Hey, Who wagon is that out front?!? I LIKE it!

Hey, Name's Rennie, I live over in Burleson TX, just south of Fort Worth. Man, I've been diggin on wagons for forever. I had the feeling that they'd be the new rad-rare hot-rods for decades. They are just SO COOL! Been watchin you guys for many years now and I could never find just what I wanted. So a couple weeks ago I went out and bought a 1970 Ranchero Squire, as I needed a "utility" vehicle and not a wagon in sight... The NEXT day, a guy I work with showed me a car his buddy had for sale - OMG, a 1970 Plymouth Belvedere Wagon! I really couldn't believe my dumb luck, having just bought the furd yesterday and all. I call the wife (I KNOW better than to not call her) and told her about it. I remember why I married her! She said " You been wantin a Wagon for decades AND it's a Mopar. Go look at it; get it if you think it's worth it! God, I LOVE that woman!!! I left work early to have a look see and hit the bank along the way. Turns out it's a Slant-six with a Three-on-the-Tree. He was asking $3K and I offered $2.3K, he countered with $2.5K and I couldn't give him the money fast enough! It needed some work, like a valve rework, replacing the exhaust manifold and a carb rebuild. I did a standard tune-up and added a Pertronix electronic ignition and new coil. It runs great except for a bit of smoke on hard acceleration. It might be the valve lash needs tweakin (???), or the block needs an overhaul, which I find very uncommon for only 100,000 miles on a slant-six. Anyhow, it's good to actually stop in and say hey and feel a part of, as opposed to just driving by here slowly and wishing I could be a part of your group. (Oh, by the way, I know where you can get a rather nice '70 Ranchero Squire 302-2bbl for a great price!!!) ;-)

 

Hey Rennie! Welcome! David here, from Dallas!

Love the Belvedere! Great Mopar styling! Spartan and basic, and yet tough and macho.
Not sure if I'd change a thing! Even that crazy whip antenna and the bumper guard...so utilitarian...the tan (white?), the slant six...you got the cool vibe all wrapped up!



Happy you found your Mopar wagon and us!

David

 

renko
Nice looking wagon,I all ways love those slant sixes, You cant kill em.
I glad you found a nice one.
Best Rick

 

WOOHOO another mopar! Nice Wagon! Welcome.

 

Yes, Mopar!

Oh gosh yes, TGIM (Mopar). It's white with a beautiful blue interior. I had the front bench bottom re-upholstered due to a tear under the drivers side. Otherwise it is now spotless inside. Yeah, I do like the brush guard and the CB whip adds class of it's own! I play with 'Ham-Radio', so it'll have an antenna or two anyhow. All I need now is a surf board! I'll more than likely leave the slant-six although I do miss the 383 we had in my wifes '70 Charger. But with gas prices... I'll post some more pics of the inside after I do a little detailing. Until then...


"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." Henry Ford

 

to the wagon train, renko. Great wagon, great engine, great intro write up! I love that wagon.

 

Welcome to the forums Renko. You got it right, you married the right woman. Neat wagon. Tons of years of fun in that one.

 

, Slant six with a three on the tree, I'm lovin it! Don't ever change that!

A few days ago I said..."3 on the tree now adays is like a anti theft device...hardly any one knows how to use/drive them".

 

Good point, Fat! A young thief would be confounded!
And FWIW....I would leave that wagon just like it is. It will be worth more and more as the years go by. And I'm a performance guy!

 

Great car. I really like it. You could always put a turbocharger on that 6. There are a few guys doing that now.

 

wow what a find. Almost makes me think its former life was a cop car. That Bumper Guard, CB radio ....... sweet find indeed. I have 2 CB radios here. One in the car and a base station in the house. Next time skip rolls in ill call for you LOL



That slant 6 is the best motor of any car maker.

 

70 Belvedere Wagon

It's not thrashed on as far as I can see but it has some mechanical issues that need addressing. Read on, it's been a helluva day in the B-Body Plymouth!

I just got it on the road today after changing the exhaust manifold and re-installing the head after having it reworked: Valve job, hardened seats and removing a broken exhaust stud, that one in the back there, yeah, the one with the broken ez-out in the middle of it :banghead3:.

I had to rebuild the Holley single hole carb to see if that would stop it from leaking gas all over the manifold. It was a victory! I didn't do a thorough job (read: by feel only) on the valve lash and it runs rough. Duh! So she shakes a bit, heck, let's go for a ride anyhow...

The tires all had different air pressure and the brakes pull hard to the left. Okay, balance out the tire pressure and just hang on to the wheel when braking; down-shifting might help too.

The front end swims like a 40 year old car would. (yeah, imagine that!) I was going thru an on ramp turn & it liked to scare the..... well let's just call it a high "pucker-factor"!

Well I get on the freeway and she has a rather nasty vibration at 57MPH and up, although I didn't bother to try to push it thru that vibe.

The exhaust leaks down there where it crosses by the bell housing and with the fumes coming in I saw colors I ain't seen since high school! (class of '77) It might have been the exhaust or maybe the nostalgia.

Brought her home and now I got a list going... Brake shoes (disc conversion?) Set valve lash properly, exhaust shop, front suspension parts (all of them) and on and on. Definitely gotta sell the Ranchero! Some good things though - the lights don't do that notorious "Disco-Lights" trick at the stop lights! The factory AM-FM radio works good! I do have all 5 of the original rims & the 4 caps (white steel w/ Silver dog-dish caps).

I hate to break it to some of you but I think I'm gonna go with a B-block and an A-500/A-518 OD Automatic w/ Power discs and Power steering. I truly love it JUST as it is, but... I really laughed at the comment about the 3 on the tree being an effective anti-theft device! That is so true. Kids are dumb now...

Well it's been a productive day with the wrenches and I only bled twice and burnt myself on the manifold once. Oh yeah I tried to set the timing and knocked a wire off and got a 60,000 Volt wrist tickler . Didn't know I still moved that fast

Well there's a big Car show/swap meet in Fort Worth tomorrow, so me & the Bride will be spending some time there getting ideas and leads.

Thanks for your input everyone! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

Rennie

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." Henry Ford

 

Renko, but say it ain't so! Yer gonna pull the LEANIN' TOWER OF POWER fer ah big block. Betcha nobody ever told yeah what 3 side draft webbers will do for that puppy did they? And the look iz better then plug wires comin' out of the rockers too and I ain't anti Hemi! I like the look of Cross Rams too but then I'm old! WAGONS HO, Jer

 

Rennie, what a story!

Heck of a wagon, too. Valve seals might be dried up on the engine. Check the compression before you dig too far down into your pocket.

 

Dam good point.....old school rules
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/milestones/0302sr_xr6_hot_rod_project_car/index.html