Hey, we always heap praise and accolades on Tony, and well deserved, absolutely. But I gotta say, without Kathy, it wouldn't be the same. What a wonderful job she does. Just plain high quality, professional camera work. It doesn't go unnoticed, just unmentioned. Thank you so much Kathy, we all really appreciate it, even if we don't mention it much. You're a lucky guy Tony.
Uncle Kathy is awsome! She does so much behind the scenes for sure! Tony has shown pictures of Kathy in a fire suit when she used to warm up Tony's nitro gasser! What a badass lady! THANK YOU UNCLE KATHY!
An auto body buddy of mine just finished an early 90s dodge pickup for a customer who said : my father just passed and this was his truck. Restore it. 29k later and you can eat off any part of that truck. Nothing special, I think it was a 1500 but it's the memories 👌
So I’ve always wanted a detailed explanation of (insert automotive topic here and in this case it’s unibody construction) and here is a masterclass from The Master. Thank you. The more I learn the more I realize I’ve got a lot to learn and, it’s the stuff you learn after you think you already know everything that counts.
Nope. You are thinking of a space frame, which thankfully isn't used much anymore. Except in truss bridges, where despite everything being theoretically in tension or compression, manage to flex all over the place anyway. The unibody (created by Budd, in the 30s , I think) is a cross between a monocoque (using the outer skin as structure) and a bunch of random sheet metal used as a bracket to hold everything else together. Hopefully its stiff enough that the flex isn't noticeable to the average Joe.
The body is stiffer than you think though! My friend parked his 71 Pontiac lemans with one wheel on the curb and nobody could open the doors my other friend on a bet did the same with a 73 dart and doors worked perfectly!
What a great video-so much good information! I'm lucky to own a 65 Dart that has near zero corrosion thanks to the original owner. Purchased by an elderly couple, the Dart was their first new car. Not long after they bought it, he passed away and she vowed that this would be her last car. She honored that by always garaging it, never driving it in the rain and laying the car up for winter. She drove it well into her 90s but. unfortunately her ner' do well grandson inherited it and abused it. The final insult was him getting drunk and driving it into a tree in his back yard where it sat for about a year before a neighbor rescued it. I bought it from him and during the restoration not one single fastener broke - truly amazing! Anyway, I'm heading out to the garage to pull those plugs and check the drains along the rocker panels, etc. Thanks, Uncle Tony!
So true! These beautiful classics should never be stored outdoors or damp environments because they'll rust in ways and places that are extremely difficult to repair. They were never meant to be kept this long.
First off - BIG PROPS to the folks at Bennett's!! I'll give Tony credit on this one - this is one of the better explanations of Mopar uni-bodies I've ever watched. The man knows this stuff and when he presents it like this, it becomes good reference material for anyone in the hobby to go back to for years to come. The hobby, especially on RUclips, has plenty of "personalities" - what is needed is more tangible, usable information (like this video) and less "entertainers" (looking at you, Worman). -Ed on the Ridge
on my 65 dart I always power sprayed all those spots to make sure they could drain but I would also use a flash light and a strait edge screw driver and dig out the muck that might cause the frame ect to rot
Old hot rodder taught me to liberally spray wd-40 in the door drain holes to soak the pinch weld he would do it every spring it works! His 94 dodge pickup is rust free. always washed and garage kept but that's a statement in Michigan where there is salt and chloride on our roads all winter
@@DougsterWolverineGarage Used oil is cheaper and just as good although the newer oils don't cling to the metal like the old stuff so you have to touch up re-applying from time to time.
I have a1969 Plymouth Barracuda which I bought in 1983 as well. I was 19 at the time. I still have it and am planning a restoration myself. It has been stored inside for over 20 years.
I worked at Chrysler Canada on the Gate Line in 1964-65. We built everything from Valiant 2dr sedan to Chrysler convertible and everything in between including Barracuda and RHD vehicles for export. Amazing times ... !!
Really enjoy your vids. I raced a 68 fastback Mustang with a 69 Boss 302 in it at Englishtown in early 70s. Bought it new , still have it ,but now has a 6-71 blower on it. Watching your videos makes it feel like you are a buddy talking to me personally. Keep up your great work!
The front frame rots out right where the K frame bolts to the frame too I seen many Mopars here in Canada with rot on the drivers side front frame rail and of course the back frame rail too rots out because of water getting into the trunk and the salt and dirt road grime from the bottom of the rear frame rail in the wheel well and under the trunk floor
Cars in the '60's, by the time they got 50,000 miles on them many owners were looking to sell or trade in. Many were looking for a new car every 3 years or so. By 100,000 miles a car was considered worn out. The manufacturers never thought about a car lasting until current times. They wanted to sell you a new car every few years. They wanted to sell you the newest thing off the designer's drawing board, which for the most part was a little more glitz on last year's model, or different sheet metal.
I have a 67 Charger and this video is extremely helpful. My Charger is still together so a lot of this is not visible. Luckily the only thing needed is the floor pans on the Charger. This will help me figure out how much to patch/replace.
