195? Chrysler New Yorker Delux Family Sedan

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jmlcolorado

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
1,839
Location
The flat plains of Elbert County, CO
1954 Chrysler New Yorker Delux Family Sedan

Picking up a couple more cars. I know, before you say anything, I have a plan.
You're saying to yourself......"Self.......THIS dude has taken 6 years to finish a simple rat rod! Why the heck is he picking up MORE stuff?! He'll NEVER get em done!"
Well, part of that might be right. The legnth of time for me to finish one stupid truck. And while it might seem crazy to take on more projects, like I said. Plan.

So I now have a moving target to complete the rat rod. The shop build is going to take a lot more time to reign in and start. I wanted to finish the rat this summer, but I have the wife a taste of sweet, heated, precipitation free garage parking towards the end of the winter. Now she's addicted. She can't get enough of it. Like a freakin fiend. I tell ya.
I made a deal with the devil here. Let me have the garage for the summer, till our baby comes, then she can have the garage and I'll suffer in the cold, wet, desolate field with my toys, shivering myself to sleep at night. I feel that this will motivate the shop build.
Notice I also said new baby. Queue Crysler New Yorkers, but first.....

I picked up a fine specimen of 1980's styling when big hair bands were the rage and parachute pants were in everyone's closets. Lucky for me, I was too young to have any mental damage from such an era. However, I DO have a 1989 Camaro RS sitting in the yard I picked up on trade. Technically, I picked it up for $2200 when it comes down to it.
It's actually pretty cool. Flame red (I hate red), carbureted 305 with an auto. T tops and mag wheels. I actually really enjoy driving it. It's kinda fun despite its gutless power. However, it reeks of old man (no offense to all you patina'ed fellers out there) and can't comfortably fit 4, let alone 5. We have a 3 year old, 12 year old, mama and me. The back seats weren't designed for car seats for some freakin reason. However, a little redneck engineering and enginuity allowed me to ratchet strap the car seat in in order to give the family a ride. They like it mostly. The 3 year old, I feel will eventually become a carp gal. She loves the thought of the "maro", but she can't see out the windows from the back seat so she gets a little wrecked when the full power of that monster 305 kicks in and I break the tires loose and spin er sideways (pretty much on gravel and ice really).
And with another on the way, we need something bigger.
I'm not pretentious enough to sport an escalade. And mama despises the thought of a "soccer mom suburban". So those are out. I'm a fan of "cool" so neither of those fit the bill.

Friend of mine had these beauties sitting in his back 40. I asked about them and they were a project of his fathers which have fallen off the radar. He wants the engine out of one of them, but that's it.

SO. Here's the plan. Sell the camaro and use the money to acquire these two hunks of iron.
I'm told one is a '53 and the other is a '54. One has a title and the other doesn't. Both have 331 hemi's in them.
As a warning, the pictures to follow this text are graphic. Not for the faint of heart.

I stopped by today to get a closer look at them. I knew they had sat in the field since the camaro rolled off the assembally line.

They are both pretty straight with minimal visible rust. Though I didn't climb around to dig deeper for reasons you'll see momentarily. I literally would have had to DIG.

The bad parts on one, the other had good replacements on it. Now, this isn't saying I don't have a monumental task ahead of me, but the end result should be pleasant. It should provide pleanty of room for the family of 5 with enough room to burry the guy who low balls me on the camaro AND groceries for all of us for 2 weeks!

Sound promising.

I had planned on making the camaro a peppy sports car. In this mind set, I aquired (for free mid you) a totaled 2003 Avalanche with a iron 5.3. Perfect candidate for a turbo. Hot Rod TV had a series called the Bonemaro where they took a late 70's camaro and made a decent strip car with this engine. I was going to do basiclly the same thing but a street version.
That's all scrapped now, except I still want to do a turbo 5.3 something.

Okay, still with me? If I only lost 3 of you to skipping to pictures, and the other two are still reading, I applaud you!
On with pictures!

Behold!!!!!



























 
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So if you can look past the pool, cool right?!
:D

Okay. Seriously though. I've seen poop. I work in insurance restoration. I have 2 children. I love Taco Bell. I've seen poop. But this. This......was.......epic!
There was poop on top of poop, covered in more poop......then wrapped in poop!
It's remarkable.

This is the reason I decided against climbing around looking for more rust.
I am just going to assume tha poop holds moisture, enhibiting rust. Guessing the floor plans are crap (figuratively speaking).
I will be dawning my full PPE with rubber boots, tyvek suite with hood, full face mask and gloves. At that point, I MIGHT sit in it and make vroom vroom sounds :D



The plan is simple. (I say that now but we all have seen where that goes).
Entirely new interior. I'll gut the whole thing, decontaminate the whole thing, encapsulate with something and rebuild. Seats are fine. I'll just throw a Mexican blanket over those.





KIDDING!

I'm just hoping the seat frames are salvagable.

I want to air bag the car with an accuair system. I don't even have mine fully installed on the rat and I already love it.
Thinking satin black the entire body (yes, I know, it's played out a bit).
Then all the chrome, high gloss black.

Interior is free game. Basiclly a blank canvas. It would be awesome to go back with stock look and materials but I not sure yet.

Power train.
I was thinking this would be a good candidate for the turbo 5.3. Would make the car a wonderful driver. BUT, it has a 331 hemi!
Either engine will need a full rebuild. The 5.3 due to 285,000 miles on it.
The 331 hemi due to............poop..........

Gloss black wheels too.


So there she is.
Thoughts?





P.S.
Please do not expect this to happen quickly. Any of you who have followed my previous thread know that I am ADD and flakey as all heck. Here one day, gone the next. And the years spent on A project, is obsured.
Hang in there, for the long haul. It should be fun.
 
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I applaud your your enthusiam bud! [cl Love those big old Chryslers whereas the Dodges and Plymouths those years didn't have much appeal. Had a '51 that i enjoyed and wished i still had. If you can get one of those hemis running it will give you much more satisfaction than a modern engine. I know it sounds unreasonable but it would be so fun to build them both together. First step is the cleanout!
 
In my head, I picture this.



No chop top, no squeezing a frame that doesn't belong under the car. No reinventing the wheel for nearly every system (except the suspension).
I hope it will turn out half a beautiful as the car pictured.
 
I applaud your your enthusiam bud! [cl Love those big old Chryslers whereas the Dodges and Plymouths those years didn't have much appeal. Had a '51 that i enjoyed and wished i still had. If you can get one of those hemis running it will give you much more satisfaction than a modern engine. I know it sounds unreasonable but it would be so fun to build them both together. First step is the cleanout!

The engine is where I'm stuck. I big part of me feels that the hemi would be.......well.....hemi. And it belongs in the car.

The other part wants to be able to jump in and go with zero concerns.
I've got time to stew it over :D


My buddy said he needs to pull the engine before I can get them. I told him I'd clean the engine bay out. And by me cleaning the engine bay out, I mean I'll order pizza, hire a laborer and tell them they will be power washing today, hand them the PPE while I sit with the seller and drink lemonade.
Sounds mean, but hey, they're getting paid for it.
And if they get it done in 4 hours, I'll pay them for 8 :D
 
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This shot belongs in Sam's photo contest. ;)

IMG_6351.jpg


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