Volare Wagon - T/A Kit Racer Stance

Opticon77

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Might as well start a thread for this project...

1979 Plymouth Volare Wagon
97k miles indicated (I believe it)
318 V8 Lean burn still running stron... well.. smooth.

Day Zero:

Grandpa mode...
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Clean and solid underneath...
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Checking Leanburn wiring and vacuum...
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Paint problems on the passenger side...
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Day One:

Pulled the rack & chrome tips
Picked up an old understated MOPAR plate for the nose
Cutting and polishing compounds on the passenger side


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Testing Wheel Vintiques wheel setup...
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Opticon77

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Day Two:

Full set of wheels & tires. Info here: Who's running wide tires on the front?
Blank GM rally caps (Plymouth decals inbound)
United Pacific 31391 LED headlamps
Plasma LED ambers and reds

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Next up I need to:
- Freshen/stiffen up the front suspension.
- Remove the bumperettes and polish the chrome and trim
- I have a 67 Camaro front airdam to bracket and install under the nose.
- Might brighten up the silver on the wheels or order a set of thin hotrod style trim rings.
- Still not entirely sold on the dark tint on a classic car. Might redo it clear Llumar AIR90.
- I also have subframe connectors and boxes to have welded in.
- Then rear diff work. 3.21 gearing and an LSD.
 

Aspen500

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Not counting the other things you've done so far, it's always amazing what a difference wheels and tires make to a car. Completely transforms a "grandpa car" into something totally different. Nice!
 

Opticon77

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Don't discount the minor details of that wheel and tire combo either. 15s are too old school. 17s are too big for the car. The sidewall of many modern performance tires have 90 degree shoulders and bead protectors that square off the tire. That would look strange compared to the bulging body shape. So I went with a wide 16" modern summer performance tire with a bubble curvy sidewall and a deep concave wheel.

Also, pulling the roof rack cleaned up the roof line a ton. Having the chrome/fake wood grain rack jutting up vertically in the middle of the roof was getting me stopped by every Chevy Chase fan telling me stories about how they used to ride in a station wagon facing backwards as a kid... Not exactly the effect I'm going for.
 
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Oldiron440

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Now you can put one of those ricer wings on the roof. Hahaha
 

Opticon77

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Big Toyota Supra plastic hoop... like a shopping cart handle.
 

Opticon77

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The adhesive backing might need a little help. Seems kinda weak for this application's temp swings. But I can fix that.


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Also just ordered aluminum K frame pucks, 1.125" Front, and 0.875" Rear swaybars from Firm Feel.
 

Jonnyuma

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The wheel/tire combo looks great. Nice work sussing-out the details like shoulder profile and sidewall height... those are the kinds of things that keep me up at night
I don't think it's the look you're going for, but painting the brightwork and the areas between the windows gloss black almost makes the glass appear flush-mounted... probably more of a street rod vibe than vintage racer tho.
 

Raff

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Looking great. You nailed the stance. What did you do about the attachment holes in the roof after you removed the rack?
 

Jonnyuma

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Looking great. You nailed the stance. What did you do about the attachment holes in the roof after you removed the rack?
I know you weren't asking me... but you can get flush-fitting plastic plugs at just about any well-equipped hardware store.
A dab of the wife's nail polish (pick a color she won't miss or go to the dollar store) on the inside of the hole to prevent rust and a dab of clear silicone to keep the water out.
The permanent fix is to weld em up, of course.
 

Opticon77

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I have been looking for ways to change the window trim and even out the glass. End game is to go back to clear glass once the interior is black. (With Llumar AIR90 clear ceramic tint to cut UV)

And the roof rack nutserts are just sealed up with nylon threaded plugs and some clear gorilla tape patches at the moment. The roof paint is super thin and faded so it needs bodywork and paint anyway.
 

Opticon77

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I got in on the last show of the year. Riegelsville Fall Rollout. While I was there a vintage film enthusiast named Lance snapped a couple pics and later sent me the digital copies...

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Gotta love that nostalgic soft glow.
 

Raff

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Looks great. Any clearance issues front or rear with your wheel/tire combination?
 

Opticon77

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At that height? No. But I'll be pushing it in the spring when I rebuild the front end and lower everything until the tires start to tuck. I expect to be rolling fender pinchwelds for clearance but I doubt I'll have to flare anything.
 

Jonnyuma

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I'd really like to stagger 17s and 16s on my Lebaron but finding 16s of suitable size is pretty tough.

I should rephrase that... finding the right size 16s and 17s from the same maker is tough. I've got a weird OCD-thing about matching brands when it comes to tires.

Do you, @Opticon77 have any straight-from-the-side profile shots? I've got 255/60 15s on the back now (27" OD) and curious how the lower profile 50 series 16s (26" OD) fill the wheelwell. Looks badass from the 3/4 views.
 
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Opticon77

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Wheel finish was too dull and the transition from Chevy silver paint to chrome center cap was a bit abrupt... I fix.

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XfbodyX

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The rims look great. Have you ever thought about painting them with a bit more fitting mopar paint? The GM type non textured argent came in gloss silver and a slightly different gloss silver with a slight green tint to it, and is nice on a chevy but the mopar textured argent would give them a good bit of a oem mopar look.

Nice clean car and I really like the exhaust system you put on it.
 
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