I miss my 66 Coronet, I love seeing these treasures getting loved back to the streets alive again!!! You nailed it again Tony,that's exactly where mine was rusted out in the rear quarters,i had a New England car,where we salt roads to help rot our cars into the ground so much quicker than mother nature does! Lol!!! Most Mopars in the rust belt quarters and trunks are first and the worst to go!!!
Tony et al are a TRUE resource. It would be great if we all learned about maintaining these drainage areas in all our cars like pulling up carpets, snaking drains with vacuum hoses and leaving those self-destructive rubber plugs out. I have seen late model, modern, ULTRA LOW MILE, no salt, no rain, Super Clean, always garaged, northern desert climate rides rusted from the inside out from just 10-20 car washes. So it's sad we don't know to paint and oil up to protect known design weaknesses like old farmers did. Turns out there's interviews on car execs saying how laughable corrosion protection was (still is) even despite advertising the exact opposite. Maybe there's a use for Mazola yet?
Uncle Tony, congratulations from Europe. I’ve become hooked on your videos and I’m not even a Mopar guy! It’s great to see your enthusiasm and knowledge. I have a few Mercedes of this era and I enjoy comparing the ways different companies came up with solutions when making cars. Keep up the good work!
I enjoy rotisserie Chrysler much more than rotisserie chicken. Thanks for the awesome video, Tony, and all the others you've been pumping out. It's great getting to see one of these from such a unique angle. It'd be great to see a video at some point cleaning out these trouble areas on a fully assembled, on the ground car. Also, you should buy Kathy a '67- what a gorgeous car (I know this one is a Dodge and not a Plymouth, but still).
Tony I can't believe how any videos you're making lately, you're killing it! Keep up the good work man. When I saw the clip I thought you bought a rotisserie.
Excellent video. Experienced all the issues uncle tony hit upon. Had a 70 satellite station wagon where the torsion bar mount snapped just like tony described. Northern car with lots of salt damage. Sitting at a stop light and bam the car dropped 4 inches on the right side. Great video. Uncle tony is the man.
Man I wish I could start with at least one vehicle that is rust free. Just for the experience, because I have a sawzall and a welder so rust doesn't scare me... rust checks under its bed and in its closet for me before rust goes to bed... and it never sleeps.
Super informative video! Thanks for posting this car. That is one sweet 67 Dodge. I’m hoping to latch onto a late 60’s early 70’s Dart for my next project. Just in
@@seggzslimjimz1179 I am just not a fan of the torsion bar suspension. Drives like an old tractor. I haven't looked closely at it yet to see if anything is wrong. It was brought in for tuning and some interior work. I have a video up on it.
@@HotRodDave Drives like a old tractor LMAO!! Torsion bars was a more better ride then coil springs and they were easy to adjust to get a softer ride or stiffer ride something you could not do with coil springs unless you replace them
When I was a kid I got a 69 GTX that had been seriously abused. The crossmember for the rear shock mounts had broken, so they bolted it all to the trunk floor right above it. That part of the trunk was slowly being ripped out of the car while I had it. I traded that car to my dad. He repaired that and many other issues.
I agree but I think Tony and Mark would strangle each other! 🤣. They both know a shit-ton about these cars but they have very different tastes and priorities.
My 69 Plymouth Satellite is in great shape The guy I bought mine from here in Florida keep it in the garage since it was new. My best friend has the Satellite on a rotisserie in his shop he was shocked to see how good of shape the cars in 6 to 8 months and ill have my car back completely restored can't wait always wanted a 383 4 speed Plymouth
@@tl5108 I looked for 10 years to find one that was all there and in decent shape got lucky when I found it by mistake just driving down the road not far from my house and happen to look over in there garbage and I stopped and asked if it was for sale and they said they would think about it well 6 months later they finally got back with me and I was as happy as a kid in a candy store. My dad had one when I was a kid and I loved that car
I was very fortunate that the 74 challenger I got from my dad about 2 1/2 years ago looks like this underneath. He left it outside in the grass for 20 years but fortunately, I am in California Valley where there is almost no moisture.
15:15 I remember a kid in high school ,as he rolled into the lot over the speed bump the right side of the car didn't rise back up🤔 Yep,the rust monster ripped the torsion bar mount all to heck😕
ROLL UP YOUR CIGARETTE!!! LOL That sure is a great lookin' body! I don't think they even used primer on the roofs with vinyl tops, I removed the one off my '76 Valliant and it was bare metal. I would like to more of the build on that car!
@@DanEBoyd Even the body-on-frame convertibles werent very stiff--I owned a couple, but the Lincolns of that era were among the most solid cars ever built. I had either ridden in or driven both the Mopars of that era and the Lincolns, and even the Imperial, though a solid car--didnt match up.
