Dad's First Car - '74 Road Runner

[donmodro]

Thanks for the good words, I can only hope to match the work going on in some of these other threads. Maybe in another 20 years. :toothy6:

I have a pile of new metal waiting for me, I just had a new outer wheelhouse arrive on my doorstep. Hopefully some more progress updates this weekend. The rest of the car isn't as bad, the drivers side really took the brunt of Pennsylvania's worst. The floors and frame rails are all very solid, apparently the barrels of undercoating did some good. Hopefully the old girl is done throwing out surprises for the time being.

 

[Ron 73]

Hopefully the rest will be some easier.. You sure have come along way! Good luck,, looking solid as new..

 

[donmodro]

Small progress update, I've been spending some time making room for some new sheetmetal. I cut out the old trunk extension on the driver's side. Looks like I will have a small amount of patching to do on the lip that it welds to, but overall the rest of the metal in this area doesn't look too bad.



OMG Giant holes!





I also tack welded the new wheel lip I am making together so that I could unscrew it from the car, then I started cutting away the old wheel lip to expose the outer wheelhouse. It was at this point that I realized the lip was no longer present, time to order more sheet metal.

Also at this point I discovered, much as I was expecting to, that my inner rocker is toast. This car has made the decision for me that I will never own another northeastern car again. Thankfully it looks like the inner rocker is going to be a pretty simple piece to make, it's just flat metal with a few bends. I'm sure rear seat passengers are going to feel a little more reassured knowing their seatbelt isn't going to run the risk of detaching from the car in an accident once this is all finished.







There was also a small patch on the back that was hiding this, nothing too serious, I had already ordered the filler piece for the trunk extension expecting to find this.



New Metal! Better make room.



Time to break out the angle grinder again...





I will need to make a few more patches before I start welding in any new metal, as some of the parts of the inner wheel house that were butted up against the rusty one are a little crunchy, but overall no new surprises.

I'm definitely not used to seeing so much of the car opened up. I'm looking forward to starting to close her back up again. Great news is that I was mocking up all of the parts back on the car, and the parts I made fit the new outer wheelhouse. Next step is making a few little patches so that I can start welding in the new metal.

 

[Basket case]

you're doing a fantastic job. makes me miss my '73. my'69 came from Michigan, and it's really solid.
would you be taking your to the Beaver show next year? maybe we'll run into each other.

 

[donmodro]

you're doing a fantastic job. makes me miss my '73. my'69 came from Michigan, and it's really solid.
would you be taking your to the Beaver show next year? maybe we'll run into each other.

If the car is finished by then she will be there. Even without the car I will most likely be there. Beaver is right across the river from me.

 

[donmodro]

It's been awhile, so I thought it would be a good idea to post an update. Life has been getting in the way, so progress over the summer has been very slow.I started taking the firewall and engine compartment down to bare metal, then things quickly progressed into dropping the subframe to allow a much more detailed job. Thankfully no additional rust has been discovered, and the framerails are clean.

I was very happy not to find additional rust in the firewall






Thankfully all of the bolts holding the old girl together gave up their hold with the help of a little bit of PB Blaster.



I can't wait to get the suspension blown apart and begin restoring individual components, hopefully soon I will get to see the car looking better in fits and starts, not just making everything look worse as I go. :-D



Looks like she's no longer a rolling chassis.



- - - Updated - - -

Also it appears the internet has broken the links to the pictures on the first page, so when I get a little time I will add the progress pictures up to this point back to the thread.

 

[Basket case]

yeah real life sucks. looks like you're doing a good job. mine is still in paint jail. maybe they'll be done in time for next years Hot Summer Night;s.

 

[Ron 73]

What you have there all cleaned up looks great, hopefully the frame rails will be good and looking at what you have it sure looks like they should be good! Life does have a way of slowing us down sometimes.. Good luck with the rest of it!