Assessing

Had the exterior sheetmetal not been reasonably straight and solid, this would have been relegated to a parts car.

The dash was rusty and all the stainless was badly pitted. I suppose I would be smart to look for better parts, but my labor is cheap, so I'll try to salvage most of it.

The steering wheel is a throw-away, but I planned on an aftermarket column and wheel, so it's not an issue.

A serious case of headliner sag has left me with a decision to make. I could have an upholstery shop try to make a pattern from the old one and salvage the bows, or I can fabricate a fiberglas shell similar to what modern cars have and glue a modern material on it. I'm leaning in that direction.

The car came without an engine or transmission, so the choice is wide open. It originally had a Poly 277 with a manual transmission and overdrive. My plan is to install a mid-80's 318 with a floor-shifted automatic...preferably an overdrive unit from a truck, but nothing is set in stone. Some have suggested a big block, while others can see a generation III Hemi sitting in there. It will likely depend on what I can get when the time comes, and more importantly...the price. I've been thinking about mating a Dakota frame to the Plymouth frame from the transmssion mount forward. If the frames are anywhere near matching in the cut area,it would solve a lot of problems. I could buy a Dakota for parts and have a modern suspension, disk brakes, and a complete engine/transmission mounting setup. It also makes the drivetrain decision simple.

I already found a source for a new windshield, but not a moulded gasket. I can find the straight rubber channel, but would need to cut and glue the corners...or maybe they will begin producing them again before I reach that point...RIGHT!! I'm not looking forward to that task.

The floor in the back seat area isn't too bad, and could be repaired, but I'll probably replace the entire floor and trunk with patch panels, since they are all available now. However, who knows how long that will be, so I'd rather make the basic body structure sound while I can find parts.