I had not even finished the Duster, my first effort,
and I was overwhelmed with visions of greatness when I happened across this
rare piece of Mopar iron. It was a '71 Road Runner, originally optioned
with a 440 Six Barrel, 4 speed, Air Grabber, wing, chin spoilers, buckets,
console, tips, and on and on... 2 tags worth of goodies ...
but also a body full of rust... and some structural damage. None of that
was gonna stop me though. Never mind the fact that I had no shop to speak
of, only a tool box full of tools and no real extra money... not the kind
that this car would require.
This is me... driving my acquisition home from Melbourne,
Fl., Air Grabber in the trunk, 18 spline 4 speed in the back seat and no
alternator... it sputtered out in my driveway. I hung on to the car, and
the dream, for about a year before I realized it was beyond my skills. It
was sold to a fellow that lives not too far from me. About 2 years ago I
saw him at a show and asked him about the car. He had dropped in a strong
running engine and rebuilt the front end... and then stuck it in a garage
and hasn't messed with it since. He did say that if I ever wanted it back
he'd sell... you know... it's problems don't seem near as threatening to
me now...
This '69 Road Runner crossed my path soon after
the Duster was completed. The price was right...$400... though it lacked
it's 383 or 4 speed. It possessed a very good body and was originally optioned
just the way I would order a '69... HEMI suspension, 3.91s, power front
discs and little else. It was the perfect car to build from the ground up...
just the way you want it. I can't even think of why I sold it... I remember
building my garage while owning it... maybe it finally dawned on me to start
slow...
This '71 'Cuda came to me through a phone call from
a friend who had seen it on the wholesale lot behind a Chevy dealer. My
wife and I headed that way within minutes and arrived to find an all original
car, complete with it's numbers matching 340 and auto trans. Options included
billboards, AC, buckets, console and hood pins. The paint was an uncommon
F3 green(Amber Sherwood Metallic) with a matching F3 interior. The grill
was perfect and the front fenders were very nice needing only minor repairs.
The price... $950.00... and I drove it home.
Keep in mind, this was about 1990 or so and these cars were bringing big
bucks. 
It didn't take long for me to tear into the car
to see just what I had. What I found was a car that needed a lot of
metal work! It was the perfect thing to learn the ins and outs of body repair.
Over the next 18 months I rebuilt around the front and rear glass, replaced
the drivers inner fender, rebuilt 60% of the firewall (using pieces from
a donor car), replaced both floors, front to back, replaced the entire floor
beneath the rear seat(again with a section from a parts car) and the entire
trunk including one extension. It was a lot of work but from the beginning
I had viewed it as a learning experience, always telling myself "If
it gets finished... fine, if not... well that's fine too." 
It was about this time that the '72 Road Runner
and '66 Coronet came along and all was well. My attention turned to the
Coronet while the 'Cuda was moved back and forth, out of the way. The Coronet
came and went and that left me with the '72 and '71. Now I was starting
to work on the '72 a little and nothing was getting done on the 'Cuda. Then
it happened... the '70 HEMI Road Runner came into the picture. A decision
had to be made... something had to go... and it was the 'Cuda. The picture
above with the 'Cuda backed up to the enclosed trailer is the night the
guy came to pick it up. I called him on Friday, he would be there on Monday
night to take a look. That Sunday was a busy one for me. The car went from
the dolly, as shown above, to a rolling chassis, in an afternoon. It took
us a good 2+ hours to dig out all the parts stuffed in different places
throughout my shop. 