69 hemi road runner

[HPMIKE]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks guys

I've come across one that's for sale the guy claims its a real J code hemi, I haven't seen the car my self,just picks needs a full restoration, The guy seems to know what his talking about, However I want to try make sure she's the real deal, Any guru's here that can give me some advice what to look for?, How to tell? anything at all, Will be much appreciated

Thank you for your time

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There are a few earmarks that will help verify that you have the real deal. First and foremost, make sure that the numbers stamped into the radiator support and trunk lip,(under the glued weatherstrip-drivers side) matches the VIN. There are also other specific body mods that hemi cars only had. There is a welded plate that reinforces the area where the pinion snubber contacts on the body. The other areas to look are the framerails in the back by the bumper. Only Hemi cars got the small welded plates that tie in that area. "Torque boxes" that reinforce the frame in the front and back were boxed in on hemis as well, but I have also documented non hemi cars that had this mod from the factory. Convertibles also had this same mod.

Various little other things to look for are:

-If the car has power brakes-then it should have the offset bracket to relocate the booster and master cylinder higher up.
- It should have a 26" radiator opening.
- If it has the original air grabber box then the area where the master cylinder is raised will have a "pocket" lined with rubber cut into the box to allow the master cylinder to not interfere with the air grabber housing when the hood is closed.
- If it is an auto trans car, then it should have a factory trans cooler in front of the radiator. It could have been removed at some time as well= so this shouldn't be a deal breaker.

While this gives you a basic guideline, there are other items to look for as well, but it will depend on how the car was optioned originally. Many Mopars(including hemi and non hemi) were fitted with "hemi suspension" which contained HD torsion bars and leaf springs, shocks, etc. An original fender tag is a must and a broadcast sheet is a plus but not a deal breaker as it was a common occurence for a car to have the wrong or no broadcast in the car when it left the plant. Pay close attention to the VIN tag on the dash, if the rivets look molested in any way then that should raise a red flag.

Feel free to PM me if you need any other assistance.

MB

[American Muscle]

Thanks guys

I Have a few pics the seller send me I can put them up in a few..

Thanks again

[American Muscle]

[American Muscle]

Some extra info I know so far from seller has told me

''It has the belt and rocker moldings
It also has the light package (fender mounted turn signals, trunk light, glove box light, etc) AM/8 track (three speaker dash), clock, full horn ring (someone cut it down)

rear speaker AND rear defog
The original package tray (with factory holes) is still in the car, as well as the defog vent and tube, and the switches are still under the dash.

As I had already stated, this car was originally R6 scorch red with premium black bench seat interior. It has manual steering and manual brakes (kinda odd considering everything else) and column shift auto with an 8.75" rear end. It also did NOT have a vinyl top from the factory.''


Thank you

[jannes_z-28]

Cars intended for strip use was often ordered with drumbrakes without power and no power steering. A lot of Hemi cars is like this.

Drumbrakes has less drag than discbrakes and power steering robs power.

Jan

[njsteve]

That's a lot of really bad rust there. Unless the original engine comes with the car and you do sheetmetal work yourself and have the NOS body panels already, I would pass on this one. You will be double-upside down in terms of expenses versus actual value long before the car is halfway done.

Just from the photos, it needs a trunk floor, all interior floors, full quarters, trunk weatherstrip channels, trunk drop offs, rear window filler panel, doors...

Looks like the area on the rear trunk weatherstrip channel where the partial VIN would have been is already rusted away and gone. All those pine needles are a very bad sign. That stuff is like acid when it is allowed to sit on the car and hold moisture.

On the plus side, the VIN tag and rivits look legit and not monkeyed with.

As for the manual drum brakes on these cars - the fact that they had them has far more to do with the expense of the power disc brake option package than any rumors of it being intended as a drag car. Depending upon the model, the hemi engine could have been close to a $900 option. That left little room for anything else if you were on a budget back then. And if I recall correctly, to get the power disc, you had to order the Super Track Pak which included a bunch of other mandatory options raising the option price higher still.

[king_midas]

Oh my God, what a mess...

[Big Block Bill]

My car was also a manual steering / manual brake / 8.75 rear car. I sure scavenged a few rear ends out of bone yards in the time I owned it.

It also had the air grabber induction system, but with the Rat Roaster intake, I had to remove all the hardware / air cleaner, ect, and adjust the rear of the hood way up so it would close.

I thought all Hemi / Automatic cars had the 8.75 rear, and you could only get a Dana in a Drag Pack equiped 4 speed car.

Bill Pankiw