The Restoration Begins: Disassembly And Documentation
Page One
July 15, 2007
I was visiting with relatives recently and one said to me "Hey, when are you going to update your web site?". After some thought, I realized he was right. So, here I am with an update. 2007 is now half over and I am running way behind my original plans for the Runner. Life keeps getting in the way. Be assured that I have neither forgotten about my Runner's restoration nor have I forgotten about this website. I am still in the preparation stages with my garage. I had hoped to start my Runner's tear down months ago. I have way too much stuff and too many projects (toys are a good thing though!!). I am still thinning out the garage and making room for the Runner, but we are getting closer. I have bought a nice air compressor and am working on installing it. It looks like I am going to have to rewire the garage for its power supply (Dang!!!!). I have also bought a stud welder for working with the dents that will need attention. I have a new supplied air resparator from Survive Air for when I get into the paint stages (a long way off !!). I have bought some cool Intergrip panel clamps for managing panel installation. My Snap-On mig welder is giving trouble and I am looking for parts for it. I am still very anxious to start the Runner's disassembly so, as soon as I can that will start and I will try to do a better job of updating the website. That is it for now. More to follow as soon as I can, so be sure to check back from time to time if you wish to follow the rebirth of this cool piece of MoPar muscle.
August 18, 2007
I went to the Mopar Nationals last week end with my son and one of my brothers-in -law. We had a great time looking at all of the cool old Mopars. I saw a couple of B7 blue cars (the color I am thinking about putting on my car) and the color looked great. However, I saw a '69 Road Runner with the T3 Honey Bronze color (same as my car's original color) and it was just gorgeous with the black performance stripes on the hood. When the time comes, I may have a tough time changing the color to blue. Even more so if I find a good build sheet in the car when I take it apart! While there, I found and purchased a good used left front inner fender panel for $40.00 (new repro ones run about $170.00). Mine is rusted away in the battery area. I am trying to have as much 1969 Plymouth sheet metal in mine as possible. My brother-in-law, Alan (Al) bought a new rear bumper and some other parts for the 1964 Barracuda V-8 four speed car he is bringing back from the dead. I will try to get some pics of his car and post them here. I continue to thin out my garage and am making good progress. I still intend to have the Runner in the garage and disassembly started ASAP. That is all for now. More to follow as soon as possible.
September 8, 2007
I was working on my Runner today, making notes of how bad and where the damage is and making plans on where I am going to start the work on her and where to progress after that. The back of the car is in really bad shape and I am going to start repairs there. It looks like there will be very little usable metal in the back. It looks like the rear frame rails even have severe damage at the rear and the rear cross member is trashed. As you go forward on the car it looks like it is in much better shape. It is a good thing that I scored a good back half of a '69 on ebay a while back. It looks like the worst damage up front is the obligatory floor pan rust. Another area of concern I have is the cowl in front of the windshield. It is full of tree leaves and twigs and that mess has held water in there for many years. Almost certainly, I am going to have to cut the cowl apart for some serious surgery under there. This car has sat outside on dirt for many years unprotected. A few words of warning are in order here. If any of you have a jewel sitting outside in the dirt that you intend to do something with someday, you need to get it off of the dirt and get it protected immediately!! This is the worst thing you can do to a vehicle. This cannot be stressed enough! Time sneaks up on you and before you know it your pride and joy is ruined. Years ago, I sat mine outside for a project (it was in perfect shape at the time) and it somehow never made it back into the garage. I never intended to leave it outside that long. Now it is a mess. I also removed the rear seat looking for a build sheet. What I found made me sick. There used to be a build sheet in the car, but the varmints had made a nest right where the sheet was and all of the information is gone. I have a couple of sections of the bottom of it and that is all. I am going to fully document the car with pictures as I take it apart and have a new fender tag to match the documentation made at www.trimtags.com . It looks like my only form of documentation will be the pictures and the serial numbers on the dash, radiator support, engine and transmission. The right trunk drip rail may be in too bad shape to yield the number (it may even have to be replaced!!). (I was really hoping I would find a good build sheet since my fender tag is in bad shape.) Oh well, you will have that. I did get my mig welder fixed and I am almost ready to put the Runner in the garage. Now I am dreaming about a hydraulic press and a plasma cutter. The press is a definite possibility, the plasma cutter may be another story. We will see. One other thing I might mention is that I have a restoration management program called Autoresto that I got from www.autoresto.com to help me manage the restoration. It looks to be a great program. That is all I have for now. More as soon as I can.
September, 25 2007
Just a small update at this time, I have added a guest book to the site so please take a little time to sign it before you leave the site. It is on the home page. Also, I have some pictures of my brother-in-law Al's 1964 Barracuda and when I get a chance I will make a page for it and post it to the site. They call it "Yogi". It will be a very cool car when it is finished.
As of September 30, 2007 Al's page is posted with pics.
January, 1 2009
I know, it has been a long time since I posted an update on my web site. Life has been getting in the way of making progress on the Road Runner. I have been working on and making progress though and 2009 is finally the year that I will get to start on it. Its bay in my garage is finally almost ready for it and as soon as the weather in the spring will let me, the Runner is going in and disassembly and documentation is going to start. So, keep checking back from time to time for updates. The link to 69roadrunner.org on my home page is a dead link. It looks like the website has died (sadly). I am going to leave the link there for a short time just incase it comes back. If it doesn't I will remove it. However, I am going to add a new one that may be of interest to you. I recommend that you check it out. It is 69roadrunner.net (NOT .org). I will try to get an update on my brother-in-law Al's Barracuda this spring, also. Please check back for more updates to come.