ABANDONED Dodge Monaco LOCKED UP for 40+ Years: Can We Save It? 

That Monaco was a victim of probably near zero oil changes, ran oil starved, over heating due to low oil and coolant. Someone probably ran her hard on top of that from the evidence you found with the transmission. Back then, no one knew how desireable classic cars would become as they are today. Much respect for you giving her the love she deserves Dylan!

They are beautiful cars, and yours definitely deserves a better life than it's lead. Sure hope you fix this car to it's former glory!!!

Yeah i think the compression was leaking past the valves but a good rebuild with a modern camshaft will make a good power plant

Great to see the engine spinning over, I really really want to see a budget rebuild on this as so many people are in the same position. Please don't give up on it #savethe 383!

I love seeing old engines rebuilt and hearing them run. It's like hearing from the past.

As a C-Body Mopar owner it’s awesome to see other C-bodies get revived, they need love just as much as the more sought after Mopars

Hey man I love the show, that poor old car was probably treated like most of the other old wore out family cars back in the day, they were drove hard and put up wet, till they won't go no more, and then made to go a little bit more till they finally got towed home with a rope into the back field where they rot till we find them and try to reserrect them, you are doing a great job with your share of these old relics, keep it up I really liked the shows you did on the Maverick they were one of my favorite old simple cars. Years ago I drove a green and white striped 70 Grabber, it was a blast I sure miss it. Cheers from Jacksonville Florida 🌞

Always remember, given enough time and resources, everything is rebuildable.

Fabulous. I love the look of this car and can't wait to see progress. As an aside, as a father of two toddlers, I enjoy being able to watch your channel with them thanks to the lack of profanity as they both love cars

Dylan, i have the same engine for my 1960 Belvedere. This engine is near bullet proof, it just needs a lot of love and TLC. the 318 was a workhorse in the day.

My old man grew up with one of these and told me it was the nicest riding car he’s ever been in

I can't wait to see the next one!! Wagers on the DIY hone working? 100%

I haven’t laughed so hard at a RU-vidr as I did when you pulled that drain plug.

I’ve got a 79 power wagon w a 360 locked up & I’ve given marvel mystery oil 2 weeks in the cylinders and tomorrow I’ll be putting diesel down the carburetor! Wish me luck & love the content!

Would love this to be the next "build" series, like the Charger and Challenger. Never see these full-size cars getting the attention they deserve. EDIT: Not to sound too ambitious, and I know you already did a Gen III swap, but just realized 383 is pretty close to 6.2L Wouldn't that be sweet to motivate this ol' girl, maybe even supercharged

Great Seeing You Back On That Monaco, Glad She Finally Decided To Spin over.. Amazing Work Good Sir!!

My uncle had one of these cars. I love that you're reviving this one. Thank you.

I remember back in the late 70s how I'd often saw these mid 60s dodges in the hans of people of low income as they were cheap to buy and would run forever on little to no maitenace.i called them poormans cars then,but I call them cool cars now! Great video Dylan, thanks!

Hi Dylan, greetings from way up here in Alberta Canada ! I really enjoy your channel, especially because your a true mopar guy. This series on the 65 Monaco is particularily enjoyable as I myself am restoring a 67 Monaco 500 with a 383 HP (It was my Mom and Dad's and they bought it right before I was born in 1968. I found it 4 years ago in an old scrap yard) . I've collected 10 parts cars and have decided 5 of those are too nice to part out so I hope to revive them too, lol ! I've really learned a lot from you as I'm no mechanic, just an about to retire school teacher who loves old mopars (and all old cars in general) . You are an excellent instructor, who explains things very well ! Very much looking forward to the next video on how this all goes down ! Keep up the excellent work !

Dylan I’m so glad you started this project. Hopefully the 383 is rebuildable at least the short block is. This Monaco is old as I am. Again I’m so glad you started this. May you have a Blessed One Sir.

