your restoration opinion

[kenny]

i am looking for opinions about my car. i have almost finished stripping it down, i have almost all of the original parts including motor from pie pan to oil pan, including heat stove and manifolds, original glass, early hub caps, factory sheet metal with little rust, factory horn, great factory light lenses - only things missing are the jack, right cowl vent screen, right door glass busted, and i am coded for a 4-speed however the car has a 3-speed in it with a matching number to my vin for some reason. the car doesn't seem to be a real rare or special car so i have not decided if i want to return it to original condition or resto-mod it with upgraded suspension/braking/engine/interior and just put that orginal stuff in the back of the shop. below you can see the options for my car. the feedback i am looking for would be your ideas/thoughts as to original vs modified when it comes to these classic cars i see the value in both. on one hand they seem to be hard to find so orginal is cool and as far as driving them its not like you get to a lot anyway, and on the other hand modified to be more fun/safe/dependable to drive on a curvy mountain road in the appalachians would be cool too.
V8Y END
GF7 U 22 M21 N41 R11
GF7 M2X9 TX9 903 026640
E65 D21 RM23 N1G 107875

[ajcpaperboy]

Hello Kenny, I completed a full restoration on my '71 Road Runner in 2010 all original. If I had it to do over I would upgrade the suspension front and rear, go with 4 wheel disc brakes, engine of choice, maybe 5 speed trans, radial tires on 17inch wheels, and stock interior. Just my 2 cents.

[Eric]

I'm partial to stock restorations, so you can imagine my opinion. Also, you don't see that many green cars with the gold strobe stripe...another reason I'd go back to stock.

[road chicken]

Depends on what you plan on doing with it. Selling? Go. Rock. Box stock All the way. If you plan on keeping it I would definately upgrade the brakes and suspension. Most of that can be done with HD factory parts or parts that deviate minimally from the factory. I restified mine but very few even notice the changes until I need to brake or take a corner at speed and imho it is worth it. These cars can handle very well compared to where they started.

[kenny]

thank you guys for your reply i know this is a 4th gen b-body plymouth enthusiast crowd, i love them as well. i have only had two cars the first was a 71 charger se 383 orange black top and hidden head lights and this green 383 manual trans road runner is my second, and in my heart if i could have my cake and eat it too i want to return stock on this car, and build a smaller car. i only see three other 4th gen plymouth b body's in my area one is a 71 satellite, and two are 73 satellites i suspect that in someones basement or garage there are some 71 roadrunners but not on the street and that is where i like to be. but back to the have my cake and eat it too i would like to have a "touring" style car that i could put on two driving enthusiast stretches we have close by, one being refered to as "the snake" and the other is "the back of the dragon" they both wind through the mountains and are big time fun for riding and driving. i get tired of seeing japanese motor cycles and kids in newer mustang, camaros, and japanese cars on these routes and would love to take a muscle car for a hard trip on one. my wife doesn't know but really i think a lot about putting this car like original, and starting fresh again with an "A" body maybe a 6 cyl dart or duster and not feel bad about getting a little silly with throwing out parts and replacing them, while dreaming of tearing accross the mountain while those kids wonder what the heck is that.

[FC7freak]

Kenny I also would put it back orginal. I must admit that is what I like. I also dont look down my nose at people who do it different. Just do what makes you happy. Cool Car! David PS I am now doing a 71 Duster 340, back to stock except I am setting my matching nos block aside and putting in a stock looking 402 stroker!

[NOrrTH]

Do what makes you happy. If you have to put any real money into it, you will not get it back. These cars are going dirt cheap these days. Your car has a couple of things going for it being a big block 4spd but it is a Sat and "only" a 383. Fully restored in original excellent condition you would be lucky to see $15k imo.

FYI there is a matching numbers black on black 4spd dana air grabber '71 GTX thats been restored to a concours lvl on Ebay right now with a Buy it Now price of $40k - 1,500 miles since restoration. To restore one of these cars to this level would probably cost north of $80k. I bet he has well over $100k into it and he will be happy if he gets $35k.

