My Next Project (V Code 71 Roadrunner)

Qcode351mach · Jul 24, 2016

Yes that's the plan. I don't think that they have the dustless one here and I did find a place that soda blasts but that's about a 60 mile drive to get to it. Is it safe to haul a car on a rotisserie in a covered trailer?

I plan to get the K member and other pieces like that sand blasted. I have a small blast cabinet for the smaller pieces.

Oh yeah, should I do all the metalwork and plastic filling before I put the epoxy primer on? I heard to epoxy prime first then do the filling work and then urethane seal and prime and block sand before painting.

Don't soda blast the car not a recommended procedure for epoxy..Call the company I put the link up to and ask them for a guy in your area who does the dustless blasting has their equipment . I would do all your metal work first then epoxy prime then filler work on top the procedure is outlined here http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/#!perfect-paint-job/c1go8

Also read the tech sheet on the epoxy here http://media.wix.com/ugd/8ced3e_aa7a0c28253d491895be7e6b57691ec6.pdf

BIG BOLD LETTERS NEVER SPRAY EPOXY ON A SODA BLASTED CAR !!!

jbojo · Jul 27, 2016

Scott,

I got a hold of a guy locally who does the dustless blasting. He will come out and do the whole car inside and out and the bottom too. He will do it while the car is on the rotisserie. He does glass beading so he is going to do the K member too. Thx for the suggestion.

Qcode351mach · Jul 27, 2016

Scott,

I got a hold of a guy locally who does the dustless blasting. He will come out and do the whole car inside and out and the bottom too. He will do it while the car is on the rotisserie. He does glass beading so he is going to do the K member too. Thx for the suggestion.

::thumb::::thumb::::thumb::::thumb::::thumb::

jbojo · Jul 30, 2016

7/30/16

Got the 2 fenders off and the rest of the engine compartment wiring out. Also worked on the front valence which had a lot of dents and scrapes on it, probably from hitting the parking curbs during its lifetime.

Tomorrow going to put all the parts in the covered trailer as I am running out of room in my garage. Then going to remove the trunk lid and start removing the dash. I am set up to get the car stripped with the Dustless Blaster process in Sept and then epoxy primered.

Some pics from today:

jbojo · Aug 3, 2016

And the mystery continues.

It seems that the windshield wiper motor is from a C body car and is incorrect for my car. It is currently a 3 spd wiper motor and mine should be a variable speed motor (#3431 077). This explains why the wiper switch only clicks once when I rotate it to the right. I would have expected 3 clicks, once for each speed but the switch that I have clicks once, to turn it on I guess and then it just turns like a rheostat. That would be the variable speeds I guess.

Anyway I think that I have sourced the proper motor now but I want to check the part number of the wiper switch to make sure it's the right one for the variable motor.

Luke · Aug 3, 2016

Do you think the wiper motor was replaced somewhere along its life or is it a factory parts bin mismatch.

1 of my cars came down the line as a top engine spec car then the order was changed to a lower spec car. It is one of the last cars of that model run so it has lots of things that are not supposed to be on that optioned vehicle because of the very late change in engine order. Wonder if something like this happened to the RR as it is a very interesting spec car.

jbojo · Aug 4, 2016

Do you think the wiper motor was replaced somewhere along its life or is it a factory parts bin mismatch.

1 of my cars came down the line as a top engine spec car then the order was changed to a lower spec car. It is one of the last cars of that model run so it has lots of things that are not supposed to be on that optioned vehicle because of the very late change in engine order. Wonder if something like this happened to the RR as it is a very interesting spec car.

The car was built on 9/26/70 so it was one of the first cars built that model year so I don't think it was a part shortage issue. The wiper motor was built on 1/26/70 so I think that it was built a little early to be binned for my car. My guess is that it was replaced at some point after the car was delivered. The fact that the wiper switch appears to be one for a variable motor seems to back up that point. I will check the part number on the switch to confirm all of this too. I also have the Mopar parts manual for 71 and it lists the variable speed motor as the correct part.

I was able to find the correct motor however the date code is after the build date. Still looking but I may have to go with that one, the build date for that wiper motor is 1/11/71 but it will look correct though. This is the right wiper motor pic.

EDIT: And to add the guy that rebuilds these told me that the wire length is much shorter for the variable speed motors because the firewall connection box is just below the motor. I did look at the one I have and the wire to the connector is about double the length that would be needed.

jbojo · Aug 6, 2016

8/6/16

Got the rear bumper and gas tank removed. Also got the dash out and all the wiring removed. It looked like the dash area was worked on in the past as there were bolts missing on some of the dash braces.

Next I need to figure out how to remove the steering column from the steering box. Looks like there is a pin there but I can't figure out how to remove it.

Almost ready to remove the suspension pieces now. A few pics from today.

jbojo · Aug 7, 2016

Didn't do much to the car today but did manage to make frame to mount the dash to and it will make it easier to work on. It sits high enough so that I can work on it while sitting on my shop roller bench and will make it easy to spray the finish on when I am ready.

