I bought a 64 Newport conv for my dad for fathers day, his first new car was a 64 Newport conv with a 3 speed stick on the floor in it , the one I bought him is a push button auto , my ? Is this is a fairly rare hard to find car less then 2000 ever made this year (conv) he wants a stick in it should I convert it or leave it be , also if anyone has the parts to convert it please p.m. me I'd be interested in hearing a price The pic of the car I bought him is on my profile page im not shure how to post it up here and by the way the flame job is leaving its going back to its org light blue with light blue insides and a white top
A: think your in the wrong forum. might want to ask a mod to move this befor it gets canned. B: sent you a PM. I've done a mopar auto > stick with original parts once (e-body). pain in the ass. my suggestion would be all new after market stuff with a hydraulic throw out bearing or slave cylinder setup. good luck
value wise, the stock set up is worth more. The stick shift is probably such a ridiculously low production number that finding any specific stock components will be impossible. so you will be left with your own install. That said, the sky is the limit on how you install it, such as a console, new or resourced components, 4 speed or 5 speed, etcetera. your crank will probably need to be drilled for a pilot bushing, and the flywheel, bellhousing and some trannies can be had from the Mopar guys relatively easilly, but not cheaply. Leaving the automatic in it is easier for sure, and what I would recomend, but not the same.
I personally would think leaving the auto would be the best choice for diffrent reasons #1 It already has it. #2 I would bet that pushing the clutch and shifting gears isnt gonna be as easy as it was when he had his first one,and we aint gettin any younger as we go either. #3 You can still look at that option after everything else is done and hes had a chance to enjoy it now, he may decide he likes it as is. Good on you for buying it for him,I bet you had to do some searching to find it.
Thanks for the replys so far guys Yes tread was in the wrong place but has been moved (thanks) The value isn't very high on these I've seen them from $25k-30k restored and a good project if you can find one between 5k-14k Him useing the cluch was a concern of mine but be drives a stick every now and then but there newer cars and yes low budget it was very hard to find a 64 Newport conv I looked for over 3 years I found it in Illinois it needs full resto and I payed dearly for it but it was worth it to see the look on my dads face when it showed up at his house (he knew nothing about it at all didn't even know I was looking) And to top it off his old car had a square steer wheel in it I found one here on the hamb so that's sitting on the shelf .
Go to a stick with a Hydraulic T/O and a diaphragm clutch. Only, completely forget about a three speed and step for 5 speed conversion. It's not hard and with a Tremec TKO500, my 360 powered '48 Plymouth has been trouble free for over ten years, and even with aprox 430 horses on tap turns back 20mpg. It's not cheap, but it turns the car into something that is not only more fun to drive, but gets for better mileage than either of the other options and will run at modern freeway speeds with ease, and will probably get driven more.
Thanks "need louvers " he's set on a 3 speed I told him if we do it I want to do a 4 or 5 speed I've even toyed with putting a new hemi and 6 speed from a challenger in it beings its org motor is long gone and I have a 68 383 hp motor set aside for it Anyone ever convert one of these to a stick
I would suggest buying a stick shift car but I doubt you will find one. I didn't know they made any stick shift Chryslers that year until you said you owned one. Next best, learn to like the automatic. I know you prefer a stick but is it that big a deal? What do you hope to gain? Last choice, go ahead and put the stick shift. A lot of work and a lot of money but if it makes you happy, go for it.
In that period ('63/'64) Chrysler had a "promotional" model, a Newport 4 door with 3 speed floor mounted stick, for $2964. Not sure why I remember that so well, but I was in the Navy at the time and my Division Chief Petty Officer bought one of them. I don't know absolutely what cube engine they came with, but I think it was either a 361 or 383....probably the 361. I doubt they sold them in any significant number, it was just a price leader deal. But, so much of that Mopar stuff is used across model lines that I wouldn't think it would be so difficult to find B block stick shift components. Plymouth and Dodge built lots of stick shift B block cars. However, all that said, I tend to agree with those who recommend retaining an automatic for all the reasons already quoted. Whatever you decide, Best Wishes with your project......and as all of us old guys are aware....time is not unlimited.