I know your not talking about a concours restoration. My point is build the car that you want to have in the end. Hopefully you can do all the work yourself and it will be a labour of love (ie: fixing the rust, etc). If your thinking of putting $10k or more into it, if it were me, I'd buy an already built car off Moparts or somewhere.

[kenny]

it is actually a road runner not a satellite but as far as big block being something going for it 383 was the base any other option even the 340 in a 71 road runner should make it more valuable to most, honestly you would have to search hard to find a car with less options than this one not that that makes it special just a low buck car, but its my car and i still love it! some 1 of 1 cars are that way because it was a bad idea when someone ordered it, like a white mach 1 with white and tan interior might be 1 of 1 but nobody places any value in that combo one of my local friends pointed out about a car he once owned. anyway i'm just looking for opinions up front to gauge what general feedback might be like depending on how i choose to go. i like your realistic opinion that going all out would never pay for itsself on most cars being in the average condition they are in when starting, i 100% agree with that. my opinion on fixing it for selling in the future is that almost any way you go a few people would have done it the same however most would have done something different and will want to redo or change something. thanks for your consideration, the recurring suggestion just do what you will be happy with lets me know that people like all sorts of cars and see something cool in "cars" reguardless as to how they are done.

[NOrrTH]

as far as big block being something going for it 383 was the base any other option even the 340 in a 71 road runner should make it more valuable to most

Its just my opinion but a small block in a B body, I wouldn't even consider it, nor would anyone I know, especially today when you can buy a lowly Mustang GT that has 415 hp. Dont get me wrong, I love 340's in A bodies.

[Smellslike1974]

I think if you're unsure or you're thinking about selling you should sell. Most likely if you made the decision to keep the car and decide to restore it to your liking,during you will come across something better that will be worth more of your time and effort.

Restoring stock orginal is nice,especially if your into buying and selling and I enjoy seeing cars how they were when they were brand new but you can only put so much of your self in a car while at the same time obeying codes.

I do agree with Eric though,those colors are different.

Good luck with which ever route you take Kenny!

[kenny]

i think more about driving it around and showing it off, not about selling it i have wanted to get one of these 71 road runners for a while now i am sure it will be mine for a good while.

[sdweatherman]

Hey Kenny,
Great dilemma you have there. If I had the same situation, this is how I would tackle the resto. Since it is a numbers matching car, I would have a hard time modifying the car too much. I would put it back to mostly original, proper paint scheme, interior color, etc. But you want to drive it also, so go with all the bolt on goodies that will make it drive great, but doesn't ruin the originality of the car, and put the original parts in the back of the garage just in case you have to sell. Basically my philosophy is: Numbers matching car - keep it basically original. Non numbers matching - Make it like you want it. I have a non matching '71 SSP - so I am making it like I want it. I didnt want to make another RR clone, so I am keeping the SSP badging - but it will kinda have a RR feel. Going with original paint, changing to black interior, keeping the 318 for the good cruiser gas milage, adding 340 cam, 1987 302 swirl port heads, aluminum intake with 4 bbl, dual snorkel air cleaner, '73 electronic ignition, dual exhaust, '71 power disc brakes up front, C-body drums in back, sure grip 8 1/4 rear end, painted bumpers, blacked out grill, blacked out emblems, rear valance black stripes, and other touches. Should make for an interesting car. Good luck with what ever you decide! Scott.

[E86 GTX]

I agree with scott but if my budget would allow it I would put the 340 and 3 speed in the back of the shop too and stick a big block and a 4 speed in it.
It is your car, make yourself happy.
Your Friend Ben

[kenny]

You guys have generally confirmed what i thought when i bought the car. because it had matching #'s, didnt need to be cut on a lot and was so original, not full of repro parts from previous owners, i purchased it with the idea of returning to original glory. i know i am going to put that questionable matching 3 speed away and find a 4 speed for it, after all it should have one according to the build sheet and that will be much better for cruising. i started questioning my original plan and considering a mod type project based on opinions of some of the local guys after they found out i had a project going. they are all into hot rods of various kinds and swap around a lot so i wanted to test the water with another crowd and im glad i did you guys have encouraged me and confirmed that my first idea of this car being a good candidate for restoring original and enjoying what it is. thanks