• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

New/Not so new guy with a '70 B body convertible resto-mod

jpilone

Active Member
Local time
6:25 AM
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
39
Reaction score
24
Location
Boca Raton, FL
So I've been a member here for a long time, but I don't think I've ever posted. It's been years if I ever have..

I've been on moparts forever, and my car is fairly well-known on there for being a never-ending stalling project.

It's a 1970 Plymouth Satellite Convertible that was never original in any way, and I made it into something of my own taste: Road Runner Convertible Custom Tribute!

I've had the car since 2/18/1999. Back then, it was burnt orange, with a bench seat burnt orange/white interior and a 318/auto. It was a good 20 footer and was a joy to drive.

After the birth of my son in 2001, the front of the crank broke on the 273 in my '69 Dart 4 door that was a rust free car with a perfect interior and working AC. I put the engine from the convertible into the dart to continue life with a family vehicle, with the intention of doing some sort of resto to the '70. I knew it would need quarters, and I let it sit in hibernation at a friends house (it was wrapped top to bottom with tarps).

Fast forward to 2005 and I declared it was time to start a resto. I had a bunch of friends over for a "tear down party" and we bagged and tagged the car. I had intended on putting in a 383 with a 727 (already had the engine/trans) and then somewhere in the middle, I decided to go crazy with the car. I had my good friend Richard Romanelli do all of the body/metal/paint. The car needed rear frame rails, trunk floor, and obviously quarters. The rest of the car was in pretty good shape sans for a few small patches he made, but that's it.

I picked up a '73 440 from an RV and blew some coin on go-fast goodies for it (forged flat tops, edelbrock alum heads, comp cams hydraulic roller, etc) and blew a chunk of change on a Kiesler 5 speed conversion.

This was about the time that the realistic fire artwork took flight, and Richard experimented with it, and it turned out, he was damn good at it!

So we went black with the car, and did the RR hood stripe in the formation of the correct '70 RR stripe, same for the dust trails and trunk stripe, all in the factory formation. The trunk stripe has a desert mural in the center of the fire, pretty cool! I got bucket seats from a '70 Sport Satellite and had them and the original rear seat done in a matte black vinyl with modern silver stitching and carbon-fiber vinyl inserts, as well as having the dash pad covered in the CF vinyl too. I also picked up a used rallye dash, and had the cluster redone in white with an aftermarket tach.

So 2007 came along and I lost my job and the car got put on hold with a rolling painted chassis. After that divorce came knocking at my door. Thankfully the car was in my pre-nup!

2010 I got back on the car and got the drivetrain assembled and installed with some beefed up suspension bits and wilwood 4 piston brakes all around. Once again life got in the way and I just got too busy and too preoccupied to do anything with the car. Along the way I did spend some time doing minor detail work, like the heater box and vent frames that I had rechromed.

Fast forward to 2016. I finally reached a point in my life where I could afford to finish the car. I decided that I was unable to complete it myself, and it was worth every penny to pay Richard to do the final electrical and assembly /detail work. I just no longer had the time and didn't want to wait another 5 years to get to it.

in October of 2016, we pulled the car out of storage (it was hibernation, well preserved and ready at any time). After spending a total of about $6k in additional parts, and a lot of labor, the car finally came home on June 19th where he trailered it to my work. The engine had finally been running in February, but I never started or drove it myself. When I fired it for the first time, I wept like a baby. I lost it. All of the work, time, and emotions in the car came rushing out of me. It was the last car my grandmother and I drove on together before she died. I went on my first date with my wife (now ex-wife).

All I had to do was get a new black top put on, and then take it back to him so we could install the rest of the interior. That was all done 2 weeks ago, and I finally put on the wheels/tires I intended to put on it last week. I am in awe of the car now. It's amazing.

I wanted to share this story and photos with all of you.

IMG_6570.jpg IMG_6571.jpg View attachment 490969 interior3.jpg CRUISING.jpg IMG_6577.JPG
 
Last edited:
Did you just really just say that 7 letter word! Shame on you!

Now you are at the most wonderful Mopar forum on the planet and I welcome you here:thumbsup:

I appreciate the story and WOW what a beauty you have there....Love the hood treatment that kicks Azz!

Sweet ride and would love to see more pics of it...Engine as well...
 
Here's the money shot. I have a repop oval air cleaner for it, Richard's going to do some cool graphics on it first though. Maybe another month or two for that.

And here's a picture of what it looked like a LOOOONG time ago

engine_shot2.jpg IMG_0440.JPG
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top