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69 Roadrunner - For the Boss

EJL

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FBBO Gold Member
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Location
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After finishing the 70 Bee tribute car earlier this year, it’s now time to start on the next project. I bought this roadrunner a few years back from an older gentleman who had it stored outside for several years. He had originally planned on fixing it up, but never got around to it.

We knew it was rough when we looked at it, but the price was right. Car was missing both front fenders, but hood was repainted and stored away along with trunk lid in etch primer. Originally a B5/B5 383 N96 car with auto transmission. Not sure if engine and tranny are original until we tear it out and inspect numbers.

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Front driver side frame rail is toast.

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Not sure why someone cut trunk floor out above fuel tank either. Must have been at same time they cut out quarters above wheel wells too.

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And a couple pics of toasted interior.

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Looks like a lot of the misc trim is still with car which helps, but every piece of sheet metal likely needs replaced. The driver side door and possibly roof skin may be salvageable, but time will tell. Over the past few years I’ve been picking up new metal when I find it, either by someone who had new metal and didn’t use it or buying new myself. I already have full quarters, trunk floor, extensions, floor pans and outer wheel houses. I also bought a set of original fenders via an online local auction.

So the plan is for this to be the wife’s daily driver. Only request she made is it has to be purple, cause it’s her favorite color. I’m looking to do a full resto as well as put a new 6.4L Hemi crate engine in it. Been reading and researching a ton of threads on here to plan my strategy for this swap. I haven’t decided on tranny yet, but I know she doesn’t want a manual. Knowing TCI makes a new 727 that bolts directly to the 392 would simplify things, but I’m not sure if it has OD. I’d prefer OD so if anyone knows details on that tranny please share. Otherwise, I’ll have to call them to confirm. I see most folks put modern manual tranny in with Gen 3 engine, but that’s not an option for me. I also haven’t seen any posts/pics of how the engine wire harness marries up to stock dash harness. Maybe I just haven’t come across that yet on someone else’s thread.

After getting the Bee done, I’m feeling confident on tackling this project. I’m actually excited to get started tearing into it. With experience under my belt I’m not nearly as intimidated as I was starting on the last car. Let the journey begin. My main goal is to get it done a few years sooner than the last project, LOL.

Anyone with comments or ideas, you’re welcome to chime in. Anything that helps me avoid pitfalls of the Gen 3 swap is appreciated.
 
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and what is that hiding in the back?
 
Love it all. Except the color choice for a 69, lol. Got to keep the wife happy though, right?
My Grandma had a thing for purple as well. She had a house in WI and one in Arizona. Half the rooms were painted purple as well as purple carpet. She drove a purple Chrysler, 1/2 of her clothes were purple. She even had a bit of purple tint put in her hair. She passed a few years ago at 95. Sure do miss the classy/brassy broad.....
 
I kept my Coronet an original 1968 color, but I really wanted to go Sublime. My wife hates that color so, like a dope, I opted for another one. (color, not wife).
:lol:
 
Love it all. Except the color choice for a 69, lol. Got to keep the wife happy though, right?
My Grandma had a thing for purple as well. She had a house in WI and one in Arizona. Half the rooms were painted purple as well as purple carpet. She drove a purple Chrysler, 1/2 of her clothes were purple. She even had a bit of purple tint put in her hair. She passed a few years ago at 95. Sure do miss the classy/brassy broad.....
And whats wrong with purple?
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All I can say is you are a better man than I am. That IS a project.
 
@EJL , gonna follow along as my son is building a 67 Belvedere more door project that has been getting upgrades done in preparation of the 6.4 hemi swap.

A few transmission choices that have been tossed around are a 47RH we have here, a NAG1 we have also. He has looked at the silver sport 5 and 6 speed kits too. You did’t mention what you were using for an engine management setup as this could help with the transmission choice.

The NAG1 will require a tone ring and controller but bolts right to the hemi. The 47RH will also bolt up with a correct flex plate and requires something to actuate the throttle pressure on the transmission. He has stated that the manual valve body is out, I understand, drove them a lot in the past and your always working it and need to remember to down shift.

So, let’s talk about the 6.4, he has the Mopar harness and all the misc stuff and being fly by wire there is no provision for the throttle pressure hookup on the throttle body. There are a couple kits that will cover this but they are kinda pricy and use a 2 or 3 year only Mopar actuator and this could make future service an issue.

Great build,
Cliff Ramsdell
 
All I can say is you are a better man than I am. That IS a project.
The more I dig into the car the more I’m finding that will need fixed. Oh well I guess, I like a challenge and it keeps me moving. Better time spent working on car than sitting on my *** in front of tv and putting on more weight LOL.
 
With my brothers help, we got the front drivetrain out today.

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Confirmed it didn’t have original engine. It had a 400 in it, not sure what year though. Bell housing on tranny is junk as it several pieces broken off.

I was hoping just the section in front of shock tower on driver frame rail needed replaced, but after getting engine out the rot goes back nearly to firewall. I believe I have a replacement already from a 70 coronet parts car we tore down a few years back.

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Passenger front frame rail looks solid, but inner fender needs replaced as she was hit hard sometime in the past and is wrinkled. Might have been able to hammer back into shape, but the torched a large area behind hood hinge as well so I’ll just replace it.

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Forgot to take picture of damage to front of inner fender, but you can kinda see the hole behind where the hood hinge goes above.
 
thanks for saving another Mopar,good luck and keep us up to date.
 
A few transmission choices that have been tossed around are a 47RH we have here, a NAG1 we have also. He has looked at the silver sport 5 and 6 speed kits too. You did’t mention what you were using for an engine management setup as this could help with the transmission choice.
Thanks Cliff. This gives me something to research.

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean about “engine management setup”?
 
Mice love to make nests inside the frames. And usually it;s the driver's inner fender that gets crinkled.
 
Thanks Cliff. This gives me something to research.

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean about “engine management setup”?
With Matt’s 6.4 he’s using the Mopar performance engine controller and wiring harness to run the fuel injection system. Some people use Holley systems or others out there. That was my reference to engine management.

Cliff Ramsdell
 
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