Also found the defroster vent tube was dry rotted and crumbling. I was able to find a replacement and its on the way. Also found that the dash had the correct variable speed switch so I order the correct motor for this car. This guy has good feedback on the mopar sites and he guarantees his work for as long as you own the car. I attached a pic of his work. Lastly I was able to locate the passenger side dash insert and is coming my way. The dash will start to come together shortly. The harness was spliced in a lot of places so I have found a source tor repro Dash harnesses so I will go that route.

Some pics from today:

midlife · Aug 7, 2016

I get a lot of requests to refurbish Mopar wiring harnesses, but I don't have the inventory nor the schematics to do it justice. Apparently, there is no one doing what I do for the 5 sided cars. There's a niche in the Mopar hobby business if anyone wants to take it on...a good weekend second job with good coin in your pocket if you keep it up.

jbojo · Aug 7, 2016

I get a lot of requests to refurbish Mopar wiring harnesses, but I don't have the inventory nor the schematics to do it justice. Apparently, there is no one doing what I do for the 5 sided cars. There's a niche in the Mopar hobby business if anyone wants to take it on...a good weekend second job with good coin in your pocket if you keep it up.

When I get my car completed you can have the wiring. I have the full electrical schematics for all 71 Mopars too. Might be someone else here that could use them.

midlife · Aug 7, 2016

Noooooo! I really don't want your wiring or the schematics...Just the Mustangs fill up a full bay in the garage. I was simply trying to say this is a good niche for someone else to fill...hmmm...maybe you?

Luke · Aug 9, 2016

Everything else looks very clean and rust free. Really enjoy seeing your up dates and discoveries. Thanks for sharing

jbojo · Aug 12, 2016

Today I received a set of roll pin punches and was able to get the pin out of the steering column. I guess it helps getting the right tool, took me less than a minute to get it out.

On a side note I found that Instrument Specialties has the correct black dash paint base (Dietzler) so they can mix up the correct color for any year. They also can mix the correct dash colors for Mustangs including the black camera case finish. The cost for the RR was $99 for a pint which is enough to do the steering column and the dash pieces.

Lastly I was able to find a pair of soft and pliable headrests in white so I will be dying them black. Mine were hard and cracked.

I plan to continue stripping the interior tomorrow and I will follow up with pictures.

jbojo · Aug 14, 2016

Cleaned up the garage as it was getting pretty messy.

Finished removing the steering column and the rest of the dash components. Also removed all the door and rear panels and other misc parts. All that's left is to remove the door and rear side glass and then the suspension can be removed. It looks like the torsion bars may be bent so I will also be replacing them to. They produce a thicker torsion bar so that it will give the car a Pro touring style ride so I may go that route but still thinking about it. The difference is .93" to 1.03" diameter.

Attaching pics of how the car is looking today.

jbojo · Aug 20, 2016

Not much to report, mostly sourcing parts that I need.

** Sending the Power Brake booster to Dewey's for rebuild

** Steering gear box going to Firm Feel for rebuild.

** Ordered all the interior parts from Legendary

** The dash paint is coming from Instrument Specialties.

** Wiper motor is getting restored. PO had put an C body motor in at some point so I was able to get the correct variable speed motor and it is being rebuilt.

Boxed up the steering column today so I can ship it out on Monday. There is just too much play in it so I want to make sure that it is 100% before I put it back in. Probably went overboard in the packing but it's going across country and I didn't want it to get damaged.

Some pics of the box I made to ship the column in.

EDIT: Except for the sun roof, bumpers and HEMI emblem this is the look that I am striving for. This is the Curious yellow color my car came with.

Luke · Aug 21, 2016

Sweet. It will look awesome. Are you going for stock ride height

jbojo · Aug 21, 2016

Sweet. It will look awesome. Are you going for stock ride height

That's a tough question. My inclination is to remain stock but I think that a lowered front would look good. With the torsion bar suspension can't you adjust the front ride height? If I need new spindles I might drop it.

jbojo · Aug 21, 2016

Today was just too hot to work on the car so I tried to repair my steering wheel. It had a lot of cracks on the rim and at the center base. Wanted to try and save this wheel because most of the cars came with the deluxe wheel and this is just the basic one. I took pics to document this process so I'll see if I can put some descriptions by each pic.

Note: I can't figure out how to add the notes so I'll try to do it with the edit function after I post this.

Still no go so I'll write the descriptions here.

Pic #1

This is how the wheel looked like before I started the repair.

Pic #2

You can see how badly the spokes are cracked at the center hub.

Pic #3

I used a Dremel tool with a cutter tip to widen and clean up the cracks so that I could get the filler in.

Pic #4

The wheel after I cleaned it and widened all the cracks

Pic #5

This is the filler I used. It's just like clay and in two parts. You cut equal amounts of both parts and it activates the filler and you roll it out and fill in the cracks. It does not shrink and hardens like iron in about 1 hr. Since this is like clay you don't have to worry about runs like other materials.

Pic #6

This is the wheel after I filled in all the cracks.

Pic #7

The crack in the right is after I sanded all the excess filler away.

Pic #8

After all the sanding was done

Pic #9

Wheel is primered, can you see the repairs?

Tomorrow I will paint it.