wide body 71 roadrunner

[Bone]

Currently I am getting ready to chop up my car
what I have is a 71 road runner, already mini tubbed
RMS street lynx 4 link in the back and RMS alterkation in the front
14 inch willwood 6 piston brakes on the front and 12 inch 4 piston on the back
the car came with 255/40/17 on the front and 315/35/17 on the back
cant use those wheels and tires because of brake fit issues, need at least an 18 wheel
engine is in the process of being built (early planning stages)
aluminum world block with be a 528 to 572 with turbo so guessing 1000 to 2000 hp depending how crazy we go
my biggest worry is keeping rubber on the road
this will be a street car that goes to the drag strip as well as road races so it needs to handle

I want to put a 345 or 355 tire on the back and was thinking a 295 on the front with 19 inch wheels all around. but will probably need to widen the front and rear fenders. Has anyone seen a "wide body" 71 road runner? I would love opinions as to if this would even look good. No I don't want to do fender flares but may if I have to.

Thanks

 

[HYRDGOON]

Sounds like an interesting build. I haven't really taken a liking to the Widebody style but I do understand to get these cars to really handle you need fat tires both front and back so if that's your goal then this seems to be the way to go.

Given what your planning (at least what I picture from your description) I think it would look pretty good

 

[72Fourspeed]

Mine has flares courtesy P.O. I refer to it as the Kim Kardashian look. When I can afford it, they will be gone. These cars, 71-72, have a big butt already.

 

[Bone]

Mine has flares courtesy P.O. I refer to it as the Kim Kardashian look. When I can afford it, they will be gone. These cars, 71-72, have a big butt already.

Have any pictures to share?

 

[sparcy]

I love the build !! sounds great !! I think wide bodes can b done rite , maximus looks pretty good . I have a 1974 charger I cut 4 inches off all wheel lips , you know how they actually stick in board and are 2 inches wide !! body line , now they flare out like a modern car and have a 3/4 body line . all steel . i have a 10.5 inch tire out back with at least 3 more inches to spare . they are 18s too and it looks factory

 

[Budnicks]

Sounds like an interesting build

keep us posted & good luck

My current build is a drag car in search of a corner too
it's hard to make them both work, just different set-ups,
for different styles of racing &/or tracks

it's night & day/hands down 200% better than OE handling,
but still more to do too

I have mostly all QA1 tubular suspension stuff, UCA LCA K-Member
Bigger front 1-3/8" sway-bar & added a 1" rear sway-bar,
seems like a good balance so far...
I like it used/done it before too

Mine's Not as extreme, tires or wide body, as yours sounds like it will be thou
I have 295's on the rear & 245's on the front, very little problems
it'll be 315's on the rear, I might go slightly wider in front
I've been contemplating a rim & tire change too, BUT
I still want all the tire under the fender & low as I can be & still drive everywhere
I still want a 70's vibe/appearance with my taste added

far more of a compromise, I live in the stick windy mountain roads
It's a must to handle well & have great acceleration from a stand still...

I learned a long time ago don't make stuff more complicated than it needs to be,
the ol' KISS {keep it simple stupid} mentality serves me very well

I've built a bunch of drag cars & a couple of autocross style cars too
I want the best of both world in my 68 RR build
Neutral body lean/roll & little as possible front push,
plenty of power to kick the rear end around/over-steer,
corner like it's on rails, especially compared to stock suspension crap...

The hard part is making a car that handles, stay flat little body lean &
get good weight transfer to the rear, like all drag car needs
the 2 different genres don't mix well "usually", counter productive
you have to sacrifice something either way,
or have 2 completely different set-ups, for the 2 different styles of racing...

Hope you can find a happy medium too

 

[72Fourspeed]

Have any pictures to share?

P.M. me a cell # & I will send some. No computer, I'm on a smartphone.

 

[Kern Dog]

Holy Crap, those cars are W I D E enough in stock form !

 

[furryfrog]

I would say be adventurous , go for it. Hard to say how it would look as my eyes are used to the classic lines, Or how to go about it so it looks OK. Can you experiment on an old front fender? If you can make it look right on the front, it would look OK on the back I would think.

 

[Bone]

I think I am going to go for it. Why not it's only time and money. Plan for the weekend is to see how much I will need to adjust the front fender. Will probably split length wise bow out and the fill with metal up the center of the front wheel well. As for the back I was thinking of making a widened panel in the shape of the Cuba flag quarter panel decal. I would start out gradual and then widen as I go back. Will probably leave the back open. The idea sounds better in my minds eye I'm sure. If I do it that way I can cut pretty even strips of metal along the top and the bottom. Though this would facilitate the fabrication process. I will tape it out on the car and post pictures.
I know everyone wants to see pics. There will be a large build thread to come. But not right away.

 

[HYRDGOON]

Right on man! Looking forward to it!

