Hey, my Mirada is out of the body shop!!!!!

Billy007

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2 1/2 years ago I hired a body man to repaint my 1983 Mirada, six weeks later I stop in to see what was the hold up, and man oh man, the car was stripped to bare metal and in little pieces! He said it needed a restoration, I told him I didn't want to pay for that, he said he wouldn't charge me any more. He was true to his word, but he is as slow as molasses, but the results are stunning! I didn't think there was any rust on her, but he found a little spot inside the right rear quarter. Instead of grinding it out and using filler, he cut out a foot square section and welded in a new steel patch. The worst part by far was the damn rear fender caps! They looked okay but were rotten when the came off. Couldn't find any good ones anywhere, so he put like 100 staples in each, ground those down and fiber glasesed them, done. The interior is almost mint, though I need to fix the droopy headliner, no big deal. After 2.5 years, I can even live with the crummy power steering that was the bain of these Chrysler cars. My only whine is the engine compartment, 85 HP slant six. I have had this car for 32 years and like 75K miles, runs like a dream on the highway, but around town it is a little lacking and it starts hard sometimes. I am debating a small block, or maybe just yank the lean burn off the 225, that should make a big change. Maybe even look for a 2BBL set up, what would you guys do? New problem, it ios so perfect, I am almost afraid to drive it. This has got to be one of the best restored Miradas (for sure 1983s, they are damned rare) in the country right now.

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Joe12459

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That car is gorgeous! If the lean burn is working right, there's no advantage to yanking it. If not, it might help a little, especially with driveability, but probably not with power. If it was my car, in that condition, and all original, I would probably keep it that way. That being said, a turbo or supercharger setup would really wake that slant six up!
 

Billy007

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Thanks for the compliment, but all the credit really needs to go to the slow but incredibly talented paint and body man. Why keep original? Do you really think it will ever be worth anything? Even so, the way under powered slant six is not going to help value. I could always keep the lean burn parts for that scenario I spose. Poor SS, once a gallant and efficient power plant, but by 1983 (the last year in cars) it was strangled to breath. 1959 tech didn't fare well in the early 80s. A well running 71 or 72 225 would be marvelous, my kid brother had an Aspen with the Super six back 30 years ago, that ran very well. Wish I had that engine. (He junked the rusty car around 1990 and the 75K 2bbl six went into a truck that is still running strong) A guy last year said he had a 1975 or 1976 super six from a mid sized Dodge with only 55K on it that he would let me have for 100 bucks because he said no one else wants it. ( people just want screaming small blocks) That sounds interesting if it is indeed true. (I had never heard of the super six option until like 78 or 79 in F bodies, am I wrong here?) Trying to find the linkage and manifolds from on old Super Six is getting really hard these days, I hear the Australian Clifford company sells manifolds and carbs for the SS, has anyone looked into those? I really don't want a supercharged or turbo six popper, I just want a little more drive ability around town and to have it start better. It was always a car to travel in on the open, very comfortable. The air conditioning needs a little Freon, so I spose I should have that converted too. I drove it home yesterday and got a lot of thumbs up as I passed, but I really wonder how many of the people smiling had any idea what it is.
 

Joe12459

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As you can probably tell from my car, I'm not a purist who thinks everything should be restored to original. I just figured, since you had the car for so long, you might want to keep it the way it was when you bought. You're probably right to say these cars will never be worth a ton of money, but they are a lot of fun to drive. I had two slant six Miradas, both of which have had drivetrain swaps, so I know the challenge of daily driving with basically no power. I did try the super six setup on my son's slant six. I guess you could say it added a little power, but not really noticeable. It did nothing for reliability. I went through several carbs, without finding one that worked well with the crappy fuel we have available. Before deciding on more modern drivetrains for both, I also considered aftermarket fuel injection. There are a few companies that make 2bbl self learning systems, so if you can get a super six manifold, one of these setups would add a ton of reliability, and possibly a little power, too.
 

Ed Dorey

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I have a good running super six I'll be pulling out soon along with trans if you are interested. Hopefully by the end of October.


Thanks for the compliment, but all the credit really needs to go to the slow but incredibly talented paint and body man. Why keep original? Do you really think it will ever be worth anything? Even so, the way under powered slant six is not going to help value. I could always keep the lean burn parts for that scenario I spose. Poor SS, once a gallant and efficient power plant, but by 1983 (the last year in cars) it was strangled to breath. 1959 tech didn't fare well in the early 80s. A well running 71 or 72 225 would be marvelous, my kid brother had an Aspen with the Super six back 30 years ago, that ran very well. Wish I had that engine. (He junked the rusty car around 1990 and the 75K 2bbl six went into a truck that is still running strong) A guy last year said he had a 1975 or 1976 super six from a mid sized Dodge with only 55K on it that he would let me have for 100 bucks because he said no one else wants it. ( people just want screaming small blocks) That sounds interesting if it is indeed true. (I had never heard of the super six option until like 78 or 79 in F bodies, am I wrong here?) Trying to find the linkage and manifolds from on old Super Six is getting really hard these days, I hear the Australian Clifford company sells manifolds and carbs for the SS, has anyone looked into those? I really don't want a supercharged or turbo six popper, I just want a little more drive ability around town and to have it start better. It was always a car to travel in on the open, very comfortable. The air conditioning needs a little Freon, so I spose I should have that converted too. I drove it home yesterday and got a lot of thumbs up as I passed, but I really wonder how many of the people smiling had any idea what it is.
 

BudW

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A nice looking car!


Ditching the engine computer will not give any power to you – if existing computer is working like it should be (I’m guessing a 95% chance that it is working OK).

A 2-bbl changeover and better flowing exhaust will help – but you still have a problem of compression ratio and air flow.
Bumping the compression ratio will help.
Adding a turbocharger will help tons – but then you get the “cost vs. power added” equation.

The next question is: How fast do you want to go?

If you want more power – the most bang per buck is to replace existing /6 with a stock 360 Magnum engine with a small block A999 automatic transmission.
If your Credit Card is a good one, you can purchase a Hellcat powertrain and install (or anywhere else you mind might want to wonder to).

Joe12459 has a (stock, I think) 5.7L Hemi in his Mirada.

Let us know what you are thinking and we can help direct you from there.
BudW
 

Aspen500

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May have taken him 2 1/2 years but quality and fast don't go in the same sentence.

Know what you mean with the S6. Mine had an E24 California emission (even though it was a special order car through a dealer 80 miles north in Rhinelander WI) 225 rated at a whopping 95 hp and even with a 4 speed, pooch doesn't begin to describe it. When a friends wife blew me away with her stone stock 6 cyl, 3 on the tree '67 Camaro, I knew a change was in order (which I did in '89 when I put a 440 in). Beaten by a 6 cyl Camaro,,,,,,,,,,,,,just ain't right, lol!
 

Aspen500

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I just remembered a buddy and his AAR 'Cuda body shop deal. This was in the early '90's. Took his AAR to a Mopar oriented (OK, the owner is a Mopar fanatic) shop here in the area for body and paint (very little rust repair needed). It wasn't a rush job but took longer than he'd have hoped. IIRC, the car was in the shop for a little over 2 years but when he got it back,,,,,,,,,absolute perfection, and I do mean perfection. Hated to even touch it to push the rolling shell into his garage for assembly.
 

Poly

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Congratulations ! Showroom condition in 1992 and showroom condition in 2018.
 
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