Mstone68RR440
Well-Known Member
So I have been checking the local Craigslist every so often to see
what old Mopars pop up. I found a 69' RR in the desert a couple hours
north with a built 500" stroker, SS springs, subframe connectors, race
ready 727, MSD ignition, 489 case w/ 3.91 Sure grip, F/G front and
rear bumpers, hood and fenders. Still sporting original paint which
had unfortunately been rattle can primered over years ago. Owner was
asking $16K saying he had more than that in the drivetrain alone.
Seeing that price I didn't have any interest in driving 2-1/2 hours
to look at it.
As the months go by I notice it hasn't sold, price gradually dropped to $14k,
then $12k, then $11.5k until a month or so ago I spotted the ad
stating first $10k cash takes it. Seeing this I made contact with the
owner to go up and see it in person. The first time I spoke to him he
basically gave me the engine build specs from memory, which got me
excited to see the beast.
Made an early drive up on the weekend to Palmdale to see the car,
first glance wasn't too bad. Car had been sitting non-op since 2004.
Light rust in lower rear quarters, rust in the rear window, and of
course the trunk was rusted pretty bad from leaks in the window. Body
was mostly very straight with a couple of dings, glass was very good as
were the doors. Interior needs carpet, headliner, and seats
re-upholstered. Has race buckets front and also original front and
rear bench seats.
Popped the six pack hood to see a brand new, never fired 500" Stroker,
11.1 compression, M1 intake, 1000 cfm Demon carb, full roller cam
Milodon gear drive, Ron Davis aluminum radiator, new CSR aluminum
electric water pump, electric fans, painless wiring kit, all braided
fuel lines etc.
Talked some more about the motor build and what it would take to make
it street ready. The last time the owner raced it back in 04' he
apparently ran a 9.19 @ 154 mph on the old motor with a 600 shot of
nitrous before getting kicked off the track for no roll cage!
I left letting him know I was interested but had to see if I could
get to his asking price. A few days went by and he texted asking if I
was still interested as he'd had a couple guys also wanting to look at
it. I told him yes and made him an offer pending the non-op status for
registration, he accepted.
Brought it home that weekend, haven't had much time to do anything on the car yet other than get it cleaned up real well. It will be after the summer before I can get serious about working on it.
Here are a few pics of my new project
As I got it, just cleaned up the dust
The motor
Dash and gauges
Swapped out the wheels for some older Enkei aluminum 14's I had sitting around
Plans are to get it running and on a dyno to tune it first. Owner claims it will put out well over 600 HP. I want to drive it and see how it behaves on the street................it has a huge cam so we will see. If all goes well and it has decent street ability, I will either swap the entire drivetrain into my 68' to make it badass or maybe I will sell my 68' to build this into exactly what I want.
I will try to keep a library of photos once I get going on this.
what old Mopars pop up. I found a 69' RR in the desert a couple hours
north with a built 500" stroker, SS springs, subframe connectors, race
ready 727, MSD ignition, 489 case w/ 3.91 Sure grip, F/G front and
rear bumpers, hood and fenders. Still sporting original paint which
had unfortunately been rattle can primered over years ago. Owner was
asking $16K saying he had more than that in the drivetrain alone.
Seeing that price I didn't have any interest in driving 2-1/2 hours
to look at it.
As the months go by I notice it hasn't sold, price gradually dropped to $14k,
then $12k, then $11.5k until a month or so ago I spotted the ad
stating first $10k cash takes it. Seeing this I made contact with the
owner to go up and see it in person. The first time I spoke to him he
basically gave me the engine build specs from memory, which got me
excited to see the beast.
Made an early drive up on the weekend to Palmdale to see the car,
first glance wasn't too bad. Car had been sitting non-op since 2004.
Light rust in lower rear quarters, rust in the rear window, and of
course the trunk was rusted pretty bad from leaks in the window. Body
was mostly very straight with a couple of dings, glass was very good as
were the doors. Interior needs carpet, headliner, and seats
re-upholstered. Has race buckets front and also original front and
rear bench seats.
Popped the six pack hood to see a brand new, never fired 500" Stroker,
11.1 compression, M1 intake, 1000 cfm Demon carb, full roller cam
Milodon gear drive, Ron Davis aluminum radiator, new CSR aluminum
electric water pump, electric fans, painless wiring kit, all braided
fuel lines etc.
Talked some more about the motor build and what it would take to make
it street ready. The last time the owner raced it back in 04' he
apparently ran a 9.19 @ 154 mph on the old motor with a 600 shot of
nitrous before getting kicked off the track for no roll cage!
I left letting him know I was interested but had to see if I could
get to his asking price. A few days went by and he texted asking if I
was still interested as he'd had a couple guys also wanting to look at
it. I told him yes and made him an offer pending the non-op status for
registration, he accepted.
Brought it home that weekend, haven't had much time to do anything on the car yet other than get it cleaned up real well. It will be after the summer before I can get serious about working on it.
Here are a few pics of my new project
As I got it, just cleaned up the dust
The motor
Dash and gauges
Swapped out the wheels for some older Enkei aluminum 14's I had sitting around
Plans are to get it running and on a dyno to tune it first. Owner claims it will put out well over 600 HP. I want to drive it and see how it behaves on the street................it has a huge cam so we will see. If all goes well and it has decent street ability, I will either swap the entire drivetrain into my 68' to make it badass or maybe I will sell my 68' to build this into exactly what I want.
I will try to keep a library of photos once I get going on this.
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