Projects 1964 New Yorker Town and Country

Haven’t been here in some time but I thought y’all might enjoy some pics of my newest ghetto cruiser. I saw her for sale and wound up trading a Jeep Cherokee straight up. 1964 New Yorker wagon. One of 1600 and some odd built for 64. After cleaning the carb and patching the holes in the tank she was running reliably, and after addressing some stuck drums she was driving. I had to rebuild the original booster but now it’s whistling really loudly because it’s pulling vacuum past the rod that goes to the pedal.

Anyone have any suggestions to deal with the obsolete booster on this beast?

 

Rad car!

 

I had the same problem with my booster and got it rebuilt (same year car - 300 4dr hardtop) by a machinist here in Winnipeg- he replaced all seals and whatnot. Paid for it but it was worth it.
For your heater/air control button unit - the nipples on the back broke off, there's a guy out there who machines an adapter for the unit - but make sure it's not leaking as well, the rubber part in there shrinks over time and won't seal. I ended up getting another control unit (new) but haven't installed it yet so I just have the vaccuum line blocked off.

In case you need the info: Mid Canada Suspension is who I deal with for my parts and who took care of my rebuild. Norm really knows what he's talking about.

 

Thanks! It gets more attention than any other old car I’ve ever owned, and there’s been a bunch.

 

Cool, hardtop wagon

 

Thanks for the input! It currently works I think, as I have control of the vents and what not. The rebuild kit I bought for the booster came with all new seals and worked well for about 6 months. I suppose sending it out might be my only option but I’m concerned they’ll just do what I did and replace all the soft parts and I’ll have the same issue. It’s a bolt together housing so pretty easy to disassemble

 

A friend of mine has a -65 wagon,,,,,but I prefer your hardtop, much more extreme!!

 

Nice! Yeah, I like the hardtop and swoopy body lines on the ol girl

 

Smart trade! I don't think I ever saw one before and I was around back then.

 

That's quite the dash in that beast haha.

May be a little far from you, but on my dad's '70 road runner I sent his Midland (factory option or some such) booster to KBR Fleet in Calgary AB and they did a great job of rebuilding it. I know they are a larger, or part of a larger, company so they may have state-side resources as well.

https://www.fleet-products.ca/

 

Nice wagon. My grandmother had a 2dr Saratoga 300. The interior pic brings back memories of hers and the push button auto. Lol!

 

My ‘64 is probably the most comfortable old car I’ve owned

 

I never drove a car with that non-circular steering wheel.
I always figured it might feel a bit odd when driving requires some real steering input/corrections.
In your picture it does look like Maybe there are some positions on the wheel that wouldn't twist my wrists to unusual or uncomfortable angles.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...4431688-891D0HQ4VG9PWECC9P9K/image-asset.jpeg

https://imageio.forbes.com/specials...-in-a-Bentley-/960x0.jpg?format=jpg&width=960

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/aut...gacy/4-porsche-911-interior.jpg?itok=a0UNr8gJ

 

Great looking wagon! 361 or 413 under the hood? Love the old, odd shaped Mopar steering wheels.

Now, on to the brake booster.

Let's see if this sounds about right. You rebuilt the booster unit yourself. But I'm thinking you did this without the aid of a Chrysler Factory Service Manual. I think this may have decreased your odds of doing the best possible job on the rebuild.

Not saying the job can't be done at home, and I've never even attempted to rebuild one myself. But I think if you do research the factory service manual, for nearly any vacuum brake booster, you'll begin to understand the point I'm trying to make.

Usually the proper, factory rebuild procedure is surprisingly complex for what appears a fairly simple contraption. You'll see special tools and fixtures required for proper tear down and reassembly. Maybe some precision gauges required for adjustments. And it usually looked like the kind of job you didn't want to rush through, or skip any of the steps. After all, you're dealing with the safe operation of your car's brakes.

It doesn't look like the kind of job where you want to try to beat flat-rate. I worked at a GM parts department for too many years and GM offered booster rebuild kits. I think I may have only ever sold one kit over the counter to an independent shop. Don't recall that I ever sold one for a customer's vehicle in our service department. And GM probably made us buy the required "necessary tools" to do the work. The techs didn't want to spend the time and the shop made the same, or more money, just replacing the whole booster. Shop mentality rules.

I understand your wanting to do the rebuild. I'd consider doing it for myself. But I'd have a factory service manual in front of me and make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. And have the proper tools, or a reasonable facsimile, at my disposal. In the long run you may find it to your advantage to pay to have the booster professionally rebuilt for you.

 

No help on the brake booster...sorry. However, extremely cool car! Motor/trans combo? Love the steering wheel. If it were me, I'd drop it a couple of inches. Maybe some 5 spoke Astros all the way around. Just my two cents.

 

One Cool old Hardtop Cruiser fershure !!

 

Great longroof. Congrats.

 

This is the way

 

I’d drive it.

 

Very nice score!

 

I know its far from you but Power Brake Exchange in San Jose, CA could likely fix that booster up no problem. I brought them a Treadle Vac from my '55 Pontiac and got it back looking brand new and worked well. I believe it's still going strong to this day, my friend bought the car and I never got a distress call on the brakes.

 

Ahh, the Chrysler Edsel. We had a few in the junkyard in the early 80s. All 413 cars, I should have pulled all the motors and transmissions. Stupid me. Long live long roofs.

 

A lot of people say that!

 

Every time I drive it I still reach for a column shifter first

 

Its fine now but when i first got it she needed an alignment and it was really screwy with the steering wheel cocked 45 degrees

 

She was originally a 413 car but at some point an early 70's 4brl 383 oem crate engine was installed. I believe it to be 375 hp.
I own a fsm for this car and this booster service is actually quite straight foward. There was only one part that I had to send into Harmon (the rebuild kit supplier) to install a seal. It's basically unbolt the halves, replace all the soft parts, and reassemble. I believe I either got a poorly manufactured seal or there is excessive wear to one of the hard surfaces (most likely).

 

I'll keep them in mind. Thanks!

 

Originally a 413 car but has an early 70's mopar 383 4brl in it now. Automagic.

I was watching the face space markets for a cool set of wheels but ultimately threw a new set of bullets and chrome rings on her until I decide what a really want.

 

I wish I had a good 413 to stab in there right now. I've been watching but also thinking I may as well put together a 440.

 

Thought you might like this. Came across it tonight at a local cruise night. Certainly had a lot of attention.