I've had this '66 Belvedere since 2008. It was a gift from my dad, who is an electrician by trade but also used to build drag car chassis as a side gig, with the intention of eventually doing a modern Charger frame swap (like the "Rowdy's General Lee" car or "The Coroner"). I parked it in 2011 with a bad idler arm and some leaky brakes, figuring I wouldn't bother fixing them since "I was going to cut it up later". Well later came and went, and my wife was constantly riding me to "do something with it" (she meant sell it) so I decided I'd do one better and get it back on the road... as cheaply as possible... and take it to the Power Tour, since I love giving myself ridiculous goals.
Sunday, March 24th, the journey for the Belvedere was reignited.
Here she sits, in all her glory, in a storage lot in South Milwaukee.
Unbelievably, the old Keystone Classics were still holding air:
I put in a battery, cranked for oil pressure, and that's when I spotted that 3 plug wires were chewed through. So I picked up a new set of wires.
I did manage to get it to fire- and run when I poured some gas down the carb- but I am not getting gas to the carb. I traced it back to the fuel pump- gas is getting there, but nothing is coming out. So I have a $9 ebay special electric pump on the way- hey, I mentioned this is a "Roadkill"-style build, right? The reviews were decent enough.
So hopefully next weekend I can "lot drive" it. In the meantime, anyone want some 8-year-old MGD I found in a cooler in the back seat?
Small block Mopar FTW. Subscribed. 
In reply to TheRX7Project :
I suspected as much, based on the year and the valve covers.
Cooter
SuperDork
3/25/19 5:53 p.m.
I would just swap another mechanical pump on it. They are cheap and easy to replace. And less hassle than swapping in an electric pump.
Great project!
Gas tank might have rust and crud.....roadkill would get a plastic fuel cell from summit...
Is that a poly 318?
Wheelbase 4Dr and 2 Dr might be the same ....get some 2 dr doors....panel bond the rear for shut splice in 2 Dr striker panel.....
Cooter said:
I would just swap another mechanical pump on it. They are cheap and easy to replace. And less hassle than swapping in an electric pump.
I would think so too but I don't know Mopar stuff at all.
Generally 2 bolts, a hardline and a rubber.
However, poly stuff is really strange and not well supported.....
Agent98 said:
Great project!
Gas tank might have rust and crud.....roadkill would get a plastic fuel cell from summit...
Is that a poly 318?
Wheelbase 4Dr and 2 Dr might be the same ....get some 2 dr doors....panel bond the rear for shut splice in 2 Dr striker panel.....
Roadkill would just add a prefilter and carry spares to change on the side of the road. LOL
I keep dreaming about making my wagon a 2 door. I'm pretty sure new (used) doors and strijers would rival my total current investment in the project. (Not counting tools.)
In reply to Crackers :
Looks like the mechanical fuel pump is also $9.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=8891112&cc=1347386&jsn=378&jsn=378
Says it fits the 318....I would double check but I went back to '64 and the same pump fits.
Definitely clean out that gas tank. 'round here, a shop gets about $60 to flush it once you have it out. Drop the tank and have it done.
EDIT: This web page may help you out. It shows the parts that interchange between the two 318's (Poly and LA)
Damnit. Now you've got me jonesing to add a small Mopar sedan to my fleet...
Thanks for the input.
I saw the mechanical pumps as well but I have a fondness for electric pumps, I've always replaced failed mechanical pumps with electric. I already upgraded the alternator last time this car was on the road so there is no issue with charging. I know it's only 2 bolts and 2 hoses. I also might be popping on a Holley 4bbl that I have laying around, so the electric pump should feed it better.
Ultimately I won't be keeping this car (remember that Charger chassis swap? It is happening to another car in exchange for this car once it is done) so I am not concerned with making it nice or doing any kind of mods besides reliability and comfort mods. However, the drawing board has been set for the future of this car, and it does include only 2 doors.
Wouldn't an electric pump help for cars that aren't driven for longish amounts of time? Like a few weeks sitting might be enough to lose the fuel in the carb bowl, meaning you will have an extended crank to start with a mechanical fuel pump?
I am however, very much a fan of 4 door muscle cars.
Glad to see another old car getting some love. Subscribed!
Cool project. Don't forget to use a shut off for the electric pump like an oil pressure switch for safety.
Robbie said:
Wouldn't an electric pump help for cars that aren't driven for longish amounts of time? Like a few weeks sitting might be enough to lose the fuel in the carb bowl, meaning you will have an extended crank to start with a mechanical fuel pump?
I am however, very much a fan of 4 door muscle cars.
Extended cranking is actually a good thing in that case. Builds oil pressure before it fires.
I had a friend who used to put an inline electric pump at the tank, and also run a mechanical pump on the engine. Flick on the e-pump, wait a second, then crank the engine. Bonus: backup redundancy in case either failed.
We do that on the old stuff that doesn't get run often.
volvoclearinghouse said:
I had a friend who used to put an inline electric pump at the tank, and also run a mechanical pump on the engine. Flick on the e-pump, wait a second, then crank the engine. Bonus: backup redundancy in case either failed.
I've heard of that as well, and am going back and forth about doing it that way. I've read that is it really hard on the mechanical pump however.
In reply to TheRX7Project :
Bigger problem with a double pump is if the mechanical diaphragm leaks the electric rapidly fills the crank case with gas
As I recall, he would shut the e-pump off once the engine was running. There may have been some sort of check-ball arrangement.
Oof. I think I'll just slap that e-pump in there, set it and forget it. Maybe I'll pick up a new mechanical pump as a backup for when it goes out. The way I plan on running the fuel line I should be able to swap back.
<===== HUGE Roadkill fan here. So I very much approve of this build. 
Small non-update update. I only have a few hours a week to work on it.
I installed the electric fuel pump. Gas is getting to the carb, the bowl was filling, and the accelerator pump shot is putting gas through the carb, but it still wouldn't stay running unless I gave it ether or fresh gas, so it must be bad gas. So I need to drain the tank, which I probably should've figured anyway. I didn't have anything to drain the tank into, so I figured it couldn't hurt to clean out the carb anyway. I pulled the Carter off, took it home and blasted it all out with carb cleaner, and everything appears to be working as it should. Inside the carb was remarkably clean. I also ordered a fuel pressure gauge and am going to put in a new filter.
I also pulled the rear inside door panel off, where I always saw bees flying in and out of, but there is no hive in there. There has to be a hive somewhere in the car, now I get to play a game of hide and seek. I did find a small dead hive in the trunk which I removed.
So unfortunately there isn't much to report this week, other than making baby steps towards having the car actually running again.
TheRX7Project
So unfortunately there isn't much to report this week, other than making baby steps towards having the car actually running again.
Sometimes getting a project done is more about momentum than anything else. Today my goal is to finish one brake line. Doesn’t sound like much but sometimes you need to be happy with progress however minimal it is.
