SURVIVOR?
I recently bought a ’66
Plymouth Satellite from the
original owner. I found this car
in Old Cars Weekly News &
Marketplace for $500. It’s been
sitting in a garage since 1967
so it looks really nice but it has
a couple of good sized dents
in the rear passenger side. The
front driver’s side and the front
bumper are also bent. Other
then that, the car looks factory
fresh. It has 27,880 miles on
it and it has the original trunk
mat, jack, spare tire and original
bill of sale, window sticker, certicard,
and a few other things.
I know this is a great survivor
car, but I want to ask how much
can I do to fix the car and still
call it a survivor. Some spots on
the front fender have the paint
scratched. Would it be OK to
repaint the fender and replace
the old brakes?
There’s no hard and fast
“written rule” on this that I’m
aware of, at least not one that’s
used an any Mopar shows I’ve
ever been to. So I guess it’s up
to me to make the rules! And,
I’ve never been one to duck a
hot potato, I’ve got the warts
on my forehead to prove it!
There are two key points
that must be met to have the
car even be considered. All
the rest is open for discussion.
They are:
• The car must never have
had an overall repaint.
• The original engine must
be there, and must never have
been removed.
One more point is just a tad
lower than those first two on
the E‑berg survivor legitimacy
scale:
• There must have been no
attempt to replace any underhood
or chassis parts strictly
for cosmetic reasons.
Now for the round table
discussion. Or, actually, more
like a lecture, ’cause all opinions
except mine don’t count
for diddlysquat. If a bumper,
say, has a few dings, a few
rust spots, etc., that’s fine. If
one corner, say, is bent back
and into the fender, that’s just
gross. It needs to be fixed. If,
when the car was new, this had
happened, most owners would
have fixed it.
On to the fender scratches:
I guess it’s a matter of degree.
A few scratches would, in my
book, NOT be cause to repaint
it. A large area down to the primer (or bare
metal) might. Similar judgments apply to
the dented sheetmetal, but there, modern
technology may have you covered: Those
national‑chain no‑paint dent removal shops
(Dent Wizard, etc.)
If the brakes are shot, they, of course,
must be fixed. If at all possible, though,
retain the original drums, grease caps, any
anything else visible. And maybe take some
good photos of the brake assemblies before
you touch ’em.
Remember, a car can be restored countless
times, but it is only a survivor once. But
a large damaged area, such as your front
bumper (see photo #4), must be fixed. otherwise
it’s not a survivor, it’s a junker! Glancing
at the other pix you sent, I think this car is a
survivor like a war hero that came home a
quadraplegic. This car needs a total restoration.
Since almost everything is there,