on that test run, though.

 

Here are 2 photos, rims 15", tires L78-15

 

Haven't been on the forum for quite a while now, but when I saw your thread I just had to react

Beautiful Chrysler you have there! You dont see these very often.
I have had mine for 10 years now. I can see you also have a lot of options on your car, such as power windows and AC.
Have fun with it!
here are some pics of mine
greets Martin

 

Thanks 66TC! Yours is quite nice too - dual exhaust, bucket seats, 440?

 

Great story! The car is beautiful. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Dang! That thing is sweet! Keep us posted with updates.