Hello everyone.

I am new to the forum as a member.

But I am a lifelong lover of the muscle car era.

I was conceived in the back of a 65 Tri Power GTO,
came home from the hospital (and went to my parents wedding) in a 68 442.
I remember a green with white stripe SS454 70 Chevelle in the driveway when I was little, but don't remember riding in it. Mom hated the 4 speed and Dad traded it for this car still at the dealership around 70-71. Sadly he sold it in 76 or so.



We also had a used 69 orange Z28 for a few years around 73-75.

My first car was a first gen Monte Carlo,
Followed by a 4 door green Impala,
then a 69 GTO.
My first new car was bought with my enlistment bonus in the Infantry as a down payment back in 86.



The Z28 and GTO were let go within a few years of marriage in the early 90s.

Years of car seats and not so fun cars ensued.

Anyways,

I saved a 71 AMC that had sat since 88 from rotting,
and have it on the road,
with super budget driveway body work and paint.



I also recently rescued a 74 RR smallblock, automatic with sunroof that was going to get parted out. It is in primer and yard driver only mode. Got a windshield and exhaust on it, need to get rear lights working, new gas tank, new tires, will go to 15" Mopar Rallys instead of the 14s.



I need to get the roof in non leaking and functioning mode. It needed an interior and has a free 73 satellite interior (cut rear panels to fit the seat belt tractors) with no headliner. It also has buckets I think from a cordoba. I plan to get a headliner, plug the un needed rear window crank holes, put black covers on the buckets, and get it back to the factory black with red stripe paint. Marker lights had been shaved at some point and I will not re-install.

I also need a passenger rally chrome mirror to match the drivers.


Anyways, these are not high dollar or rare cars.
But they were sitting and going to rot, be crushed, or get parted out.
One saved and back on the road, one to go.

Welcome. Neat cars. RR's with a sunroof are pretty rare, thats a keeper there! Post more progress pics as you go.

Welcome! love both cars!

Welcome,great story and pics. And would also like to thank you for your service to our country.
Here's a pic of my driver clone.

I like the 73/4 stripe most but the noses like on your 71/2 are the best!

Interior parts before intalled...


have extra rear valence but need to install front valence.



will get black custom fit padded seat covers for the buckets,
foam and RR type uphostlerly covers cost about 3x as much



will rig up some rr type trim to cover where the satellite emblem was



keeping ratty carpet to save on total cost,
but floor was in great shape, cleaned, redid flaking seam seals,
covered in eastwood rust encapsulator for preservation, a coat of rustoleum with ceramic beads for cheap lizard skin, and inexpensive refelectix insulation to replace/lighted old matting and substitude for high dollar dynomat type product.



will need dash cover



nothing fancy in the gauge or sound category



rear seat and tray serviciable if nothing more than barely driver quality



bought a handle, but cant find bezel, was hoping to before do headliner.
leaking and not functioning.
may temporiarly seal with silicone. easily reversible.





i thought sun roof cars had hoses that went through holes in the inner fenders to drain. but they are just hidden behind the kick panels and rear lower trim panels.





underbody is solid but with surface rust.


should clean up, rust converter, and underbody coating fine.



least expensive exhaust option was to mod summit racing header back kit to down tubes.

will need a new gas tank,
73/4 tanks are not cheap!



happy back here





have new battery tray and hold down to install.
have wiper motor not sure if will work.
need to get resovoir/pump, hoses.



need heater core and no hope of getting ac working any time soon.


I did get a pair of usable driver fender/firewall braces i will sand and paint.

I know in general the 71-74 B bodies get little love, especially the 73/4s. And especially the small blocks. Let alone a 318 automatic.
But it codes ok in my book.




They can't all be most desireable year hemis, 440s, GTXs, RTs, etc. Heck, I would not have cared if it was a bench seat column shift. I saved it.

I need to go over the front end, get good wheels and rubber on it, address the tank, and get the rear lights working and it should be on the road.

Nice cars, good luck with the resto. Welcome aboard

making some progress

super budget driveway work

let's call it a "ten footer...
I mean ten yarder."

ok,
the 100$ driveway spray,
and 120$ stripe set have not come out perfect

but my teenage son has helped some, and that is the point.

