Belair62
10-13-2005, 05:39 AM
This has got to be one of the best color combo's on one of these cars http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
My story with the car starts in April of 1987. I'd wanted a lift-off hood car for some time and couldn't get the uncle of a friend of mine to move off of the 13,000 mile R4 red lift-off hood Road Runner he had. My wait wasn't long as one came up for sale in the local paper. I was the first caller and set-up a time to go see it the same night. When I got there I verified that it had a "M" in the 5 digit of the VIN, it still had its' original hood, air cleaner ass'y was gone, it was painted a color I didn't think was available, it had a goofy colored interior and found the car to be very solid but it had a junk 400-2bbl in the hole. The owner still had the intake and carbs but the carbs looked like fuzzy white balls from when had left them in a floor level cabinet during a flooding rain. I decided to make an offer to him since I thought $4000.00 was too much. We finally settled on $3800.00 and made arrangements to pick it up the next night. Thankfully he was a man of his word as he had 42 other calls on the car, some offering above his asking price. I pick the car up and we head over to my cousins Chrysler dealership to do the title work and this is where he gives me the bad news - the car isn't titled in his name but he and his now ex-wife's name. He had forgotten to have her sign off on the title during the divorce. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! I asked him if he'll give me most of my money back, him keeping a grand as a down payment, I'll take the car back and he says "No". Seems he needed to pay the lawyer right now and needed all the cash. Thankfully the notary says she can notarize a bill of sale between us to make the deal binding while he gets the title straightened out. Man that was a nervous 2 weeks. During that 2 weeks I did a little research on the A12 cars and found that during the 2nd batch that were built that any Road Runner color was available (versus only 7 colors during 1st run) and any available Road Runner interior could also be had. Now that the car was in my name (officially 5/4/87) I tore into it. The 400 came out, the interior came out (along w/ a nice broadcast sheet) and it headed for the paint shop. Once prepped, the engine compartment was shot and I received a call - you have to come see this, the paint came out GREEN! I got there to see that it was definitely green but said let's wait to see what it dries down to. After 24 hours it dried down to the proper shade of A4 Platinum silver. After the car gets back I go about getting it back together. For a 440 I used a 13,000 mile engine out of a '69 New Yorker that I had gone through, adding only a Purple Shaft cam (1 step-up from a resto cam) and an oil pan and pick-up from Ed Hamburger since I couldn't find the right one. I used the original Edelbrock intake and for carbs I used a set that my Dad had lying around. For a breather I ended up finding one at a swap meet for $450.00 (thought that was a terrible price at the time). The interior is all original except for the carpet. Now come the time for the exhaust and this is where things come to a stand still. I ended up going through 3 H-pipes only to find out that no one was making one that fit. The third pipe gets cut into 3 pieces and put in a corner. That's the way the car sat for the next 13 years while real life intervened. Come July, 2004 there is talk on the A12 restoration forum over on www.moparts.org (http://www.moparts.org) of a reunion of the A12 cars at The All-Chrysler National in Carlisle 2005. This is the spring board for me to start the work necessary to finish the car. One of my best friends (and former employee) says he'll wet sand and buff the car if I'll get the rest finished. Well the car makes it to Carlisle but it isn't totally finished as even cut into 3 pieces the H-pipe still doesn't fit. Back from Carlisle I decide I want to go to the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race in Stanton, MI. I get a 304 stainless exhaust system from The Stainless Works and mufflers are Dynomax Ultra-flo's. Its debut at PSMCDR is less than spectacular as I had issues with fan to radiator clearance and the end carbs, while getting vacuum, wouldn't come in. I really wasn't disappointed in this since after 18 years I was finally able to drive it versus only being able to dream about it (which always had me looking for an exhaust shop and having NO brakes!).