 

[Bone]

so I started measuring on the car this weekend and this is what I found
back space about 6 inches

front space about 6.5

this doesn't account for rotation of the wheel
figure with a 28/30/19 wheel tire combo
total tire diameter is 26 width is 11.6 using a 10 inch wide wheel
I think I would need to move the front fender out about 1.5 inches
this is what that would look like

outside edge of the blue tape would be my cut line
I would then fill in the space between the blue and white tap with metal, making relief cuts on the fender to allow it to bow and finally placing a vertical piece of metal at the center point of the wheel well to make up the difference
as you can see my car has the front bumper sectioned and welded directly into the front fender to increase rigidity
I plan on making a mesh custom front grill so don't have to worry about the slight angling out of the front corner in relation to the center portion of the grill

The back is harder
this is what I have envisioned. once again using a 355/30/19 wheel. tire dimensions are 27.4 diameter, 14.2 width with a 12.5 inch wheel
I have a street lynx rms 4 link in the back that is not set up. I am honestly not sure if I can put the control arms inboard of the frame rail.
if I can then I have 17 of space in the wheel well with my current mini tub, from fender to frame rail
cuda decal style rear fender flare that starts on the door and gradually widens up to 2 inches at the center of the wheel well

I would angle metal from the cut out section back into the top portion of the body, on a gradual taper



my little girl is coming to help/destroy
in the back I would keep a vent for the brakes or perhaps put an led light of some sort
finally I thought about adding a super bird wing from the lateral fender offset up and over to the other side

I would love to hear thoughts
thanks
Zach

 

[sdconcepts]

http://s651.photobucket.com/user/B_Richmond/media/fendermods3.jpg.html


here is one someone did to an e body. may give you some ideas.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Did those pics get to you ? Dont know if they'll help.

 

[Bone]

Did those pics get to you ? Dont know if they'll help.

Nope

 

[72SatelliteLEO]

Great build! Those tire sizes with wide body will look great.

 

[Budnicks]

Interesting build, any new updates/progress ?

 

[Bone]

no waiting for the engine to be completed
mean while have gotten another b body (67 coronet) and am fighting for garage space with my wife

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Currently I am getting ready to chop up my car
what I have is a 71 road runner, already mini tubbed
RMS street lynx 4 link in the back and RMS alterkation in the front
14 inch willwood 6 piston brakes on the front and 12 inch 4 piston on the back
the car came with 255/40/17 on the front and 315/35/17 on the back
cant use those wheels and tires because of brake fit issues, need at least an 18 wheel
engine is in the process of being built (early planning stages)
aluminum world block with be a 528 to 572 with turbo so guessing 1000 to 2000 hp depending how crazy we go
my biggest worry is keeping rubber on the road
this will be a street car that goes to the drag strip as well as road races so it needs to handle

I want to put a 345 or 355 tire on the back and was thinking a 295 on the front with 19 inch wheels all around. but will probably need to widen the front and rear fenders. Has anyone seen a "wide body" 71 road runner? I would love opinions as to if this would even look good. No I don't want to do fender flares but may if I have to.

Thanks

Just to start out, awesome concept. Just to give you an idea, look in the market for mustang wheels. They often have plenty of clearance for larger calipers (as many of them now come with factory Brembo's), but may be a pain to figure out the proper offset/backspacing for your application. Unfortunately, I don't know of any inexpensive 18" ford wheels that will handle 355's on the rear, I know you can get 305's on the rear of 18x10's and that's more than enough rubber for lateral control/traction. For our b-bodies, check out 94-04' model year wheels for the rear and 05-16' for the fronts, as they are often the closest we can get for proper fitment. Honestly, your aftermarket suspension will also come into play, so these options may not even be possible for you.

You have three directions for the car currently, and its probably not going to excel at any of them; as each requires a specific setup. My past three daily drivers have been a C5 Z06, SRT 392 M6, and Saleen S/C Mustang with a bilstein road course coil-over suspension package. My Road Runner handles well with the hotchkis setup, but lets face it, no ABS, no electric assisted or power steering, and no computer controlled throttle modulation other than my right foot. It's practically a GEN 1 Viper that requires 100% driver skill in order to just maintain on the track, let alone provide any impressive lap time (obviously, light years ahead of a stock car). I just would like to believe you'd be so much better off with a mild-528 making 700 n/a with a dry sump oiling system for your goals, and a T56 tranny, along with D60 rear. Toss on some 285-295's on the front and 305-315's on the rear (with an actual sidewall to air down at the track), with some $150-$200 ea mustang wheels and call it a day (probably would pay 3-4x as much for a custom wheel right?). If you just want to blow money go for it, but a 305-315 DR will dominate any 345-355 street tire compound which isn't going to hook up with even 700HP (without a VERY complex boost management system if you run turbo, or stick with sky-high rear gears like myself). My friend runs in the 8.9 range on a 275, ringing near 800rwhp out of a procharged 347 ford in a foxbody (actual true street car, I know, rare right?).. Trust me, you don't need 355's on a street car other than for bragging rights But of course, go for it if that's what you want, I'm just thinking money can be better spent elsewhere.

If you go turbo, even a 700HP N/A 528 with 6-8 PSI will make 1,000-1,100HP at the crank.. F/I averages near 6.8-7% increase in HP per PSI. Even if you only make 550HP N/A, you're looking at nearly 800HP on only 6# of boost. My co-workers previous 11' GT made 600 rwhp with a box-stock paxton kit @ 8psi. It ran in the mid-11's on street tires with a manual, you could probably get an A/B-Body into the 10's with easily 200 less RWHP, so power isn't everything when it comes to performance. Heck, manual Hellcats with an easy 600+rwhp are barely running in the high 11's with slicks, and auto 392's with 485HP have been known to outrun them on the drag strip. So like I was saying before, what exactly do you REALLY want to do with the car? BTW Good luck with your build!

 

[Bone]

Sweet. Thanks for the reply. I have seen your posts and respect your thoughts.
You are right. I do not have a clear vision with this car.

Let me update the build engine wise. Going with a 540 lower compression for pump gas. I don't have a specific turbo picked out, single or twins. Planning on efi with a high end boost management system.

I don't see myself taking this car in a strictly drag stop direction. I like the idea of a more autocross set up.
I would love to hear thoughts on how best to proceed
Currently in hold mode while the engine is being built.
I was measuring today while working on the 4 link and have tons of room so I may not even widen the car
Lots of balls in the air
Thanks
Zach