My first car!!!!! 1967 Dodge Coronet 440. I know exactly we're these rust, mine was just slightly worse on the rear lower quarters, and just started on the fender above the gold pentastar emblem, otherwise it was just as solid. Should have never let it go, I was 16, now I'm 44 and have regretted it to this day
Thank you Uncle Tony ? I’m trying to save the 1967 coronet my Dad bought new in early 1967 but it’s seen a lot of New York Winters . It’s still a very solid car . The torsion bar mount tore out of my 1974 Dart .
The front chassis rail on Australian Chrysler Valiants had the steering box mounted to it with three long bolts through the RH chassis. Chrysler Australia used internal stiffener plates and crush tubes to strengthen the area but failed to provide drainage notches in the corners of two of the plates. The result was a perfect water trap that filled the chassis permantly with water and they rusted from the inside out. I have the remains of mine on my shed wall. The water level is completely rusted out.
Yep, I scrolled down through the comments to find this very issue, cos I bought a 68 VIP Val out of the Trading Post for parts back in the mid 80's. NOW there's no way you'd wreck one of those just cos of a rusted frame rail. Driving it home was pretty challenging with the steering box swinging in the breeze....oh to be young & crazy keen again......
@@tongoio yeah, I bought it for the running gear, it had a Torqflite & a good diff too, the car was very rough & not worth fixing, but nowadays people would be drooling over it, gotta hop in my hot tub time machine & go back to the 80's & buy up all those cheap classics & store them in a huge factory for my retirement 💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲
After my favorite truck rusted out completely, I now coat all my vehicles with fluid film and cosmoline. That stuff really works. Got a classic chevy that is rust free and it does get driven in the salt.
I'm in Ohio as well & the rust issue is just one of the reasons I much prefer a full frame car over a unibody constructed car. Once the rust gets so far, the structural integrity is gone. I also never cared for the unibody construction as it is the absolute cheapest way to build a car in a factory setting (that's why ALL passenger cars are unibody now & have been for some time) & to me, that says the manufacturer doesn't expect and/or doesn't care about the life expectancy of their vehicles.
@@iwalkalone1 Agreed. I want frame rails, and beefy ones. The only unibody vehicle I really like is the 90's and early 2000's Jeep Cherokees. And they "kinda" have a frame if you look at it right.
I dont agree....the unibody is highly superior to body on frame. We were crusing one night and my friend parked his 71 GTO with the passenger tire on the curb and they couldn't open the doors on a bet we parked a 70 satellite the same way and both doors opened and shut freely with 2 people in the car!
Something to watch out for with these cars: I noticed after washing my 68 Satellite, water would collect in the front frame rail in front of and in the frame under the shock towers (you can't even see it). It would be trapped there and probably stay there for weeks... this is where many of these cars rot out from the inside out.. I added a small drain hole... I think later cars had drain holes in this area... just a heads up.
Nash/American Motors pioneered domestic unibody construction in the early 1950s, long before Chrysler adopted it.. Ford also beat them to it with the unibody 1958 Thunderbird, which went back to body-on-frame in 1967 and remained so until the Fox body variants in 1980
Now that was really good. Fantastic insight into the structure & problem areas. You guys could've gone on & on a lot longer & I would've sat here through it all. Thanks guys, I enjoyed that & really learnt something today. Cheers
Over on Nicks Garage, they are doing an early Charger. They dipped the car to bare metal, then hand sprayed it. They refuse to realize that there will be lots of bare steel in hidden areas that can't be reached and the car should have been E coat dipped. Sure, the car will look fine on the outside but it will be a rusty mess in a few years.
Tony I have a '60 Fury and it is a first unibody. The front inner fender wells come off and they are as big as the fenders. No spare tire well and no trunk floor hook to secure one either. The under belly of mine is clean. But yep trunk seal, trunk floor, right rear drop down, drivers rocker and left front fender drop down all yuckish. Makes for lots of stitch weld practice.
Ha! Been taking my 67 383 coronet apart over the winter and just took it out for a rotisserie restoration yesterday, cool vid these are awesome cars and I am happy to be saving another one 👍.
With all the gen3 hemi swaps and or higher hp. engines people are doing now days it would be nice to do a video on some options for reinforcements and or stiffening location options. Thank you.
One thing to note is that in 1960 the C body was also unibody for the first time so Mopar released the unibody in both the C and A body the same year, with the A body being a totally new car from Mopar. It would be interesting to see the differences between the C body and A,B, and E bodies.
Wonderful video, quite surprising how similar this car looks to the ebody challenger I've been working on. Same rust points too. I got the flipper nightmare where the quarter panel rust holes were globbed over with Bondo. Both trunk extensions were gone. On the Ebody the drain for the cowl will clog with leaves and twigs and rust through. On this one the rust hole on the firewall let in enough water to completely rust through the drivers floorpan. It was also a vinyl top car so the Dutchman panel was completely gone the roof was barely holding on in a few places lot's of cutting, fitting, welding, and fabrication. Gonna be a gorgeous car when it's done though
Incredible how solid these unibodies were compared cars today that are designed to crumple on impact. Solid chunks of steel right there. Amazing what mid century American manufacturing was able to accomplish.
