68 RM23 Roadrunner, The rebuild of an old friend

[Chi Town Runner]

Pretty nice decifer for you build sheet.
I think there are a few corrections if you want it to be more accurate.
First - On line 3 you have a 0 under "F"

That's the "Decor Package. All '68 hardtop RRs (RM23) came standard with the decore package so it is not coded on the fender tag
Decor pkg was
the stainless panel along the trunk with RR decal
rear arm rest with ash trays
Partial horn ring steering wheel

Next - you have a 1 under (A)
thats for a 26" radiator.
RR 383 engines came with a 22" radiator unless there was air conditing
on you build sheet, the bottom line has "Rad" and under has "43"
"43" is for a 22" radiator

on line 7 you have "116"
thats the SPD date (Jan 16. 1968) (Scheduled Production Date) that I mentioned earlier, when your car was scheduled to be built.

All the above are strickly my opinion.
You make it what you want
Your car and the work and hours you committed to this project are unimaginable, beyond perfection.

Frank

 

[Runner 68]

Pretty nice decifer for you build sheet.
I think there are a few corrections if you want it to be more accurate.
First - On line 3 you have a 0 under "F"

That's the "Decor Package. All '68 hardtop RRs (RM23) came standard with the decore package so it is not coded on the fender tag
Decor pkg was
the stainless panel along the trunk with RR decal
rear arm rest with ash trays
Partial horn ring steering wheel

Next - you have a 1 under (A)
thats for a 26" radiator.
RR 383 engines came with a 22" radiator unless there was air conditing
on you build sheet, the bottom line has "Rad" and under has "43"
"43" is for a 22" radiator

on line 7 you have "116"
thats the SPD date (Jan 16. 1968) (Scheduled Production Date) that I mentioned earlier, when your car was scheduled to be built.

All the above are strickly my opinion.
You make it what you want
Your car and the work and hours you committed to this project are unimaginable, beyond perfection.

Frank

Thanks Frank. All of this is VooDoo to me. Your input is invaluable.

 

[Runner 68]

Slogging away here on interior. The décor pearl white interior on this car has presented some issues as it is fairly rare. No demand hence proper repo parts are not available.

My youngest son and I (72 B5 Duster) will show side by side at the Wyo Tech show June 1. I have a month left to get this junker in shape. I should have the interior in by this Sunday.

Stretching upholstery on is damned hard on my arthritic hands. It sucks to lose hand strength. I had to purchase PUI covers instead of Legendary. Legendary was a year out, PUI was 3 months out. I have installed nothing but Legendary over the years and their stuff is top shelf. However the PUI covers are pretty damned nice save a couple of minor details. They are still made in the US. They’ll do nicely. The first two pics are the rear bottom, the next two are the front bottoms. A good hot 90 degree day should make things relax a bit.

Pulled the seat medallions off the old covers from the back rests. What a bitch. I will move the rears to the front and the fronts to the rear for obvious wear reasons. Freshened them all up with a light dusting of “Herbs” pearl white vinyl paint.

Carpet relaxing out in the trailer.

**** below.

 

[whayden2003]

This is going to just a beautiful car.

 

[Runner 68]

Pushing hard to get the interior in this weekend. It's been a bit since I had to play with the rear seat in this car but I don't remember it being the hard @ssed bitch that was today. Maybe I'm just old and week these days. I had to resort to the 'ol back in the door jamb, left foot low, right foot high and leg press this F@cker in. Thought I would surely tear something, on me, not the upholstery.
LED headlights and polished wiper arms in. Should wrap up the front seat tomorrow barring any Oh $hits.

 

[HawkRod]

What a nice, nice combo, and an unusual one too. How many cars will you see at a car show with a white and blue interior? Likely none.

It looks bitchin'! Love it!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I’ve had some seat bottoms go in just as you described and I was wondering if it was just me getting old and weaker.

FYI; looking at the picture, there seems to be a slight bow in the seat back. Grabbing the bottom of the seat back and pulling it forward will get that bow out.

Love that blue white interior combination.

 

[Runner 68]

I’ve had some seat bottoms go in just as you described and I was wondering if it was just me getting old and weaker.

FYI; looking at the picture, there seems to be a slight bow in the seat back. Grabbing the bottom of the seat back and pulling it forward will get that bow out.

Love that blue white interior combination.

Thanks RC, I think I'm just old and weaker.
I was unsure if that bow was was natural or not. It's been a while since the interior was in. I'll give it a try. I also noticed that the driver side front seat back is a little tweaked as well. Too many hard launches back in the day I suppose. I'll get in the back seat and try to un-tweak it if I can.

Got the rest of the interior in over the weekend. The front seat back covers were by far the toughest to install. Not quite perfect but close enough for the girls I go with.
I have found that the decor pearl white upholstery varies a bit or is almost impossible to get. The door panels and seats are PUI and match perfectly. Legendary is a year out on this color. Had to paint solid white armrests and seat hinge covers with the pearl white from Herb's. Close but not perfect. Not sure if I like the floormat color I chose or not.

Waiting on some help to put the front bumper on, after that, I think I'm pretty much done save an alignment, test drives and dealing with any gremlins that will pop up.