The car:
RM - Road Runner
21 - 2dr coupe
M - special order engine
9 - 1969
A - Lynch Road assembly plant
****** - last 6 digits are sequential build numbers
As optioned:
A4 - Platinum silver metallic silver
M6S - medium vinyl bucket seat interior in Pewter & Black
A12 - 440-6bbl package
A87 - Road Runner Decor package
G11 - Tinted windows all around
--- - Radio deleted (forgot to be ordered actually)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR29.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR28.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR32.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR34.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR35.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR43.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR44.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR38.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR39.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR41.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR27.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR25.jpg
My story with the car starts in April of 1987. I'd wanted a lift-off hood car for some time and couldn't get the uncle of a friend of mine to move off of the 13,000 mile R4 red lift-off hood Road Runner he had. My wait wasn't long as one came up for sale in the local paper. I was the first caller and set-up a time to go see it the same night. When I got there I verified that it had a "M" in the 5 digit of the VIN, it still had its' original hood, air cleaner ass'y was gone, it was painted a color I didn't think was available, it had a goofy colored interior and found the car to be very solid but it had a junk 400-2bbl in the hole. The owner still had the intake and carbs but the carbs looked like fuzzy white balls from when had left them in a floor level cabinet during a flooding rain. I decided to make an offer to him since I thought $4000.00 was too much. We finally settled on $3800.00 and made arrangements to pick it up the next night. Thankfully he was a man of his word as he had 42 other calls on the car, some offering above his asking price. I pick the car up and we head over to my cousins Chrysler dealership to do the title work and this is where he gives me the bad news - the car isn't titled in his name but he and his now ex-wife's name. He had forgotten to have her sign off on the title during the divorce. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! I asked him if he'll give me most of my money back, him keeping a grand as a down payment, I'll take the car back and he says "No". Seems he needed to pay the lawyer right now and needed all the cash. Thankfully the notary says she can notarize a bill of sale between us to make the deal binding while he gets the title straightened out. Man that was a nervous 2 weeks. During that 2 weeks I did a little research on the A12 cars and found that during the 2nd batch that were built that any Road Runner color was available (versus only 7 colors during 1st run) and any available Road Runner interior could also be had. Now that the car was in my name (officially 5/4/87) I tore into it. The 400 came out, the interior came out (along w/ a nice broadcast sheet) and it headed for the paint shop. Once prepped, the engine compartment was shot and I received a call - you have to come see this, the paint came out GREEN! I got there to see that it was definitely green but said let's wait to see what it dries down to. After 24 hours it dried down to the proper shade of A4 Platinum silver. After the car gets back I go about getting it back together. For a 440 I used a 13,000 mile engine out of a '69 New Yorker that I had gone through, adding only a Purple Shaft cam (1 step-up from a resto cam) and an oil pan and pick-up from Ed Hamburger since I couldn't find the right one. I used the original Edelbrock intake and for carbs I used a set that my Dad had lying around. For a breather I ended up finding one at a swap meet for $450.00 (thought that was a terrible price at the time). The interior is all original except for the carpet. Now come the time for the exhaust and this is where things come to a stand still. I ended up going through 3 H-pipes only to find out that no one was making one that fit. The third pipe gets cut into 3 pieces and put in a corner. That's the way the car sat for the next 13 years while real life intervened. Come July, 2004 there is talk on the A12 restoration forum over on www.moparts.org (http://www.moparts.org) of a reunion of the A12 cars at The All-Chrysler National in Carlisle 2005. This is the spring board for me to start the work necessary to finish the car. One of my best friends (and former employee) says he'll wet sand and buff the car if I'll get the rest finished. Well the car makes it to Carlisle but it isn't totally finished as even cut into 3 pieces the H-pipe still doesn't fit. Back from Carlisle I decide I want to go to the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race in Stanton, MI. I get a 304 stainless exhaust system from The Stainless Works and mufflers are Dynomax Ultra-flo's. Its debut at PSMCDR is less than spectacular as I had issues with fan to radiator clearance and the end carbs, while getting vacuum, wouldn't come in. I really wasn't disappointed in this since after 18 years I was finally able to drive it versus only being able to dream about it (which always had me looking for an exhaust shop and having NO brakes!).
The car:
RM - Road Runner
21 - 2dr coupe
M - special order engine
9 - 1969
A - Lynch Road assembly plant
****** - last 6 digits are sequential build numbers
As optioned:
A4 - Platinum silver metallic silver
M6S - medium vinyl bucket seat interior in Pewter & Black
A12 - 440-6bbl package
A87 - Road Runner Decor package
G11 - Tinted windows all around
--- - Radio deleted (forgot to be ordered actually)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR29.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR28.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR32.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR34.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR35.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR43.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR44.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR38.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR39.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR41.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR27.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/x%20%20%209-1-05%20Platunim6/RR25.jpg