The car also came with a 413 I did find a car with a stick it is right here on the hamb but I was two days to late I'm told and its being shiped over seas soon Well and with the time frame I'd like to get this car done before my father gets to a point where he can't drive anything, I like to give him at least a few years to drive it and go to the shows in it ,
OK what does the old man hope to get out of it? I loved my father but if he told me he liked a stick shift, but had no particular reason, I would have suggested he get used to driving an automatic before I spent thousands of $$$$ bucks and many hours converting his car from an automatic to a stick. In this case I gather the car is already gutted like a trout and is not going back stock anyway. In that case it might be very little extra work or expense to put in a stick. Especially if you can find a C body stick shift to get the pedals out of. If he wants a 3 speed how about the 3 speed + overdrive used in RWD cars and pickups in the late 70s and early 80s? It should work well with the big block.
Nostalgia is the reason Rusty...why are you so bent on having your way...it's not even your car....let the old guy have his reminder of his youth. Let the son do this for his father....my goodness, you don't always have to be right.
I was only suggesting that they think it over and weigh the pros and cons before jumping in. Every day we get questions like this. If it cost $1.98 and took 10 minutes I would say, go ahead, put in the manual trans. But when it is going to cost hundreds of dollars, possibly thousands, and many hours of work, I would say, let's think this over for a minute. Do you have a good reason for doing this or is it just a whim? If it doesn't really matter or make any difference I would suggest thinking twice. In this case the car is already apart and the questioner seems to know what he is doing so, it might be ok. Nobody has to do what I say. I'm not going to jump out of your computer. In fact, I would be disappointed if anyone did do what I say without thinking the thing through.
I think Chrysler used a French built trans in those cars...may be very hard to find one. Dad had a 61 with the 3 speed on the floor...neat car with the big fins...It was cool to run around in...he did not let me drive it much...I wonder why?
The 3 speed is pretty rare but if you can find one by all means go for it. The value of the car either way is probably a wash and if your Dad is still driving with three pedals why not? Try some of the yards that specialize in Chryslers, you might get lucky.
You bought him his dream. If he wants the three speed again as before, I would give him what he wants . Too many people try to make other people happy with what they think would be better. Hope you don't get offended by this. I know you mean well.
Hey guys I should add for rusty the car needs full resto the auto trans would need rebuild anyways I was really hopeing to find someone that has done this before, I myself am a very capable mechanic / fabricator, there's really no reason to do it there's no gains , its just to make dad happy, he gave up his org Newport way back when(kids ) and never had a nice car for him self since so i wanted to find and build this car for him, so after i get this one (and mine) done me (47 Buick) my father (64 newport) and brother (73 duster) can go to the shows together , But I am concern about him being able to use the cluch, I do like the newer setup with hyd cluch idea
Put the stick in it! How many times have you planned a project & wanted to do something but decided to go the easy way. After you finish it and are cruisin' down the road thinking "boy this sure runs good but I wish I would have..........."
Everyone, well almost everyone, says put in a stick. The problem you will find is that locating the correct parts is going to be nearly impossible. As already noted, manual trans C body cars are indeed rare and clutch related parts from other body lines simply don't fit. Yes, a very skilled fabricator could make or modify parts if you have samples to go by...but finding samples will be the same problem. So, get busy. If you can modify something for the swing pedal then I suggest using a hydraulic clutch and slave (not hyd t/o). It will save on the parts list and hyd slaves were used by Mopar in the pickups so some oem stuff is probably available at Rock Auto. .
Ok guys I'm putting this tread to rest if I can find the parts 3 speed ,z bar, stuff Like that ill convert it if I can't find a tranny then I just put one of the shifters in there that look like a stick and he can manually shift the auto if he wants I'm mostly concerned about him shifting his knees arnt like they used to be and I want him to drive it and enjoy it no make it be a chore to drive, and if I do find the 3 speed parts ill put it in till its time then ill swap it back out for the auto but ether way the push buttons are not going to be used, thanks for all the input and hopefully soon ill put up a build tread on it, thank god someone put weld in subframe connectors in it a long time ago car is very ridged and the doors line up perfect still so resto and paint should be a little easyer on it , and I don't know why someone would subframe connect this huge car it also had headers and slapper bars on it and a few other things, anyways thanks agen guys ,and if there's any young guys out there reading this go buy your dad his first car its worth it hell its the least you could do after he raised you and if you are reading this apparently he raised you right
My guess is the subframe connectors are factory reinforcements because it's a convertible. Most, if not all, ragtops have numerous pieces added to beef them up.
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