1971 Road Runner Help & Questions

Here is another way to look at it.
You would be getting a car that has the metal work done and you could then sink some money into the drivetrain and brakes and enjoy the crap out of it in primer while you save up and collect parts to blow it apart and restore later.

efriedrich said:

That car is trashed from top to bottom and front to back, it will definitely take more than 25k to restore it, not to mention years of chasing parts and running around, it may sound fun but it gets old quick because you just keep throwing money at something thing you can't drive. It is a buyers market right know and there are plenty of nice finished cars to be had for what you will have in this poor runner.

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What parts would I be chasing down? The only thing I know of that I would have to find is a dash pad and steering wheel. In fact I think I will ask the guy if he has a steering wheel for it. I know he has a Sebring and a few other cars (B bodies) of this year and later.

Just tell me what I may not be seeing and missing that I would have to look for.

I would not have over 25K in the car if I do the rest of the work myself. The paint and chrome would be farmed out and done but everything else after the metal work is done would be all me doing the work.

71ChallengerSE said:

$4K for the car and to have all the metal fixed? THAT IS A STEAL. Road Runners in that condition go for $7-$10K with all that rust (which isnt much at all).

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Yeah the body and motor after metal work is done put on ebay would be 10k for sure.

The guy told me today that there is no frame rot and no rot in the rear end of the car at all. I was told from the doors back is good and needs no metal replacement.

The only thing he would replace is the fender, full floor pan and roof maybe the hood. I asked for the fender to be repaired its the fender that it was born with. I want to keep as much of the original metal with the car that it left the factory with.

I think with the price of the car and body work done before I get it is worth way way more then that. I can get the motor and trans done and then the paint work, wiring, interior and be at 20-25K and have a done car.

The motor is the last on my list to do.

An experience body guy could knock that dent out of the fender. Im almost done fixing a fender that was crushed when a friend wacked a light pole.

71ChallengerSE said:

That car is not trashed as you say. Sure its not a cream puff and in need of a total restoration. It will definitely take more than $10K to restore but it will only cost $25K if you want to put $25K into it.

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Yeah I think and almost 100% sure on this 25K in the car would be restored back to factory.

If the metal work is done and I do the rest of the work, like wiring, sanding, interior and then letting the people that do chrome and motor and trans work yeah I would have a car that would be restored 100%.

The reason most of the cars are so out of reach is what it takes to do metal work. I had my 1970 Coronet R/T fitted with panels hung on the car and to get it welded up it was over 2K and I had already done the hard part. I had them fitted on and correct they just needed welding.

I was also looking at a lot of body work from sanding to painting and the parts alone in that car was pushing me over 25K to have a finished car. The 70 Coronet front end parts kill you when you try to fix them because they fit the superbird.

I agree this is no cream puff of a car but once the metal work is done to it, it wont be so bad to finish up. I bet the motor will fire up with some gas.

Like you said I would drive it under primer for sure lol. I love the 71 cars and the history behind them.

Does anyone know that the 71s were to be 70 model cars but a strike forced them to move it back a year.

The Challenger and Barracuda interior shows what they were doing with the door panels that was to be in all 70 model cars but a strike pushed all new B body cars back a year.

Looks B3 not B5 but you get the idea.

SHARP!

That is a parts car , way more work and money to fix it then it will ever be worth

Parts cars have 4 doors, not 2.

moparstuart said:

That is a parts car , way more work and money to fix it then it will ever be worth

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Tell me what makes you think that?

Tell me what makes you think its a parts car?

I think if that would be the case....well I think all of our cars we restore will never hit the high dollar mark or get out what we may put into it unless its a super rare car or a Hemi car.

I really can't wait for you guys to see his work he is a mad man with metal work and fixes cars we all would pass on.

The roof doesnt worry as long as I have another one to replace it with. The fender can be fixed I've seen worse and I've seen them fixed. The floors well they can be fixed. The door dents can be popped out and worked.

I can do the door myself that will not be a problem.

you can fix any car if you have deep enough pockets but at some point you have to decide if its worth it or not ? to me sorry thats a money pit that you cant dig out of .

Hello CoronetGTguy, Have you looked at the '71s for sale on Moparts.com to compare price and condition? Good luck which ever way you chose to go.

moparstuart said:

you can fix any car if you have deep enough pockets but at some point you have to decide if its worth it or not ? to me sorry thats a money pit that you cant dig out of .

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If that car is a money pit then its a wonder any of these cars get restored at all. Maybe everyone is wasting their time.

Im confused, I thought this forum was about people that actually cared about saving these cars.

ajcpaperboy said:

Hello CoronetGTguy, Have you looked at the '71s for sale on Moparts.com to compare price and condition? Good luck which ever way you chose to go.

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True you can look their to compare prices. There is a 72 Satellite EV2 car with a 400 for $3500 in our state and that is BEFORE any metal work is done and you have to put it together to get it home.

71ChallengerSE said:

If that car is a money pit then its a wonder any of these cars get restored at all. Maybe everyone is wasting their time.

Im confused, I thought this forum was about people that actually cared about saving these cars.

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I agree with most comments on the car being to far gone now a days there are 68-70 chargers years ago we would pick over for parts but now being restored due to A.M.D maing those parts like roof, sail panel, hood, fenders and etc.

I don't understand how its a money pit if after the price of the car and then metal work and it would be under 5K how is that a money pit. The only thing is it would be a running car and I have not seen any 5k or under Mopars that have had metal work done by a pro for that price.

