Road Runner Nest

Hey Gang,

I got a PM about the hood stripes on my Road Runner, i.e. the "railroad tracks" and thought I'd share the reply I sent him in case anybody else is interested in a "how to" story. May not be for everyone, but since I'd composed it, the 'ol cut & paste makes it easy.

So...FWIW....here's what I put in my PM reply.

I got them from Year One and they are still available. They come in a kit, both sides (22 stripes each side) and cost $148 which is down from the $162 I paid.

Each side has all 22 stripes, aligned and attached to a top backing sheet that keeps them aligned until it is peeled off. The bottom also has a backing sheet that when peeled off exposes the adhesive that sticks them to the hood & fender. They are put on after painting and clear coating.

The are tricky to put on but it can be done. It takes a LOT of TIME to do it right and without ruining the entire set, or your paint.

Alignment is the tricky part. They fit up against the hood cal louts which have to be put on first. I used masking tape on each side to align the stripe kit. You have to keep the individual stripes attached to the upper backing sheet until they are glued to the car!

The way this is done is to start at the top (on the hood, at the hood cal louts) and spray a soap/water mix on the paint. Then peel off the bottom backing of the top two stripes (topmost pair) and put it on the hood. The soapy water keeps them from sticking to the paint. Then you CAREFULLY, VERY CAREFULLY use a squeegee to work the soapy water out from under the stripes with the bottom backing pulled off. As you work the soapy water out, they will stick to the paint. THIS TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND YOU CAN'T RUSH IT!

Remember all 22 stripes are kept aligned by the upper backing sheet so if you get the first two on crooked the whole set will be crooked! It would be nearly impossible to get them straight after that, hence the entire set is ruined!

After the top two are completely stuck to the paint (it also takes time to get the tiny bubbles out!) you repeat the process with the rest of the stripes working down across the hood, onto the fender, a pair of stripes at a time. AGAIN...THIS TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE!

It gets a little tricky as you move over the top of the fender and down the side as the side of the fender not only is down from the top, but it also is further out at the rear of where the stripes will be than the front. You have to slit the upper backing sheet as you go over this transition to make it lie down flat. But you still have to keep the upper backing sheet mostly in place to keep the stripes aligned!

I took two days, one for each side. But they came out looking real good and were aligned! The killer part is aligning them so the last stripe on the hood and the first one one the fender are each the same distance from their respective edge when the hood is closed!

Here's a pix of the finished job. You can see the compound curve of the fender as well as the fact that all the 22 stripes are NOT the same size. The bottom rear one is tapered slighly rather than being rectangular.




Here's a link to some more images on Photo Bucket

"Railroad Tracks" Hood Stripes

As I said...it can be done, but it's TRICKY & TAKES TIME! It's also easy to screw it up and ruin some expensive parts! But if you're adventursome...go for it. The reward of doing it yourself is worth the effort IMHO.

If you have a body/trim shop around ask them for any tips they might have. Or if you are so inclined, see how much they would charge to do the job, as I really don't have the slightest idea.

When I wax the car I try and avoid getting wax on the stripes. It's kind of a pain as I have to still wax the paint between them. I use Son of a Gun spray on the stripes themselves.

The come in black, flat black, red and white. I used the flat black as that is what they were from the factory when I bought he car new.

I realize this is a lot of info, but hope it helps.

Sweeet...

I wonder how they'd look on a 74? hmmmmmm

Serious Satellite wrote:Sweeet...

I wonder how they'd look on a 74? hmmmmmm

Don't know how well that would work. They are made to fit into the hood callout "horseshoes" and go down to the top of the wheel wells. Since a '74 doesn't have the horseshoes I don't know if they would work there. It would depend on the size of the hood bulge on the '74 as well as the distance to the edge of the hood. The width of the stripes is such that the gap between the 5th & 6th pair is the hood/fender gap. Also are the fenders on a '74 identical to those on the '72?

I suppose one could cut them apart but as much effort as it takes to put them on when they are aligned by the upper backing paper, I'd say having them split up would be a bear!

Excellent "how-to"


I guess I have always heard of them called "Tank Tracks" stripes. What has always confused me is on some '71/'72s out there I have seen both "Tank Tracks" and Hood Depression pinstripes both applied with the pinstripes over the "Tank Tracks". That just looks wrong.... please tell me they did not EVER come from the factory like that and that is just some messed up people out there that did that.

From what I know there were either the hood stripes ("railroad tracks or tank tracks") or the ones going over the top of the car just forward of the top of the rear window. ("strobe stripes")

The sales brochure I have shows both of them but nothing about any pinstripping. I assume by "hood depression" you mean the area between the front and rear legs of the hood callouts, i.e. "horse shoes".

I checked my broadcast sheet and it has two blocks under line 2 a "V" and "K" labeled simply "stripe". "V9X is listed there as well as the window sticker which has the description "Hood/Fender Tape Stripe" and cost a whopping $22.00 back in '72. I would assume the blank block is the rear "strobe stripes". This particular two block format was only on the 1972- 1974 cars according to my decode book.

By hood depression pinstripes I'm talking about these. I have seen where a few cars (unfortunately I don't have the pics and can't find any right now) where someone has put those pinstripes over the top of the "Tank Tracks" hood and fender stripes.

