The first "Hawk-Rod" resurrection, Roadkill style

[qkcuda]

And leave the other spark plugs in and keep your hands out of the way of the fan when you hit it with compressed air at top dead center. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Don Frelier]

I've done it both ways with air and with rope.
I prefer the 1/4" rope method put the piston down all the way fill with rope then turn the crank just a bit till it gets tight.
The airline thing is kind of a pain and takes longer. (at least for me)
With the rope in there no worrying about dropping a valve it's not possible.

 

[HawkRod]

And leave the other spark plugs in and keep your hands out of the way of the fan when you hit it with compressed air at top dead center. Don't ask me how I know.

Haha, yes, the air can move the engine for sure! I did also leave all the other park plugs in, and I also used about 60 PSI air. I'm not sure what the ideal sweet spot is though. Too much and it is easy for the engine to move. Too little and it won't hold the valve in place. Was 60 PSI the right pressure? Who knows, but it worked well for me.

I've done it both ways with air and with rope.
I prefer the 1/4" rope method put the piston down all the way fill with rope then turn the crank just a bit till it gets tight.
The airline thing is kind of a pain and takes longer. (at least for me)
With the rope in there no worrying about dropping a valve it's not possible.

I've never used this method as I always assumed it would be more of a pain, but there is no doubt it will hold a valve up. Plus, it needs less specialized equipment.

After reassembly, I took it out for a spin - this time with a hood!

I had lowered the front end some, but still need to lower it a bit more. Plus the alignment it still way off, so that is probably next on the list to do. There is also plenty more work on the car. The A/C, the big rust hole, other rust areas, some interior work, etc. But, the car (at least for now) will stay a "RoadKill" style car and a bit of a beater. No beautiful body like @Builderguy or @MoparJimT cars here!

 

[qkcuda]

Looks pretty good from here Hawk. Congrats on getting it mobile. The rest is just fine tuning.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Received my ps cooler today. Thank you, it's perfect for my car I believe. Car is looking excellent. I do springs the same way. I did my coyote a few years ago and did it the same way, except 7mm valve locks and 32 springs. Pain in the butt is an understatement.

 

[MoparJimT]

Haha, yes, the air can move the engine for sure! I did also leave all the other park plugs in, and I also used about 60 PSI air. I'm not sure what the ideal sweet spot is though. Too much and it is easy for the engine to move. Too little and it won't hold the valve in place. Was 60 PSI the right pressure? Who knows, but it worked well for me.


I've never used this method as I always assumed it would be more of a pain, but there is no doubt it will hold a valve up. Plus, it needs less specialized equipment.

After reassembly, I took it out for a spin - this time with a hood!
View attachment 1162807

View attachment 1162806

I had lowered the front end some, but still need to lower it a bit more. Plus the alignment it still way off, so that is probably next on the list to do. There is also plenty more work on the car. The A/C, the big rust hole, other rust areas, some interior work, etc. But, the car (at least for now) will stay a "RoadKill" style car and a bit of a beater. No beautiful body like @Builderguy or @MoparJimT cars here!

Thanks for the mention HawkRod, It is great to see your car on the road. I think it looks Great!!! I bet it runs awesome. I m struggling with a few things on mine though technically it is on the road again. Just not able to stop very well. I am going on a hunt in the forum to see if i can find any info on my symptoms.

 

[HawkRod]

Looks pretty good from here Hawk. Congrats on getting it mobile. The rest is just fine tuning.

Thanks, yes I feel good that it is running and driving - that is a major accomplishment that helps keep me motivated to keep working on the other items that need attention.

Received my ps cooler today. Thank you, it's perfect for my car I believe. Car is looking excellent. I do springs the same way. I did my coyote a few years ago and did it the same way, except 7mm valve locks and 32 springs. Pain in the butt is an understatement.

Wow - 32, and I was complaining about 16!!!

Thanks for the mention HawkRod, It is great to see your car on the road. I think it looks Great!!! I bet it runs awesome. I m struggling with a few things on mine though technically it is on the road again. Just not able to stop very well. I am going on a hunt in the forum to see if i can find any info on my symptoms.

Does it pull? Is the pedal mushy? Let us know your symptoms and we'll try to help (might be best on a separate thread or your build thread, but I really don't care if you do it here).
Regardless, you have a stunning car that looks super and has that wonderful heritage as well. I'm sure you'll work through the little issues soon.

 

[HawkRod]

Didn't do too much today. Played with the ride height and also gave it a bit more line pressure (adjustment at the carb) so it wouldn't shift so quickly into second and third when starting from a dead stop with moderate acceleration.

Took a couple of pictures of the two Road Runners today too! It was cloudy but what the heck!

It's nice to have both of them running, although I still have more to do before I can really drive the 73. Most important now is the alignment - I will first try to do a better job myself, and then I need to bring it in and get the front end set properly. When that is done, I also need to get the big rust hole fixed in the driver side wheel well.

One thing at a time!

 

[qkcuda]

Love the two cars Hawk...and the garage.

 

[Nxcoupe]

I really like your 70!

 

[MoparJimT]

Didn't do too much today. Played with the ride height and also gave it a bit more line pressure (adjustment at the carb) so it wouldn't shift so quickly into second and third when starting from a dead stop with moderate acceleration.

Took a couple of pictures of the two Road Runners today too! It was cloudy but what the heck!
View attachment 1163467

View attachment 1163468

It's nice to have both of them running, although I still have more to do before I can really drive the 73. Most important now is the alignment - I will first try to do a better job myself, and then I need to bring it in and get the front end set properly. When that is done, I also need to get the big rust hole fixed in the driver side wheel well.

One thing at a time!