Lol: "You and I can talk about Chrysler products--- ---until people want to shoot us in the face..." 😄🤣 I think most car guys, including myself, can be huge windbags about what we know about cars, lol. Glad I watched until the 22 minute mark.
I once bought a '65 Barracuda with the low-compression 2-barrel 283 cheap back then, because the seller thought that it had a bent frame. It used to pull quite a bit to one side and the top of the right wheel would camber inwards. Had I known that it was only that Achilles Heel problem, where that part mentioned of which held the lower control arm sheared off, I would have attempted fixing it, saving quite a few tires, instead of getting rid of it, because I thought that it would need an expensive frame-straightening. I loved that car, as well as the Valiants and Dart of which I used to get dirt cheap back then. Funny thing though, I hated my boring '66 Coronet 2-door hardtop, despite it being a good car
Hey, we always heap praise and accolades on Tony, and well deserved, absolutely. But I gotta say, without Kathy, it wouldn't be the same. What a wonderful job she does. Just plain high quality, professional camera work. It doesn't go unnoticed, just unmentioned. Thank you so much Kathy, we all really appreciate it, even if we don't mention it much. You're a lucky guy Tony.
She got my respect when she jumped inside the trunk of that 67 Charger to film Uncle Tony driving.
AGREED!
Uncle Kathy the UTG glue of the operation. One cool lady
Uncle Kathy is awsome! She does so much behind the scenes for sure! Tony has shown pictures of Kathy in a fire suit when she used to warm up Tony's nitro gasser! What a badass lady! THANK YOU UNCLE KATHY!
Here here!
That car is in amazing condition for it`s age. I hope you revisit it during the restoration process.
Here is the car before it was tore down and the owner of the car ruclips.net/video/HmCZ5ez7alw/видео.html
@@79tazman That's gonna be sweet. :) (Love the early 80's chrome steelies on this for some reason. Probably nostalgia. :) )
Mechanic: Hey Mildred, your transmission has expired.
Mildred: Time for a rotisserie restoration
It's just a few bucks more to to the resto and they will have the trans out anyway.....
An auto body buddy of mine just finished an early 90s dodge pickup for a customer who said : my father just passed and this was his truck.
Restore it.
29k later and you can eat off any part of that truck.
Nothing special, I think it was a 1500 but it's the memories 👌
@@MrTheHillfolk I bet the kid was more than happy to pay that much. (Honestly sounds fairly cheap for a restoration to me!)
30 grand for basically a new truck that is more reliable then a new computer truck. Sounds like money well spent.
@@ScottKenny1978 it's a Lady's car she bought it in the 80's
My first car was a 1967 Dodge Cornet 2 door black with a 170 slant six auto trans back in the early 1980s. Brings back memories...
Feels great to see an example of a customer who is in for a huge WIN...she'll save thousands because it's so solid!
So I’ve always wanted a detailed explanation of (insert automotive topic here and in this case it’s unibody construction) and here is a masterclass from The Master. Thank you.
The more I learn the more I realize I’ve got a lot to learn and, it’s the stuff you learn after you think you already know everything that counts.
Super educational video! Great guest this time too.
Like someone said in previous comments: "Tony is a walking Mopar encyclopedia"
Maybe a contest between Tony and Mark Worman to find out who knows the most?
@@greggcollins4215 Tony D'Agostino knows a little more than Mark Worman does. Mark is always competing with him to see who knows the most.
Yeah this man has forgotten more about classic cars than i'll ever know
Speaking as a civil engineer and bridge inspector, the unibody is designed much like a truss bridge.
Nope. You are thinking of a space frame, which thankfully isn't used much anymore.
Except in truss bridges, where despite everything being theoretically in tension or compression, manage to flex all over the place anyway.
The unibody (created by Budd, in the 30s , I think) is a cross between a monocoque (using the outer skin as structure) and a bunch of random sheet metal used as a bracket to hold everything else together.
Hopefully its stiff enough that the flex isn't noticeable to the average Joe.
The body is stiffer than you think though! My friend parked his 71 Pontiac lemans with one wheel on the curb and nobody could open the doors my other friend on a bet did the same with a 73 dart and doors worked perfectly!
I know this is two years ago but just watched this. Great explanation of the great Chrysler unibody! That car is a great example of clean! Thank you!
What a great video-so much good information!
I'm lucky to own a 65 Dart that has near zero corrosion thanks to the original owner. Purchased by an elderly couple, the Dart was their first new car. Not long after they bought it, he passed away and she vowed that this would be her last car. She honored that by always garaging it, never driving it in the rain and laying the car up for winter. She drove it well into her 90s but. unfortunately her ner' do well grandson inherited it and abused it. The final insult was him getting drunk and driving it into a tree in his back yard where it sat for about a year before a neighbor rescued it. I bought it from him and during the restoration not one single fastener broke - truly amazing! Anyway, I'm heading out to the garage to pull those plugs and check the drains along the rocker panels, etc. Thanks, Uncle Tony!
