bought another 72 roadrunner project car

[72 BLUE 400]

picked up this 72 roadrunner today,i have know about this car for 6 years and have tried to buy it,i guess patience pays off,guy calls last week willing to sell,now i am kinda secound guessing myself,its a ruff project but picture this thing done.400-4-speed,gun metal grey factory air grabber black interior.i have most parts and with the new sheet metal coming out should not be that hard the frame rails are solid,but needs quarters,doors,fenders(the ones in the car are pretty rusty),but has fender tag,dash tag,clear title,gauges am/fm/radio,reverse light,four speed pedals,floor shift steering colunm,front and rear swaybars,soo what do you guys think am i NUTS.just didnt want to see this thing crushed,the guy i bought it from did say he had a guy that wanted the TAGS OFF IT THAT WAS ALL,didnt want that to happen.for now i will just push it in my lean too and let it sit.

 

[63RedFury]

Wow That is on of my favorite colors plus a 4 speed and a airgrabber.I would love to have it....

 

[moparmarks]

Ruff, ruff.
Nicely optioned car. A/G 4-spd. Love the color. Have a 71 SSP gunmetal car.
Nice save!!:headbang:

 

[72 BLUE 400]

and its manual everything,steering drum brakes.

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going sunday to a local guy that has a bunch of 71-72 rr stuff hoping to get some fenders,and other sheetmetal.i figure being 1 of 906 made and having the air grabber and color,i think it needed to be saved.

 

[72 BLUE 400]

72 rr

added some sheet metal to make it LOOK alittle better

 

[Ron 73]

I think the color and the option list, 4 speed and a air-grabber, will make you a nice project.. Good save!

 

[roadrunnerman]

Glad you were able to grab and save it then let the other guy get the tags.Like you said it's ruff but alot of replacement parts are out there.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

Very cool car and congrats on saving that one!

 

[Budnicks]

Good luck with the Rustoration, it's a true project car, but well worth saving for sure...

 

[bigredbird]

Nice rescue! Now commences your search for the ever-elusive and super rare '72 grille.

 

[Bruzilla]

Not to be the contrarian, but I think you're nuts. I guess I don't understand the whole "it's a rusted out POS but I don't want to see it crushed" mentality. You guys are like women who fall in love with convicted murderers serving life prison terms. You know you're never going to get far with a guy like that, but you live for the chance to redeem and change him. You're going to have to re-do just about every inch of that car, and spend a ton of money and time doing it. And on the money side you'll likely be able to buy a car in much better shape that requires far less work for less money.

My prediction is you will push it to your lean-to and it will sit, and sit, and sit. You're greatest satisfaction with the deal is right now when the car is new, and now every day moving forward your sense of happiness will decrease as the list-o-stuff you have to do gets longer and longer, and more and more expensive. Eventually your declining sense of contentment crosses with the rising list of things to do and costs and that's when you hit the "WTF was I thinking when I bought this?" point we often reach on cars like this.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

Not to be the contrarian, but I think you're nuts. I guess I don't understand the whole "it's a rusted out POS but I don't want to see it crushed" mentality. You guys are like women who fall in love with convicted murderers serving life prison terms. You know you're never going to get far with a guy like that, but you live for the chance to redeem and change him. You're going to have to re-do just about every inch of that car, and spend a ton of money and time doing it. And on the money side you'll likely be able to buy a car in much better shape that requires far less work for less money.

My prediction is you will push it to your lean-to and it will sit, and sit, and sit. You're greatest satisfaction with the deal is right now when the car is new, and now every day moving forward your sense of happiness will decrease as the list-o-stuff you have to do gets longer and longer, and more and more expensive. Eventually your declining sense of contentment crosses with the rising list of things to do and costs and that's when you hit the "WTF was I thinking when I bought this?" point we often reach on cars like this.

My Coronet R/T was like that to me. I hit that point (health wise and money wise) of not being able to do the car myself and part of the fact was my dads health as well. He was and is the body man and I'm just a guy doing what I'm told learning as I go.

