Sleeping Beauty

[cosgig]

Howdy people, cosgig here. I’m starting to dive into my 70 Roadrunner project, so I thought I would document its travel through time here. It hasn’t seen the road since 1976, so I am going through every aspect of the car with a “preservation” frame of mind. With that tho, some things simply must be upgraded, so I am trying to find a balance between restoration and preservation.

First things first....despite the fact that it had its share of the valuable “barn find dust”, i can’t work like that, so I gave it a bath and cleaned out the interior. The bumpers are straight, but they had crusted over, so I put some Judas Priest on the box, popped a few tops and got out the chrome polish and steel wool and spent a couple hours in the zone. For a preservation, they ain’t perfect, but they don’t need to be, probably just like they looked in ‘76.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Looks great to me.. saves a ton on rechroming or replacing.

 

[Jerry Hall]

Looks like a bath and some polish are working wonders!!

 

[JimCoronette]

They came out great! Love the trailer hitch, definitely keep that.

 

[hanks73340]

Those look great!

 

[69L48Z27]

Preservation is a great approach. They’re only original once!

 

[cosgig]

Next I decided that I would clean the paint up. Even tho the paint looked OK, I wanted to see if I could bring some shine back to it. This time it was Rush’s Farewell to Kings, I used some Meguires Ultimate Compound, and rubbed the whole car out by hand. I don’t want to damage the paint, and thought that with hand rubbing, I could clean the paint some and get an accurate assessment of its condition. I think it cleaned up pretty well, but through the process I noticed that there were some areas where some White House paint was splashed on it here and there, so I used a q tip and some rubbing alcohol and got it to lift without damage. So far so good I think.

 

[cosgig]

They came out great! Love the trailer hitch, definitely keep that.

That’s staying for sure. It is a factory hitch, and is documented in the owners manual. He used it to tow his buddy’s Willys race car to the track.

 

[cosgig]

As I’ve been going along, I’ve been making a list of things that need to be addressed. One thrown in my side since I got it was that it had a hole in the radiator, and was always puking a little fluid all over the floor/trailer or wherever it went. So I pulled the radiator and took it to my old school radiator shop by my house. As soon as I walked in the door, Larry knew right what it was. I wanted him to just fix the hole, but he talked sense into my plan and told me it needed to be rebuilt. It came out great, and although they painted it, it’s a concession I have to make to preserve it. If it was ‘76 and Gerald was fixing it, he probably would’ve done the same thing, so I’m good with that.

I love cleaning on the car, and uncovering little things long hidden beneath the years of use, like this “6” that it written on the top of the K member, just below the balancer.

The radiator project is almost done, new hoses and a new belt are also a necessary evil, but I’m short one spring clamp, so it’s on hold till I find one.

 

[69L48Z27]

Keeping the radiator and getting it re-cored is the way to go. I have a local guy that’s been doing radiators and tanks since the 70’s too. Hate to see the day these guys retire and go away.

 

[GetX'd]

Man you’re doing some very nice work bro. I respect your approach and hard work toward preservation of history. That’s what you’re doing. Very cool

 

[kiwigtx]

That is a very cool car....and I like the way you are cleaning it up.

I also had a trailer hitch on my '70 RR in the 90's....although not a factory hitch, it saw a lot of action.

 

[cosgig]

Keeping the radiator and getting it re-cored is the way to go. I have a local guy that’s been doing radiators and tanks since the 70’s too. Hate to see the day these guys retire and go away.

It will be a sad day for sure. I have relied on A&B Radiator for decades now, and wouldn’t let anybody else touch my stuff. I could’ve just bought a radiator from Glen-Ray, but the damn things are almost $2400, Larry did this one for me for $400. Much more budget friendly, and it’s still the original radiator for the car. I’m trying to keep everything I can as original as possible.

 

[Basket case]

great project

 

[hanks73340]

...awesome job....

 

[66383]

Great work buddy!

 

[oldbee]

Looking real good!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Looking good... I have a suggestion... Since your radiator is now clean you need to realize the block is full of stuff that is gonna wind up plugging that nice clean radiator....

First & foremost I would suggest a coolant filter in the upper radiator hose... Every time I do a project I install one, but only for a few months till the filter stays clean.... Then I install a new upper hose with no filter...

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Coo...07&keywords=gano+filter&qid=1571329149&sr=8-8

If your somewhat motivated pull the thermostat & reinstall the upper hose then backflush & with your garden hose till the water coming out the lower hose is clean..

If your really motivated pop the most accessible freeze plugs & flush, the huge advantage to this is the debris doesn't have to rise up 2+ inches before it can escape the block...

Depending on what you find when you pop the plugs you might want to pull the starter & pop the plug behind it, the worst deposits are usually at the back of the block...

If you keep your hand in the water flow as your flushing you'll feel hard debris bouncing off your hand long after the water looks clear....

 

[Basket case]

good advice, and flush the heater too.

 

[The Rebel]

Keep up the great work! Definitely go for preserving it, as it's such an orig. car.