Greetings from Joliet, Il.

[Gary Papesh]

Hey Guys, I just joined, wanted to say Hi! I've got a 23 T that I bought as a bare frame with no mounts or tabs of any kind, and a channelled glass body. I put a Speedway 4" drop axle on it , leaf spring front, and early Chevy spindles with MustangII brakes. I've got a 8 3/4" Sure Grip rear , 3.23 gear, Chassis Engineering 4 link suspension w/ coil springs. 383 big block, 727 trans. It's a roller, have to rebuild the motor, bodywork, do electric, interior, a long way to go.
Trying to do it as a mid 60's hot rod, pie crust slicks, 6-71 blower, big metal flake paint, etc.
Not a rat rod, but not a modern one either. Been thinking about maybe a C-cab Spirit body, a little extra room would be nice. Not many Mopar engined T's out there, so it will be different. Looking forward to the project, which moves about as fast as a glacier, but it does move sometimes! See you around the forum.

 

[bobs66440]

Hello and welcome! Ahh, yes, a Mopar man. I like it! The BB Mopar is an awesome engine and a great choice. They are relatively easy and fun to rebuild (I recently built a 440). I am somewhat knowledgeable about those, so if you have a question, don't be afraid to ask. Sounds like an amazing project. Enjoy the site!

 

[Telman2]

Welcome from northern Illinois Gary.

 

[old round fart]

Be careful welding the brackets on the Mopar rear end. I warped 2 of them before going to a Chevy rear. Good luck with your build. Had a buddy build a 440 bucket back in the day.

 

[Bennett]

Welcome from New Hampshire.

 

[EWTALLEY]

Welcome from Ocala, Florida.

 

[choppedtop]

Welcome from Oklahoma, and say HI to Jake and Elwood if you see them.
Lee

 

[Gary Papesh]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
@ ewtalley, I was in Ocala 2 years ago to check out Big Daddy's museum, awesome place, going to be in Lake Wales this winter for a visit, would love to go back there again!!
@choppedtop, a new gas station opened up by Chicagoland Speedway, has a full size CPD cruiser on a pole , no Jake or Elwood though.
@ old round fart, was it an 8 3/4" rear that you warped? What problems did it cause?
@bobs66440 , thanks for the offer! I'm lucky to know a few Mopar guys that have guided me along my way, but the more heads the better! My previous car was a 65 Dodge Coronet 2 dr Sedan. 318 poly, 727 trans, 8 3/4" Sure Grip rear, and a rare Mr. Norms Paxton Supercharger kit. It was junkyard fresh when I got it, put new quarter panels on it, all new brake system, Orange Box ignition kit, rebuilt the trans, and a blue lacquer paint job. Years later it was sold , then I got in touch with a guy who turned it into a factory experimental altered wheelbase Hemi clone. The work he did to that car was awesome. Complete soda blast, rotisserie restoration. Sold at a Mecum auction a few years back for around 45 K. My pockets are nowhere near that deep, so , here I am , gonna have a go at a t-bucket.
Beauty of the T is that you can do so many different things to it, and still have a great car, without worrying if certain parts are NLA or crazy expensive. BTW, I still have the Paxton, and would like to sell it, It's from a 74 Dodge Dart GSS. It is complete and in good shape.
Later I'll post some pics of my project. Thanks !

 

[Gary Papesh]

Here's the pics.

 

[choppedtop]

XXXtremely nice. Can hardly wait to see you build a T/B.
Lee

 

[bobs66440]

Holy crap! That Coronet is incredible! I want to get another Mopar so bad. This is the '66 Charger I had and sold last year. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but being a Mopar guy I thought you might appreciate it. I would love to get a big block '64-'65 Belvedere...



[URL=http://s814.photobucket.com/user/bobs66440/media/Charger/SAM_3414850x638.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[rbsWELDER]

Nice Garage!!!

 

[Gary Papesh]

Let me clear up a mistake I made, the Coronet was not cloned as a A/FX car, but rather to be just the way that Dodge offered the car for sale in 65. Then guys like the Ramchargers, and Dick Landy, would cut them open , move the front wheels 10" forward, move the rear axle 15" forward, and set them up for drag strip duty.
Also, the man who restored this car is George Young, he is the one who took this car to another level, one I could never reach.
When I bought it from a neighborhood guy, and rebuilt the stuff I did, I un-knowingly was saving it until George found it, and worked his magic. I started my work on it in the late 80's, which was a very bad time for the 63-65 Mopars. NOS stuff was disappearing, and a lot of the parts a guy needed to restore one was just not available. No interior stuff, no trim stuff, transmission shift cables were extinct, like the push button setups, the parts were unique, and only made for 2 or 3 years to begin with . Tonight I'll try and scrounge up some old pics of how the car loked when I had it. Not shabby, but nothing like when George did it.
@bobs66440 , your Charger is sweet. The 66 was the best Charger in terms of classy interior, and exterior trim. From the hideaway headlights, to the rear console, bucket seats were unheard of in the back seat, until the 66 came along. Definitely on par with the Imperials of the same year. And thanks for posting the pics, us Mopar guys gotta stick together.
I probably shouldn't do this but here goes. There are a gazillion T's out there with Small Block Chevy's, and for good reason, they are cheap ,and easy to set up. But mine will not be one of them. Nothing personal, just following the hot rod tradition of making it "your own way" @rbsWELDER , yes that garage is awesome, no it is not mine, hell if I had half that space I'd thought I died and went to heaven!

 

[EWTALLEY]

Yes, Gary, Big Daddy's Museum is a nice place to visit, I went about 2 months ago and ready to go back.

 

[Gary Papesh]

Yup, make a day of it, grab some lunch at cracker barrell, life is good!!