 

[Runner 68]

BTW, if anyone needs a gently used set of 68 Road Runner pearl white vinyl, I'll let it go for cheap.

 

[bparent]

That looks amazing! It’s awesome to see this come together. Very cool.

 

[Budnicks]

Man @Runner 68 what a great build thread,
I just read & previewed most of it in a couple hrs
this is a very clean, very cool 68 RR RM23 HT,
it has every bell & whistle I like
thanks for all the detail photos & tips too...

I can't, I'm sure you too, can't wait to see the video
& you driving it, going to be a beast in luxury, all new

probably added 100+ count to your thanks like & agrees too

Very cool Bird

 

[khryslerkid]

Man I feel bad about not following along on this build. Last time I checked in was when you were block sanding. Beautiful paint, color and detail! I love how you incorporated the blue pinstripe into the paint instead of using vinyl tape. That's extra work and the final results are definitely rewarding. All the blue accents are done very tastefully throughout the car along with the attention to mechanical details. A real showstopper

I'm not sure what state you're from but it would be a real hit at Chryslers at Carlisle

 

[Runner 68]

Wish we could post videos like we used to but I get the reason.

Shake down drives today. Several short loops around the cul-de-sac getting the T-Bars dialed in to where the front's weren't rubbing. Then a couple of laps around the neighborhood produced some rattling in the CalTracs as the mono leafs settled in. Tweaked that out. Then a 4 mile lap around the section to calibrate the Dakota speedometer. Feels like a brand new 1968 Mopar B Body overall. The brakes still need seasoning. Need to play with adjustments on the shocks and tire pressure a bit to smooth things out. A few small whirs and friction sounds of 100% new parts settling in together for the first time but by and large the day was a success. No leaks!!
Alignment scheduled for this Tuesday. May drop the front a bit more at that point but as of now we have "two full fingers" between the upper inner fender support and the shoulder of the tire. Tight. The rears are breathing easy and are set right about where I want them. Odometer showing 3 miles at this point. Can't wait until it shows 500 miles so I can drop the hammer. Hopefully my 62 year old reflexes are up to it.

First pic is the christening before the drives. Second pic is chilling after the days work out.

 

[moparsaver]

Not sure how the heck I missed this thread… You have done your old friend proud! Awesome build!

 

[khryslerkid]

Wish we could post videos like we used to but I get the reason.

Shake down drives today. Several short loops around the cul-de-sac getting the T-Bars dialed in to where the front's weren't rubbing. Then a couple of laps around the neighborhood produced some rattling in the CalTracs as the mono leafs settled in. Tweaked that out. Then a 4 mile lap around the section to calibrate the Dakota speedometer. Feels like a brand new 1968 Mopar B Body overall. The brakes still need seasoning. Need to play with adjustments on the shocks and tire pressure a bit to smooth things out. A few small whirs and friction sounds of 100% new parts settling in together for the first time but by and large the day was a success. No leaks!!
Alignment scheduled for this Tuesday. May drop the front a bit more at that point but as of now we have "two full fingers" between the upper inner fender support and the shoulder of the tire. Tight. The rears are breathing easy and are set right about where I want them. Odometer showing 3 miles at this point. Can't wait until it shows 500 miles so I can drop the hammer. Hopefully my 62 year old reflexes are up to it.

First pic is the christening before the drives. Second pic is chilling after the days work out.

View attachment 1661729View attachment 1661731

To post videos upload them to YouTube then copy and paste the link here.

Beautiful Plymouth!

 

[Runner 68]

Got it all lined out today. Drives nice. Hard to find 'ol boys that aren't afraid of these cars these days.
An old friend of mine did it. He didn't even charge me for my "help"!!

 

[Runner 68]

Have been taking it on shake down drives for the past couple of days. 35 miles on the odo at this point. A few subtle "whirrs" which I attribute to tranny, diff and brakes all getting to know each other.
The tank was half full of 91 pump gas. I dumped 5 gallons of 110 VP in it and went to a local Shell station to top it off with more 91.

I'm pumping my gas and this clown rolls into the pump across from me in one of those new puke @ssed green / grey Broncos. Jumps out, wearing a Mustang T Shirt and says "Cool car". I say "thanks".
The temp tag from from the state is on the car at this point while waiting for the real tags. This idiot says "Did you just by this?" I respond "No, I just finished re-building it, I bought it back in 1978". He says "Everything?" I say "Yes everything". The stupid @ssed look on his face was priceless. He said " Well I'm into Fords but Mopars are cool". I say " I can tell by your T-Shirt and what you're driving that you are". Again, another clueless look and he just stands there gawking.

I finish my business and jump in and fire it up. Swear to god he jumped like a 6 year old girl when it lit. Good day.

Will season the rotors and pads in this weekend. The cherry on top is that the new tags were waiting for me when I got home today. Not my first choice, actually my 8th. But they will do.

 

[oldbee]

I missed this thread also, sorry. ‘Love the rear window decal’!!! Semper Fi

 

[RJ Squirrel]

Love the finished product that first drive must have been an ecstatic experience, grinning ear to ear, listening to every little noise!
So what are you going to do now in your empty nest?

 

[Runner 68]

I missed this thread also, sorry. ‘Love the rear window decal’!!! Semper Fi

Semper Fi Brother.