1968 Runner post w/ 6.1L, 6 speed, IRS

[70B5Cuda]

Lower quarter rust:

rust cut out:

Patch panel welded in:

 

[70B5Cuda]

Lower rear window corners looked solid at first glance, but they were nasty once the trim was off.

 

[70B5Cuda]

The driver's side quarter had a bid dent on the character line. Picture before...

 

[70B5Cuda]

I've got a 70 Cuda restomod that has snowballed out of control. Im currently 8 years into a 3 year build....Im sure many of you can sympathize. So....my original intent for this Roadrunner was for it to be simple. I had decided on just doing some sheetmetal repair and as far as drivetrain, I was going use a Gen 3 6.1L hemi, 23 spline 833 4 speed manual trans, and an 8 3/4" rearend. I didn't want this project to spiral out of control either so I was dead set against change. I just wanted to keep it simple to speed up the build, save money, and not have to cut the floor pans. I had a 4 speed completely rebuilt/ painted and I bought all the parts to convert from a 727 auto to a 4 speed manual.........and then one day I added up the costs of a installing an 833 (see list below) and I realized how much just a 4 speed costs.....I decided to install a TR6060 6 speed instead of an 23 spline 833. The 833 4 speed would have been easier and faster, but...

1. I had a 50K mile TR6060 sitting in the shop....with everything needed to complete the swap. I had parted out a 2009 Challenger SRT8 so I had the stock twin disc clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, hydraulic throwout, hydraulic line/reservoir, clutch pedals, etc....just waiting to be used. And it was originally paired to a 6.1 so it was easy to assemble.
2. I started adding up the value of all the parts for the 4 speed swap: rebuilt 833, Lakewood SFI Bell housing, new Mcleod clutch/pressure plate, Mopar Flywheel, hydraulic throwout bearing setup, z bar, fork, actuator rods, boot/seals, fork pivot, pedal assembly, etc and I thought... "Why am I spending this much for a 4 speed?!?!?!?!?" I'll could sell it all to pay for the tunnel and crossmember fabrication work."
3. I didn't want to cut the tunnel and floor for the 6 speed but in reality I want to drive this car to work 1 or 2 days a week (70 mile roundtrip) so why go to the trouble of a Gen 3 hemi with a 4 speed?!?!

At first I really didn't want to modify the floor pans since they were pretty solid, but I finally came to my senses. I'm really excited about the subframe connectors, which are made of 2"x4" steel rectangular tubing that channel through the floor pans. Should really help to eliminate flex and improve rigidity.

 

[70B5Cuda]

 

[70B5Cuda]

View from below which shows how the 2x4" ties into the rear frame rails

 

[70B5Cuda]

This picture is looking to the rear of the car and shows the driver's side subframe connector which channels through the torsion bar crossmember and ties into the forward frame rail:

Same rail just viewed from the side:

Passenger side subframe connector tying into the front subframe rail:

 

[70B5Cuda]

Originally I was going to make the original K-frame/torsion bar setup work but I changed my mind and decided to go with Reilly Motorsports for the front suspension. The RMS Alterktion setup showed up this last week. Woohoo!

The trunk floor pan was really quite solid but there were a couple small holes along the trailing edge that Matt patched:

 

[70B5Cuda]

I'm really excited about this next development. I had a few IRS K members laying around from SRT8's I had parted out so Matt convinced me to go IRS in the Roadrunner. I love the way my 2010 Challenger SRT8 handles/drives so that helped greatly in the decision. The K frame will need to be shortened 2 inches in the middle and the original mounting pads will need to be cut off so the IRS frame can slide between the Roadrunners rear frame railst. This is the IRS K frame before modification:

First thing, the K frame was reinforced/boxed in a few areas:

 

[70B5Cuda]

Here a few pictures of the K frame to better illustrate the cuts. The first picture is looking at the IRS frame from behind. The cut is a 1" slice that was taken from the right side, just outside of the right differential mounting bolt. A 1" slice was also taken out of the forward bar of the IRS frame (not pictured)

The next two pictures are also taken from the back side of the IRS frame. The first picture is the passenger side where a 1.0" vertical cut was made to both bars of the IRS frame.

This picture shows the "Z" shaped cut on the driver's side-just outside of the left differential mounting bolt. On the driver's side a straight 1" slice was not possible duet to the contours of the IRS frame and the left side differential bolt bushing.

This is not the differential Ill be using. I plan to use a limited slip 3.91 Getrag differential

 

[70B5Cuda]

We mated a 6.1 block to a TR6060 shell and dropped it in place

This was the first time I got to sit in the car and make car noises.

 

[70B5Cuda]

Transmission crossmember from below:

Transmission crossmember from the top..

 

[70B5Cuda]

Master cylinder and pedals were sourced from the Challenger SRT8 I parted out.

 

[70B5Cuda]

I tried to sell these Challenger SRT seats for 6 months with no luck so I guess I'll use them in the Roadrunner. Usually I sell stuff and 2 months later I wish I hadn't so this was a nice change!

The roadrunner has never had front seats in it for the last 20+ years so It was fun to sit in the car for the first time

 

[70B5Cuda]

The pedals from the 2009 Challenger are mounted with 6 bolts. We tried to mount it with just 4 bolts, but the pedal bracket flexed too much so a plate with two more mounting points was added:

View from the side. it will still be boxed in

Pedals were hung but the and placed the pedals over the steering column hole. The pedals were heated and straightened. Then they were cut and the foot pads were removed/reoriented

Before:

After

 

[70B5Cuda]

In order to keep the seats low and provide clearance for the electric motors, a custom pan was made under both front seats.

View from below:

 

[70B5Cuda]

I ordered a shifter with a 1.0" lateral offset (toward the driver) and 4.25" aft offset. Disregard the 4 speed pattern on the handle!

 

[70B5Cuda]

Here's the first part of the tunnel:

The Holley Dominator ECU mounts to the top of the tunnel near the firewall. You can see it in the next 2 pictures:

 

[70B5Cuda]

This is the second section of the tunnel has been roughed in and the new column has been installed. This picture also shown the shifter installed.

 

[70B5Cuda]

The rear wheels are at ride height in this picture: