Which Transmission

[jww69rrpost]

I do plan to provide photos, other than this frontend view, when it is done (and you know they are NEVER really done)!! It is; however, very close. Items remaining are dash components; insulation of trunk followed by black carpeting throughout trunk; finish sound system; polish and wax exterior, and apply road runner decals to exterior and dash. The "official coming out" event is planned for the next Good Guys show in Del Mar, CA scheduled for April 3rd, 4th and 5th. I have wondered, for awhile, how many other 69 Road Runners there are in California. I rarely see any when I'm out and about. I believe there are some, just how many and where I have no clue. Seems like most are scattered in the Midwest and back east. Not a bunch were made and I'm guessing most have been destroyed by now. If anybody has a clue of how many remain I'd love to know.

 

[RAINMANYEH]

Good luck on finishing her up. Enjoy having something that’s not on every corner. Before I got my RR, family, friends, and coworkers were telling me to get a Camaro or Mustang. IMO, both of those are a dime a dozen and you can’t throw a rock without hitting one anywhere. I have not seen another RR while I’ve been out driving her or at any car shows. I’ve heard rumors that there is another RR about an hour north of me, but I’ve never seen it nor has anyone that has said they’ve seen it taken any pics to confirm same. Welcome to the site and enjoy the RR.

 

[Ranger]

Before I got my RR, family, friends, and coworkers were telling me to get a Camaro or Mustang. IMO, both of those are a dime a dozen and you can’t throw a rock without hitting one anywhere.

Amen to that!

I might see a half dozen or so Road Runners at a Mopar show, but at any other show or cruise night, I'm usually the only one there. It's kind of nice to stand out from the crowd.

 

[RKNRLR]

even less birds down under. I am almost always the only RR at any car meet

 

[jww69rrpost]

Yeah I agree it's kinda nice to be in the minority. I'm sure there must have been at least 10 million early Mustangs built... and a week does not go by where I won't see at least two or three... and that's just in my local neighborhood. If you notice, when looking at the various websites where Mopars are listed for sale, the same Road Runners seem to pop up on all the sites... and often I'll see the same car resold several times. Mine was listed for nearly a year on three sites, and when I finally decided to make an offer... I made it clear to the owner that it would be a one-time only offer with no haggling. I got it for substantially less than the asking price, but it was in need of a lot of work and was overpriced to begin with... which was fine with me knowing that I was going to tear into it and do a full (down to bare bones) restoration. My Road Runner was original sold in early November 1968 at a dealership in Los Angeles, then it went to Oklahoma in the mid to late 70's, from there to Kansas in the mid to late 80's where it seemed to bonce around between several owners, then I bought it, and back it came to California (that was in 2015). It has seen a very hard life, was driven and raced hard, went from an automatic, to a four-speed, and back to an automatic... started out F8 ivy green, then B5 blue, then orange, then blue again (the color it was when I purchased it)… went through at least one accident

 

[Russ69Runner]

Yeah I agree it's kinda nice to be in the minority. I'm sure there must have been at least 10 million early Mustangs built... and a week does not go by where I won't see at least two or three... and that's just in my local neighborhood. If you notice, when looking at the various websites where Mopars are listed for sale, the same Road Runners seem to pop up on all the sites... and often I'll see the same car resold several times. Mine was listed for nearly a year on three sites, and when I finally decided to make an offer... I made it clear to the owner that it would be a one-time only offer with no haggling. I got it for substantially less than the asking price, but it was in need of a lot of work and was overpriced to begin with... which was fine with me knowing that I was going to tear into it and do a full (down to bare bones) restoration. My Road Runner was original sold in early November 1968 at a dealership in Los Angeles, then it went to Oklahoma in the mid to late 70's, from there to Kansas in the mid to late 80's where it seemed to bonce around between several owners, then I bought it, and back it came to California (that was in 2015). It has seen a very hard life, was driven and raced hard, went from an automatic, to a four-speed, and back to an automatic... started out F8 ivy green, then B5 blue, then orange, then blue again (the color it was when I purchased it)… went through at least one accident View attachment 29749 View attachment 29750

Really a good looking Job buddy. Did you do the work your self. Yes mine also had a hard life. It also was take down to frame rails in many place. It is a passion of restoring a history making muscle car. Good Job.

 

[jww69rrpost]

I did as much as I could... Where I cannot do certain things anymore, I have to rely on the experts to jump in. There was a time when I could do just about everything, including body repair and paint and engine build, but these days I have a lot of health issues that just get in the way of too many physical tasks. Back in the day we all did pretty much everything... there was no such thing as "aftermarket". If you wanted something you either went to the junkyard or fabricated it in your garage (if you had a garage). This car was taken down to bare metal inside and out. A ton of Bondo and rust was removed (a lot of rusted through holes everywhere). All the sheet metal was restored the old fashion way... hammer, grinder and torch. The only piece too far gone was the passenger side fender. The replacement fender required some work to get it to fit exactly as it should. Although the interior all looks extremely upgraded (all Italian black leather throughout) the seat frames are all original to the car. It was critical from the get-go to make every effort to maintain the overall integrity and look of the car... that included staying with rear leaf springs and torsion bars up front... and no rack and pinion... rather an upgraded steering box. It does have power steering; brakes; windows and door locks and AC. It's built to be my daily driver, so the creature-comforts were a must-have. The redline tires are from Diamond Back (not cheep) but well worth it and just makes the car complete. The black Cragars and the redlines look so nice together and work very well with the ivy green color. The interior is all black and looks brand new. The carpeting is custom cut pile (extremely thick and plush) with matching floormats. I'll provide more photos, including the interior a little later (few weeks). Oh by the way, the photos were taken before the black longitudinal strips were applied along the sides and the four coats of PPG clear. It was color sanded and polished and when you step to the side the black strips disappear into the paint... didn't want to go with striping tape and didn't want to feel the strips.

 

[Russ69Runner]

Sound's like the most of us restoring these old runner's. Getting to old and worn out to do what we use to do. Money being a factor had to push through the best I could to get the work done. Had to take a week off here and their to have another go at it. Nice job. Another runner saved.

 

[Kevin Falerios]

I do plan to provide photos, other than this frontend view, when it is done (and you know they are NEVER really done)!! It is; however, very close. Items remaining are dash components; insulation of trunk followed by black carpeting throughout trunk; finish sound system; polish and wax exterior, and apply road runner decals to exterior and dash. The "official coming out" event is planned for the next Good Guys show in Del Mar, CA scheduled for April 3rd, 4th and 5th. I have wondered, for awhile, how many other 69 Road Runners there are in California. I rarely see any when I'm out and about. I believe there are some, just how many and where I have no clue. Seems like most are scattered in the Midwest and back east. Not a bunch were made and I'm guessing most have been destroyed by now. If anybody has a clue of how many remain I'd love to know.

I'm planning to pick up my 69' roadrunner in 2 weeks!!! I live in NorCal.

 

[Sherryz1]

I am also going with Gear Vendors for the sake of elongating two mount holes and possibly punching a dimple in the tunnel. The original A833 gear box is by far the best. The more modern 5 and six speed boxes are a lot lighter so possibly won't take such a beating.