70 Road Runner Convertible Restoration

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Well, I thought I was through with the welder on my project when......

My friend stopped by this weekend and he said "Hows your convertible top frame"?

I told him rust free. He said, did you check under the existing top where it sits on the header panel? They all rust there.

Well we checked together and sure enough, I dragged the welder out today

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That's what all three of mine look like.

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Bumper looks GREAT! TRI-CITY isn't too far from me. I think their prices may have gone up in the last year or two. I've been thinking of taking mine over to them one day and dropping them off. It would save shipping.

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Very Nice!!

Since you're in Horsham, we gotta meet up sometime, seeing how you are so close (I'm in Central Jersey). I'm hoping to get my RM27 done soon. It's been in the garage 7 years, time to finsih it up and take a ride...

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That would be great if we could touch base on our cars. I would love to see one up close thats not in pieces, so it will help me with getting mine back together when its time.

Check your PM box

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Looking good. When is the color going on it?

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Looks like we have the same things on our Christmas Wish List. It's looking good Tom.

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Big day today! I approved the color. I also dropped of the fender tag, which is now locked in the owners desk.

The shop owner said it will be in paint by the end of this week.

I should have it back home by the 15th!

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So much for December.

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Everyone knows that December means June in body shop time. So I'm ahead of schedule

I think Maybe I fell for it again

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Looks good Tom.

You win.

or...is it a tie?

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Hello Newman

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Looks really cool Tom. I LOVE that Vitaminc C.

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I was thinking maybe it will look more like this

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Tom,
Looks GREAT!!! I wish I had time to work on my 68 and get it there. What quarters did you use? Were the originals damaged tot he point where you needed to use full quarters? Very, very nice work!

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Yep, had to use full quarters. There was 2 inches of bondo on one . The other was thin and rotted.

I think it was AMD.

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awsome car!!! you'll have the rest of winter to install the interior,, and drive this summer!!! Just AWSOME!!!

oh, on the seats,, YES, USE new foam, and do it on a HOT day, or use a heat gun/hair dryer, and keep the skins inside to acclimate, by a register,,
when you install them, i use a few clips to install, then put them near a register/ for a few minutes, or really heat them up ALL OVER, then finish hog ringing them,while streching them, looks great!!

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I gotta get back into the seats It's either that or I'm thinking of just sending them out.

I'll usually try any job once, then send it out if I'm not happy. I'm sure the real craftsmen hate to see me coming

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And.... Tom has full body color for the win. Mine isn't quite that far yet. Close, but not quite.

Looks fantastic Tom, I know you are thrilled. I'm sure the photos don't do it justice. Looks really straight and you can tell they did a nice job. Hope I get to see it in person sometime.

Joe

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I stopped by this morning because I have to work tonight. Wet sanding has begun which will be followed by buffing and decals.

Should have the car back soon.

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Pretty

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Hope they were put on with the foot tracks on the bottom

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Never seen that drawing before....can you provide a larger readable view? Nice progress btw!

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Here's a bigger view!

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Hmmmmm, looks the same size....where can one find this info?

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If you click on the blue highlighted attachment, it's a lot bigger!

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I stopped by this morning because I have to work tonight. Wet sanding has begun which will be followed by buffing and decals.

Should have the car back soon.

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me too,, i want a conv.

here's a triple black one:

http://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/128407.html

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Another pic, windshields in!

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Looking good .. Are you going with the black wheels?

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If you ever sell it, IAM IN!

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Your on the list

Actually my wife says keep this one. She said to stop restoring the mopes and selling them within a year.

I said, I'll keep it if my charge cards aren't maxed when I"m done

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Looking good Tom. Don't feel bad about the windshield screw thing. I'm sure I'm going to have to redo some stuff as I go also. I put the rear lights in mine yesterday then just this morning realized that I didn't ensure I had a good ground anywhere. I've got to go out today and see if the housings are grounding or not.

Car looks great, I think the Magnum's would look good on it. I'm like you about the Redlines though. Not sure how that would look. You could paint your steel wheels EK2 also.

Oh, keep the wife happy for sure.

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Personally I think orange with redlines on magnums would look good. See pic.

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By the way, is there a 'rule' for when the sheet metal behind the grill gets blacked out (paint) or left body color? I think for light cars it gets blacked but I don't don't know about orange cars.

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Good point, What is the rule? I saved some internet pics awhile back and didn't know what to do. Should I black out the areas like this rr vert?

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My sassy grass car is blacked out, It still has original paint.

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That is one sweet car!
The orange one is nice too!
Sassy Grass

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arghh! I'm already screwing up the reassembly LOL>

Maybe rivit from underneath??? I'll have to dig in and get innovative if possible.

