Hoping to join the club

[lumbee]

Well...I guess I am sort of already part of the club. I have owned an A100 Van w/slant 6 for a few years, but I want to join the muscle car club!

There is a 71 Roadrunner for sale locally. I went out a couple of weeks ago and looked at it and I am trying to decide if I should proceed. The day I went out it was bone cold so I only did a mild inspection. Plenty of rust on the lower 20% of just about all the sheet metal. Gas tank is rusted out, but from what I could tell the frame rails looked OK along the back above the gas tank. Floor is gone, so I would expect to have to replace that. Unfortunately, it is parked out in the field so I didn't have enough clearance to get underneath it a do a good inspection. I think my plan is to call the owner back and ask if I can come out with a jack + jack stands and get the car up off the ground a bit so I can do a better inspection. My question is what exactly should I be looking for? As I said, I know the floor pans are going and I expect to have to replace that, so I guess is it just frame rails I should be looking at and how far gone they might be?

I am just a weekend warrior, but I feel confident in being able to do all the sheetmetal work myself. I brought a breaker bar and tryed turning the engine over (383) and it appears to be locked up. I have a motohome 440 + 727 trans that I can put in it, so not to worried about that.

He is asking $6500 and he does have a title. Is that crazy? At first, I thought so, but the more research I do, I am beginning to think its reasonable, or at least NOT crazy.
I am looking for a project, so I am actually looking forward to all the work this will take, but I guess I want to know when its actually too far gone. I just have a garage, not a full on restoration shop and I'm not planning to tear the thing completely down and put it on a rotisserie, but I do plan on doing all the work myself.

At this point I am just sort of excited to have found what looks to be a survivor and something that I can add value to and potentially get it back on the road. Opinions and observations welcome!

 

[eldubb440]

do some research on parts availability, easy way to make or break the project....... I have never done a 71

 

[lumbee]

Yes, started doing that and nothing has scared me off yet...a few hundred bucks here and there (floor pans, gas tank...etc).

 

[YY1]

Start by removing the screens over the cowl vents under the hood, below the windshield.

Get your hand (and maybe arm) in there as far as you can and feel around the vent "stacks".

That is a very rust prone area on 71-74.

Also look closely at the base of the A pillars and the hinge area, and deeper in, past the hinges.

If it's clean there- proceed to check under it.

If the cowl is rusted, stop, and politely say goodbye.

 

[cosgig]

$6500 seems high to me for what I see there. I’ll bet most of the underside has that same deep seeded rust that’s on the inner fender where the body plate is.

 

[YY1]

$6500 seems high to me for what I see there. I’ll bet most of the underside has that same deep seeded rust that’s on the inner fender where the body plate is.

I agree, that doesn't look promising.

That car's been out in the rain for a looong time.

 

[#41]

Positives are Roadrunner, EV2, and complete.

But, the fender tag is a good indication of the amount of rust you will find upon close inspection. It certainly looks like the cowl is leaking into the interior, and it is a ton of work to repair this area. Also check bottoms of the fenders, door+hood+deck seams, corners of the doors, lower quarters, and trunk pan. My guess is that you will find rust in all locations. If you bought this same car for 3x $ out of AZ you'd be ahead.

It's restorable, but you better really love the car. One of the biggest oversights people make is underestimating the time and cost of rust repair.

 

[eldubb440]

that solid 72 GTX at 26K looks better and better

 

[MarPar]

Run, don't walk away...

and welcome to the madness!

 

[Don Frelier]

Welcome from NY

 

[PlymCrazy]

Greetings and welcome from NY.

 

[hdwrench]

buying all the replacement sheet metal can be expensive. go to the amd site and price out the metal you expect to change out . add the to the initial purchase price , i’m guessing your looking at $15-16000. plus interior if needed and your drivetrain cost . it adds up quick ! i’m going thru a similar build , it’s a tough choice . if i could of found a driver quality car before i started in on my project, i would of taken that route….jmho…..

