Lenny B's 1968 Coronet Project

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:24 am
Hello Everyone,
Yesterday I dropped my new, and first Mopar project off at my shop, and hope to start on it as soon as I finish my current Mustang project. I always wanted one of these and can't wait to get started. It is an original 318 Automatic car, 8 1/4 rear, manual drum brakes, no AC but does have PS. The previous owner, owns a local repair shop and was using it as his summer daily driver until he decided to take it apart to have the body restored. Eventually his life changed and he decided to sell it. All the parts are there but in pieces. Hopefully I didn't over pay for it ($3,000) and he delivered it for me. It seams to be a pretty solid car under neither, floors, rockers, roof, firewall, and doors are very good. The quarters, trunk drop downs, and maybe the deck lid will need replaced. The fenders I believe I can save by patch the lower rear section. The tail panel I think I can save also. I'm not sure if I should restore the car to original since it is a 318 car. I kind of like the idea of putting a High Performance create engine with a 5 speed in it along with briefing up the rear end and brakes. I plan to keep this car for myself. Here are some pictures of what I'm starting with:
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IMG_1834.JPG (93.44 KiB) Viewed 8441 times
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 9:06 am
When you say all the parts are there do you mean chrome, lights, interior, dash, bumpers, etc.?
The body looks quite solid and is a great foundation for your project.

What are your plans for it?
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:57 am
I would go for the Custom
440 with an old original 4 speed or a 426 crate motor and a 727.

I have heard and read many are not happy with certain 5 speed conversion's the selected transmission couldn't handle the Torque of a Big block and doesn't shift as fast as the old original manual gear boxes what transmission did you have in mind?
How much engine? stock mild or wild?

One of the new create Hemis and a 5 speed would be cool but I don't think it would be as powerful as a mild Built 440 unless it was super charged or had a Turbo.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:13 pm
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:When you say all the parts are there do you mean chrome, lights, interior, dash, bumpers, etc.?
The body looks quite solid and is a great foundation for your project.

What are your plans for it?


It was a complete car with all the trim and interior. He bought it from the original owner in 2014 in West Virginia. He then brought it back to Michigan and drove it for the summer. He owns a local family auto repair shop that's been in town for 20+ years. He did the basics to make it a survivor weekend driver, brakes, dual exhaust, tune up, etc.... It was a complete running car. Then he decided to restore it. He found a guy that said he could do the body and paint for $7,000, so he pulled the motor, trans, interior, and anything else he could to try to save some money. Needless to say, the guy that quoted the $7,000 kept putting him off (2 years). The owner eventually posted it for sale. He also gave me an almost complete interior from Dante's Parts (door panels, seat covers, headliner, carpet, arm rest, brackets, etc.... Most of it is Legendary Interiors stuff, all still in boxes. I went through that, and it came out to about $2300. worth of new parts. He also gave me a set of headers and the hood pictured below. I plan to put the hood on the car and then possibly sell the original hood. Both are nice solid hoods. My plans for the car are to store the original motor, trans, rear end and brakes. I'm going to strip the car down to the empty shell and repair any rust found. I know it will need quarters, wheel wells, and trunk drop downs. I'm going to attempt to save the deck lid. The rest of the car is solid. For the drive train, I'm still researching options now. I'm thinking a create motor from Summit and a 5 speed from a place I found that sells TKO 5 speed kits made to order. The rear end will probably be a 8 3/4, depending on what I can find. Planning on disc brakes also. For the paint, I like the classic Super Bird theme, Black with white tail strip. I plan to remove the side trim but keep the rocker molding. The interior he gave me is maroon which I'll use. All the original stuff I don't use will be stored to go with the car if I ever have to sell it.

Also please excuse my ignorance on Mopars. Big learning curve for me since I never had one before.

Sorry for the long reply ~ Thanks, Lenny B.
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Extra Hood
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The look I like.
1968-Dodge-Coronet--Car-100738045-0c875748bdbb2ad142404709cc9e354f.jpg (58.81 KiB) Viewed 8422 times
Last edited by Lenny B on Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:26 pm
Doright wrote:I would go for the Custom
440 with an old original 4 speed or a 426 crate motor and a 727.

I have heard and read many are not happy with certain 5 speed conversion's the selected transmission couldn't handle the Torque of a Big block and doesn't shift as fast as the old original manual gear boxes what transmission did you have in mind?
How much engine? stock mild or wild?