So true! These beautiful classics should never be stored outdoors or damp environments because they'll rust in ways and places that are extremely difficult to repair. They were never meant to be kept this long.
Unless you have torn them apart, cleaned everything out, fixed all the rust, and then sprayed it all with zinc phosphate.
First off - BIG PROPS to the folks at Bennett's!!
I'll give Tony credit on this one - this is one of the better explanations of Mopar uni-bodies I've
ever watched. The man knows this stuff and when he presents it like this, it becomes good
reference material for anyone in the hobby to go back to for years to come.
The hobby, especially on RUclips, has plenty of "personalities" - what is needed is more
tangible, usable information (like this video) and less "entertainers" (looking at you, Worman).
-Ed on the Ridge
on my 65 dart I always power sprayed all those spots to make sure they could drain but I would also use a flash light and a strait edge screw driver and dig out the muck that might cause the frame ect to rot
yeah I go around and clean the drip holes in the doors and rockers too
Old hot rodder taught me to liberally spray wd-40 in the door drain holes to soak the pinch weld he would do it every spring it works! His 94 dodge pickup is rust free. always washed and garage kept but that's a statement in Michigan where there is salt and chloride on our roads all winter
@@DougsterWolverineGarage Used oil is cheaper and just as good although the newer oils don't cling to the metal like the old stuff so you have to touch up re-applying from time to time.
That would be good too!
I have a1969 Plymouth Barracuda which I bought in 1983 as well. I was 19 at the time. I still have it and am planning a restoration myself. It has been stored inside for over 20 years.
I worked at Chrysler Canada on the Gate Line in 1964-65. We built everything from Valiant 2dr sedan to Chrysler convertible and everything in between including Barracuda and RHD vehicles for export. Amazing times ... !!
Really enjoy your vids. I raced a 68 fastback Mustang with a 69 Boss 302 in it at Englishtown in early 70s. Bought it new , still have it ,but now has a 6-71 blower on it. Watching your videos makes it feel like you are a buddy talking to me personally. Keep up your great work!
That's a woman who's about to have a show quality car. That car is in pristine condition and is gonna be a fine automobile when finished.
Up north floors rot out because all winter long you're tracking snow in with your feet.
To be honest it’s salt and water getting trapped in the creases and eating it’s way through the steel.
@@griplimit That too, for sure.
The front frame rots out right where the K frame bolts to the frame too I seen many Mopars here in Canada with rot on the drivers side front frame rail and of course the back frame rail too rots out because of water getting into the trunk and the salt and dirt road grime from the bottom of the rear frame rail in the wheel well and under the trunk floor
Greetings from the high plains of Texas.
What's up Texas, got family spread out over there.. Cheers from Southern California..
Hows the weather there?
Cars in the '60's, by the time they got 50,000 miles on them many owners were looking to sell or trade in. Many were looking for a new car every 3 years or so. By 100,000 miles a car was considered worn out. The manufacturers never thought about a car lasting until current times. They wanted to sell you a new car every few years. They wanted to sell you the newest thing off the designer's drawing board, which for the most part was a little more glitz on last year's model, or different sheet metal.
completely agree! At 50k miles you needed a valve job and my parents never kept cars over 75k. We got new cars every 8 to 10 years.
Not that different from now. Just more miles per year now.
I have a 67 Charger and this video is extremely helpful. My Charger is still together so a lot of this is not visible. Luckily the only thing needed is the floor pans on the Charger. This will help me figure out how much to patch/replace.
This is a nice video of what we don't see during a full resto. Nice in site Tony. Please,please keep us updated on this if you can and thank you.
you can subscribe to our channel for more frequent updates on it, but Im sure Tony will be in and out
I miss my 66 Coronet, I love seeing these treasures getting loved back to the streets alive again!!! You nailed it again Tony,that's exactly where mine was rusted out in the rear quarters,i had a New England car,where we salt roads to help rot our cars into the ground so much quicker than mother nature does! Lol!!! Most Mopars in the rust belt quarters and trunks are first and the worst to go!!!
Good Info Mr. Chrysler
Tony et al are a TRUE resource.
It would be great if we all learned about maintaining these drainage areas in all our cars like pulling up carpets, snaking drains with vacuum hoses and leaving those self-destructive rubber plugs out.
I have seen late model, modern, ULTRA LOW MILE, no salt, no rain, Super Clean, always garaged, northern desert climate rides rusted from the inside out from just 10-20 car washes.
So it's sad we don't know to paint and oil up to protect known design weaknesses like old farmers did. Turns out there's interviews on car execs saying how laughable corrosion protection was (still is) even despite advertising the exact opposite. Maybe there's a use for Mazola yet?
Uncle Tony, congratulations from Europe. I’ve become hooked on your videos and I’m not even a Mopar guy!
It’s great to see your enthusiasm and knowledge. I have a few Mercedes of this era and I enjoy comparing the ways different companies came up with solutions when making cars. Keep up the good work!