Excellent teardown and excellent dissection of the engine's life. I'm not there to see it, but I think the block has a life left and can be done on the cheap. The heads are another story, and if any money is spent, it will be there. Pity that the old gal didn't get her fair share of oil changes. The 383 is a trusty and dependable mill, with tons of aftermarket support. Look forward to the engine's fate!

Great vid , Nice to see you using the original engine, well done .

That looks identical to the 383 in my '67 Chrysler Newport. It's not a high horsepower or fancy engine but it moves that boat along quite well. When it's working, of course...

Dylan, Of all the mechanics on You Tube you are the one that speaks the best in terms of grammer, my young son now understands what things are properly call. THANKS VERY MUCH!

Sludge could be the use of Quaker State oil from back in the day, it was a Paraffin based oil and I have seen that happen before..

That engine sure needed a wash. In and out. The best part is you have the skills to bring this back, with a little help of course. Love your recycling program. If something needs to be brought back to life, you give it the second chance it needs. I love that. Thanks for your channel, I appreciate the effort.

I'm working my way through all your old videos. I love these old Monaco's. The interiors are a work of art.

I have been waiting for you to do a rebuild. Go for it, make the old girl squeal once again!!

Excellent video. Love engine breakdowns and rebuilds.

I hope you are able to rebuild that motor. It is always good to see something used and abused come back to life.

My first car in HS was a 65 Monaco - loved that car! Wish I still had it. Hoping you can get her back on the road!

Hey- DEBBIE DOWNER, Lighten UP! Unless there are cracks, all that crap will clean up and it will run great. I built a quench 440 with those heads, had to get mild dome pistons that came out of the hole. it was WICKED! Compression is power.

It would be cool to see it rebuilt with a mild cam, hopefully you can just hone it out and keep on trucking. This is a pretty sweet ride.

Your channel IMO is the most authentic of the car revival channels. When you say a car has been sitting 40 years I believe it.

Dylan, Thanks for continuing to work on this car. I hope you will get it back on the road whether it is with the original drive train or not.

Brother every time I watch you bring one of these forgotten beauties back to life it brings me such joy 😊😊😊 Makes me smile everytime. Keep up the great work👍👍👍

Seeing the Monaco brings back very fond memories of my '64 Polara 500. Was a 383, 4-bl, Golden Anniversary Edition with the sport interior complete with a automatic shifter on the floor. Could easily do 100mph on the highway (don't ask how I know this) :) . My first car purchase ever and I took care of the majority of the maintenance myself, all the way to pushing vinyl top wax into the 2 seams that ran from front to back. She was the best car I ever had and I miss her still to this day. Thanks for the great memories, Dylan!

As I was a vintage bike mechanic for 7 years I found a good trick when he finally break an engine loose like this that usually means there's rust on the valves to my experience most of the time it's actually the valves that are leaking not the rings so what I found works is put air air to the cylinder via a leak down detector roll the cylinder up to TDC with 100 PSI find where your leaks are and then use a dead blow hammer to tap on the valves knocking the valves around knocks the rust loose the pressure in the cylinder blows the rust away I brought back several engines using this technique.

Thank you for doing what you do. I've been looking for a dodge guy to watch and obviously learn from... this car was always my favorite of the 60's... I haven't seen one in 30yrs... I'm anxious for your next video

It's definitely a cool ol mopar that u don't see many of. The potential is definitely there, looking forward to seeing it roaring once again! Man, that trans sure was bad, looks like none of the fluids were changed on a regular basis. The first car i had when i was 15 was a 71 amc hornet that my dad bought from my grandfathers neighbor. It had a lifter tick, took it apart discovered they basically only added oil. It had a straight 6 and i scraped enough sludge out of the valve cover to fill a 7 eleven big gulp cup..it was nuts! Thanks for all you do Dylan, all the best my friend!