Wow!!! My 2 favorite years for Roadrunners. I am jealous, maybe I'll add a 70 to my collection someday. I will post my braking issues on my thread. I appreciate your help and the rest of the forum members.

 

[JDmac72chrgr]

 

[HawkRod]

View attachment 1163721

Love this image!

At the moment, I have the stock, never apart 383 in the 70 Road Runner. It is a bit tired but still runs OK. Going with the stroker theme, I have to get the 500" stroker (based on a 400) back in the 70 soon. I will start on that once I'm (mostly) done with the 73. THEN that picture will REALLY apply!!!

P.S. You know, it just hit me: I have a small block in the 73 that has 33 more cubic inches than the big block in my 70!

 

[JDmac72chrgr]

LA's CAN be fun, light on da nose for better handling too.With various "fiddly bits", the small blocks are power pieces, as was the original reason behind the 340, if the brain still works behind the cob webs.

 

[HawkRod]

Have I told you all I suck at bodywork?

Well, I'm learning, but damn, it's hard to get good results. @eldubb440 : You have nothing to fear from me my friend!

OK, so I ended up with this hole after I cut out rust in the inner wheel well (left rear wheel):

Ouch. OK, so I started to cut panels to repair it. There were multiple patch pieces needed, including the floor, inner and outer wheelhouse, and rocker. I decided I was not going to butt weld this since I would be lucky to even remotely be able to create pieces to fix this. It is impossible to see from the picture, but multiple bends in multiple planes are needed to patch this. Certainly not an easy fix for me, a total beginner with this stuff.

So I started out and cut a piece for the floor, then I welded it in using plug welds.

It is really hard to hold the welder and weld in tight places, and getting a good ground was hard too. As I went along, I discovered how critical it was to have CLEAN metal where it was being welded AS WELL as for the ground lead. Another issue is blowing a hole through the metal while welding. Sometimes it is OK, and then suddenly a dime sized hole gets blown out of no where! Crap!

This put a patch in for the floor, but much more was needed (not shown is that I also needed to weld a repair to the seat belt bolt too).

Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of the remaining pieces that I made. I made 4 additional pieces of metal that I welded in. I think if I was grading myself, I was heading for a D- if I was being kind. But then suddenly the pieces just started falling together and the result (so far) actually is at least passable. Well, you be the judge...

Here is where I am at for now - I actually got the pieces to fit OK! I still have more spot welding to do to fill in areas where there is no weld yet (you may notice there is some plug welding as well as edge welding). After that, then the usual grinding to smooth out the welds.

Now I know for many of you this would be an easy job, and you likely would have done a MUCH better job than I did, but I dove in and I am learning! (Some by the school of hard knocks too!)

Hopefully, once the welding, grinding and heavy coat of undercoating is done, it will look pretty decent. At least there won't be a big hole there!

RoadKill at its finest!

Hawk

 

[Builderguy]

You are doing just fine, HAWK. We all have to learn sometime and you appear to be getting the hang of it. Low power, slow wire speed, and light touch goes a long way with old or rust thinned metal. Just be careful of what is behind and near the weld. Have started a few small fires in the past. Nothing a damp rag would not put out, but I fire that I was "sure" would not happen. There was a hole and now it is solid and that, Sir, is a plus.

 

[HawkRod]

You are doing just fine, HAWK. We all have to learn sometime and you appear to be getting the hang of it. Low power, slow wire speed, and light touch goes a long way with old or rust thinned metal. Just be careful of what is behind and near the weld. Have started a few small fires in the past. Nothing a damp rag would not put out, but I fire that I was "sure" would not happen. There was a hole and now it is solid and that, Sir, is a plus.

Thanks for the tips. You are another one blessed with the metalworking skill, and it has been really cool to watch your build thread on your 73! I figured this area is a great place to start, as the inside of the repair is hidden by the seat and the outside is under the car and in the wheel well, covered by undercoating.

My welder only has four distinct power settings, labeled A through D. Setting B seems to be a bit too cold, as it puts a tack on top of the metal and does not seem to melt into it. Setting C seems to work well but sometimes I blow through. Probably I need something like a setting B +1/2, but my welder doesn't allow for that.

But practice makes perfect!

 

[JDmac72chrgr]

I FEEL YOUR PAIN HAWK!!! Dang welder settings were same here, used 2 bottles of gas TRYING to "be like @ eldubb440 " but didn't out as nice as his work. Got it done, burned up many grinding disks, underside had so many slag tights ya think it was Crystal Caves!!! Got it done, its solid, no longer Flintstone's mobile and good to go: DETERMINATION AND WILLING TO ACCEPT THE MESS & FIGURE FIXES OUT AND GOT HER DONE!!! BRAVO HAWK!!!

 

[eldubb440]

anyone can weld clean plate steel...... only when you master welding paper thin rusty metal, paint, and old seam sealer is when you have arrived..... you guys are doing just fine.......... the next trick is how to bury it and fuggetaboutit

 

[HawkRod]

... the next trick is how to bury it and fuggetaboutit

Haha. In progress!!!

Ground welds, then welded more, then ground. Repeat until all the small holes are plugged and decent.

Then buried inside with some seam sealer material that came in flat strips. Worked well to cover the plates I welded in.

I am now in progress to bury the outside with some rubberized undercoating (which the car came with from the factory!)

I still have several coats to go, but I need to stop for tonight since I need to let this dry a bit before I dare pull the 70 Road Runner underneath. Don't want any drips on that!!! I will finish up the undercoating Wednesday night and Thursday (tomorrow and Wednesday will be time again to go work for my father-in-law...)

Now all is peaceful in the garage once more...

Hawk