I enjoy rotisserie Chrysler much more than rotisserie chicken. Thanks for the awesome video, Tony, and all the others you've been pumping out. It's great getting to see one of these from such a unique angle. It'd be great to see a video at some point cleaning out these trouble areas on a fully assembled, on the ground car. Also, you should buy Kathy a '67- what a gorgeous car (I know this one is a Dodge and not a Plymouth, but still).
Tony I can't believe how any videos you're making lately, you're killing it! Keep up the good work man. When I saw the clip I thought you bought a rotisserie.
Very educational video! Thx Tony & Jim!
Excellent video. Experienced all the issues uncle tony hit upon. Had a 70 satellite station wagon where the torsion bar mount snapped just like tony described. Northern car with lots of salt damage. Sitting at a stop light and bam the car dropped 4 inches on the right side. Great video. Uncle tony is the man.
Man I wish I could start with at least one vehicle that is rust free. Just for the experience, because I have a sawzall and a welder so rust doesn't scare me... rust checks under its bed and in its closet for me before rust goes to bed... and it never sleeps.
Super informative video! Thanks for posting this car. That is one sweet 67 Dodge. I’m hoping to latch onto a late 60’s early 70’s Dart for my next project. Just in
I have a 66 Charger in my shop now. Nice car real nice. I am not a fan of the front suspension though
i have one as a project what’s bad abt it? i’m still saving up for it
@@seggzslimjimz1179 I am just not a fan of the torsion bar suspension. Drives like an old tractor. I haven't looked closely at it yet to see if anything is wrong. It was brought in for tuning and some interior work. I have a video up on it.
@@HotRodDave Drives like a old tractor LMAO!! Torsion bars was a more better ride then coil springs and they were easy to adjust to get a softer ride or stiffer ride something you could not do with coil springs unless you replace them
@@79tazman Absolutely right.
When I was a kid I got a 69 GTX that had been seriously abused. The crossmember for the rear shock mounts had broken, so they bolted it all to the trunk floor right above it. That part of the trunk was slowly being ripped out of the car while I had it. I traded that car to my dad. He repaired that and many other issues.
man you need to get ahold of Mark Worman and do a series on this kind of stuff in his shop.
I agree but I think Tony and Mark would strangle each other! 🤣. They both know a shit-ton about these cars but they have very different tastes and priorities.
Awful idea. Can’t stand Wormman
UT, the only guy who would want to remove his front discs and replace them with drums. Watta guy. :-)
I'm not sure he would. Stopping at the end of the track is kinda important! 😆
My 69 Plymouth Satellite is in great shape The guy I bought mine from here in Florida keep it in the garage since it was new. My best friend has the Satellite on a rotisserie in his shop he was shocked to see how good of shape the cars in 6 to 8 months and ill have my car back completely restored can't wait always wanted a 383 4 speed Plymouth
I’m jealous, 69 is my favorite year. Absolutely love that bodystyle
@@tl5108 I looked for 10 years to find one that was all there and in decent shape got lucky when I found it by mistake just driving down the road not far from my house and happen to look over in there garbage and I stopped and asked if it was for sale and they said they would think about it well 6 months later they finally got back with me and I was as happy as a kid in a candy store. My dad had one when I was a kid and I loved that car
Awesome man, you will love it. I got divorced and had to sell my 69 RR 383 4 speed (Matching numbers Calif built and registered) car. Enjoy!!
@@brandonharvey6455 that’s a great story man. It’s nice when everything just works out
@@tl5108 thanks brother. Its crazy how things work out sometimes.
This video is RIGHT up my alley!........THANKS!
I was very fortunate that the 74 challenger I got from my dad about 2 1/2 years ago looks like this underneath. He left it outside in the grass for 20 years but fortunately, I am in California Valley where there is almost no moisture.
Yeah but it's a 74...
haha, just kidding those are cool too... have fun and keep it between the lines!
15:15
I remember a kid in high school ,as he rolled into the lot over the speed bump the right side of the car didn't rise back up🤔
Yep,the rust monster ripped the torsion bar mount all to heck😕
I had a duster with the fold down rear seat with the trunk door that also didn't have the rear seat v
Uncle Tony knows his stuff! I'm impressed.
Thank u Uncle Tony and Kathy 👍
We love you Uncle Caveman Tony.
As always, very informative video on Chrysler unibody construction
ROLL UP YOUR CIGARETTE!!! LOL
That sure is a great lookin' body! I don't think they even used primer on the roofs with vinyl tops, I removed the one off my '76 Valliant and it was bare metal. I would like to more of the build on that car!
Out of all the classic unibody cars I've had on rotisseries, mopars always seem the stiffest
So youre saying that you never had a 1961 to1969 Lincoln Continental on one.
@@donreinke5863 nope. I mainly worked on 70's mopar and other high performance cars from the same era.