Hey, Dylan -- great vid! Your tear-down takes me back to my high school days when me and a couple of friends went to an automotive class for a few weeks (this was back in the early 70s!) and the teacher did a teardown just like yours and then did a budget rebuild -- like I hope you will do! Although I'm not a real mechanic that class enable me to do some "mechanic-ing" through the years that most folks won't/can't do and it's been fun to play with cars and their parts. So -- my guess is that your videos are doing the same thing for other folks who would like to delve more deeply into an old vehicle. I hope you continue! thanks! -- steve

Very informative. I appreciate you explaining how to do things, and how stuff works. I wish I grew up learning this, but I'll have to settle for watching videos like this in my late 30s. Thanks Dylan.

Just watching Dylan tear through stuff and explaining is just awesome, since I started watching Dylan I've learnt some stuff even though I don't have a car to work on, amazing content fr!!

Love the car, I'm a Chevy guy mainly, but I appreciate them all. Great content man, thank you and God bless you and your family.

Thank you Dylan I've been waiting for a follow up on this old girl gee she's got caracter. Can't wait to see her back on the road keep chipping away at her brother 👍👍👍

you don't have a lot of these types of videos, but the ones you do have I enjoy them very much. Great video. Looking forward to the progress.

Favorite car I ever drove was a white 64 Chevrolet Impala 2 door V8 engine. Automatic transmission. It's ride and handling was so smooth. It looked great inside and out. Easy to do repair work on it. I miss it. The cars they have been building since about 1990 - 2000 don't compare and have no heart, no character. Great video Dylan, thanks for sharing.

Yes, it was an ALL original engine and trans, complete with original oil! I used to run into this "feature" frequently on the 60s and early 70s when I was really into rebuilding Studebakers. Then, I met my bride of many years, and had lots of other things to spend my extra cash on! Had the same setup as yourself pretty much, but garage was 24' deep. Could hardly wait to build a pole barn for a real shop, but that story is for another day! Presently, I really enjoy watching you and others do the work

Glad to see you going as far as you can with this. I know it's not easy! Thank you

I love to see old cars be bought back to life. Good work Dylan !

Just a tip that i did in my garage years ago, I drilled in the concrete by the back wall to install a concrete anchor. I drop one of those portable winches on it and can pull any vehicle into the shop safely with out risking damage to the car or the shop. Love what your doing with these old cars! Keep it up!

Fantastic step-by-step Dylan! Let's bring this old girl back again - step by step - and we'll be there with ya! God Bless 😎

Great video Dylan, really enjoyed. Hope she can go back together😊👌🇺🇸🙏

Normal drivers back then didn't change oil very often unless they were educated in on cars. Great Video Thanks for sharing!

Dylan you are a true car guy! The saying that Clarkson and the others said on Top Gear etc. That "You aren't a real car guy until you've owned an Alfa Romeo is just bunk. In the west here we (I AM Canadian) we don't have many Alfas to be owned but we have AMC's and Ramblers and many other cars that are trying our lives as we love them anyway. LOL. (Monaco's LOL). The fact that you still tore apart that old wore out badly treated engine after it didn't start is a huge testament to your car guy cred! Not that all the hours of wrenching on all those other cars made any doubt before lol. I owned a 1966 Rambler when I was 16 and it was a trial but that six cylinder engine just kept on a Rollin!

So glad to see you back on this monaco! Excited to see this thing back on the road and returning to its former glory.

I'm truly loving this. I appreciate all the TLC you are giving the engine. It is clear it wasn't well cared for when it was running, but it deserves a new life. I'm probably going to cry when I hear the thing start up. I'm so impressed with how you've pulled this engine apart and assessed everything that needs to be fixed. Growing up we had a 1969 dodge coronet with a 318--looked a lot like your 68 satellite. So I'm vicariously living my love for the dodge plymouth chrysler trio with this car.

Ive been waiting 4 months for part 2 on this Beautiful Dodge Monaco Dylan. She such a complete car with the original Drivetrain. I Hope you do her justice and keep her intact and bring her back to her glory.. Looking forward to part 3..

