Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:51 pm Post subject: 1965 Chrysler 300
The second project that I have going on at present is my 1965 Chrysler 300. I bought this as an unfinished custom restoration, when I realised that my Lincoln was going to take a lot more time than I anticipated.
The 300 is a budget version of the letter series 300’s. Originally fitted with a 315bhp 383cu in (6.2 litre) V8, mine has now got a 440 cu in engine, that has been tuned using Edelbrock parts. The suspension has been lowered by 2”, and air shocks are fitted at the rear. The wheels have been changed to Coys chromed alloys, 17 x 6 at the front, and 18 x 7 at the rear. Apart from the fact that the colour is a modern equivalent of the original, everything else is standard. As all of the original parts were included in the deal, I can turn it back into a standard car whenever I want.
Theres not really all that much work to do on the car, just an A4 sheet (at least!) of what I call irritants. These are stupid things like a small oil leak, the speedometer and so on. In other words, relatively easy jobs that irritate by taking a lot of time to do correctly.
Last edited by Uncle Joe on Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:33 pm; edited 1 time in total
When I got it home and started going over it in the workshop, I found two faults. one was that it wasn´t charging, and the other was that an engine oil leak that I had seen turned out to be that the sump had split!
We have to use headlights in the daytime here, and as the village that the seller lived in is about 65 miles away from here, the battery didn't have much life in it when I got home.
The sump finally gave up a few days ago when I was reversing into the garage, depositing 7 US quarts of oil first over the floor, and then into the inspection pit!
I suppose that I can do another post now, about these repairs!
Thats slightly anoying, I had simmilar problems picking up the clubman estate last year as I was traveling through solihul in the middle of the night with lights that kept packing up, and when they did work they lit the top of the trees up. It started raining and my wipers wouldn't touch the winscreen and then as I am so good at it, I got terribly lost getting on the M6 in the wrong direction and ended up in coventry with no petrol!
I look forward to seeing the repairs you post on hear!
With the battery being more or less flat when I arrived home, the order of the day was to charge it, and see if it would hold voltage, which it did. A charging check showed that this was the problem. When I looked at the alternator, I saw that the “batt” terminal wire was disconnected. Connecting this didn’t help, so I removed the unit, cleaned its exterior, and replaced it. The car now charged a bit too well, pumping 15.9 volts into the battery! So the next job will be to exchange the old style regulator for a new style electronic one. This has to be done anyway, as the 440 motor has factory electronic ignition, and Chrysler do not recommend the old style unit with this. An easy enough job, though it does require a slight change to the wiring.
At first I had thought that the oil leak was from the area around the rear main bearing, which is common on Chryslers. However, the problem turned out to be that the sump had split at a weld, and required replacing. My first thoughts were to pull the sump off the original engine, and use this. However, this was not possible as whoever had tuned the engine had fitted the large bore oil pick up from a Hemi, together with a deeper sump and a windage tray. So I had to fight my way through the moths, get into my wallet and buy another! This arrived the day after I ordered it, and was duly fitted.
Hi Rick,
I've just started to trim the boot, as it really let the car down when you looked in there! However, I will admit that I have been sidetracked by what is turning out to be a major disaster! I'm taking photos as I go along, and will have an attempt at posting them when the job is completed.
At weekend, and the weather is not to bad, I'll be taking the pick up and a trailer to collect some parts that I bought off ebay...thats all your fault!
Sixes are for boys, small blocks for men, and big blocks for heroes!
Just an update on the ebay parts. They were collected over the weekend, so I am now the proud owner of no less than 2 complete six-pack 440 engines, plus misc. parts. (enough for one more, transmissions, diffs etc.) But the clincher - I got a complete blown (as in hole in block) Max Wedge motor for free.
Rick, for the link, many thanks. Theres at least a pint for you next time I'm over!...and I'm dying to hear stuchamps comments when he reads this!
Just as a little update regarding the 'Max Wedge' engine. It looks as thought it is a 426 from '63 or '64. The question now is should I or should I not do a mix and match using the parts together with a 440 engine. Comments anyone?
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