Current state of my car (as of 31 July 2002) Car is going back together well. Interior work is progressing well.

More pictures of my car in progress can be found in the dated links near the bottom of the page.

1968 Plymouth GTX, with 440 standard. 727 auto with shift on the column. I found the car in June 2000 through a picture of the car online. Made the call, and within a few weeks, I was on my way down to pick up the car from Lamont, CA (near Bakersfield). The car ran, but rough, and just enough to drive it on the trailer, and back off when I got it home.

I threw on an Edelbrock 750 carb to help it run smooth, at which time I discovered I'd need to put mufflers on really quick. Before that though, I wanted to make sure the stock exaust manifolds were sealed up tight. A few mounting nuts were missing, and as I took things apart, a few of the studs broke. After buying a right angle drill and air compressor to work on drilling out the studs, I finally broke off a screw extractor, and determined I'd just pull the heads to get the studs all replaced (as some leaks were developing from the water jacket that runs right behind the studs. Figured that it wouldn't be bad to at least look at the top of things anyhow. So heads off, cleaned up, and sent in to the machine shop to replace all exaust studs. Got stuff back on, and went back to working on the exaust system. As it was, the pipes just ended open near the tranny, so a 2.5" system with H pipe was welded in by a local shop with 50 series Flowmasters.

Somewhere in all this process, I knew I would need brakes before driving the car. Master cylinder was totally dry, and was replaced. All pads checked out ok, with the fronts having a bit more wear. One of the rear wheels had a leak, and the cylinder there was replaced. Fluid was flushed through, and brakes!

While looking at the wheels, I noticed the driver side is reverse threaded wheel studs. And, in going through things I also noticed the original wheel stud openings has mushroomed out and opened up over the years so they would not fit properly and safely any longer, as the holes were too rounded otu to allow the lug nuts to seat properly. Purchased some American Racing Torque Thrust wheels and BFG 235/60 15 tires.

The front suspension was entirely rebuilt with a polygraphite super kit from PST. Before I purchased the car, it has been sitting for about 10 or 15 years, and the original rubber was just nonexistant. The lower control arm bushings were totally gone other than a few grains of rubber powder that came out when replacing things, and other bushings were in similar condition.

A few other minor things like checking bulbs, and I'm sure a few things I forgot to mention here. Some well needed clean up of all interior and exterior parts, and it was off for a road test. First stop was to get an alignment after the new front end parts were installed. New belts were installed as well, as old ones just didn't look worth saving. Hoses had recently been replaced, so they were left alone for the time being.