Were the "Tank Tracks" stripes different from '71 to '72? I see alot of '71s that are sporting this style

On my '71, i have this: All of the stripes on the hood are narrow. There's a narrow stripe on the top of the "horseshoe" callout. Inside of the "horseshoe" callout there's thin stripes that go out to the edge of the callout. Kinda like on the '72 as posted but it doesn't go that far, hopefully I discribed it good. I know its not the same as your '72 but similar.

Only for 71, the hood to fender stripes (only available on GTX) could be optioned with the V21 hood indent pinstripes. The hood/fender stripes were installed first and the pinstripes placed over them.

Eric wrote:Only for 71, the hood to fender stripes (only available on GTX) could be optioned with the V21 hood indent pinstripes. The hood/fender stripes were installed first and the pinstripes placed over them.

That makes sense as in '72 the GTX no longer was a separate car but merely a Road Runner with a 440, like mine. For my own edification, did the 71 GTX have the same hood as the Road Runner with the "horseshoes" i.e. hood callouts?

Same standard hood yes, but the hood to fender stripes were different than the tank tracks for 72.....and the hood to fender stripes on both 71 and 72 cars were only available on the standard sport hood (horseshoes), not on air grabber equipped cars.

Eric wrote:Same standard hood yes, but the hood to fender stripes were different than the tank tracks for 72.....and the hood to fender stripes on both 71 and 72 cars were only available on the standard sport hood (horseshoes), not on air grabber equipped cars.

I knew about the air grabbers. Now for the next "Enquiring Minds Want to Know"....what of the "strobe stripes"? I've got a calendar with a '71 & '72 Road Runner, both with air grabber hoods and strobe stripes. But with an "horseshoes" hood, i.e. no air grabber, could you get the "tank tracks" i.e. "railroad tracks" AND "strobe stripes"!

What seems to be the "complicating" factor is in '71 there was a GTX while in '72 it was a Road Runner with a 440.

BTW...here's the latest from the Shreveport World of Wheels show this last weekend. 8 Mopars in our club display, got 7 Class Winner trophies (one was not judged per the owner request...he's a professional car restorer/builder) and a 8th class winner in the regional club council. (a Lil' Red Truck) Plus best club display "Mopars in Movies" as one of our members had his car in the Oliver Stone movie "W" which was filmed here! Yeah, I'm the guy in the Petty (80 MPH hit a Peacock hat)!



The "W" car....look for it when the movie is released this fall!



FWIW here's some of our "pro builders" offerings! He just sold this car to some guy in Australia! Gotta be BIG "shipping costs"!



A '70 Challenger with a Viper drive train front to back!



An the "Katrina" car which was in the latest SEMA show.



Has a 392 Crate Hemi...at the SEMA Show it had a Saleen supercharger, yet to be released preproduction model on it.



Last, but not least was a 1 of 7 '70 Challenger 440-6 convertible pre production cars.



Aw, what the hell...since I'm posting here's my Road Runner!

For 1972 RR's you could not order both V8 strobe stripes and V9 tank tracks (or V21/V25 w/ V8) at the same time (combined on the same car).
One or the other but not both.
I've seen people put both sets on their 1972 RR and it looks good but never done via the factory.
Here's my friends 1972 RR ... he put on both sets.

1972RM23 wrote:For 1972 RR's you could not order both V8 strobe stripes and V9 tank tracks (or V21/V25 w/ V8) at the same time (combined on the same car).
One or the other but not both.
I've seen people put both sets on their 1972 RR and it looks good but never done via the factory.
Here's my friends 1972 RR ... he put on both sets.

To each their own...looks to "busy" for my taste! But then that's what makes this "hobby" so wonderful!

Thanks for the pictures, 72Rdrnner!!!!!! What beautiful cars. As far as the car posted by 72Rm23, I kinda like it. I think it would look better if the "tank stripes" on the hood wasn't so wide. If the stripes was narrower, like the rear strobe, I think it would look better. But like you said : "to each his own"

rr6pak wrote:Thanks for the pictures, 72Rdrnner!!!!!! What beautiful cars. As far as the car posted by 72Rm23, I kinda like it. I think it would look better if the "tank stripes" on the hood wasn't so wide. If the stripes was narrower, like the rear strobe, I think it would look better. But like you said : "to each his own"

That particular World of Wheels show is our club money maker as the club gets $1000 for the members working the show. Plus there is a $500 sponsorship award for the best club display. Last year the Mustang club edged us out, this year we took the honors.

As for the stripes, they look like the stock factory stripes. To my "eye" the contrast with the white vs the dark blue is what I'd try and avoid. Just too much contrast for me. But then I'm an old and sedate phart!

Funny thing is as I remember back when I got my car, I didn't even asked for the hood stripes. My father in law who was a mechanic at the Plymouth dealership where I got the car, put the order in for me. I told him the color (Petty Blue) and engine (440) I wanted, along with an A/T and air conditioning, but not much else in specifics. I had wanted a Hemi but they weren't available in 1972 and you couldn't get the 440-6 with air conditioning, so the 440 4bbl was the best I could get. He picked the bucket seats interionr, slap stik console, the Rallye Dash and Tuff Steering wheel option, along with the hood stripes and the chrome racing mirrors.

A year later I put the US Indy mags on when I bought a boat and put the 15 inch wheels from the Road Runner on it so I would be able to use the car spare for the boat trailer if I needed it. When I sold the boat four years later the Rally wheels went with it. Probably still on the trailer out in California some where!