71ChallengerSE said:

True you can look their to compare prices. There is a 72 Satellite EV2 car with a 400 for $3500 in our state and that is BEFORE any metal work is done and you have to put it together to get it home.

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71ChallengerSE I hear you on the prices in our area man. I have seen cars in our area that are so rusted away they have Barret Jackson prices when selling.

I think getting this Road Runner under 5K with metal work done is a good deal and one that if I for some reason couldn't finish I could get my money out with no problems.

Like I said the only thing it wouldnt be for under 5K is a running car but the plus side is metal work is done and it would be up to me to get motor, trans, wiring, interior and paint done on it.

I dont know what mopar under 5K running you still wouldnt have to do body work, wiring, interior and motor work lol.

I'm telling you this can be done for 25K or less. We have a lot of body guys out of work a lot of shops sitting empty that are looking for jobs to do. I have seen shops that wouldnt touch a car in primer before willing to paint the car and if you furnish paint willing to do it for cheap.

High dollar paint job isnt just the guy spraying it, its how you prep the car, how the body is done and if one flaw in it, it will show up after paint.

The high dollar paint jobs are ones that are done with a good balance of clear and then buffed and wet sanded and polished to get that show look to it.

I want a show car but I dont want to go to crazy on it with paint as in better then factory. I like it to look original not over restored, dont get me wrong I like over restored cars but like original looking cars.

I would be more pissed if I bought a car and had a high dollar restoration done it (40-50k) and now have a car selling for less then what I have in it. That part of the hobby never made sense to me to pay that much for a car that may or may not bring the price.

We have so many reproduction parts on the market that are good and either close to OEM or right on to what OEM is that is has helped bring things down in the market.

Also hard times have brought prices back down.

Okay with all that said this car would be a car of love and I would finish it and enjoy it and keep it and I WOULDNT PARK IN MY GARAGE AND DRIVE IT ON JUST A NICE DAY AND HOPE IT DOESNT RAIN. I WOULD DRIVE IT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE DRIVEN AND ENJOY THE HELL OUT OF.

I have learned after having a stroke at a young age that enjoy ever minute and ever second I get of this life and with my health condition still looming with things that I may or may not live past a so called age you bet your *** the next mopar I buy and do I will enjoy it until there is not a breath in me.

More power too you i'm just saying in my world that is a parts car and there are way better cars out there to restore that will cost you alot less money

Lets start a tally sheet

Lets start putting some costs together to bring this car back up.
Car $5000 with shipping
Bumpers rechromed(if they're good enough)
Side marker lenses
Tail light lenses
Grill
Wiring harnesses
Wheels
Tires
Shocks
Dash pad
Broken dash pieces
Sill plates
Seat belts
Seat covers
Door panels front
Door panels Rear
Headliner
Suspension kit
Exhaust system
Misc brackets/fasteners,etc
Steering wheel
Exhaust tips
Pulleys
Belts
Radiator $1195.00
Hard brake and fuel lines
Soft brake and fuel lines
Rotors
Calipers
Wheel cylinders
Brakes drums
Wiper motor rebuild
Master cylinder rebuild
Brake booster rebuild
Battery
Wiper arms
Windshield

The list goes on and on. Please add to what i've overlooked, which will be considerable.

I'd feel better about the deal if he could see the car in person, and if it didn't include a grand in transportation costs.
It does look solid in the pics, except that roof.
I'm fairly certian the OP can get a good driver out of it for between 5 and 10K in additional expenses, bringing the total to around 15K, or what a "finished" good driver might bring.

The kicker, is that this is the car model the OP wants, and he can choose what to fix and what to spend money on, over the course of his timeline. Sme of the parts that hard core restorers might replace, might be OK for the purposes of the OP's needs.

For eaxmple- "machine gun" tips are $300 plus...do you REALLY need them for it to be driveable and enjoyable?

I have restored some pigs , so please know i'm talking from experience . Take your estimate and add at least half again maybe double by the time your done . Lots of unforseen cost pop up believe me . Then once you get them on the road there are even more things . Even if you put every thing in them new , new **** is bad right out of the box or it goes bad right out of warranty . All i'm saying it start with a better car in the beginning they are out there and in this economy priced good .

...and on repair of fenders...my local "magzine quality" resto shop told me $900 each to fix my 66 fenders. I found a driver's side with one tiny ding for $175, and I'm debating a 67 fender with only a 2" dog leg hole for $150.

My 66 started as a very rust free and solid Texas/Kansas car.

I keep a spreadsheet with of all the items I need in one column, and all of the items I have actually purchased in another (including estimates for hired services).
The columns align, and the "need" column has researched prices, or estimates, which get updated when actually purchased.

This allows me to track expendatures (and time).

My estimates were around 5K (not including the $1500 car and $1000 road trip) to get to driver status, and so far I am on budget.

Will it be a show car at that point? No.

Will it be what I wanted? Yes.

Can I make it better after that? Except for a complete strip and rotis (which I've elected not to do)- yes.

Could I buy a "done" "good driver" 66 Coronet 440 with a factory 383 and a/c for $7500? Possibly, if I could find another one. I've only seen 4 others in 7 years, and they only made 1670 in 440 trim with a 383, and fewer with a/c.
Would I know what the body looked like before any work was done? Maybe.

Could I cough up 7-8K if one turned up tomorrow? Doubtful.

And this car ran and drove

again this car ran and drove when i got