Just arrived 1963 Chrysler New Yorker Wagon - Questions

Hello,
My name is Mike (from North Texas) and I'm the new owner of a 1963 Chrysler New Yorker Wagon.

I've been a Mopar guy for about 15 years, but this is my first Wagon and first (pre 1965) Mopar.
I have a shop in Denison, Tx and do 3-4 projects a year (Old Pickups and Muscle Cars) and the plan is to make this my shop car.

This old car is in pretty good shape overall but will take a lot of work to make it a driver.

It has very little rust except for floor pans.

Features:
Engine appears to be a 413 4BBL (does not run yet but is complete)
--< Need to document the engine numbers. I'm more familiar with the 440s than I am it's cousin the 413.

Push Button Transmission (This will be my first and I do not know how they work - I'll research it)
--> I've heard these trannys are the same as the 727 Auto

Front and Rear Air Conditioning
--> The Rear AC box on the rear roof panel looks to be in great shape, but I haven't taken it apart yet to clean.

Power Brakes

Power Windows & Locks
--> none of the power windows work. Could be a fuse or just dirty switches...

Electrical System
--> Most of the lights, turn signals, wipers work...

Fender Tag:
I'm an old Mopar guy but I have no idea how to decode this particular Fender / Option Tag so any help here would be very much appreciated.

Looking for parts:
Hub Caps
Floor Pans
Rear (tailgate) glass
Wiring Harness
Gas Tank (This tank might still be good, but would like to know a source just in case).
Driver's side (LH) Rear stainless steel moulding
Windshield (The windshield has a hole and needs replaced.
Seat Covers - upholstery with OEM pattern


Thanks for any help

Mike
Denison, Tx

 

Probably the best site on the web, for the big Mopars:

http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/index.htm

and pretty close to that one above. This site is in France, but its bilingual:

http://www.ch300imp.com/mainpage_us.htm

 

This is the logical thing to do first.........Click here The Welcome Wagon

 

63 ?

If , You mean tailgate glass ,I have that and some other stuff one is a complete cruise control asy . I can not see the rear A/C unit all the cars I have seen with dual A/C have the rear view miror on the dash as the rear unit blocks the mirror when it is on the top header.

 

AC Unit

Hi Dan and Thanks for the reply and the welcome.

The rear AC unit is definitely there and complete. Looks to be in good condition.

I do need the tailgate glass and rear driver's side trim.

I'll send you a PM about it.

Thanks !
Mike

 

Fuel tanks? There are none. If yours has issues have it repaired and re-sealed. Floor pans and spare tire wells? there are none. I'd hone my fabricating skills on the tire well and look for good used floor pans. Your windshield is the same from '61 thru' '64 New Yorker. CDC in Denton, Tx. should be able to fill your needs for the glass and wiring harness and maybe even your hub caps and power window motors if your motors prove bad. The 7" long connecting bolts on your T-gate motor are longer then all 4 of the door motors but the motors are the same.(has to do with the way the motor mounts to the T-Gate regulator so don't loose them) OH? And And Please thank your new friend in Apple Valley too. There are-is no new T-Gate glass either! And I'd pick up a FSM as soon as you can as well. Not Chilson or Hanes but Factory Service Manual. The best investment you'll ever make. It will even teach you how to adjust the cable for that Juke Box transmission Jer

 

Hi Barney
Thanks for the reminder abut CTC Auto Ranch in Denton ! I forgot about them and they are just down the road. Most of the cars I've been working on over the last 10+ years have been from the 70's and parts are readily available. This is the first car in a very long time where I will actually have to be fabricating...

I had a hard time this weekend trying to get the tailgate (open) using the manual handle / latch. I finally took the back panel off and maneuvered the latch open but I still need to figure out how the whole contraption actually works.

It looks like the back glass broke and the window mechanism is in the (up / closed) position. This might be contributing to it not opening. Also, it might help if I can put a battery on the back glass motor....roll it to the down position and and open it with a key.

