"the epitome of class" thread got me thinking

Me personally have been thinking about the '69 era of Chrysler cars. Mainly the 300 and Imperial. You could drop a 5.7L Hemi with the 4-speed from a Ram. I think a 2.90 out back would have you set.

300

Imperial Crown Coupe

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

Those are a bit on the small side, no?

My parents owned a '73 Fury III Coupe back in the day. Thing was friggin' huge!

If you're gonna do a 300, it's gotta be a Hurst edition:

I am sorry.. I cannot get behind chrysler products of that age.. most of them are low on the handsome scale and not at all on the pretty

HappyAndy wrote: Ice always wanted a big american sedan from the sixties or early seventies as a long distance road tripping car. My first choice would be a suicide door continental. If I found one original unmolested and running well, I would leave it that way, or more likely I wouldn't buy one like that because I love to tinker. What I would really like is to find one with a clean body and bad or missing engine so that I could swap in a more modern drive train. If I were doing this with a Lincoln I would keep it FoMoCo, if it were a Caddy or Buick it would stay GM. So my question to the GRM comunity is: Is it possible to build up a luxobarge like this that's capable of a legitimate 25mpg or better on the highway? Sticking with the Lincoln example, would a 351w & AOD trans with a 2.90 rear have enough power to move a Continental down the interstate comfortably. More specificly, I'm thinking of a 351w with aluminum heads and intake +EFI, either aftermarket or FoMoCo. Also could an amateur concoct a home brewed ecoboost style turbo system, one designed more fore improving efficiency than for increased power? Heaven knows a small block in a Continental's engine bay would leave tons of room for what ever was needed to make any conceivable system work. thinking of a 351w with aluminum heads and intake + EFI. E

hahahahahahahaha...... add a blower and you'll be close

the engine in the Lincoln develop over 500#/ft @ around 1500rpm

THAT is the problem in moving a suicide door Lincoln.... There aren't many modern engines that produce that kind of torque.... AND deliver mpg

My brother owned a 65 Riv (clamshell headlamps) his used the "underpowered" 401, while the perfomer was the 425? His Riv got about 14 on the highways, and about 8 around town

Ever heard of PSI just west of Portland(Hillsboro)?

Another supplier. Just for some inspiration.

http://mobsteel.com/ride_west_coast.php

Nitroracer wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: I know a guy who's been nosing around for something big and American. Here's my thoughts: Don't be picky and just start looking. Keep your options open to anything big and American that has a column-shift automatic, and you'll find something cool.

Thats how I found this for $900 and drove it home. Just typed in a bunch of years and a price range on Craigslist. Plus Four or Five Years If you have your mind set on an EFI 351/AOD I would look at other options. I built a carbed 351 for this car, but all the little differences between a 289/302 and the 351 really limit your choices and can nickel and dime you. Truck intakes don't flow well and GT40 intakes are pricy. If I were to do it again I'd just go 5.0 HO/AOD from a mustang or lincoln. Granted, this is more of a midsize car and can get away with less torque. If I were to do it again I'd probably go GM. More aftermarket support, more modern suspensions. They have a higher buy-in though.

was that '69 built in the US or Argentina? It's rare to see a 4 door like that here in the States but you stil can't cross the street in Buenos Aires without seeing one.

Built in Kansas City, originally sold out in Oregon, and now lives in Pennsylvania.

Haven't seen many fairlanes, torinos, or rancheros of this vintage since I picked mine up a few years ago.

They made the body style up until about 1980 down in south america. Very similar version in Australia too.