1969 Road Runner Project, Part I

The VIN plate indicated run-of-the-mill: Plymouth (R), medium price class (M), two-door hardtop (23), 383 4bbl HP (H) low-block B-engine, 1969 model year (9), and built in St. Louis (G).

It wasn't long before the work would begin. The car was stripped of all trim by Muscle Car Restorations' craftsmen.

Inside, the evidence of a hard former life began to show its ugly face. With the speedometer permanently holding nearly 50 miles an hour and a huge patch panel in the driver's side floorboard, our $4,300 bargain was starting to show its hand. But that wouldn't be a problem as we turned to Neil Freeman of Freeman Auto in Whitehall, Montana. Neil has one of the largest inventories of rust-free sheetmetal in the country which we have already tapped into.

The dash assembly easily pulls out for a bench-top restoration. With the dash out of the way, the plenum box follows suit.

What one gets with a Muscle Car Restorations project is not only great craftsmanship and show-winning results, but also some of the coolest organizers we've ever seen. With a couple of these rolling shelves, an entire Mopar can be disassembled and catalogued.

We're fairly certain that John holds stock in Ziploc(TM) Storage Bags. The bags with the silk-screened white area make it a snap to identify the parts inside.

The #10 paint cans filled with fasteners and small zinc-plated components are readied for their trip for zinc plating.

The 440 residing in the engine compartment was certainly not the original and probably barely worth the core.

The big-block K-member appears here, fully intact and ready for another engine.

While a stock drum brake system made up the halting power of the one-time 383 Roadrunner, upgrades are planned--even necessary--to halt the Indy Cylinder Head-built 542ci found in our 'Runner.

The four speed that originally came seemed righteous enough, but we'll step up to a Hemi 4-speed to handle the torque of the 542.

Fully dismantled, the Roadrunner was readied for transport to DeWayne Krumenauer and Randy Goettl's Progressive Stripping in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

This closer look shows that the cowl is in great shape, despite the fact that this is a common rust area.

Around the rear window, rust was atypical.