done a bad thing

[andyathome]

so after searching the web , all over the states and Canada for a 1969 Plymouth roadrunner, and with our dollar being rubbish. Add the cost of freight and import duty then a crappy tax on all of that, plus once its here it has to pass a very tough and possibly an expensive inspection to get it on the road.
I had almost given up on the idea of ever owning one.
I was doing a bit of googeling on a web site here in New Zealand and you wont believe what I found 40 minutes away, all registered and it has a current warrant of fitness.
its not a 426 , but it is a 383 4 speed and its in pretty good shape.

two days to wait until money and paper work all cleaned up and then she will be sitting in my shed.:bounce::bounce::bounce:


http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/roadrunner_zpsaczsqdgv.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/roadrunner_zpsaczsqdgv.jpg.html)

cheers andy:D

[modelman]

Very nice car-too bad it's not a hemi but a great car. I had a 69 charger with a 440 and I really liked that car. This brings back a lot of memories.

[bigford]

hey you got it!!! woo hoo!!!

[Northern Farmer]

:eek: She looks straight! Awesome find Andy congrats on the buy :cool:

[andyathome]

thanks guys,
it sold as a "20 foot car" meaning it looks good at 20 feet, it think its closer to 30 feet.
immediate plans are put some proper noisy mufflers on to replace the terrible sounding ones.
I will be ordering an interior from flea bay and a few missing badges, then at the end of summer it will go in for a strip down and paint, under floor coating and maybe an EFI set up to replace the cheap carb.
but for now all I can do is look at the photos and watch the clock.

cheers andy

[Lil Giants]

Ah yes, I feel your shame Andy for buying a Dodge. :( :D :p

So being a local car, what savings vs buying overseas?... don't need to disclose actual numbers, % will do.

[andyathome]

to get one in the US and delivered here , (with out inspection costs and on road compliance ,MAF cleaning which is basically a check for nasty critters living in the car)for a 40k US dollar car , I would have been looking at about 80k NZ dollars.
that would be about 2/3 of my yearly wage....so its quite a lot , but have been saving for quite a few years for my dream car.
the car I got here is all road legal and has been for 6 years in this country, so major, savings right there .
I paid 47K for the roadrunner, so that leaves a bit of left over cash.
did I say Vario...

cheers andy

[bigford]

no!! did'nt your wife want a mustang???

[Northern Farmer]

Car a left hand drive ? You know the correct side...:D

[andyathome]

Yes the mustang is still on the list.
It's her birthday in August, and she wants to go out for dinner.....
In Las Vegas, so there will be a bunch of us kiwis invading the states.

There is a big car show on this weekend comming that we are attending in the road runner, so will be looking out for a kiwi based mustang , it's just not cost effective to import one.

[andyathome]

It dosent matter what side the steering wheel is on, I will be all over the road, so at sometime it will be on the right side LOL

[Supermario]

It dosent matter what side the steering wheel is on, I will be all over the road, so at sometime it will be on the right side LOL

My uncle had one of them when I was a kid. He took me for a ride and that was the first time I experienced the power of a car as I got thrown around the back seat like a rag doll as he was rally driving on the farm back roads. :lol:
Nice find and congrats!
Myself, the sellers remorse is kicking in:(

[RCP57]

Nice ride Andy. The 383 may not be a Hemi but it's probably more reliable and cheaper to hop up. The main thing is that you have the big block K member so a swap would be easy. I have a 400 in my Newport(was 383) and it sounds a bit like a school bus when revved up.lol Amazingly enough it pushes that big @ss car pretty well so I'm sure yours will be fun. Last time I checked a 500ci crate motor wasn't all that expensive all things considered. You may have to slide one of those in while the wife isn't looking.:D

[andyathome]

That's the problem" sliding it pass the mrs"
Part of the reason it got the go ahead was the engine bay, all the right mopar bits, a lumpy cam and hooker headers.
Once she has her mustang I might look at swapping the motor out, see should be a little distracted.
One more sleep to go.

Cheers andy

[andyathome]

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/431779968_zpslgh9g58t.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/431779968_zpslgh9g58t.jpg.html)

[RCP57]

It looks nice under the hood! Nice and clean. That's the best part about an old car. SIMPLE!

[bigford]

its is nice in there!! one of these would fit right in there LOL!!!!

http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w671/bigford550/Drive%20mockup%2001_zpsk0cyndup.jpg (http://s1335.photobucket.com/user/bigford550/media/Drive%20mockup%2001_zpsk0cyndup.jpg.html)

[RCP57]

Yeah that would work! Hopefully someone puts the rest of the bolts in that hold the blower on before they flash it up.lol Andy can get the torch out and fix up his hood prior to install.