I sold my 70 Challenger R/T after my Coronet R/T went to 7500 or so on ebay in just a day and half maybe two days. I should have took the money and restored the Challenger R/T it needed the front clip and was missing dash vin but all other vin #s there with build sheet and fender tag. When I say all vins the hidden vin numbers all matched. I know after being restored it would have been worth less but I was going to clone a Vanishing point car.

I say find another 71-72 Sat and use the parts off it and get it back on the road and dont give up its one you've known about far to long to let it go and beat you.

Good luck on the car and enjoy it and enjoy the time with it and doing the work. I miss the bitching and fussing in the garage and big blow ups with my dad when we disagree on how it should or shouldn't be done. Its not the bitching or fussing I miss its the time I spent doing something with my dad and knowing hey we did that when its done.

 

[72 BLUE 400]

ahhh,i knew it was just a matter of time before negative nelly would show his head,sounds like you have spent some time on a couch telling your secret feelings to a professional.the car can be restored,i would rather have a real 72 roadrunner 400-4-speed airgrabber car than a 72 satellite clone.the rails are solid,its just money and time,and i think with most its the hunt for parts,i have one 72 rr done that i can drive and show.so the swap meets await,while your on the couch again,and the definition of insaninty is repeating the same mistake expecting different results,first time taking on this big of project,so maybe i am insane.

 

[moparmarks]

I've seen people glue alot wrose back together. Really why would anyone spend all the time and money building a car? All the searching for parts. All that body work. Can go buy a finished one for less right? Hop in and drive. Been asking myself that for 30 years but I would still rather have all the fun and do it myself. I do tend to start with a real solid body though. I live in the desert and don't like dealing with very much rust. Love the rush I get after finding a long sout after part. Like knowing whats under the paint.

 

[bigredbird]

My '72 clone needed help and replacement parts in plenty of areas when I got it, and still needs partial quarters and paint, but that's been the fun of owning it. If it was done, I wouldn't have anything to do but drive it, and what good is that? :grin:

Bring this bird back to life, and post pix along the way! :headbang:

 

[Propwash]

Looks like a great project. Congrat's. Goes to show persistence pays off. People are always gonna have there own perspective on things, take it with a grain of salt I guess. Being across the lake from you, I know what it's like as far as project cars in these parts. Find one with good rails, you're off to a good start. When in comes down to restoring cars like that, It's more about a challenge, sentiment and the pride you feel when you put a car back on the road that most would cast away, crush or part out versus a car that is held in sorts in similar standing-but a larger portion, as an investment. We all know there are guys that own these cars just for the vanity. Others as an investment and most, just because well...they love their old car and the friends/community that surrounds them. I don't think it's fair to judge any of them and their intent because it doesn't fall in the same criteria as we see fit. You know, if you want to take a look at a big factor what keeps these cars alive go take a look at the member restoration threads. Folks like Matt, Dave(s), Poly, 68Chicken, Wannadrag, Donny, 99ss, Roger, SGT, Black......ect....ect....ect...(the list is too long to mention), some may call them nuts, but those are the guys greasing the wheels and inspiring folks to pick up and try out that welder or dive in to that rotted trunk pan.

On the flip side, I too caught some flak when taking on my recent RR project. "Rotted out rust bucket...haul it to the crusher.....put a fork in it, it's dead....dumb move..." Most were supportive, helpful and a shoulder to lean on, but some obviously didn't see the car the same way I did. Well my friend, I sincerely hope you put those opinions aside and follow your dreams. I also hope down the road I'm looking at your resurrected bird on this board and you're saying to yourself (like I am now...):

"How do you like me now!!!"

 

[68bee70rr]

not to be the contrarian, but i think you're nuts. i guess i don't understand the whole "it's a rusted out pos but i don't want to see it crushed" mentality. You guys are like women who fall in love with convicted murderers serving life prison terms. You know you're never going to get far with a guy like that, but you live for the chance to redeem and change him. you're going to have to re-do just about every inch of that car, and spend a ton of money and time doing it. And on the money side you'll likely be able to buy a car in much better shape that requires far less work for less money.

