We discovered these proofs which were taken some time during the early stages of the original 1970 build of the Red Light Bandit. They might have been pics taken in conjunction with the November 1970 Hot Rod magazine article that featured the construction of this car, but not sure.

More pics from the 1970 proof sheet.

Bigger look of fiberglass fenders and hood going on the RLB from 1970 proof sheet.

Our next trip to Bucky's a few months later saw great progress. Getting fiberglass to fit together right and be straight with the doors was a big part of getting the car right. The body gaps on the restored car are outstanding. We bought the fiberglass fenders from VFN, and got the hood from AAR.

Better look at getting the gaps right.

Rear look at the car with panels.

We got a lot of parts from Jeff at 521 Restorations (970-227-0588) who was GREAT to work with. We got the AMD tail panel from Jeff, and a whole lot more stuff. Thanks Jeff!

It might have been said before,but i'll ask again with all of the lighting holes that's in the car,what was the race weight of this car in the 70's This is a interesting thread.

The original car had a removable trans tunnel for quick maintenance. Cole was able to expertly recreate that the tunnel with the help of the pics in the November 1970 Hot Rod magazine article.

The original fiberglass fenders were saved, but too crusty to use. When Bucky got the new VFN fenders, he compared to original fenders to them, and was able to stretch the front wheel well opening to match the original car. So here is the original fender being held up to the new VFN fender that is already mounted to the car.

Bucky gave us a preview of the "spear" on the back quarter.

Racerx-
1970 Pro Stock rules required 3000 lb minimum. The industrial battery Bill mounted in the rear of the trunk weighed 137 lbs. The restored car has the original battery tray, so we have the same size battery, but it is not quite as heavy.

As an aside, Supercar Collectibles did the diecast car a few years ago. They did a really good job with it, quick pic. They used the six pack hood, which is the hood that was originally on the car. However, Bill quickly changed hood when he started getting different manifolds from Chrysler requiring greater clearance.

Skip ahead a couple months, the next time we went down to Bucky's, he has done a ton of work on the body. Special focus centered around the hood scoop. As mentioned above, the Six Pack hood was the first hood used. Then, when Bill got the Independent Runner intake manifold from Chrysler, the hood scoop had to be larger. Bagshaw was one of the first to get the IR manifolds, and one of the pioneer guys building a bigger scoop. Bagshaw says that Butler, who had built road race cars, Cobra style cars, had a number of scoops in his shop. He went through inventory, and came up with the scoop top, and then fabricated the sides. Gastman and Bagshaw agreed that that early hood told a cool story about the development of Pro Stock, so Bucky was asked to recreate that scoop. Although it might look somewhat primitive, with the fiberglass top and fabricated sides, that is what they were running. Further, Bagshaw says they were constantly experimenting with scoops and tweaking fresh air supply, but that this first scoop was just about as effective as any of them. Attached pic is the scoop on the mocked up body.

It i shard to tell from the trunk pictures, was this car minitubbed. Were the inner wheel wells moved over to the frame?
Thanks for sharing this awesome car with us. I can't wait for you to show more of the painted finished product.

You are welcome, it's been awesome to be a part of this project. Wheel wells were lengthened so they would not hit the front of the wells, cut, and moved in to framerail. Leaf springs are moved inboard. Attached is a pic of inside of the car.

Yes, thanks for sharing!! Lots of work to post all the pics and info. Great insight as to just what is required to do a first class resto job on an old race car - and keep it authentic.

THANKS AMX
How did Butler hang the rear of the springs on this one. Did he add a bar from frame to frame with new shackle hanger brackets?

Very Cool!!

Awesome project Arvid!