I'll get a FSM right away..

Thanks Again
Mike

 

Seems that Arizona has a few:

http://www.dvap.com/?s=salvage&q_make=Chrysler&q_year=1963&submit=Search&page=1

You can search one of 3 ways, plus ask a rep for info:
http://www.dvap.com/

 

63 Parts

I ,ll send you a PM .I have a 63 880 parts wagon .You might want to buy it $650.00 no trans or engine but has all the parts you want and some other parts to spare.

 

www.forcbodiesonly.com --- THE best BIG Mopar site around. Period.

www.cbodydrydock.com --- The second best BIG Mopar site around. Period.

The Imperial guys on the Imperialclub.com forum tend to stick with just Imperials, but there are a few there that own other big Chryslers, too.

Your fender tag shows your wagon is very much loaded with various options. I'll see if I can help you out in decoding that.

 

Beautiful car. I love it.

 

Step #1: find yourself an interchange manual

 

You can rebuild your power window motors quite easily - I'm doing this on my '66 Imperial convertible now. Details here:

http://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar...265-Power-Window-Wiring-101&p=31286#post31286

And here:

http://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar...d-Chrysler-Power-Window-motor-clutch-assembly

Far as the fuel tank goes, they are VERY difficult to source, and forget about a new/NOS unit! If yours is at all in decent shape, take it to your local radiator shop and see what they can do for you. Interchange includes '62 - '64 Dodge Custom 880 wagons and Chrysler Newport of the same years. Equally unavailable. Same applies to the interchange on tailgate glass.

I have four 14" wheelcovers from a '63 I'll sell you for a reasonable price, just PM me here, or contact me on the For C-bodies Only forum (patrick66 there)

You'll have to fab up the floor pans or find originals from the places that have been mentioned. Not available through the aftermarket...very little outside of eng/trans/brakes are.

Seat upholstery can be had through SMS Fabrics in Oregon. Not cheap, but correct material.

 

When searching for used parts like the gas tank, don't forget the Plymouth wagons, as well as the Dodge and Chrysler. They all used the same body, just different front clips and tail lamps. There are shops around that repair tanks that look pretty far gone, and will give a good warranty on them. Floor pans are, like the tanks, common to several years of Mopar wagons in general. I believe they are the same as the 2 and 4 door sedan pans, also. Double check Hollander in that one. Good luck, and start a build thread. We want to see the work as you go, and it is a great resource for others working on these cars.

 

Update plus a few questions:


I got the engine and trans pulled and have almost completed the engine disassembly. The internals looks very good and the block is rebuildable.

The floor pans are in bad shape but not a complete disaster. I will end up replacing all (5) of them. I just bought the front and back pans (both left and right) from a 63 New Yorker which are pretty close and will require a heck of a lot less labor and material than starting from scratch. I'll lay them inside the floor, cut then on the corners and spread them out to lay like they should.
Then I'll cut out the old floors out and install the new ones in their place and weld them up and fill in the gaps. This way, all of the corners, radiuses and structural design has already been done and will just require a small amount of metal to fill the gaps.

Question 1: Brakes
I'm not too worried about the booster and MC, but the hard metal lines and rubber flex lines might be hard to find. Is there a good source for these online ?

What about disc brake upgrades ? Has anyone done a disc brake upgrade on these wagons ?

Question 2: Power Window Circuit Breaker
All lights (front and rear, high, low, brakes, etc) all work but none of the power windows work. I read in the service manual there there is a power window circuit breaker but am unable to find it. Any clue where I can find the power window circuit breaker ?

Question 3: Ignition switch
The previous owner drilled out the ignition switch and I am trying to find a new ignition switch on Ebay with a good set of keys.

Is there a trick to removing the old one (there is no room to get to it... very tight and cramped back there... Is there a trick to removing the ignition switch ?

I see several different ignition switches listed for sale on Ebay, is there a preference or suggestion as to the one I should use ?

Thank You for any help
Mike