Awesome vid< hope your staying warm

She’s alive!! Man, this is one of the best looking body shapes ever. Can’t wait to see this girl when you’re done with her

Its nice seeing a c body on your channel. This reminds me of the journey i had with my 67 fury a few years back

No doubt you know cars and engines. I’m impressed with your knowledge. We will be watching your channel! Thank you for sharing

Awsome that is so mc-cool seeing this oldie get some love.

Awesome video. Its great to actually get a in depth look at tearing apart a worn out engine and the aspects of possibly getting it running again. Its so refreshing not having to watch a car being washed.....again. So tired of those. Thanks Dylan!

My dad was a MoPar service manager in the 60s and early 70s. Anytime we messed with a 60s engine, he would always remove the pickup tube, carefully open up the pinched rim and then remove the screen. Then he would thoroughly clean the two parts, along with flushing everything down with kerosene. Glad you are diving into this.

I would love to see you completely rebuild this engine and restore it to its former glory. Good luck on your quest good sir.

Nice work! Don't forget, when you're trying to free a stubborn, stuck engine, take those old belts off. Looks like you were fighting those when you were turning by hand. they were pretty stuck to the alternator. Thanks again for the content!

Love this Monaco it would be so nice all fixed up hopefully you can get the heads rebuilt for a reasonable price that is going to be the most expensive part of the rebuild

My daddy bought a '65 off the show room floor. Red with a black vinyl top. It had a 383 auto trans with bucket seats and the shifter in the floor. I loved that car.

This is so cool man, I have a 67 dodge Monaco myself and it’s my pride and joy. 4 door hardtop, 383. Can’t wait to see what you do with this one

Great video! Love the positive attitude! Keep it up!

Always enjoyed your videos, well put together and interesting subjects, this is rare one and i would love to see get "restored" (hot rodded). No need to go overboard but it'd make for a sweet cruiser. Landyacht muscle car, gotta love em. Looking forward to seeing the engine get rebuilt so i had to leave a like. Maybe a video or two of putting the engine together, painting it up and making it look good again? One can only hope!

Love the look of that Monaco and amazed that a lump in that state was almost serviceable!! Look forward to seeing the next update!

I hope you can save her. I love these Mopar C-Bodys. I think that this would make another really cool project for the channel.

Man, I can’t wait to learn more about the ultimate fate of that poor old, brutalized 383. I couldn’t enjoy your videos any more than I do. I love them! Thank you so much for what you do, and may God bless and keep you and yours, always.

piston rigs stuck + valve seats rusted Do those 2 things and have 88% of the engine back!

as always dylan this video was amazing, excellent tear down, informative and fun. im literally bursting to see the next video. some day i hope to do an engine rebuild if i ever get the money.

Nothing like a nice tidy workshop! And this is nothing like a nice tidy workshop!

Check bore taper with inexpensive bore dial gauge, if within spec remove core plugs (Freeze plugs), hot tank the block and the heads, once fully disassembled. Hone cylinders, new rings, bearing and core plugs and you have good block. Heads: if the valves and seats will take a grind fine, if not inexpensive valve cutting tool, recut seats and replace valves with new or used and grind. New or reprofiled cam, new timing set and you have a good early long block on a budget. Just my tuppence worth, from someone with one of their hobbies was playing with cars and motorbikes for last 47 years.

I dig the screwdriver in the coolant hose trick toward the beginning of the video to drain the coolant. I never would have thought of that!

Really enjoyed this 1 Dylan! Thanks for your videos!! Great job,

It's been a while since I owned a 1965 Plymouth but I seem to remember the belt replacement interval was considerably less than every forty years.

Hello Dylan, I've been watching your video's for almost a year now and I love them, you are a true Mopar warrior and I love what you do to save these old Mopar's, This Dodge Monaco I will love to see a frame up restoration on this car, my brother had one of these back in the 70s and it was an amazing car. I have owned some amazing mopar's in my life and I still drive a dodge. A complete restoration if possible would be my vote. Love your video's I will be watching as long as you keep making them.

