Returning member with a 67 Plymouth Belvedere wagon (with pics)

Decided to sign up again. I was a member for ten years, but then two years ago I was logged off the site. Couldn't remember my password since I had stayed logged in for so long, and my e-mail had changed in the meantime.

So now I'm back! And I'm hard at work (with my buddies helping) on my 67 Belvedere II wagon.

First, a little background. I originally joined about twelve years ago, hoping I would find a 67 Belvedere II wagon here. I did, and bought it sight unseen from a member in Massachusetts after having a buddy check it out. That white wagon was a 318 car and a bit rough around the edges. My buddy in Massachusetts rebuilt a 318 v8 for it, and rebuilt the suspension and then brought it to me in Virginia. Later I found a replacement tailgate for it as well, right here on Station Wagon Forums. But never got around to installing it. And I never got around to getting the body work, paint and interior done on that wagon either. It didn't have alot of rust, but the tailgate was completely rusted, and there was rust in the dog legs, corners of the doors and around the rear side glass.




Then, in 2019, I found an ad for a solid rust free metallic tan wagon that had been dismantled and sprayed in primer. I bought it sight unseen and had it shipped from Kansas City to Virginia. This one was also a 318 car, but the later model 318 would have needed a rebuild. I chose instead to buy the complete drive train out of a 68 383 4bbl Monaco that was being parted out in Maryland. Since this wagon appeared to need very minimal body work, I imediately sent it out for body work and paint. I ordered new OEM upholstery material from SMS in Oregon and dropped off the seats with a local upholstery shop. Then it sat. Occasionally, I would get something done. Engine and trans installed. Trim polished at Polish This in Pennsylvania. But, the seats weren't done anyways. And so, it sat some more. Decided to sell the white wagon to a local guy who had inquired about it several times.


But then last fall, a buddy started bugging me that "we" need to get that wagon together in time for the Chrysler show at Carlisle in July. And so, we've been hard at work ever since. But, as with so many project cars, every step is three steps forward, two steps back, or worse two steps forward and three steps back. First it was trying to get the big block into the space once occupied by a small block. Its a straight bolt in, but, not everything was the same for a 383 in a Monaco vs a 383 in a Belvedere. of course we had the engine in before we figured out the was a broken exhaust manifold stud in one of the heads, so out came the head. Then there was the time we tried rebuilding the front suspension and had to cut the upper control are to get out the old worn pieces. Of course there were new parts that didn't fit right like the tail pipes on the Accurate Exhaust. We had the cut and reweld the tail pipes to fit. Or the rebuilt starters that turn out to be junk. After two rebuilt starters we're now using a sometimes intermitent old used starter. Have another rebuilt one and a hopefully better used one ready to go in, but each change of the starter requires dropping the exhaust. We were hooking up the parking brake cable, and found that the torsion bar cross member that the cable goes through had been poorly repaired in the past and had rusted out. So, cutting out the bad parts (and parts of the floor) became a big project as new pieces were welded in (lucky for me, my buddy has a welder).

The seats came back from the upholstery shop. The trim came back from Polish This, and the car started to come together. There's still some issues to be resolved. My biggest headach at the moment is the tailgate window, window regulator, window motor, and rubber seals for the tailgate window opening. I had someone rebuild the original window motor. But, once we got it in the tailgate, it would work intermitently. First, thinking it was in the switch on the dash, or that wiring, we pulled the dash apart. After alot of trial and error, and trouble shooting, we decided it was the rebuilt motor and the thermal limiter inside the motor. So, I contacted the current owner of my old wagon. He brought over the spare tailgate that went with the white wagon. That tailgate had a manual rear window. We installed the manual window crank mechanism, handle and regulator. What could go wrong? Thats gotta be a foolproof system. The window went down, but then the coupler connecting the handle to the regulator slipped and the window became stuck in the down position. Had a buddy who does body work for a living come by last night. With much effort, a very long screw driver, and a few new chips in the paint, we managed to get the window back out without breaking. Next up is putting a different window motor in from a parts car.

The good news is, the car runs Great and the 383 feels stronger than any other 383 I've had!

 

Welcome back. I was wondering what ever happened to that white wagon that used to be your avatar. New one looks pretty sharp. Didn't you have an old Challenger too at one point?

 

Well the Challenger is "old' now. Its a 2014. The Challenger is my daily driver since the groundhogs ate the wiring on the vehicles I park outdoors (96 Ram and 99 Durango). The white wagon is still in my little town, but now belongs to someone else. My other old cars are 67 Coronet, 68 Barracuda, 68 Charger, 68 Dart, 66 Fury and 66 Polara. Some are on the road. Some are projects. All the cars are indoors, but the groundhogs only like the wiring on newer vehicles anyway.

 

About time..........!

 

Looks really great! Sometimes all you need is a buddy to give you a good kick in the pants. Haha. I’d spend a lot more time in my shop, but all my buddies have been lost in the shuffle. Welcome back!