Rocketman's '73 Road Runner Restoration

Phase 2

It's What's Underneath That Counts

In Phase 1 it was mostly cosmetic stuff. This phase is mostly stuff you don't see. However, it has made the car way nicer to drive. Here are some pics of the major things I did this past season. In March and April it was a bunch of drivetrain work, then over the summer I was lazy and didn't do much more than chase rattles, then again in September and October I had the engine worked on, installed the new headers and carb, and got the brakes all replaced.

2009 - In the Shop Again

• 3/13 - The Road Runner in Red's Frame Shop for chassis and drivetrain work
• 3/13 - Rear wheels off, beginning work.
• 3/25 - The rear axle, springs, shocks, sway bar, and gas tank are out.
• 3/25 - All getting replaced or rebuilt.
• 3/25 - The front end is in the process of getting rebuilt with new bushings, tie rod ends, and an alignment. I'll clean all the rust up and paint the parts after the mechanical work is finished.
• 3/28 - New 3" steel driveshaft custom made by Drive Train Specialists (DTS) and also new u-joints and yoke.
• 3/31 - Driveshaft loop from Mancini Racing.
• 4/3 - Rear axle rebuilt and powder coated by A+ Transmission. New 3.21 ring and pinion gear installed. New shocks (front too). Swaw bar powder coated, modified to clear axle and new bushings installed. New brakes including drums (11"). The fronts were completely rebuilt too. The old springs were replaced with a new custom set based on superstock specs, now solid mounted to the rear axle. Bye-bye rubber bushings.
• 4/12 - Gas tank cleaned and coated with silver POR15. Gas tank straps sandblasted and powder coated. Sorry, but I always liked those chrome diff covers. They look so retro. Now it's got one.
• 11/10 - TTI polished ceramic headers, 1 5/8" with 3" collectors. The exhaust pipes are still 2 1/2", stepping down to 2" over the axle. Next year I hope to replace them with 3" stainless all the way to the back.
• 11/10 - I also did some work under the hood. I had the brake booster and master cylinder replaced. I painted the booster with gold pearl to try to simulate the original iridite finish. It didn't work and no matter how much I try I can't make myself really like it. However I don't really dislike it enough to change it - at least not right now.
• 11/10 - I had some work done under the hood. There was a slight coolant leak so I had the heads pulled and checked out. It turned out to be a freeze plug. Everything inside looked very good and very clean. The engine appears solid and was obviously recently rebuilt. The bores look fresh. I've never been able to get the engine build details so can't say exactly what was done. It does have a double-row cam chain, and seems to have some type of performance cam. The heads and valves look stock. I had an old set of MP valve covers so I repainted them the same Inferno Red Pearl Clearcoat as the body. We also cleaned up the engine and tidied up the wiring. The power steering pump and hoses are new now and don't leak any more. I got rid of that stupid aftermarket radiator cap and replaced it with an original repro. There is still more to do under here but it's good enough now that I'm not embarassed to open the hood.
• 11/10 - Last picture for now. Here it sits in my driveway. This picture was taken Sunday, November 8, 2009. It was a beautiful fall day. Today it's Thursday the 12th and it's another perfect one. Tomorrow it's supposed to be the same. Maybe I'll drive it to work. Oh wait, that would be Friday the 13th!!!! On second thought maybe I won't push my luck.

2010 - Still At It

• The work in 2010 has included some items that are not very photogenic. I spent some time finding and fixing rattles. There was a particularly obnoxious one under the dash. I fixed it by cramming a bunch of foam rubber around the pieces that were rattling. No, I am NOT going to show pictures of that little gem of rigging. I also had some burns and tears in the original upholstery and a couple cracks in the dash repaired.
• I will however show how I restored a bumper jack that I bought on eBay. It was pretty wasted and rusty. I took the ratchet mechanism off the mast and had them sandblasted along with the base. Then I hand-sanded them with 320 grit for a smoother surface prior to painting and plating. I had the mast plated with gold iridite (yellow chromate) by Plymouth Plating. They did a fantastic job. It has the best looking irridescence I've ever seen. I painted the base, ratchet mechanism, and hook with Petty Blue and added a black plastic cushion to the hook. HERE is the mast in the base, HERE is the ratchet mechanism and hook and HERE it is all put together. Incidently the original jack was the kind that fit in a slot in the bumper, no hook. My replacement rechromed bumpers don't have slots. I found a hook on eBay (marked "68 Chevy" ha ha) that fit both my front and rear bumpers.
• Now for the first time since I've owned this car I have a reasonably good looking trunk. The spare wheel is actually from a Studebaker (eBay) but it looks similar to the Kelsey-Hayes originally used on the car, and the diameter, width, bolt pattern, center hole, and offset is the same. I repainted the wheel and jack handle with gloss black epoxy. There is a set of lug nuts hidden under the jack hook because the Cragar Unilug nuts don't fit conventional wheels. The tire size is 225-70R15, same as the fronts. Hopefully I'll never really use any of this stuff but in an emergency it will all work.