One of the new create Hemis and a 5 speed would be cool but I don't think it would be as powerful as a mild Built 440 unless it was super charged or had a Turbo.


I'll have to take a closer look at what people are saying about the 5 speeds. Maybe the 4 speed auto is the way to go.



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:39 pm
Ya a Tremec is the Tranny I was talking about Hurst makes the TKO 500 & TKO 600 each handling 500 Ft lbs torque and 600 FT lbs respectively and in no way should be considered equal to the World Class 5 speed or a T5 Tremec although they all look identical!!!!!!!!

There are a BUNCH or 5 & 6 speeds on the market these days FEW are made to handle the Torque of yesterdays Big Block engines.
I can tell you from experience the World class in my kids Fox body cant handle the Torque from a well built 302 let alone the 351 hes building now, Its just plain too slow to shift! and dont handle the Torque very well either. A T10 or a top loader would be a better choice for him.

I am looking for Old Super T10's for my Firebird build's or Muncie M22 because I know they can handle the Torque of a Big Block and shift Lightning fast with out fail and they can be had New or used.

There are a few others that I am looking at including the Richmound designs and Liberty 5 speed and 6 sp.
You get what you pay for just remember that when your shopping for your Transmission on Craigslist or Ebay Not all Tremecs 5 speeds or T5 or Would class T5 5 speeds are the same even though they look the same they are very much different inside.


Looking at those pictures that looks like a really clean Mopar You should take some good pictures of all the rust you wanna replace first.
I wont say it easier or cheaper!!! But I will say There is a whole lot more Value in Patching rather than replacing whole quarters including Trunk drop offs.
I am of the Club that sees more Value in a Car that's had Patch repairs done to it properly rather than whole quarters being replaced!!!! Its only a Original quarter panel car once!
I can tell you from experience MOST all after market sheet metal is JUNK!
Original is always Best! If you can save your original sheet metal by patching DO IT!
Its a lot easier to Cut up an aftermarket Panel to use as patches and properly shape it Than it is to try to make a Poorly copied Chinese panel work as a full quarter panel smothered in Filler to get the body lines right.
As more and More Hobbyist are finding those after market Parts don't look so great up close, They devalue the car as well. they don't fit right they aren't stamped right the quality just isn't there to be considered a quality part in most cases. unless you see OER on the part chances are fit and finish are gonna need work.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:18 pm
Thanks for the advice everyone. I have some time to think about what to make it. What do you guys think about the idea of picking up a rusted out 4 door from that era that has a 383 or 440 with an automatic? I like manuals shifts but the car (steering column) is already set up for an automatic. Plus, I kinda like the old school look and experience. Money wise, it may be a bit more affordable option.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:41 pm
Hey man, its your car and your dream. Don't let us push you into something you'll regret.
This isn't a car worth restoring to original so I would make it what you want it to be.
I suggest you make a list of what you will need and then think about how you will approach this project.
Don't spend money on engine and tranny right now since you won't be needing them for a while yet.
I wouldn't even buy the paint yet, just do like Dennis said and access the patch panels and repairs needed.
This stuff takes a lot longer than most people realize.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 9:11 am
Lenny like 68 Coronet RT said please dont feel like I am pushing you one way or the the other I mainly was trying to get you to relize that any old Junk Tremec wasn't going to work for you. I know a few very unhappy people that went down that road.

A 727 torque-flight is an awesome transmission and about all I can afford to put in my Mopars I have a few of them non finished!!!! I might add My Sat RR clone should have been done long ago just like 68 Coronet said these things take TIME lots of it! Life gets in the way so do Mortgages and House hold bills and eating. The Trick is to be wise in what you can do your self spend money were its absolutely needed and reuse as much as you can!

Most of us started off getting into painting our cars to save money and found out there is no saving money on one car and settled in on the idea of doing it as a way to make money on the side.

Like I said though take a Bunch of pictures of the rust in your car post them here let us see it it may be you don't need full quarters and if you do several guys here have done them and can give you some pointers on how to do the job.
Check out 68 Coronets build on his 68 Coronet it took a long time to get it done check out my Road runner clone build or my Firebird both still have a long way to go check out the other builds others have done.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:00 am
Just wanted to give a follow up on this project. After adding up all the known costs to make this car what I wanted, about $30K plus including body and mechanicals, I decided to sell it. A local retired bodyman wanted it for his own car to build and offered me $2,500 more than I paid for it, so I let it go. Hopefully when the time is right for my next project I'll be able to find another more complete and in better condition car to start with.
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