Anybody have any ideas or have this happen to them? I got my car as a disassembled project. So I missed this.

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My sassy grass car is blacked out, It still has original paint.

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Man your moving on that thing. I feel like a turtle next to you Rabbit.


What's that? :scopeout Black Charger yours?

Joe

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Hey Joe,
Thats my friends Charger. I've been holding it while he's been doing the bodywork on the Cuda. The car is awesome. People gravitate towards it when it goes to a show

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Thanks Guys for all the encouragement

Gas tanks in as well as the rear bumper!

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That's a familiar angle!

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Keep the photos coming - this is a thread I look forward to with each update. The car looks incredible!

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Thanks and will do! I like taking pictures

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It needs a shiny new gas cap Tom. I will step it up a notch. AWESOME car! Can't wait to see mine that far along! Keep it up.

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Lookin' good. What did you do about the windshield/dash screw debacle?

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Don't hate me............ I went in underneath with 1/4" steel blind rivets. This is the exact scenario for blind rivets. When you can't get to the other side.

I couldn't help myself. It was so easy and I didn't want to have to take the windshield out.

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Looks AWESOME!!!! I'm going to "rewind" a bit and ask what you did with the floors. IIRC you patched them but what did you do to the bottom of the car? Thanks and keep up the GREAT work!

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Thanks! Did you undercoat the car or just paint it?

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Sweeeeet!!!!!!!!

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X2...I see you have the dash / windshield thing squared away. Its been some time since I had my convertibles back seat out but I think you need the seats out to install the rear side panels.

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The rear panles do have lights...they should be small rectangular holes that the light shoots from, on the back side there should be a pocket to hold the bulb housing.

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Ill take it when you are ready to sell!! LOL

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I need at least one summer with it!

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I don't see much left to do. Those white seats look amazing. I really like white interiors on Go MANGO cars. What's next?

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I've been using the final assembly list and I'm about 90% done.

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Also, the wiring harness I have had lights going to each of those panels. Do they get lit on a convertible?

I don't see where????

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I'm not 100% sure, but I think all 'Runner 'verts got that lighting... It may have been part of a light package that was standard on RM23 cars... Is there a map light or trunk light? Your car looks sweet... I miss my '69

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Finalized the fuel and brake lines and now messing with the engine compartment wiring.

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All convertibles got the rear lights. I picked up a similar car to yours, k2 with black guts and top. 383 4 speed car, but has a new 440 6 barrel in it.....And a its a 70 runner convert. I will be finishing it and putting it on the market.

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x2! Looking almost better than mine!

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You're going to refinish the grill, right? (paint it the right color)

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I'm not even sure what the right finish should be. I cleaned up what came with the project and installed it. It looks pretty good.

My main goal is to get er running and get the bugs out for Carlisle. I'll research the grille and refinish it at a later date

Can you let me know what is correct?

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Don't know if this is totally correct but I think it should look more like this one. Correct Jarrod?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310271560080&viewitem=

Joe

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That's more like it, but it's not right. That's black/silver.

The inside part of the grille is like a dark argent/charcoal and the outline part is a light argent. The rings around the headlights are also the lighter argent to match the outside ring.

See attached. This is painted by my buddy who has owned and restored MANY '70 RR's. We just recently had a discussion over the colors, he knows his stuff..

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Looking awesome! You're making great progress! I'm jealous!

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Its back to work tomorrow night. So I won't be making much progress for a couple more weeks

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Looks awesome. This is the one I picked up....

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dont you want to paint that radiator support?

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Brought the car home to the shop....Getting excited!

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Wow very nice!!! These are the only b-bodies that look good as ragtop to me(IMO). I want one

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Brought the car home to the shop....Getting excited!

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I can't believe you found another Vitamin C vert. I bet only about 50 in Vitamin C that year.

Whats worse is, it took me 2 years to get mine in that shape

Good luck with er

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Good to see you're posting in your own thread again (it was slightly hijacked! LOL)

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LOL, I know. If I knew vitamin C, 4 spd road runner verts were so easy to come by I would have restored a Chevelle!

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Was it originally a disc brake car? Mine was drum/drum and I converted to disc/disc

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I'm pretty sure B51 is the option code for Power Disc Brakes

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I hope to make it to Carlisle this year to checkout your fabulous RR.........Dave

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I thought I would post an update since its been a couple of weeks. I'm kinda stuck now.

I'm waiting on the top installer to get the top delivered to his shop. I'm told it will be there in a couple of weeks.

I'm waiting on the chromer so I can get the door windows done and all the stainless on. I'm told by him that he is almost done and I can pick it up next week.

