73 lemon twist roadrunner

[73Bitterbird]

well had a couple rough days at work but still got a bunch of little parts restored.and messed up the gauge panel, I was gonna try and paint it but the paint looked really bad so I figured I would just clean the paint off and tha didn't go well. do im going to paint it black and buy another one someday. but the gauges look great.still waiting on the special surprise for them. my heater controls were toast, so I found a nice one on ebay cheap. I got the wiper and headlight nobs and mounting nuts too. all interior plastics were in great shape except the kick panels which will be painted black. all the metal pieces from the interior were sanded and painted. I spent about 4 hours on the rear view mirror, but it looks good.also got a big box of dynamat to replace the old insulation padding.the headliner and carpet have been prepped and are ready to install, still working on getting the dash and heater box out to restore it. the car is a original a/c car but the only remnants of the ac are the heater controls. I will be collecting the parts to fix it through out the summer. cant wait for summer to come so I can get the body work done. my plan for tomorrow is to get the grill painted and back together. the chrome trim on the bottom wasn't bad just had to work out a kink. but its ready to polish. but for now heres some more pics. beforeafter

 

[Ron 73]

Looks like even after a couple bad days, your getting it where you want it, i to hope SPRING/summer gets here myself, makes things a whole lot smoother!

 

[73Bitterbird]

Well it's been awhile, I have been super busy with work and a crappy lil racecar. But have still been collecting parts and working very little on the roadrunner.but I got the engine all back together,minus the intake and carb. I got the interior all striped and painted all metal pieces with a fresh coat of black.washed all the plastic and used some protectant on it.the front seats aren't good but I have a set of nice covers for them,the rear is fine for now but I'm sure it won't stand up to my kids for long lol.im about to move it to a slab to do hue brakes and suspension work I have to get done. I am to broke to have a garage lol.im also saving money to buy a house cash I don't like payments.anyway back on topic I'm gettin very excited to drive this car.i have a car show I'm gonna suprise my dad and let him drive it there in june,so maybe by my birthday in May she will be on the road.

 

[73Bitterbird]

more pics of the bitter bird

well I have had a productive couple days getting a lot done on the car. got the front valance off there was a big crease in it. pounded that out tried to pop out a dent on the other side of the valance and found some filler. working on getting that out and stripping the valance. I also got a dent out of the header panel. and stripped that.got behind the grill all cleaned up and painted black.so far shes coming along good and looking sweet every panel I get prepped and primed. once thebody is primed and ready for paint I will be putting the interior in. I also got to talking to a friend about dynamat and how things can go wrong with it after him showing me some pics and reading up on it I will not be using that stuff in my car. I will prolly be using stock style padding and sound material. as fro the suspension I am waiting on a couple more pieces for the rebuild. I was wondering any one whos done one of these cars how far do I have to lower the k member to change the bushings?.it looks like ill have no problem if I can get 3 or 4 inches of clearance, but I don't know.

 

[snakeyes]

- - - Updated - - -

looking very good thought I would get you untwisted :headbang:

 

[73Bitterbird]

Thank you.thought I had them fixed lol.

 

[73Bitterbird]

Thought I would post a quick update.i have been pretty busy gettin the roadrunner paint stripped off. Found some spots of filler and butt prints on my fender,lol.the previous owner was a hot single milf so I'm not at all suprised. The front valence is pretty beat up and I have been hammering it out almost perfect. This week gonna weld in some patch panels and gonna try and make a trunk floor.hoping to get paint on in June.was planning on driving it this summer but from the looks of it I'll be getting t done at the end of summer.so maybe I'll have it perfect for next spring.rather have a nice car then a halfa** pos that I have to keep fixing. And I love this car so I want it done right. All in all the cars coming along good,I got the dash disassembled wow what a job that was lol. Getting the paint done on that as soon as I get the right paint.ordered a cap for the dash pad and a new lock for the console it was hard to find the right one.it was one of the parts sold off it before I got it. I can't wait to drive this roadrunner !

 

[73Bitterbird]

Haven't been on in a while but getting a lil work done on the roadrunner.have been dealing with gout for the past 3 weeks or more.but here's some pics of the brake work and the engine after paint. Still a long way to go but hope is high that she will be on the road very soon.

 

[Ron 73]

Looks like your getting things done, those old brakes look like they were wore pretty good.. i see what looks like some windows out, are you going to do a whole resto, dash out and every thing looks like your getting ready to tackle it all.. Good luck its a lot of work but will be a great ride when your done...

