Preserving original cars while keeping them safe

My 79 Lebaron needs some work done. Its a mostly original car with 23k miles. I needs the following:

Front Brake Hose

Ball joints (Upper/lower)

Tie Rods (Inner/outer)

Pitman arm

Steering gear

How do I best preserve the originality of the vehicle? I don't want to just get replacement parts if they aren't original castings so long as I can help it. Are there companies you can just send your components to and they will rebuild what you have? How ambitious does one have to be to rebuild these parts at home? (I'm sure its an "If you have to ask you can't", but I always like to understand the process)

Most likely those parts are still around as NOS items. Your local NAPA store also can most likely order replacements. As for preserving original castings etc., for that car it makes no difference to the safety or value one way or the other.................Bob

Safety and value are a little farther down on my concern list. Preservation is important to me, therefore the make/model/market value is irreverent. Would getting the parts from a Chrysler dealership ensure factory correctness?

Unlikely even a dealership could supply wear parts EXACTLY like what was on the car originally. Do you even know that the parts you mentioned that are on your car now are factory originals? Maybe they are with only 23k miles.

I don't know for sure they are, but I presume they are given the mileage. Never safe to assume though. Not sure of many lower mileage examples to compare, but if they aren't MOPAR numbers that would be a good (bad) sign.

Mostly original car with 23K would not need the whole front end rebuilt.....Just sayin'

I can't imagine the parts you listed NEEDING replaced at that mileage and age. The hose , perhaps, if it is stiff and cracking.

Ben

Safety and value are a little farther down on my concern list. Preservation is important to me, therefore the make/model/market value is irreverent. Would getting the parts from a Chrysler dealership ensure factory correctness?

Not sure what you are trying to do. As soon as you change anything the car has no longer been preserved as "original". If preservation is your goal put it up on blocks in a temperature controlled garage and perform preservation type maintenance. Failing that use NOS parts if you can find them. The car will then be "correct" but it will not be original..........Bob

Buy the parts from your local Chrysler dealer.

They all just have more play than inspection garage wants to pass for me. There is wiggle in the wheels, I'm comfortable with it and will likely just find another shop, or switch to antique tags. But down the road wear items and plastics do break down and need replaced. The brake hoses do show some bad cracks that I will try and match with new lines. I'm not surprised there is some break down of materials at this age.

For me original would mean as it was on the showroom floor. Perhaps if one were to nit-pick they could say I mean "originally correct". The beauty of interchangeable parts is non-serialized/non-date coded parts can be properly swapped and still preserve showroom correctness for purposes of preserving history. As you know, OEM, NOS and factory can all be slightly different. Just trying to keep her as close as I can so if later replacement parts weren't the same casting as what came out of the factory, I would attempt to rebuild what I have.

So to that, how does one go about refurbishing old suspension components?

Uhhh, it ain't practible. Never heard of rebuilding tie rods and ball joints from that era car.

Ugh... Ya'll are clubbing me on this. I'm not asking for values, reasons, shoulds and shouldn'ts.

How does it get done or who does it? Let me decide if it's worth while. Most all your cars were worthless at one point in time. Let me be the fool to put money in it. I'd take a brand new 79 LeBaron over anything currently made by Chrysler, Lincoln, or Cadillac, even more so if it was entry level for the three as LeBaron was at the time. Plus, it might be useful information for someone with a "better" car.

Rebuilders usually rebuild things that have a large price differential between new and rebuilt or that are needed by a large enough market but are no longer made. Ball joints and tie rod ends for a 79 Chrysler are neither. "Rebuilding" them would be a "one off" project by a machine shop willing to spend the time and risk the liability of failure of a steering part they made. I can appreciate your desire but the project borders on Quixotic................Bob

I would look online for new old stock MoPar parts. There are a ton of folks who collect/sell that stuff.

I'd take a brand new 79 LeBaron over anything currently made by Chrysler, Lincoln, or Cadillac

Think I might, too.

Any pics of your 1979, by chance?

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"A smile can hide all the pain" __ Glen Campbell __ 'Rhinestone Cowboy'

I like your attitude!

Ugh... Ya'll are clubbing me on this. I'm not asking for values, reasons, shoulds and shouldn'

How does it get done or who does it? Let me decide if it's worth while. Most all your cars were worthless at one point in time. Let me be the fool to put money in it. I'd take a brand new 79 LeBaron over anything currently made by Chrysler, Lincoln, or Cadillac, even more so if it was entry level for the three as LeBaron was at the time. Plus, it might be useful information for someone with a "better" car.

it's teal on teal. Found photos of it in Florida and for sale at Chrysler Carlisle two years ago. It's not perfect, but would not take much to make it worthy of HPOF. It has the sport appearance package, though it currently has incorrect hub caps. Its a mid tier car, has AC and rear defrost but not too much more. Cloth seats. The S in Chrysler is upside down, it could be a partial repaint on the trunk, or it could be a 1979 Chrysler.

I already told you, buy the parts from the Chrysler dealer. They will have the best most original parts. Probably made on the original tooling.

Upper ball joints are hard to replace because they screw in, often it is easier to replace the whole control arm especially if the bushings are worn too.