@@donreinke5863 I bet you could bolt it on one end or the other and it would just hang out there straight as an arrow
@@DanEBoyd Even the body-on-frame convertibles werent very stiff--I owned a couple, but the Lincolns of that era were among the most solid cars ever built.
I had either ridden in or driven both the Mopars of that era and the Lincolns, and even the Imperial, though a solid car--didnt match up.
@@donreinke5863 But, look at the difference in the out the door price tag of a Lincoln.
My first car!!!!! 1967 Dodge Coronet 440. I know exactly we're these rust, mine was just slightly worse on the rear lower quarters, and just started on the fender above the gold pentastar emblem, otherwise it was just as solid. Should have never let it go, I was 16, now I'm 44 and have regretted it to this day
Thank you Uncle Tony ? I’m trying to save the 1967 coronet my Dad bought new in early 1967 but it’s seen a lot of New York Winters . It’s still a very solid car . The torsion bar mount tore out of my 1974 Dart .
Hey Tony , thanks for sharing the video today. Great looking Coronet and it has been taken care of. Have a great day tomorrow.
The front chassis rail on Australian Chrysler Valiants had the steering box mounted to it with three long bolts through the RH chassis. Chrysler Australia used internal stiffener plates and crush tubes to strengthen the area but failed to provide drainage notches in the corners of two of the plates. The result was a perfect water trap that filled the chassis permantly with water and they rusted from the inside out. I have the remains of mine on my shed wall. The water level is completely rusted out.
Yep, I scrolled down through the comments to find this very issue, cos I bought a 68 VIP Val out of the Trading Post for parts back in the mid 80's.
NOW there's no way you'd wreck one of those just cos of a rusted frame rail. Driving it home was pretty challenging with the steering box swinging in the breeze....oh to be young & crazy keen again......
@@lancecooper4646 318 VIP? My mate had one of them really nice
@@tongoio yeah, I bought it for the running gear, it had a Torqflite & a good diff too, the car was very rough & not worth fixing, but nowadays people would be drooling over it, gotta hop in my hot tub time machine & go back to the 80's & buy up all those cheap classics & store them in a huge factory for my retirement 💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲
I'm originally from Ohio and I know rust. These year cars were gone off the street in 8 to 10 years because of structural rust.
salt + snow the reason why classics are endangered to begin with
Rust Never Sleeps! Those "Iron Moths" are hungry devils! S.w. Michigan, salt AND chloride!
After my favorite truck rusted out completely, I now coat all my vehicles with fluid film and cosmoline. That stuff really works. Got a classic chevy that is rust free and it does get driven in the salt.
I'm in Ohio as well & the rust issue is just one of the reasons I much prefer a full frame car over a unibody constructed car. Once the rust gets so far, the structural integrity is gone. I also never cared for the unibody construction as it is the absolute cheapest way to build a car in a factory setting (that's why ALL passenger cars are unibody now & have been for some time) & to me, that says the manufacturer doesn't expect and/or doesn't care about the life expectancy of their vehicles.
@@iwalkalone1 Agreed. I want frame rails, and beefy ones. The only unibody vehicle I really like is the 90's and early 2000's Jeep Cherokees. And they "kinda" have a frame if you look at it right.
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. It was done in a way that was easy to follow and still informative!
I been wondering how that front cow drains for years.....thanks, now I know. Great video.
Cows drain from their urethras. COWLs drain through those openings.
Great video! Thanks to both of you guys. An amazing level of knowledge. I salute the guys that designed these cars in an age of slide rules.
I dunno man, gimme an old fashion body on full frame any day
I dont agree....the unibody is highly superior to body on frame. We were crusing one night and my friend parked his 71 GTO with the passenger tire on the curb and they couldn't open the doors on a bet we parked a 70 satellite the same way and both doors opened and shut freely with 2 people in the car!
I got to give it to ya uncle tony u r a mopar guru one of best specialists i have seen
Something to watch out for with these cars: I noticed after washing my 68 Satellite, water would collect in the front frame rail in front of and in the frame under the shock towers (you can't even see it). It would be trapped there and probably stay there for weeks... this is where many of these cars rot out from the inside out.. I added a small drain hole... I think later cars had drain holes in this area... just a heads up.
My old car friend said when looking to buy a old car. Take a ICE PICK and stab the metal under the car looking for rust and soft spots.
that's why i llke full framed cars.
What a cool thumbnail!
Tony, all Chrysler products but the Imperial and trucks went unibody in 1960. The Imperial became unibody in 1967.
I'm sure he knows that
@@GideonWallace probably does, but didn’t say so. He only mentioned the A, B and E bodies.
@@jamesaandf yep, and if I made this video I would leave out even more but that's why I don't like the RUclips videos lol
Nash/American Motors pioneered domestic unibody construction in the early 1950s, long before Chrysler adopted it..
Ford also beat them to it with the unibody 1958 Thunderbird, which went back to body-on-frame in 1967 and remained so until the Fox body variants in 1980
Yeah all of Chrysler went unibody in 60 you must remember the Imperial was its own deal away from the other Chrysler divisions
Now that was really good. Fantastic insight into the structure & problem areas. You guys could've gone on & on a lot longer & I would've sat here through it all. Thanks guys, I enjoyed that & really learnt something today.
