New Mopar guy here!
 

Hello everyone!

I am beginning my first glorious journey into something that a majority of people never try: rebuilding a classic car.

I am the new owner of a 1967 Belvedere II 383 automatic. It is a 2door hardtop. I will be taking it off the frame and restoring it from the ground up. I am blessed that the car is 95% complete in parts, and with alot of elbow grease and some called-in favors to friends, I aim to have this project finished in about a year.

Pictures and updates to follow!

I am a fairly sharp and mechanically minded person already, but this will be my first project of this magnitude. I would welcome any private messages on methods/steps to doing a frame-off restoration, tips and tricks, resources etc..

Thank you, and I look forward to getting to know some of you fairly well through my first project!

Tommyboy

First it does not have a frame. It is uni body construction. Good luck with the project !

Welcome to the forum :hello:

welcome to the forum

Tommy welcome aboard. You'll find a lot of help here, and a lot of good people with a lot of answers and opinions. The frame off remark was just to help you get the terms right so you don't sound like a know nothing trying to talk his car up to get top dollar out of it when he sells it.

Welcome to the forum .
You have good plans and a nice car. Looking at the pictures I have to say,
Don't get dissapointed if it takes more than a year.
These things always seem easy and quick, but doing a good job takes time and money. There is a lot more to learn than mopars have no frames. Still worth every minute of it. Have fun hope to see your project as you build it. Feel free to ask for or give advice.
By the way I dig the refference to the movie "Tommy Boy" I liked David Spades car too. Try to watch Joe Dirt. Corney, He has a beat looking Dayone and does a burn out with it. he also has the same 67 GTX and blows away Kid Rock driving a Trans-Am.

Check out this link
Joe Dirt's Daytona was a restored car and they made it look bad for the movie
Under the hood it is still restored
http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/69_joe_dirt_daytona.html

Thanks to all for the replies.

I definitely admit that I am "green" when it comes to car rebuilding, and I will definitely welcome constructive criticism.

In reference to the condition of the car, the car actually looks worse than it is. 3 of the 4 lower quarters will need to be dealt with, but the floors and trunk still have their original coat of paint. The engine was running when it was put in the yard 20+ years ago, so it will obviously need to be rebuilt, but I at least know it is good. The dash only has 1 crack in it, which I'm curious to know if it could be repaired or if I should look to replacing it.

That all being said, I am definitely expecting this project to take me a year+, but I have a buddy who runs a bodyshop and has already told me he'll let me use his tools, and blaster, and paintshop when needed. So that should help me.

If I could ask a question here, as I hope some of you shall revisit this post... my biggest first question is.... where to start? When I get the car into my garage... and finish shop-vacuuming it all out... what next?

If I had a second question, I would ask, could someone email me a brief outline of steps in restoring a car? OR recommend some good books/websites?

One last thing to say, I plan on keeping this car until the day I die. My children and grandchildren shall ride in this car. I look forward to teaching my son (now 3 1/2) the things that I will learn through this project, as he grows older.

About Tommyboy, embarassingly, I hadnt made the connection to the car and the movie. haha. I've just always loved that movie and have used it as my nickname in forums for the past decade. That being said, I love the car from that movie and I always cringe when the deer goes nuts in the car. haha.

Thanks to all for the replies, I look forward to conversing and learning from each of you through this process. :-)

Tommyboy

I added new pictures to my album, by the way!

Welcome, I got my drivers license in my Grandmothers 273 auto Bev. I remember it like it was yesterday. Congratulations.

Hey Tommyboy.... Welcome to the forum.... Best of luck with your great project!!! Be sure to keep a good record of your project... Both with pictures and a diary.... It will be priceless when you are done and just showing it off at some carshow.... Also while you are on here be sure to check out the Mopar of the Month contest.. See the sticky for the simple rules and then be sure to do your part to help choose the winner each month..... :hello::hello:

Welcome!

Welcome! :welcome:

Welcome to the forums :)

I started a thread in "Member's ride" area for those who'd like to follow my project. I finally got the car to my house last weekend!