1966 Chrysler Newport Project:

On a lovely Saturday in the spring of 2008, a friend of mine and I went to look at this car - I found it on Craigslist in Lawrence. We took a lovely test-drive along the country roads south of Lawrence. Just like one my grandpa McKitterick used to own, except not beat to heck, and in beautiful bronze. It drove really well, and I really like the car, and they were asking an excellent price for such a fine vehicle.

I bought it on the following Monday. It has A/C and was advertised as having a rebuilt engine and tranny. Everything worked well, it looked almost new - and that's the original paint. Cool! Big bench seats and your typical 1960s luxo-car ride make it perfect for road-trips with up to seven people and all their luggage, a joy to drive.

First up, I gave it a good, long once-over. It's in far better condition than I had thought, with nary a spot of rust, even under the fenders (I pulled the wheels to lube the chassis). It looks like a car that's only a few years old. This makes me very happy.

...of course, being a hot-rodder at heart, I couldn't leave well enough alone. This series of pages documents the transformation of this sedate sedan into a fire-breather still suitable for road-trips. Only faster!

Better yet, check out my build blog here for a complete history of her transformation from sedate sedan to Hot-Rod Newport with lots more photos, tips, links, and more. And check out my LiveJournal hot-rod Newport photo gallery for lots more pics.

Where is it today? Well, literally today (September 6, 2011) she finally fired up! Proof:

startup video on YouTube

YouTube video of blasting down the highway