It seems odd all those parts are worn out at only 23000 miles. I can see the hoses and rubber items, they dry out and crack with age. But not the others especially the pitman arm and steering gear.

Those cars have a funny suspension and steering is vague even when new. It takes a split second for the tiller to answer the helm and this can be disconcerting until you get used to it. This could lead someone to diagnose front end problems when there is nothing wrong.

You need a good mechanic or front end man to put the car up on a hoist and check it properly.

Frantz

Nice looking for a 79. Don't get too hung up on exact replacement parts, you're not entering it into the Pebble Beach Concours. Parts that you need to replace can be bought from any good parts store. Sometimes there were production changes where for some reason a part used on the production line was changed. Usually a replacement part from whatever source will be the later production part and therefore not an exact duplicate of the part on your car. A dealer parts department will usually be higher priced but not any better quality than a good parts store. A 79 is 36 years old and the dealer will no longer have that year and/or model specific parts.

In years gone by dealers had access to factory replacements parts 10 years back. Then as the number of makes and models increased the availability of factory replacements went to 5 years. Now some factory replacements are only available for shorter periods.

Even though it is a low mileage car rubber components should be replaced because time, ultra violet light and ozone are enemies of rubber and plastic. Just get U.S. made parts when possible. A large percentage of replacement parts are Asian made and of poor quality. Try to find brand names. Like the brake hoses, try to find Raybestos, Gates, Borg Warner (now BWD), Good Year, etc. NAPA, Advance, Checkers, O'Rielly, Auto Zone, etc. will have most parts you will need. Be sure to ask about country of manufacture of the part. There are other sources also like Rock Auto (rockauto.com) which is an online vendor. Usually they will have a brand name and an off-brand name. Pay the slight difference and get the brand name. Another is Northwestern Auto Supply (northwesterautosupply.com). Northwestern does not have an online catalog, call them. They are a group of old time parts men and can quickly tell you if the have the part you want.

Start by replacing the fan/AC/alternator belts, radiator and heater hoses, and brake system hoses. Just due to age they need to be replaced. Also, if the car has been setting for a while, change all of the fluids

If you are going to try minor repairs yourself, get a shop manual. You can find originals on eBay or there are auto literature vendors that have them on DVD.

Happy Motoring!

I can't imagine the parts you listed NEEDING replaced at that mileage and age. The hose , perhaps, if it is stiff and cracking.

Ben

Our 77 Volare's ball joints were shot by the time it had around 30K and that was when it was only about three years old, so this wouldn't surprise me.

There were parts by the early 80's that would have the parts guys at dealer's parts counter saying. "you want what???" without them snickering about it.

I have never had any trouble finding parts for my 1980 Volare. It hasn't need many but no issues at all. I drive mine almost everyday when the snow is gone.

it's teal on teal. Found photos of it in Florida and for sale at Chrysler Carlisle two years ago. It's not perfect, but would not take much to make it worthy of HPOF. It has the sport appearance package, though it currently has incorrect hub caps. Its a mid tier car, has AC and rear defrost but not too much more. Cloth seats. The S in Chrysler is upside down, it could be a partial repaint on the trunk, or it could be a 1979 Chrysler.

Very nice ... love that color, partly b/c you don't see it too much these days.

Ha ... I was just talking with a friend the other day about some of the things he's heard about coming out of the factory from Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth "back in the day"!

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Money talks" __ Neil Diamond __ 'Forever In Blue Jeans'

I have never had any trouble finding parts for my 1980 Volare. It hasn't need many but no issues at all. I drive mine almost everyday when the snow is gone.

The 1980 might have been a better car by then. Our 77 was probably the worst car we'd ever owned. The dealer was of no help. It was pretty much parked by 1985. A couple of years later I gave it away to my father in law because he really needed a car then. He sunk a ton of money into the car just to keep it going. He ended up giving it back to me and after that I finally got rid of it selling it for $800.

Aftermarket parts were easily obtained but it was some of the dealer only parts that were a problem. The local wrecking yard was the only source for them.

Is the front end sqawking all the time as in dry suspension joints?

Those era of chryslers were notorious for front end noises.

A complicated front suspension design. You could try the dealer but they might be a more modern slightly different looking replacement part. Go ask them.

Oh those late 70's "Lean Burn" Mopars !!

The 1980 might have been a better car by then. Our 77 was probably the worst car we'd ever owned. The dealer was of no help. It was pretty much parked by 1985. A couple of years later I gave it away to my father in law because he really needed a car then. He sunk a ton of money into the car just to keep it going. He ended up giving it back to me and after that I finally got rid of it selling it for $800.

Aftermarket parts were easily obtained but it was some of the dealer only parts that were a problem. The local wrecking yard was the only source for them.

Everything I have read says by 79 or 80 almost all the problems with the car were fixed, but too late for it's reputation. Mine runs great, no issues since I bought it with 8500 miles and now have about 24,000 on it. Of course the usual fit and finish issues from a 1980's car apply. Funny to remember how poorly those cars were assembled and now much better today's cars are in that are.(At least most of them)