I did get the sunvisors in from Dante today. So I'm gonna put them on. And I want to change out the oil in the rear.

I installed all the seat belts last week.

Member 68SportSatvert is hooking me up with the correct rear view mirror.

My turn signals are a little funny. They work great but the passenger side markers don't come on or blink when signaling right. Hazard lights work fine. So I ordered a new turn signal switch. Waiting on that to come in.

Need to get the car aligned and inspected.

I got the car registered and tagged this week. I also submitted for a vanity plate.

I'm still hoping to make Carlisle

In the meanwhile, its spring. So I did a weeks worth of yard work and I opened the pool

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great stuff Tom.....I would go over all the signal grounds. When I finished my GTX the side markers and tail lights were problematic due to the new paint which served as a great insulator preventing the grounds that are required.

are you divulging the vanity plate?

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Here's the vanity plate It'll look like a regular issue plate unless your a mopar nut

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That's a great idea!
I was thinking about a vanity plate but wanted somthing classier than the usual..... I better check and see if WM23V0A is available!


Dave

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Wow...what a great looking car and a great job you are doing!

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thanks MRVCODE, I'm doing less posting and more working

My digital camera just broke, so no mo pictures for awhile

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did you have work done to the trim or just polished?

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I had them take out the small dings and bends. But they weren't to bad to begin with.

All trim polished and pot metal chromed.

I used Frankford plating. They have had a couple bad reviews but I went with them for a couple of reasons.

1- They did work for me a couple of years ago and the stuff turned out good.

2- They are 35 minutes away. So I could stop in at any time if needed.

They turned everything around in 8 weeks. So I was happy

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You guys in this thread are giving me a lot of inspiration to dig in on my 70 RR Vert. Your car is looking great. Keep it up you are almost there.

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Get working my Man! Its looking good. I thinks I see green on the inside of the doors

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[Freddie Prinze Sr. Voice] LOOKING GOOD!!! [/Freddie Prinze Sr. Voice]

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thanks Joe, I just took the victory lap about an hour ago! Actually two laps around the development since the first lap went so well!

I'm stoked! I'm trying to make my Carlisle goal.

It goes in for the top on Friday June 3rd

Here's a pic from the droid since my digital camera broke

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What's the scoop on your vent frames?? I heard that you need to install the door glass and vent frames together as one assembly... That's what I've heard from two people..

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Thanks for all the nice comments and encouragement!

I haven't installed the vent frames yet. That's the last thing I need to do and it has to be done by next week!

I made an appt for an alignment and inspection in the morning of the 3rd and then drive it over for the top in the afternoon

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Basic question is how the upper inner portion of the plastic pillar molding is fastened. There is a hole in the corner piece which lines up with the screw hole in the plastic piece, but no corresponding hole in the pillar itself.

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The car looks awesome Tom, they did a great job on the top. Some restoration activities are best left to the professionals. Enjoy the ride keep the pictures coming. Any new projects in your sights?

Dennis

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Thanks Dennis, No new projects on the way. Just need to finish an old one. This is my 70 Cuda. It got stalled due to human factors that were out of my control.

However, work has started again. Looks like it won't be long before its ready for paint.

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looking awsome Tom...if you need a hand I am availible every weekday from 9AM to about 2PM if that fits your schedule.

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Very cool Dave. Sounds like your a shift worker like me? I got all the heavy stuff done on the RR, but I think my Cuda will be back by the winter.

I would deeply appreciate a hand when it comes time to putting the drivetrain back in the Cuda. Its tough doing things like that by myself on a weekday because no one is available

The RR trans install nearly killed me. I'm realizing that I'm not as strong at 47 as I was at 27

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What's the scoop on your vent frames?? I heard that you need to install the door glass and vent frames together as one assembly... That's what I've heard from two people..

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Boy am I glad I remembered you saying this. Well I remembered about 1/2 hour into it.

I installed the vent frames today and they went in easy after I tried with the window glass in.

Thanks for that tip as well as using epoxy to glue the vent frames in

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..... as well as using epoxy to glue the vent frames in

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Epoxy to glue what part of the vent frame to what?

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Awesome Roadrunner !! Love the color ! Makes it all worth thew time!!

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Thanks John, I got the door windows in today and the car is inspected and ready to go to Maple Grove and Carlisle.

I still need to adjust the vent frames for a nice fit as well as put the small vent windows in. But I'm getting closer to finishing off the punch list

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Ok Guys, I'm going to officially close this thread.

The car is running good. I still have a couple things to do but nothing that should prevent me from hitting some shows.

So thanks again for the comments, encouragement and parts

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Great job on the car!!!! Very inspirational. I hope your show season goes well. If my 70 Charger R/T comes out this nice I will be .