I am some front end work and new tires away from a driver, with plenty interior cosmetics to work on, but functionally a driver.

until some major drivetrain failure. which will be an excuse to upgrade the drivetrain so its all good.

plan to go with 225/70/14s all around. that gives me 26.5 inches of tire and lets me use the original rims. not quite as beefy as I wanted to go, but it will do.

Welcome, we can't all do full-on restos.
I remember someone asking about that Daytona over on the aero car forum a while back.
Glad to hear you are passing the torch to your son too!

yes,
literally the cousin of my cousin knows the guy who has what I think is that Daytona.

Our Daytona came from Hartwins in Greenfield, Ma. "new"- never titled but about 500 miles on it.

Because one was never listed as going to there, and we don't have the vin on the car (parents had it about 70 -76),
it is either the one F6 White car that went to Vermont and was dealer transferred to Hartwins (which would make it the one we know where is),
or it is maybe dealer transferred from another dealer in Mass. to Hartwins and we don't know where it is.

great way to get your boy started out! very nice car to start with. it could be somthing really nice down the road if you keep at it. cheers

getting closer to roadworthy,

still cant do passenger rear tire, brand new rim from wheelvintiques would not hold air.

225/70/14 on front, with blasted and painted old rims.
I have trim rings for these, but probably won't put them on.



I went with 275/60/15 in the rear. I did not have any old 15 inch rallys, and none near by. I bought new wheel vintiques. I just clear coated them, but then did not match any paint I had for the front ones, so painted the face with the same color I did the fronts in. Just off the shelf rattlecan.





This model car probably has some of the hugest front wheel wells in proportion to rear wheel wells of any two door car design I remember from back in that era.

I do more center caps. I have two of the older style caps,




three of these newer style,



and one of the funky ones with the wheel bearing cover built in that i dont know what went to.



just my luck I dont have a set. I dont have the 15 inch trim rings, so will probably go without. But I do need either two old style center caps, or one of the new ones, plus my bad rim that came replaced, my other 275 mounted, and I will be hitting the road. (if I survive the blow by fumes coming from my valve cover caps..., until this engine dies.)


Igot the sunroof working



I have a roof flag magnet because the rear drops (worn parts/hinges you cant find new ones) and a heavy rain will leak and some not caught by the pan.) The magnet prevents any leaking, a must for acar that lives outside with a vintage style sun roof.


high class 20$ seat covers are in there now vs. redoing the front seats



I had to cut the rusty old sockets out of the tail light housings, wire in new sockets to the good parts of the 2 1/2 bad rear harnesses I had to make one good one.

All lights are working except a pesky drivers front turn signal that seems to have a break somwhere between the socket and coming off harness. Everytime I go to fix it it starts working again. The rear markers are in the trunk and work. The front markers are just behind the headlights and do not work, although my fender idicators do. (previous owner shaved antenna, markers, etc.)

AM radio seems to work, I have a hidden antenna coming for it.

I do need to sort out the horn also. It was not working, I got it working at least sickly on the bench, will probably need to get a replacement.

also did the 120$ dash cap







and some model paint on the emblem.

I am now driving it around some on the road.

There is enough smoke and blow by for it to be a James Bond car,
plan is a SB stroker at some point in the future.

Even with a new antenna, nothing but static from the AM radio.

Have the speedo working, but not the gas gauge.
put in a tach, and a true oil pressure gauge. the factory gauge just does not move much to read.

Hopefully the new sending unit and tank I am getting will help me straigten that out.

I am driving it a few miles at a time,
will need front end kit and new leaf springs.

Anyone know a good source for those? The 73/74 cars do not get much love and many places I look just stop at 72.

I drive it a few miles at a time now and then. Nobody makes the right headliner for it, will have to get one done local custom, but non function stuff like that will just keep on waiting.

I made a little bracket so the front side marker lights did not go to waste.



Lots of little things to get for it still.

Anyone have a picture of where the horn mounts in a 73/74, I think I might have the wrong bracket.

Also, are there front headlight brackets that look right but are not?
Using the right part number for the bulb, one of my front passenger bulbs ends up mounted sideways.

Thanks.

looks great! my first mopar was a '73 340 4 speed road runner.