[andyathome]

I think the plasma cutter would be the better option LOL��
but my god, I had a blown 351 25 years ago and still rember the sound, pure awesome...
No plans to cut up the bonnet , as I want the original look, but what's under the hood is another thing.

[Supermario]

Funny how things work, just saw this today and of course had to share with you :D


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y447/catman4088/991ab0c2e947dcd22ae9f55ae1a499e6_zpsnwfbsv09.jpg

[Bo Wallen]

Dang i payed $3.200 for that car in 1975 including shipping to Sweden :mad:

[andyathome]

Thanks Mario,
All that add dose is reinforce everything my dad says.
"My first house cost,my first car cost" LOL
I wonder what a Honda civic will be worth when it's 46 years old.?
But to sum it up , I don't care I've got a roadrunner LOL.
I think my rc time over the summer will take a bit of a hit, apparently one of the cousins wants to use it as a wedding car,
Sweet free beer and gas money....

[Bo Wallen]

You should be happy Andy....a Roadrunner is a super cool car....wish i can find one soon missing my old one a lot. was a ton of fun.

[RCP57]

Where has our world gone so wrong. We all just keep chasing our tails trying to make more and every time we do everything costs more. Maybe we need a reset back to when people made very little and were happy having less? Yeah, you're right. F that! I like toys!:lol:

Hard to say what a current model Civic might be worth in a few decades. I guess if you have one of the original cars now they are worth a fair penny considering they weren't cool to own back then.lol It's like anything, you just have to find a few eccentric rich people that think something is cool and then all us other sheep follow... I hear stuff made by RCP's is amazing and everyone needs some.:lol::lol::lol:

[andyathome]

LOL so true.
I blame tv, watching the dukes of Hazzard was a really bad influence on me.
I could never jump my go cart quite the same, and usually with very unsatisfactory results.
Still that's what parents are for, mum to say "don't " and dad to say "go a little faster next time and it will be fine".
I will happily jump a civic, but not the roadrunner!!!

[andyathome]

I've just printed the add for the roadrunner....
I've worked out why it cost me so much, the damage voucher expires 8 days before my birthday.

[Mustang46555]

Beautiful Road Runner!
Always liked the way Mopar painted the engine compartment the same color as the body. Makes me miss my 69 Mach1.

[andyathome]

Now we are talking , my mrs is after the 69 fast back.
so hopefully we can source a clean one here .
Then everyone will be happy.

[andyathome]

just a shortened version of the drive home, skip to the end for the fun

https://youtu.be/Jsw6vR3miwE

cheers andy

[Northern Farmer]

Sweet she's home!

[Mikem]

That was scary driving on the wrong side of the was on the edge of the couch the whole time . Beautiful car my friend had one put a bigger engine in it an hour later they forgot about a curve in the road ......... Drive safe Mike

[andyathome]

this will be a long work in progress to get her how I want, lots of small cosmetic things to sort and a few bigger mechanical things, brake booster , new steering box, exhaust and tune up.

heres a quick walk around

https://youtu.be/YwKWN55QxgA

cheers andy

[andyathome]

been doing a bit of a tidy up on the car, lots of new shiny bits.

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160316_124234_zpsllvbcjhr.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160316_124234_zpsllvbcjhr.jpg.html)

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160316_124224_zps65zmfwtq.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160316_124224_zps65zmfwtq.jpg.html)

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160316_124211_zps7fhrclbb.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160316_124211_zps7fhrclbb.jpg.html)

and a mate of mine has been winding me up over owning a mopar, so I told him that I fitted a blower to it,
well technically I did

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160228_101721_resized_zpsapj0iqxr.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160228_101721_resized_zpsapj0iqxr.jpg.html)

cheers andy

[Mikem]

I like that car it's much faster than my convertible Farmall A . My friend has a 2006 Mustang with a 1350 HP naturally aspirated , but only good for a 1/4 mile . He's licensed it since he bought it so he can drive for short distances on the street ! Mike

[RCP57]

I was thinking about your car a few days back. Nice to see an update! Are the rear springs relocated? It looks like the rear tires are pretty fat? I like the blower! You should have added and intercooler as well(ice cube tray).lol

[FabOne]

NICE Ride!!

