1967 Plymouth Belvedere: my father-in-law's car must be made road worthy again

A build thread for a car I don't even own.

It's my father-in-law's car. His parents bought it new in 1968. It changed hands a few times since then, but it's been kept in the family the whole time. He's had it on his plate to restore it for a while, and make it into a sleeper, but the project has stalled for (reasons).

This is where I come in. I've offered to help him before, and the help was accepted, but we never got far. Then, after I mentioned the car and a bit of the story in my truck build, it was suggested that we make it into a Challenge car. That gives us a deadline and a budget. I dropped the idea onto the in-laws today. I told them not to worry about the money. They're considering it.

The goal is to get it road worthy. If everything works out perfectly, I'll tow it to the Challenge behind the muscle truck. Even if we don't make it to the Challenge, I want to get it operational so he can still drive it when he wants to, and while he still can.

It's been sitting a while. There is rust. It's got 50 years of ad-hoc repairs. It's missing pieces. It's probably a bigger project than I think it is. We're going to be fighting entropy and time, for a car that isn't worth much beyond the memories and sentimental value it holds.

Dustbusterbd13 and I met over some BBQ and shrimp today. He's graciously offered his own knowledge of B-bodies to help out, and access to his network of weird Mopar guys. Which is good, because I know squat about these old cars.

This thread will detail how it goes.

Following! Good luck 

Cool car, and great build idea, but it is a '67, not a '68.  Looks like the engine wiring harness is gone, right down to the bulkhead connector. 

Sick.

Just want to point out if you use a challenge truck to pull a challenge car to the challenge, you will have a chance to unseat the saab as the fastest challenge tow vehicle.

Do it!

Coolest CAM class car yet...

That thing is sweet!  I'm not a big patina fan but I'm not sure I'd even wash that thing before the challenge.  

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

Cool car, and kudos to you for fixing it up for your FIL. Is this local to Raleigh? I don't have any valuable Mopar knowledge, but if you need someone to scrape gasket material or fetch tools while you're on the creeper i'm your huckleberry. 

Mojo- I appreciate the offer. It's not in Raleigh, but getting it up here might be the fastest path to getting it running.

Also, can you change the title to "1967" instead of "1968?" I must have misunderstood what year it was. Thanks!

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

Done. If it makes it's way up here I'm happy to pitch in. 

It's a shame that you aren't closer; I would love to help out. 

I have a '67 Coronet wagon that is waiting for me to do an engine swap.  

I hope it hasn't been sitting out in the dirt for too long...check the rust condition underneath to make sure it's savable.  

Had a '68 Coronet 500...emerald green with a black vinyl top ....318ci....loved it MAKE this happen!!!

stuart in mn said:

I hope it hasn't been sitting out in the dirt for too long...check the rust condition underneath to make sure it's savable.  

It's been a few years, but hasn't been decades. Plus, it's never seen salt.

I love everything I’m seeing in here.

Looks nice and solid from the pics.  While the car is old the systems are pretty basic (no ECU, TCU, etc).  Keystone Klassics?  

I need that d100 next to it!

THe D100 is a manual straight 6, I think. It will outlast us all.

There is a red D150 with a 360 and a broken transmission visible in picture three, through the gap in the building, too. I've got to measure the transmission and figure out what kind it is so we can get that truck mobile again and my FIL can decide which one he wants to sell. 

If the red one is an automatic, it is easy to identify by the trans pan.   There were only 2 transmissions offered. It is likely a 727. 

If it is a manual, still pretty easy, but not as likely to be broken. 

In reply to wawazat :

Yes, those are definitely Keystones .

My grandparents bought a new 1967 Belvedere II hardtop  in November of ‘66. I was born a few months later and grew up in that car. I inherited it in high school and drove it until the gas tank rotted out. It is the only car that I regret selling. 

From the under hood  photo, it looks like this car may have been the same color as mine. The V8 on the hood ornament indicates that it probably started life with a 273. And it looks like it acquired headers at some point. Look under the hood (probably on the back side of the radiator support) for a little metal credit card in a plastic holder. It’s called a Certicard and will give you a lot of info on it’s original configuration. 

It looks like the car has 1966 tail lights, or maybe from a Belvedere I. They are not from a 67 Belvedere II, Satellite or GTX. 

Please post some photos of the interior. I’m hoping to see a black vinyl bench seat. I have never seen another car with the same combo as my own. 

Fingers crossed for you.  Reminds me of the '64 Savoy that I had as my first car.  

Woody- it was a light blue originally. The interior is a storage bin at the moment. I'll get a picture. 

I'll be down there on Friday to do more truck related stuff. I may help him get a spare 360 engine into his work area.

I'm interested. These are gorgeous cars but I too am concerned for suspension mounting point condition sitting in the grass like that. They tend to accumulate a lot of moisture. 

BUT - where there's a will there's a way, and I'm sure you can save it, or at least make it a functioning, movable automobile again. 

Good luck, this should be a lot of fun! 

I was down there today dealing with some paperwork for the muscle truck.

The driver's rear corner has rot. There is rust elsewhere, but it seems like it can be worked around. I didn't get a good look under the car, as it was pouring rain and it's a bit low.

There are two wiring harnesses in the seat, a new windshield, extra chrome pieces, a 360 engine off on the side with a thermojet, a manual transmission bell housing (the car was originally manual), two drive shafts and a bunch of other stuff. The original transmission may be around, it may not.

We just have to get it out of the grass somewhere where we can work on it. It's likely coming to Raleigh. I'll have to leave the muscle truck there and possibly haul the Subaru down (he has acres of land) or temporarily rent a storage unit that allows work on cars.

The storage unit is probably the best bet.