I'm going to make it as nice as possible without spending a fortune. I'm just starting the prep and paintwork on a 1979 Chrysler 300 so this wagon will have to wait until that's done. I'll pull the transmission in the next couple of days and take it to my buddy to rebuild it while I'm working on the 300. If it wasn't for the transmission problem I'd be driving it.
Thanks! Was pretty easy to diagnose as soon as I pulled the pan. Found these pieces of the reverse band broken off. Trans is out and going to the rebuilder today.
I've always liked this last generation of big Chrysler Corp wagons. never warmed up to the GM clam shells..... Man, that wagon is clean underneath. Shows what (doesn't) happen when you keep your vehicles out of the wet and cold weather.
A bit surprising for some, we don't get much rust-out on vehicles here in Oregon unless they are very, very old - no salt used on the roads. Lots of the highways crews use crushed volcanic rock, which is in abundance here. Great for traction on the ice and snow, but does cause paint pitting. What we DO get in Oregon is moss growth. If you don't wash your car regularly in the winter months, it will build up in the cracks and crevasses.
That undercarriage is enviably dry and tidy. Great looking behemoth! When a passenger vehicle is that long, I only ever want it to be a station wagon. Long live the extra-long long roof!