Root2812
Well-Known Member
Hey guys. So I just got myself a new toy and I am hoping to find help along the way of bringing it back. Let me give you some back story quick. My first car was a 1965 dart and I got a real interest in Mopars then. Unfortunately, as my teen years came to an end and I enlisted I lost interest in cars for a while and now the Dart is long gone. I'm in my 30's now and recently had my first child. When you be come a parent nostalgia really sets in and you remember your childhood. I began to have vivid memories of my moms old 74 Roadrunner and that restored my interest in old Mopars. I decided I wanted one again but it had to be a driver. A few years ago I started a custom hotrod 1950 Chevy truck with an LS1 and its a ton of work. I just wanted a car I could tinker with and drive.
I ended up buying a 1968 Charger. I bit off way more than I could chew and the car would have had to be a full restoration. I always liked those cars but everything was expensive and it literally needed everything. The floors and frame rails were gone. The same week I realized it was too much of a project my 1 year old daughter had a seizure and ended up in the hospital. I sold the car to cover the medical bills. Fortunately I got a good enough deal I got out of it and made a whopping $200. My daughter is ok though. It was scary but she is going to be 100% ok.
Fast forward 4 months and I got another chance. This time its a 1974 Roadrunner. Nearly identical to the one from my child hood. My moms old car was also a 360 car but it was black and not a sunroof car. Like many Minnesota Mopars it fell victim to rust and met a crushing end in the late 80's.
Anyhow, I got my car now and I am mostly happy. It came from California and doesn't have the rust of a typical Minnesota car. That's a huge plus. It has a little bit in the quarters behind the rear wheels. Its not without its fair share of dents. Its definitely a body man special but its mostly solid. Its a 360 4 barrel car with 245 hp and it has the rare factory sunroof. I don't know if the sunroof is a blessing or a curse yet. I still need to confirm but its supposed to be numbers matching.
She doesn't appear to have had much work before but someone did repaint it the wrong color and they added a tape player under the dash. Car runs great and I drove it home (Not from CA, just from where I met the shipper). It might need some carb work because it hesitates and stumbles under acceleration but idles and cruises really nice.
Anyway wall of text needs to end here. My plan is to get it to be a reliable driver for fun. Later I will fix it nice but that will be after I finish my truck project. I intend to keep it as original as possible but may add a few factory options that I would have ordered.
As you can see its not a bad car. Floors and frame rails are solid.
The interior is trashed. All the plastics have turned to chalk and the seats and carpet are roached. I'd rather replace interior than body panels so I am ok with it. You will see that the headliner is gone but all the sunroof parts seem to be there. It must leak because the seats are destroyed. The steering wheel is one thing I am going to change. I want the one with the roadrunner on the horn button.
I am concerned about the sunroof. Even though all the parts look to be there I think its leaking so I will need seals plus I will have to find the headliner to fit. The biggest worry is that it won't open. I turned the crank and could feel the gears slipping. I will have to take it apart and see... Gulp.....
Here is a question for you guys. This is a California car so I don't know if it makes a difference but my air cleaner is black. All the pics I see online its orange. Is it wrong?
Well thanks for reading though my LONG post. I sure hope you guys will share wisdom and experience with me as I go to bringing this car back to being a reliable cruiser and someday a nice restored car.
Oh and I know someone will ask so here is the fender tag.
I ended up buying a 1968 Charger. I bit off way more than I could chew and the car would have had to be a full restoration. I always liked those cars but everything was expensive and it literally needed everything. The floors and frame rails were gone. The same week I realized it was too much of a project my 1 year old daughter had a seizure and ended up in the hospital. I sold the car to cover the medical bills. Fortunately I got a good enough deal I got out of it and made a whopping $200. My daughter is ok though. It was scary but she is going to be 100% ok.
Fast forward 4 months and I got another chance. This time its a 1974 Roadrunner. Nearly identical to the one from my child hood. My moms old car was also a 360 car but it was black and not a sunroof car. Like many Minnesota Mopars it fell victim to rust and met a crushing end in the late 80's.
Anyhow, I got my car now and I am mostly happy. It came from California and doesn't have the rust of a typical Minnesota car. That's a huge plus. It has a little bit in the quarters behind the rear wheels. Its not without its fair share of dents. Its definitely a body man special but its mostly solid. Its a 360 4 barrel car with 245 hp and it has the rare factory sunroof. I don't know if the sunroof is a blessing or a curse yet. I still need to confirm but its supposed to be numbers matching.
She doesn't appear to have had much work before but someone did repaint it the wrong color and they added a tape player under the dash. Car runs great and I drove it home (Not from CA, just from where I met the shipper). It might need some carb work because it hesitates and stumbles under acceleration but idles and cruises really nice.
Anyway wall of text needs to end here. My plan is to get it to be a reliable driver for fun. Later I will fix it nice but that will be after I finish my truck project. I intend to keep it as original as possible but may add a few factory options that I would have ordered.
As you can see its not a bad car. Floors and frame rails are solid.
The interior is trashed. All the plastics have turned to chalk and the seats and carpet are roached. I'd rather replace interior than body panels so I am ok with it. You will see that the headliner is gone but all the sunroof parts seem to be there. It must leak because the seats are destroyed. The steering wheel is one thing I am going to change. I want the one with the roadrunner on the horn button.
I am concerned about the sunroof. Even though all the parts look to be there I think its leaking so I will need seals plus I will have to find the headliner to fit. The biggest worry is that it won't open. I turned the crank and could feel the gears slipping. I will have to take it apart and see... Gulp.....
Here is a question for you guys. This is a California car so I don't know if it makes a difference but my air cleaner is black. All the pics I see online its orange. Is it wrong?
Well thanks for reading though my LONG post. I sure hope you guys will share wisdom and experience with me as I go to bringing this car back to being a reliable cruiser and someday a nice restored car.
Oh and I know someone will ask so here is the fender tag.
As far as the Interior , buckets on Mopars never lasted long anyway . They got torn up pretty quick plus the Cali sun does nasty things to plastic so it might not be your sunroof leaking . If the Sunroof was leaking I would thing the floors would be rusty . Good Luck !
