Midpack
Member
Hey all you B-Body lovers... here is the "Dream Come True" story you've been waiting for...
As a teenager, I worked at Brandywine C-P in Wilmington, Delaware back in the early 80's. I worked in Parts but started out washing cars and running DMV errands, etc. living the life! LOL! One day a trade came in... a Bright Yellow 73 340 Roadrunner on Cragars and busted air shocks... the paint was so faded you couldn't see the sun in it! Naturally, I fell in love and talked my boss into selling it to me for only $200.00! Yes, you read that right, and keep in mind this was 1982, so it wasn't even a classic yet and already a rusting hulk to boot!
Of course, the obvious rod knock was the reason for the low, low price and the motor was gonna need replacing or rebuilding within a short time... turns out it was about a month. A semi-resurrected pile of rust, true, but it had changed my life to that point and I was still only 17, so let's find a motor!
Through a dealer connection I quickly found a 440/A727 combo sitting on a palette, mileage undetermined, and jammed that sucker in there! Don't worry, though, I bought a big block k-member and engine mounts and scoured the junkyards for parts I could make work. The transplant was successful and... she LIVED!
Rocked around in that car for 2 years but some bad decisions and bad luck forced me to let the 'Bird go for a song (and a used motorcycle). I regretted it immediately and missed that car so badly. Told my story and lamented that car more than a few times... forever out of reach it seemed, and especially as I grew older and the market heated up for classic muscle.
Cut to around 30 cars of varying makes including a '70 Belvedere, a '78 V8 Aspen Coupe, a couple of Hemi-powered Dodge Rams, too, and now, 40 years later, I stumbled across the proto-twin of the car I had worked so hard to create as a teenager! A factory big-block Roadrunner, in yellow, with bucket seats, a console with a slap stick, a tach, gauges, and absolutely drop dead gorgeous!
It took only 3 short weeks from spotting her to putting her in the garage. At last.
She's a beauty and a show-stopper. A head turner and a neck-snapper! The smile on my face and in my heart tells me it was the right decision.
See you down the road, and on these pages! Beep! Beep!
Midpack Mike
As a teenager, I worked at Brandywine C-P in Wilmington, Delaware back in the early 80's. I worked in Parts but started out washing cars and running DMV errands, etc. living the life! LOL! One day a trade came in... a Bright Yellow 73 340 Roadrunner on Cragars and busted air shocks... the paint was so faded you couldn't see the sun in it! Naturally, I fell in love and talked my boss into selling it to me for only $200.00! Yes, you read that right, and keep in mind this was 1982, so it wasn't even a classic yet and already a rusting hulk to boot!
Of course, the obvious rod knock was the reason for the low, low price and the motor was gonna need replacing or rebuilding within a short time... turns out it was about a month. A semi-resurrected pile of rust, true, but it had changed my life to that point and I was still only 17, so let's find a motor!
Through a dealer connection I quickly found a 440/A727 combo sitting on a palette, mileage undetermined, and jammed that sucker in there! Don't worry, though, I bought a big block k-member and engine mounts and scoured the junkyards for parts I could make work. The transplant was successful and... she LIVED!
Rocked around in that car for 2 years but some bad decisions and bad luck forced me to let the 'Bird go for a song (and a used motorcycle). I regretted it immediately and missed that car so badly. Told my story and lamented that car more than a few times... forever out of reach it seemed, and especially as I grew older and the market heated up for classic muscle.
Cut to around 30 cars of varying makes including a '70 Belvedere, a '78 V8 Aspen Coupe, a couple of Hemi-powered Dodge Rams, too, and now, 40 years later, I stumbled across the proto-twin of the car I had worked so hard to create as a teenager! A factory big-block Roadrunner, in yellow, with bucket seats, a console with a slap stick, a tach, gauges, and absolutely drop dead gorgeous!
It took only 3 short weeks from spotting her to putting her in the garage. At last.
She's a beauty and a show-stopper. A head turner and a neck-snapper! The smile on my face and in my heart tells me it was the right decision.
See you down the road, and on these pages! Beep! Beep!
Midpack Mike
