1971 340 Road Runner Revival

[SMS68]

Get that issue done and you do the rest?

Yeah, I need to figure that out. After sleeping on it, I'll go ahead and finish disassembly so my metal guy can see everything and give me an idea, and then go from there. I think the car is still worth saving, it might just take a little longer.

 

[Runcharger]

That's not terrible at all. I don't think a guy that knows what he is doing will take long to fix that. You could jack it out yourself but if you know a good guy just let him repair it. This car is really good, I wouldn't lose any sleep over that little glitch at all.

 

[ct71rr]

Yeah, I need to figure that out. After sleeping on it, I'll go ahead and finish disassembly so my metal guy can see everything and give me an idea, and then go from there. I think the car is still worth saving, it might just take a little longer.

Yes it is!! That damage does not look too bad at all. Definitely worth saving in my opinion.

 

[SMS68]

That's not terrible at all. I don't think a guy that knows what he is doing will take long to fix that. You could jack it out yourself but if you know a good guy just let him repair it. This car is really good, I wouldn't lose any sleep over that little glitch at all.

Yes it is!! That damage does not look too bad at all. Definitely worth saving in my opinion.

Thanks for the encouragement y’all.

Spending the day reorganizing the shop so I can properly store all the pieces and parts. Then I’ll get the fenders off.

 

[moparker]

Dude, your family is in to it. Thats fantastic. These will be momories you will never replace or duplicate. I dont think it should be to tough or expensive to have that area repaired. Just make sure you get the right shop. Enjoy my friend.

 

[SMS68]

More interior trim removal today. Also got the back glass out with no chips or cracks. Some motivating original B5 blue revealed itself under the old package tray.

 

[moparker]

Priceless

 

[Bighouse]

Nice car! Don’t sweat that itty bitty collision damage! That’ll straighten out quick!

 

[SMS68]

Chipping away at the interior today. Got the headliner out and the rest of the seatbelts out.

so far I found spent shell casings, bubble gum wrappers, and a ladies make up compact. Definitely a southern car lol.

 

[SMS68]

Got the rest of the front clip off today, and my too-tall 15 year old helped me get the old vinyl off. Hauling her for vin inspection to clear up titling tomorrow, and then to my metal guy for an estimate on rust repair.

 

[moparker]

Will he give you estimate on the wreck repair?

 

[F4R/T]

Definitely a neat car and a good one to start with. That little wreck damage is minor and can be pulled easily , the rust is typical of an old car nothing to sweat. I think that the 340 is nice to work on and reasonable to build. 340s do run hard too with minor work and it will give you a solid dependable car you enjoy and not break the bank. Do as much as possible yourself and just bag and tag it along the way. It’s a good learing experience and just pick up a factory service manual and go!

 

[SMS68]

Will he give you estimate on the wreck repair?

As a matter of fact I asked him to include that and he didn’t even bat an eye. I found a good one and his estimate for all of it was very reasonable....he just finished a car for friend and I got to see the before and after. He also walked me through the work he has going now. Now I just have to wait. He just went out on his own in semi-retirement so my turn will come in the Fall.

That gives me the summer to finish stripping the engine compartment and other misc items and maybe get the K member and suspension sorted out. I’ll do that myself.

All in all a good day, got title sorted out, got good estimate and established a relationship with a craftsman, and the kids learned how to safely load and unload a car.

 

[SMS68]

Definitely a neat car and a good one to start with. That little wreck damage is minor and can be pulled easily , the rust is typical of an old car nothing to sweat. I think that the 340 is nice to work on and reasonable to build. 340s do run hard too with minor work and it will give you a solid dependable car you enjoy and not break the bank. Do as much as possible yourself and just bag and tag it along the way. It’s a good learing experience and just pick up a factory service manual and go!

Ziplock is already making a killing off of me lol...bags and photos galore!

 

[JDmac72chrgr]

Looking good; ziplocks & pics will DEFINATELY save you; mine was taken apart by my buddy; no bags/tags/pictures: parts mixed with 72 Sat pieces; a real SOB putting back together, thank goodness for parts car to use as parts & location of pieces go where and picked up cd of manuals too:

 

[moparker]

That great news

 

[SMS68]

No significant progress on the bird as of lately. Sidetracked with high school graduation for one of our kids, family vacation, and summer chores.

The boys and I did manage to close the loop on the last major missing component today. A beautiful small block 727 fell into my lap at the right price so we took a drive to pick her up tonight.

 

[Bighouse]

Collecting stuff is progress!

 

[SMS68]

Not much to report on the project. Got the 340 block cleaned up and hanging from an engine stand instead of on the floor and that's about it. Been a crazy ride since we scored the transmission. My first brand new truck in 20 years, a 2020 Ram Warlock, was totaled by an uninsured driver, driving the wrong way on a one way road. Everyone was ok, but this is the best and worst time in history to have a total loss. Insurance paid out more than I paid for the truck 11 months ago, but finding an equivalent, reasonably priced, replacement was impossible. Ended up getting a Tacoma instead.

Not long after that, our middle child shipped off to USAF basic training. Her departure was more emotional than I thought it would be. This is me and her when we brought the Road Runner home back in the spring...she was patiently listening to me explain VIN numbers and options!

Then, after all that, my wife's Durango was getting long in the tooth and was pretty abused after hauling the kids around for nearly 8 years, so we decided to capitalize on the inflated used car market and sold it private party for far more than she was worth. Then we shopped around for something to help mom ease the pain of her daughter leaving home...and she got a pretty sweet "B body", before mine is finished! Found this reasonably priced Charger that had been special ordered but the customer never took delivery...so they were willing to deal just a little bit. Not easy to find in today's market.

That's the update. The boys and I are going to do some work on cleaning out the engine compartment this weekend and next.

 

[Runcharger]

Nice Charger and glad the Ram did it's job. My Ram is the one vehicle I feel relatively safe in these days with driver's being what they are. Can't wait to see the Runner come along.