I'm so glad you decided to pull out the engine and transmission so we can see the internals instead of just putting it back in the field to finish decaying. I would love to see you rebuild this 383 and maybe stroke it.

Damn rip audio guy, also I saw the orange car you had on marketplace wish I had the money to buy it lol

That car deserves a new life. The body style is awesome. Hopefully you can rebuild the motor and transmission and get her back on the road. 👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻

Love these videos and I learn a lot of history from you on these old dodge's. She was a bit crusty but I believe if the crank is good everything else can be replaced and just a touch of machine work and it'll be back on the road in no time👍

I special ordered a '68 Polara 4-dr sedan new (my first new car). It was equipped with the 383, PS, manual brakes, Auto Xmission, AC and Power Seat. I also elected for the package that came with the turn-signal lamps on the top of the front fenders. It had a 2-bbl carburetor and I got 19mpg on the highway at 70mph running the AC. I thought that was pretty good as gasoline was cheap back then. It had the best ride of any car I have owned before or since. Manual drum brakes were able to stop the car just fine. The one weak area with the car was the thermostat failed often. I never knew if the car was just hard on the thermostats or if the replacements I was buying were of inferior quality. I changed them myself and also did my own spark plug changes, point changes, oil & filter changes. The only things I ever had to take the car in for was it developed an exhaust leak (gasket installation fixed that) and one of the supports for the front sway bar lost its rubber isolation (a new support solved that). I wished years later that I had kept repairing that car and still had it today! Dylan, I hope you can get this engine going again or at least find out the condition of the block & heads. If there are no cracks in the block and the valve seats can be restored to operate well, go for it!

8:16 NO YOUR GOING TO BREAK IT! 8:50 8:52NO F-ing WAY!!!🥳 12:42 12:46 ITS TASTY 13:39 13:40 13:48

Your greatest video!!!! I love that you are rebuilding this fantastic engine!!!!!!!

Nice to see someone taking interest in the old automotive iron. I was an automotive machinist for 20 years (1970-1990) and have seen many engines of all makes brought back to life with a little or a lot of money. It always seemed like the great Mopar engines survived the best and worst of treatment. I've been a Mopar owner all my life for just that reason.

Reconditioning heads is not that big of a deal, Dylan. If you don't already know how to do it, this is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge. Running heads you've reconditioned yourself is also very satisfying. I'm certain you can do it.

My first car was a 1965 Dodge polara with 383 4 door bought it when I was 16. Loved that ole car.

My father had a 1964 Dodge Polara with a 3 speed torqueflight , push button transmission And a 318 Cu in V-8 engine. God I miss that car. A real American beauty. Get that car back on the road, Dylan. Cheers 🇺🇸🇨🇦

Right with you Dylan.....Original cast 64 DPCD block for a first year 65 Monaco......Have to save it.

great video! and don't worry about those mirror checks....just proves you do the work! God Bless.

Hope this engine makes it. I have always been biased towards 383's, since my 71 Satellite had one. Fingers crossed.

I hope you can bring it back to life! Those old engines had some good power BITD. My grandmother had a 6? (not sure of exact year) Plymouth Sport Fury with a 383 that thing would roast the back tires and it would cruise at 80 mph with no problems or want for more power. Yes, I had a hot rod granny! She'd roast her own tires and run 80+ down the highway all the time!

This engine definitively need to be rebuilt! The block is in a pretty good shape, you almost need to clean it up and re-assemble it! ;-) For sure, we want more video of this dodge!

We unstuck an old Ford Fe motor by pulling heads after soaking plug holes with atf n kerosene then using a 2+4 and tapping on the pistons. Put heads back on and ran for as long as I can remember. Lol valves probably aren't seating properly, hence the low compression! I bet if you would of kept at it it would have fired up. Definitely poor or no maintenance. Awesome video, can't wait till the next.....👍💯🇺🇸