 

[73Bitterbird]

Thank you,not doing a full resto just a light refresh lol or that's how it started lol.i took the windows out to do a very nice paint job,dash needed a refresh,heater box was full of rats nest and the windshield had more cracks then the dash lol. But for now got all the bushings for the front now so next pics will be a month of rebuilding the front end.wish me luck!

 

[Ron 73]

Lol, GOOD LUCK! We all can use that and i hope it isint to terribly bad, These cars are fun to fix up but can be a pain the back side, luck is only part of it, patience is the biggest part i think!

 

[73Bitterbird]

Thank you. I got the front end disassembled on one side lol.what a pain in the rear that was dreading the other side but it should go a lil easier now that I know what I'm doin. I would like to get it back together by Sunday, I have this week off work so it shouldn't be a problem. Going to figure out how to re coat the torsion bars. And also found a lil problem on the upper a arm.the end is worn down like it had bad ball joints.but it doesn't currently rub but it must have at one time.so I'm eBay fishing for a new pair.also just got weld on braces for the bottom control arms. All new moog ball joints and tie rods for the bitter bird.and of coarse new brakes and it should stop and corner better then new. To tired to take pics today.will have them up after the front end is in.

 

[ZR9B]

looks good....probably the best looking car they (mopar) made after 72 ...you have got it going on the right track

 

[MT_Mopar]

Thank you. I got the front end disassembled on one side lol.what a pain in the rear that was dreading the other side but it should go a lil easier now that I know what I'm doin. I would like to get it back together by Sunday, I have this week off work so it shouldn't be a problem. Going to figure out how to re coat the torsion bars. And also found a lil problem on the upper a arm.the end is worn down like it had bad ball joints.but it doesn't currently rub but it must have at one time.so I'm eBay fishing for a new pair.also just got weld on braces for the bottom control arms. All new moog ball joints and tie rods for the bitter bird.and of coarse new brakes and it should stop and corner better then new. To tired to take pics today.will have them up after the front end is in.

Right on, the Bitterbird is rockin! Nice work so far, those new brakes look great.

A thought on the upper control arm is to post a wanted to buy (WTB) in the for sale forum: LINK

A few guys now and then upgrade their A arms to tubular ones so there may be some OEM ones for sale here on B bodies.

Have fun and keep up the good work!

 

[Ron 73]

Workin on these does ware ya out lol, Love to see the pictures but it can wait.. I do have to agree with ZR9B, im predigest myself but i do think the 73 is a great looking ride, back in the day i didn't have the same thoughts, trust me, But today is another story and it didn't happen until i started to work on one just to sell it, then i couldn't! lol.. Oh well, it happens sometimes!

 

[73Bitterbird]

Thank you all very much,reading the positive comments on this thread have giving me a new energy to work on the car.and I gotta agree with ZR9B and Ron 73 these cars are beautiful.and 73-74 was the last years before they look like grandpa cars lol.no offence to grand pas lol but my grandfather drove a 75 charger and it wasn't very sporty lol.i love the look of the body on these cars and the way u sit inside it feels like. Rocket. Growing up in a 73 most of my greatest memory's are in a 73 roadrunner. And thanks for the link mt_mopar I will be putting up a post for control arms later,kinda slim pickins on eBay for those.any back to the bitterbird. And thanks again for all the positive encouragement on this site!

 

[73Bitterbird]

Hello all haven't been working on my roadrunner for the last couple weeks. Wouldn't have thought it but I'm in a tight points race at the dirt track I race at and right now I'm in 2nd any way while I'm away a friend of mine is putting my front end together for me ,he owed me some money and has built a couple cudas and a 74 roadrunner so he is more then Capable if doing it right. As for my control arm issue wouldn't you know it my dad had some that were spares from his roadrunner.they were just sitting on the shelves since 89. Who woulda knew I just got lucky I guess. But I'll post pics soon as I start racing crappy again.lol

 

[Car Nut]

 

[73Bitterbird]

I'mmmm baaaaaccccckkkkk, well I finished 2nd in points at the local dirt track and after years of wasting my money on dirt track racing I'm done.motors are sold cars are selling.and on that note the roadrunner will be getting all the cash that racing once ate up. So here we are the roadrunner has and nothing done in the past 2 months,it's looking pretty mad at me lol.the front suspension is half together so I'll be finishing that up.i got the bumper bent back to stock shape it was bent pretty bad. The interior of the car is the next this after the front end is together. Went to a big car show in lake George ny last week and it got me itching to drive this beast. But will be posting some new pics Sunday. Happy to be back on here and back on the roadrunner track. Maybe after all this the bird won't be so bitter !

 

[Basket case]

great job! my first mopar was a '73 340 4 speed road runner. Had a blast with that car, and the blonde I was dating taught me a few things in it......