knuckleharley

Their purpose was to let heat out of the engine compartment. Those old,heavy flatheads ran really hot and needed the air circulation.

Sadly,Don has passed,but he was a Guru of all things Mopar. He also posted a lot of informative articles in the tech section.

Then you have a decision to make. Ain't NOTHING free in life but grief,and most of us paid for that in advance. Not ME,of course!

I agree. It could be good deal IF the prices is right and you have a Tig/Mig welder,English wheel,a nice selection of dollies,and the skill to use it all. If that ain't you,stay away from it unless you can get it REALLY cheap and then preserve it and store it in case you have an accident and need body parts.

Well,there are very good reasons all the car manufacturers use it now. Saves time which means it saves them money,and they don't have to worry about cracks or rust.

Some of us think the "Plain Janes" ARE the pretty cars.

Are you using steel lines,or the copper/nickel lines? The copper/nickel lines are easy to flare and don't crack.

Why does it have to be a 208? Why not a 230,which is much easier to find and probably cheaper. Mechanics iz mechanics as far as taking one apart to investigate how all that stuff works. Get the basics,and the exotic and strange will become easier to comprehend. Think of it as "reverse engineering" to comprehend the mysteries of flathead engines.

I'm going to go out on a limb here,and say suspect it got a little hot.er Back in another lifetime when we lived in a free world,I used to just drive straight up the beach from NC to get to Va to shop for items not available locally. Been decades since the world was that free,but IIRC,it saved about 40 miles of extra driving if I had followed the roads. Coming back home one day I spotted a brand new Series 1 Ford Bronch that still had dealer tags on it,being washed sidways by the ocean,and being pulled further out to sea with every wave. Both doors were open,and the panicky elderly owners who had just bought it that day to explore the wonders of the undeveloped ocean front were in a panic. So we stopped,attached a tow rope to it,and pulled it out of the ocean for them. Once we got it up high on the beach I noticed the front hubs weren't locked and it was still in 2wd. When I asked the man why he hadn't just put it in 4 wheel drive and driven higher up the beach while he still could,his response was "Huh? I thought they automatically went into 4WD when it loses traction!". You would THINK a Jeep salesman back then would have recognized the new buyer didn't know a damn thing about 4wd and given him a short class,but nope,he just took the signed contract and waved "Bye Bye" as this elderly couple drove off on their exciting new journey. I somehow suspect it was traded in on a new car the next week,and a year later the new couple were wondering why the body was disappearing as it sat in their garage.

I gotta confess that I was so dazzled by the beauty of the paint job,the straight sheet metal,and the brightness of the chrome that I didn't even notice those flowing beauties!

What Dartgame said,all of it,but the most important part is in bold. The extra HP from a 230 will allow you to drive it like a modern car. Mother Mopar made the later flat 6's with more power for good reasons.

Just lookit all those straight lines,the dark,shiney paint,and that door handle that is pointing straight ahead like "the arrow of Gawd"! One day,when I grow up,I am going to buy cars that look like that!

One of life's hardest lessons to learn is that there is almost never any such thing as a free lunch. Something died to provide the meat,and humans gave up part of their lives to process the mayo or any other condiment that went into the spread. If you are not PERSONALLY sure of the quality of an item you are buying for your old car because you have examined it yourself and know people who know more than you know spent their own money to buy it and are happy with it,spend the extra bucks for something KNOWN and universially recognized to be a quality product. In the end,you will not only save frustration,but you will save money,too.

Buying bore gauges/micrometers may SEEM expensive,but they are not as expensive as putting an engine together with the wrong clearances. Plus,you get to play with tools. Win/win.

Yup,and if you have two that are tight,swap them for one another and try again. Make sure you stamp all your bearing caps with numbers once you get it straightened out.

That would make it either a 54 or a 55. The 56's didn't have that feature.

My father was born in 1910. The only time he ever wore a suit was the day they put him in the ground. My mother wore a dress every day of her life,though.

No kidding! It is a full-frame car,and for it to be twisted that badly,it almost had to have gone airborne and landed somewhere where there was something massive already parked.

Part of the deal,dood! Can't forget the pencil-thin moust.anche,either

BTW,where were you working in VN? I was "working" out of Kontum in 68 and 69. It's beautiful up in the mountains. Here is a photo of me taken after coming home from "work".

BTW,buy a new ZOOT Suit for the trip,and an appropriate dress for your lady to wear. If you are gonna do this,do it with style!

If it were me,I would just buy a brand new repo gas tank for it. If it has been sitting two years,it is gummed up or rusty inside,maybe both,and you can buy an exact replacement gas tank these days cheaper than you can pay a wrecker call,a motel room for a night or two,and the labor involved in having some local who knows he will never see you again if you make it out of town pull the tank,flush it out,and re-install it. I would also completely flush and bleed the brakes as well as replace the battery. Given the crap that is sold as tires these days,I think I would even replace all 4 tires with new ones. Tires build up a lot of heat after several hours of driving,and a little bit of safe beats all the "sorry" in the world. It is MUCH safer,cheaper, and easier to do this sort of thing BEFORE you start off on a trip than while on the trip. Don't ask me how I know this to be true.

My very own first thought! You haven't recently been dropped on your head,have you?

The cars were stylish as all get-out,but I can't say much for the clothes. Then again,for fancy dress,MY tastes would run to Zoot Suits. Coolest damn suits ever designed! Here is a link for you youngsters who have no idea what the hell I am talking about. Admit it,they "fit in" with your old Mopars like white on rice. zoot suit - Bing images