Cheers
The only rust on my '70 Challenger is under that narrow strip of the vinyl roof below the rear window. The desert is a great place for rust free cars.
With a nicely presandblasted grill and front clip...
@@kramnull8962 Guess you've never been to the desert. Not many dunes around here.
Excellent overview with clear views of the major problem areas. Thanks Tony for taking the time to help us preserve our cars.
RIP Jim
Over on Nicks Garage, they are doing an early Charger. They dipped the car to bare metal, then hand sprayed it. They refuse to realize that there will be lots of bare steel in hidden areas that can't be reached and the car should have been E coat dipped. Sure, the car will look fine on the outside but it will be a rusty mess in a few years.
Absolutely!
Get in there with the fluid film
You just know somebody would love to turn this car into a R/T.
Great feature.. thanks always Boss and Boss lady.. well done..
Man that was a good video!
Tony I have a '60 Fury and it is a first unibody. The front inner fender wells come off and they are as big as the fenders. No spare tire well and no trunk floor hook to secure one either. The under belly of mine is clean. But yep trunk seal, trunk floor, right rear drop down, drivers rocker and left front fender drop down all yuckish. Makes for lots of stitch weld practice.
Amazing tour, thank you so much! My first introduction to the Chrysler unibodies were the late 70s M and F-bodies.
Ha! Been taking my 67 383 coronet apart over the winter and just took it out for a rotisserie restoration yesterday, cool vid these are awesome cars and I am happy to be saving another one 👍.
What a car! Thanks for sharing !
With all the gen3 hemi swaps and or higher hp. engines people are doing now days it would be nice to do a video on some options for reinforcements and or stiffening location options. Thank you.
Sure great to have a mint Coronet up on a rotisserie for this... and Tony to go over it. Wow.
No body on "GOD'S GREEN EARTH, 54 YEARS LATER.. !!! " Classic. I love it. Go Uncle Tony !!!
Hello Tony that's incredible how that survived the years.
One thing to note is that in 1960 the C body was also unibody for the first time so Mopar released the unibody in both the C and A body the same year, with the A body being a totally new car from Mopar. It would be interesting to see the differences between the C body and A,B, and E bodies.
beautiful man thats a miracle its so solid
Man I would love to see you make repairs on the unibody especially the B body cars and how to make changes to keep them from rusting out again
Wonderful video, quite surprising how similar this car looks to the ebody challenger I've been working on. Same rust points too. I got the flipper nightmare where the quarter panel rust holes were globbed over with Bondo. Both trunk extensions were gone. On the Ebody the drain for the cowl will clog with leaves and twigs and rust through. On this one the rust hole on the firewall let in enough water to completely rust through the drivers floorpan. It was also a vinyl top car so the Dutchman panel was completely gone the roof was barely holding on in a few places lot's of cutting, fitting, welding, and fabrication. Gonna be a gorgeous car when it's done though
I just found a 68 coronet 500 original and it’s floors are junk but yet miraculously nothing else is rusted out
Do the convertible unibodies also have took boxes it the front or no? Very good video, very informative 👏 👍
Yes, both front & rear
wax sealer between the fenders would be nice at the end of the restoration
You know Uncle Tony that what you are telling us are the weaknesses of the chrysler way of doing what they did,
Incredible how solid these unibodies were compared cars today that are designed to crumple on impact. Solid chunks of steel right there. Amazing what mid century American manufacturing was able to accomplish.
Lol: "You and I can talk about Chrysler products--- ---until people want to shoot us in the face..." 😄🤣
I think most car guys, including myself, can be huge windbags about what we know about cars, lol. Glad I watched until the 22 minute mark.
I once bought a '65 Barracuda with the low-compression 2-barrel 283 cheap back then, because the seller thought that it had a bent frame. It used to pull quite a bit to one side and the top of the right wheel would camber inwards. Had I known that it was only that Achilles Heel problem, where that part mentioned of which held the lower control arm sheared off, I would have attempted fixing it, saving quite a few tires, instead of getting rid of it, because I thought that it would need an expensive frame-straightening. I loved that car, as well as the Valiants and Dart of which I used to get dirt cheap back then. Funny thing though, I hated my boring '66 Coronet 2-door hardtop, despite it being a good car
Uncle Tony the body man.......
What a great shop to have or to be able to work in, just great 👍
great video, detailed and informative...
Very good!! Been fooling with mopars all my life and I did learn somethings about why these cars Rust... thanks Tony!
What a nice car those are.
Holy crap that a lot of hiding places for dirt and rust. Now I get it !! Really good explanation of Chrysler unibody Tony , 11 out of 10 !!!
God damn do we ever miss Mr Bennett
This is so informative! Uncle Tony is my automotive mentor! Great video and channel!
Next on my list: rotisserie! and I ain't talkin chicken