First Mopar, ideas and help please.

[treckrg]

Hello all!

So I know very little about muscle cars, especially Mopars. Went to an auction with father-in-law yesterday hoping to get a Chevelle, ended up with this ride instead. '69 roadrunner, 38 thousand orig. miles, 383 with Edelbrock (I am assuming aftermarket) carb and intake, mechanical ignition, Dana rear end. Auto tranny, bucket seats. I hope this is a good car as I know VERY little about them. Oh, it does still have original "meep meep" horn....

Ok, list of questions if you all would be kind enough to help:

1) - Steering. Tracks straight at 80 on interstate, but steering is loose, especially turning to the right. Should I look into steering gearbox first? It is power steering. Just want to tighten it. Also, steering wheel is turned about 90 degrees counterclockwise while driving straight. Is this an indicator that steering linkage is off key, or can I just take wheel off and straighten it?

2) - When cold, this thing fires right up. Never misses a beat. Idles at 550rpm. When we run it for a while and turn it off, it is hard to start. Also noticed that when we shut it off, the clear fuel filter (to left of carb) drains completely empty. Weird. Any ideas? We can pump the pedal and get it started, rev it good and it runs perfect again.

3) - The bucket seat brackets have little pieces of what looks like 2x4s painted black that actually bolt to the floor. Were these put in by someone to help lift seats, or to replace a part? If so, where can I but new parts? The bracket under sliding rail is there, this is just a 2" wood block between rails and floor pan.

4) - Anything special we should look out for on this motor? It seems to run real strong and no smoke. Really just curious about common problems to watch for or easy upgrades, mostly for reliability.

5) - How easy is it to make this thing have power brakes? Is there a kit that is easy?

6) - Regular unleaded ok to run, try to find no ethenol I assume?

7) - Very clean and intake interior and exterior, want to replace some worn-out parts with oem or oem replicas. Where should I look? Primarily the rear view mirror (worn out and won't hold position well), wiper blades and arms (want close to original), and screws to hold side-view mirror, they are stripped out.

8) - The headlights are halogen, but they have some half-light covers over the lenses. Some sort of chrome or painted metal. Were they from factory or added cause someone liked them? They just cover the top half of lights. What is purpose??

Thanks all! I am trying to learn as much about this car as possible. Been spending lots of time today on Wiki and google. Hopefully you can help out with a few of these questions.

 

[oldbee]

The hard starting when hot is probably the gas boiling over in the carb. Need to lower the float level a little(1/16"). As for the steering - probably need to look at tie rod ends for excessive play. Steering box may need tightened up a bit(it's old!!)Great lookin car .

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

The mirror is probably not broken. Take it off the roof and there is a flex plate that holds the ball of the arm of the mirror in place. Tighten the screw on the plate and it will press down on the ball of the arm. Firm Feel makes power brake upgrades and I would run 93 octane if you can afford it. Ethanol is in mostly all gasoline's except racing or aviation. I use Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank at every fill up, but this may be due to me be neurotic about my car's engines.

 

[red 69 runner]

good looking car,now i know what my car would look like with the hood stripes.have the same hot starting problem.I just replaced my cast manifold with an aluminum one and replaced the valley pan gasket with one that blocks off the heat cross over ,put a cool carb spacer kit under the carb,had to get a new gas tank and carburator so I havent fired it up yet to see if all this works due to the heat and haveing to work 6 13 hour days a week,i will keep you posted..

 

[mjb765]

You don't absolutlely need power brakes--SSBC makes a kit to put front disk brakes on the car and it will stop much better and you will forget about not having a power booster.

Also......how many Chevelles do you see at car shows--everybody has one of those.....Now a 69 Road Runner..you won't find 10 of those at every show!! You scored a nice ride!

 

[Photon440]

Hi treckrg. Pretty nice looking ride you picked up.

Your seat brackets sound modified. They also shouldn't contain any wooden parts. Here's an example of what they ought to look like:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/68-69-Charge...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e6f3c2e15

The 383 engine is reliable and is a great performer, which is why Plymouth used it for the base engine in the first place. You mentioned an aftermarket intake and carb, so who knows if anything else has been changed. Hard to recommend what to do if you don't know if the original cam, heads, pistons etc. are there or not.

But although you can get by with unleaded for awhile, at least use premium. Eventually your valve seats will wear out faster than if you were able to use lead.