My prediction is you will push it to your lean-to and it will sit, and sit, and sit. You're greatest satisfaction with the deal is right now when the car is new, and now every day moving forward your sense of happiness will decrease as the list-o-stuff you have to do gets longer and longer, and more and more expensive. Eventually your declining sense of contentment crosses with the rising list of things to do and costs and that's when you hit the "wtf was i thinking when i bought this?" point we often reach on cars like this.

AMEN!!!! But at the same time, if its what you want and what you enjoy doing. Then good luck to you and have fun at doing it.

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Prop! That bird is looking mean and sweet!

 

[Diecastdeluxe]

Great save! My '74 was in much better shape than that, but once my diabetes hit, I had a bunch of negative nellies telling me I should stick a fork in myself. I sold that car for 1/10 of what it was worth, and after 5 years I'm still kicking myself in the ***. If I still had it I would crawl outside to work on it. Dammit!

If you wanna save it, save it, and to hell with what other people tell you to do!

 

[Ron 73]

Frame rails are solid, heck yes i think its a good project and i know there is more then frame rails to a car but ive watched many restos going on with even the frame rails being replaced a long with numerous body panels.. Can get expensive thats true but if thats what we want, we got to do it or be sorry later thinking about what could have been.

 

[Bruzilla]

There are two absolutes in this hobby. One is that everyone has an opinion, and the other is that opinion changes with experience. It's like the old adage of "I remember the first time I was kissed by a girl, and the first time I got punched in the face, and neither had to happen twice for me to figure out which I liked and which I didn't." If my opinion seems negative, please understand it is an opinion based on my experience and the experiences I've witnessed from other owners over the course of 40 or so years in this hobby.

I don't know of anyone who's ever bought a project car with the thought "man, this is going to be a huge burden on me financially, time wise, and family wise. Am I really doing the right thing?" going through their heads. Nope. In their minds that car has already been restored and they are sitting in the driver's seat of a car that's everything they could hope for. They don't see a rusted out POS, nor do they see thousands of dollars and man hours going into the car. They are aware of these issues, but not focused on them. What they're focused on is they see a beautiful 1 of X 19XX (fill in the blank) sitting in the garage or driveway and it's all theirs! BTW, this is the psychology of why car salesman ask you questions like "where are you going to take this car on vacation?" or "what do you think your neighbors will say when you bring this home?" These questions aren't because the salesman is interested in the answers. The questions are because they force your mind to create mental images of you on vacation with your new vehicle, or your neighbors all rushing to your house to check out your new ride, which instill a sense of mental ownership and keep your mind from thinking about how much it's going to suck to write that payment check every month. ;)

Unfortunately, it's been my experience that for every guy who buys a car in a poor state and actually drops the time and money into restoring it, there are about ten or so who make a good-faith effort at the task and then run out of money, spousal support, room, patience, or ability and then the car ends up wasting away because the owner wants to delude themselves into the "I'm gonna fix it up someday" mindset or they become obsessed with getting an unrealistic price for the remains so they can self-justify that everything they've done to that point hasn't been a waste. What's worse is these guys often don't learn from their mistakes and after a few years will drop another load of cash on another basket case.

This is why my advice to car buyers is only buy cars that you are absolutely certain can be made to meet your needs within your time, money, and family support resources. If you don't have loads of disposable income and time to put into a rusted-out POS, don't buy it! No matter how enthusiastic you are when you buy it, you're eventually going to cross that line I mentioned before and you're going to take a loss. Buy a car that costs a little more on the front-end but requires less investment to get it where you want it. Guys who do this come out ahead most of the time. The guys who buy the rusted out POS end up failing nine times out of ten and become that guy pinning his hopes on an ebay auction where he's selling a car with massive rust, missing parts, and that's mostly disassembled and hoping for someone dumber than him to buy it. The saddest thing is everyone honestly thinks they're the one that is going to make it.