-Terry

[bigford]

that car is HOT!!! but she needs a set of flowmaster mufflers badly
http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/

[andyathome]

thanks guys,
the blower was purely put there to cool the beer as I worked in the shed, mega humid this year.
as for the ride stance, it has 2 inch lowering blocks in the back and sits nicely, launches great and has done a 12.5 1/4 with way too much wheel spin, like a lot......4 speed not as user friendly as an auto.
im running 295/50/15 on the rear but want 315s .
as for the exhaust im waiting on the post man for my reproduction original tail pipes in 3 inch then its a new twin exhaust, h pipe and original 40 series flow masters.
just finished fitting a new set of door cards from original parts, they look sweet with the old stainless trim.
also have a 6 barrel complete manifold to air filter coming in june when all parts are available.
that will be about when it goes into the paint shop to be stripped and a full repaint.

the longer its in the shop will give me a bit of play time with the RCs which has been lacking recently ,
by then I guess I will need a new set of rear tyres again...

[andyathome]

heres a few update picts

just a heads up for the low life's

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160127_161819_zpsoht5bblo.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160127_161819_zpsoht5bblo.jpg.html)

had to make a glove box insert , so made a card board template and went from there.

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160203_105754_zpsu861qaqm.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160203_105754_zpsu861qaqm.jpg.html)

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160203_142909_zpsmzvumxum.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160203_142909_zpsmzvumxum.jpg.html)

and some front speaker mounts

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160203_153643_zpscub7hyzr.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160203_153643_zpscub7hyzr.jpg.html)

also need to keep the policeman happy, all legal

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/439777665_zpszo5xahgf.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/439777665_zpszo5xahgf.jpg.html)

more new bits

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160308_092123_zpsmsw5m1tp.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160308_092123_zpsmsw5m1tp.jpg.html)

a new rudder

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160308_113543_zpssw5fciqg.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160308_113543_zpssw5fciqg.jpg.html)

but it really didn't want to come off, so I made a puller, worked good :o

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160308_104304_zpsawrwqgj0.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160308_104304_zpsawrwqgj0.jpg.html)

[Lil Giants]

...sooooo, no new Vario this yr? :thinking:

[bigford]

not even a china kat with that R/R

[andyathome]

A vario is still part of the master plan,
Don't worrie about that, did I mention that I recently paid for a 3 ton kubota mini excavator.
That cost of renting one long term wasn't practical , so buy good second hand one use for 3 or 4 months and sell.

Just waiting again by the gate for them to deliver it.........

[Izzy]

Heck, fit her up with some rc control and you have a 1/3 scale?? LOL

[Berman]

Nice one Andy! She looks very nice, orange and black suits it! Might want to edit the end of the video and not want to advertise where you live though.

I've always wanted a 67/68 C10 swb f/s but finding one here let alone for a reasonable price is bordering on impossible.

Keep us updated. Al least you are not far from Meremere, expect those times to fall! ;)

[andyathome]

been a bit busy lately and no time for RC stuff.
But , have made a few changes in the shed and life style.
11 years working for a company and things were going tits up and got offered voluntary redundancy , well lets just say it didn't take long to make a decision.

the road runner sitting on its perch

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160522_155613_zpsjg5nrall.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160522_155613_zpsjg5nrall.jpg.html)

and because I had a small digger, Ive had no time off this month,
because I now work for my self.

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160520_093713_zpswyiirb3g.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160520_093713_zpswyiirb3g.jpg.html)

so I needed a small truck I got this one real cheap off a mate, its old but will do for a while.

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160428_114347_zpshdevynxi.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160428_114347_zpshdevynxi.jpg.html)

also picked a small skid steer , awesome for those limited access jobs that I seem to end up getting.

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u575/andyathome/20160528_114706_zps3q6bv3qh.jpg (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/andyathome/media/20160528_114706_zps3q6bv3qh.jpg.html)

[Mikem]

After I finish moving 15 tons of topsoil someone comes along who owns a digger . But travel time would have been a killer . Good luck in your new venture Andy and don't forget to take your car for a regular drive ! Mike

[Berman]

Upwards and onwards. I was in a similar industry for 16 years and got out of it at Christmas, I now just drive trucks, less money but much happier and more time at home.

My new boss has a 71 roadrunner, errr, orange and black. Its very nice, but I can't help but think it looks likes it's wearing goggles and needs a snorkel. I much prefer your shape.

All the best with your future endevours mate. :)

[bigford]

those are some really scale new toys you got!! best of luck
and remember we like lots of pics!!!