Those half covers on your headlights are called moon covers. Usually more of a hot-rodder thing, not for muscle cars. They're just for appearance. Take them off and get more light on the road.

No need to spend time on wiki or google...this site is the place to get loads of info!

-=Photon440=-

 

[Dennis H]

Good advice here already. Cool ride, nice score.

Steering: Firm feel box. Stage 2
Put a 1" phenolic spacer under carb if hood closure allows. Reroute and Wrap fuel ines.
PrayseDyno sells a kit called brakes in a box to re up the 11 inch drums. Works good.

Good luck.

 

[shag766]

welcome aboard and good score on the r/r. most of your concerns have been answered above but the first one i would get into is the steering. i would be into the safety issues first. the big change for you will be getting out of the new high tech cars into what the old stuff was all about.
now that being said get at it and have some fun and enjoy the rush. it has just begun. good luck.:headbang:

 

[65 Plymouth Satellite 426]

Good Luck With Your RR And Welcome To FBBO! On This Site You'll Find The World's Best Mopar Techs, Mechanics, Lurkers, And All Around Good Guys!

 

[tpodwdog]

Hello all!

So I know very little about muscle cars, especially Mopars. Went to an auction with father-in-law yesterday hoping to get a Chevelle, ended up with this ride instead. '69 roadrunner, 38 thousand orig. miles, 383 with Edelbrock (I am assuming aftermarket) carb and intake, mechanical ignition, Dana rear end. Auto tranny, bucket seats. I hope this is a good car as I know VERY little about them. Oh, it does still have original "meep meep" horn....

Ok, list of questions if you all would be kind enough to help:

1) - Steering. Tracks straight at 80 on interstate, but steering is loose, especially turning to the right. Should I look into steering gearbox first? It is power steering. Just want to tighten it. Also, steering wheel is turned about 90 degrees counterclockwise while driving straight. Is this an indicator that steering linkage is off key, or can I just take wheel off and straighten it?

try the steering box first.... then go to the front end linkage...old cars have old parts....for the most part

2) - When cold, this thing fires right up. Never misses a beat. Idles at 550rpm. When we run it for a while and turn it off, it is hard to start. Also noticed that when we shut it off, the clear fuel filter (to left of carb) drains completely empty. Weird. Any ideas? We can pump the pedal and get it started, rev it good and it runs perfect again.

could be vapor lock....could be headesr making the starter hot

3) - The bucket seat brackets have little pieces of what looks like 2x4s painted black that actually bolt to the floor. Were these put in by someone to help lift seats, or to replace a part? If so, where can I but new parts? The bracket under sliding rail is there, this is just a 2" wood block between rails and floor pan.

someone lifted the seats is all....remove the blocks....parts are on EBAY...pretty much anything you want for that car.

4) - Anything special we should look out for on this motor? It seems to run real strong and no smoke. Really just curious about common problems to watch for or easy upgrades, mostly for reliability.

the 383 is a reliable engine...strong....and steadfast. if its running good.....dont touch it.

5) - How easy is it to make this thing have power brakes? Is there a kit that is easy?

there are kits for this...just gotta look

6) - Regular unleaded ok to run, try to find no ethenol I assume?

use 93 octane gas....with a lead additive every other tankful.

7) - Very clean and intake interior and exterior, want to replace some worn-out parts with oem or oem replicas. Where should I look? Primarily the rear view mirror (worn out and won't hold position well), wiper blades and arms (want close to original), and screws to hold side-view mirror, they are stripped out.

take the mirror off and theres a ball and plate inside....tighten up the screw with a bit of loc-tite

8) - The headlights are halogen, but they have some half-light covers over the lenses. Some sort of chrome or painted metal. Were they from factory or added cause someone liked them? They just cover the top half of lights. What is purpose??

those are add ons and all they do is cut half of the light....lose 'em

Thanks all! I am trying to learn as much about this car as possible. Been spending lots of time today on Wiki and google. Hopefully you can help out with a few of these questions.

you couldnt have gotten a better 1st MOPAR than a 69 roadrunner:headbang:

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Yup what he said ;) But you start off with was going to buy a chevelle? wtf? Good thing you got a mopar other wise you may have gone blind :headbang:

you couldnt have gotten a better 1st MOPAR than a 69 roadrunner:headbang: