Road Runner Nest

New to this forum and had a quick question. My wife was given a 1971 RR 440+6 (see signature discription) by her father a couple years ago that is in need of a restoration. He bought the car in high school about a month after the original owner because of the gas problem back then. Everything in the car is original. The car sat outside in the weather for about ten years, everything is solid but the paint got weathered. It basicall peeled a lot of the paint off and put surface rust in its place. Everything is solid, but it seems like I can push in both quarters pretty easily above the wheels. Is this normal, or should we find replacements even though these are original and no holes?

Welcome to the Nest! Sounds like a really neat car!

When you say you can push the quarter in above the wheel, do you mean just above the wheelhouse in that small concave area between the wheel lip and the body line, or up above the body line, more towards the C-pillar?

Thanks for the welcoming. By the way, very nice car you have been restoring.

the part I am talking about is above the body line, up towards the pillar. Like I said the car is solid, just seems a little weak in that area.

Hmmm... Is the area in question one of the areas with surface rust? It is possible you could have some rot through there. Best bet would be really look at what you have once the car is stripped. If it has a number of pin holes, you might be able to see them from the outside with a bright light in the trunck. It's not really a common weak area, but if you've had peeling paint, anything is possible.

The paint in that area is peeled only to the primer, no rust on the quarters. Just the roof, hood top, and trunk top. Not rotted, just sun damaged.
I was talking to my wife's father and he believes that it was always like that. So I think it is just normal. When I strip it to bare metal I will know for sure. Thanks.

That area is such a large flat surface that I think that its normal. Mine does it too and its never had rust there, I found out my car did this when I leaned against the car. I just don't lean against the car anymore.

thanks, that is what I thought, my father-in-law thought that it was like that even when it was new.