 

[Budnicks]

Welcome to FBBO from NorCal Sierras

sorry Just kidding

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm pretty sure you don't want to keep hearing it either...
But;
There's some very valid points listed here, by several members
"buy something better, with less work more quality to start with"
not a money pit, even if you think you can handel it
it will be a money pit, tools needed electricity, welder, experiance
sheet metal working tools etc.
A lot of it is not for the novice...
Yes you can restore stuff,
replace a lot of the sheet-metal (see meme below)
or make panels if you have that ability, time or extensive amounts of work
& sometimes cost prohibitive...

We all see people bail on too many projects
who go into them wholeheartedly, good intentions & then bail in the middle
usually, because it is a daunting & expensive task/undertaking
they have no idea how much work it is,
& the tools needed to do it properly
People get all glossy-eyed/excited when they see a cheap Muscle Car,
it's cheap for a reason

IMO honestly I'd say spend a lil' more $$$ in the initial purchase, buy it right,
more comple & running & drivable, the better...
All the lil' stuff, trim, grill, interior parts, hardware/nuts bolts,
electrical that's a big one
all of which will $100 or $1,000 you to death
then you'll have shipping costs on top of that, your time & your searches
you will reap the benifits & save $$$ in the long run
go to a drier climate/state
Get away from the coast any coast or Great Lakes
maybe in Calif., Arizona even parts of Idaho, NM & Nv too
& stay away from the coastal area everywhere/anywhere...

Go to a state that doesn't use salt (like Calif.) on the roads etc.
If need be if yoy can't find something solid closer
then spend a few $$$ on a plane ticket if need be
(you will be $$$ ahead & save time or unnecessary headaches)
still a lot of cars stashed away & selling today...

Go out west, where it's a drier climate, high deserts
& they don't use salt on the roads (Calif.)
stay away from ocean-side areas anywhere, east, west or south
stay away from the Rust Belt midwest & northeast areas, of the US
there's good reasons why it's called the Rust Belt,
even many areas of Florida, La Miss. etc. there's lots of salt air does
a number on sheet metal

salt air does a job on classic steel, no matter where

Good luck & happy hunting

 

[davek]

Parked on grass will eat a car up.The Rust you see and then times it by 2. Is it the car you have always wanted? I would look and see what else is out there. The more you pay now will cost you less done the road. JMO

 

[Photon440]

 

[khryslerkid]

Welcome from Pennsylvania!

I had folks just below Murphy NC, should be a couple of cousins left there still. I've been told I have some Lumbee in my DNA. My great great grandmother was mostly Cherokee.

Good luck with your search!

 

[hunt2elk]

Also remember that there is always more rust than what you think originally. My opinion? Look for another car that is a more solid starting point.

 

[Ron H]

Welcome!
Agree with what’s being said. Having sheet metal/fab skills is a big plus; but having done a rust-bucket that did turn out nice, swore that would be the last rust carriage I’d do. It was driven through many salty winters here and then sat for 15 months outside. Big mistake there, but had nowhere to park it then. This was a vert. Needed parts for everything and was fortunate I found a parts car and a guy that had a ton of NOS stuff. Cowling was gone and the parts car had a good one to transplant. New quarters, floor pans, deck lid, doors with the help of a body shop bud on my bowling league who helped me on some weekends (and my talented dad).

Only original body part on it was the hood. Can’t tell you how many hours I spent sand blasting the underside. Parts available is something to ponder on. My guess for this car they won’t be easy to find or a bargain. Never know though.
My next was a CA car and it was a dream resto compared with the first one.

 

[ckessel]

Welcome from the central coast of Cal. If this is a first time project and by pics/descriptions, unless that decimal point moves one spot to the left, walk away.

 

[PrescottJeff]

Welcome to FBBO from Prescott, Arizona
I know you want everyones thumbs up on this Roadrunner but many of us have been down this road before and it was a rough one. Just try not to lie to yourself about how easy it will be of how little it will cost. If you still feel like it’s for you then go for it and keep us posted