Possible Superbird Project

[hotrod98]

I purchased a 70 Roadrunner this week that would make an ideal Superbird clone. I's a 383 (now 440), 4 speed, dana, bench seat car. I have a perfect set of buckets for the car. It has had partial quarters installed and I plan to replace them with full quarters. Other than that it's a solid southern car.
Yes, it's an RM21 post car but that can be altered to look more correct for a Superbird clone.

Unfortunately, I sold many of my nice clone project parts including my original Superbird wing...dangit. I still have a bird hood that Tom Ferry built and a set of rust free Coronet fenders so I'm tempted to order the rest of the stuff and build a clone.

Here's what I'm thinking and I'm ready for the onslaught of responses that I'm sure to get.

My idea is to make a clone of the Black Ice car using the air grabber hood and six pack setup that Tom installed on the Black Ice car. Then, I would return the Black Ice car to all original as an FY1 car. Then later when the time comes to sell the car, it will be correct and more desirable to most buyers and I could carry on the Black Ice legacy with the clone. I'll have less than 20K in the finished car. This would give me the freedom to do things with the clone that I would never do with the original. The cool part is the fact that the donor car is a running, driving, 440, 4 speed with the dana rear just like the Black Ice car.

This is just a thought at this point. I haven't decided and I plan to drive the Roadrunner for a while until I've decided on a direction.

Since the Roadrunner is a real FE5 red car, the alternative is to leave the Black Ice car as is and build the clone and paint it red. I love red Superbirds. There was a clone at the Wingcar meet in Branson that I tried to buy. I can't find a pic of it but I'll see if I can find one and post it.

[hotrod98]

Another pic

[FJ5WING]

  if youre building a clone why kill a RR to do it, Im sure you couldve picked up a Satellite much cheaper.

[BigBlockSam]

DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wingcar]

Just my opinion, but I would leave it a RoadRunner as it looks to be in great shape.  Why screw it up when you could enjoy it as is?  Plus, it's a post car......you will get grief about it since it will never look like a "real" Superbird.   Drive the RoadRunner and enjoy it while you look for a Satellite or a RoadRunner in lessor condition to convert into a Superbird.   But, it's your car and your time and money....

[hotrod98]

I can't buy a rust free Satellite for what I paid for this car. In fact, I couldn't buy a 440, a 4 speed setup and a dana rear for what I paid for this car. Besides, with the Satellite, the dash and the taillights are wrong and it would probably have the small rear diff. It would be much, much more expensive parting a Satellite together to build a bird.
Also, it's not difficult to convert this car to a hardtop, I've done it before.

[moparstuart]

   red branson car    ,    sue used to have a real SB that
t  had been  paint red   she sold it to buy her daytona

[hotrod98]

That's the one. He wouldn't sell it to me. Thanks.

[hotrod98]

Is this Sue's red Superbird?

[kab69440]

If you're removing the quarter windows, PLEASE let me know. I've been hunting a complete post car setup for some time.

[BigBlockSam]

go wild on this superbird clone . modern suspension, modern drivetrain and air conditioning . it'll be like driving a new car .

[A383Wing]

go wild on this superbird clone . modern suspension, modern drivetrain and air conditioning . it'll be like driving a new car .

he will never get it done if he has to do all that stuff to it..

at least I will never see it done in my lifetime

Bryan

[RallyeMike]

You have two decent cars and your plan is to tear them both down and redo them so you can make one look like the other one?

My input: The Black Ice car has some great history and should be left alone. Sell the FE5 car to someone who will enjoy it, take the profit and build your dream SB clone out of something needing to be restored.

[BigBlockSam]

he will never get it done if he has to do all that stuff to it..

at least I will never see it done in my lifetime

Bryan

what are you saying, that Larry is a little slow 

[A383Wing]

he will never get it done if he has to do all that stuff to it..

at least I will never see it done in my lifetime

Bryan

what are you saying, that Larry is a little slow 

I would never say that....(out loud, anyways)

Bryan

[dads_69]

I vote Wing It! Let the bird fly...haha

[hotrod98]

Right now I have a 70 Challenger RT SE plum crazy car that is ready for paint, a 70 Cuda racecar project and my unfinished 71 Cuda project. I really need one more project to make it an even four...
What I really need to do is stop working on customer's cars and work on my own stuff.

As for the Black Ice history, I do agree. I really don't want to change that. It's a rust free, real Superbird but it doesn't have the original engine, 4 speed or hood. Not sure where it stands in value compared to it being restored back to original look. I guess the car wil be worth more as the Black Ice car.

The important part of the entire equation is the fact that at some point I may have to sell the car to cover the cost of care for my wife who has Alzheimer's. I love the look of the Black Ice car and that's why I had considered building a clone that looked like it. The 20K that I will have in the clone is much, much less than what I will get from the real Superbird.

I appreciate all of the advice but using a Satellite or something that needs to be restored is not a good option for buildng a Superbird clone in my opinion. A solid Roadrunner that needs very little is the perfect candidate. Time is money. The last rust free 70 Satellite that I saw went for over 8 grand. I bought this car for much less and I don't have to swap a dash or taillights or weld up a bunch of holes where the moldings were. This car doesn't need a total resto. In case you didn't know, I'm the guy that used a real triple black R/T SE Charger to build a Daytona clone and I have no regrets. I kept all of the original parts so that someone could return it back to all original but the new owner wasn't interested in buying the parts. If I convert this car, I'll save everything for the same reason.

[BigBlockSam]

I guess the car wil be worth more as the Black Ice car.

i don't think so . i think a more original car would be worth more . plus your market of people to sell the car to would be wider. 

[Hemi Runner]

I'm nobody and my opinion doesn't mean anything.... but I agree. That black ice rock band stuff doesn't mean anything to me. If I owned it, it'd be sporting drag radials and a twin turbo hemi..... oh wait, that's the one I'm building....out of a real B5 blue airgrabber hood numbers matching 383 and 727 auto roadrunner.....

[Golden-Arm]

there's plenty of "stock" birds out there. yours has history. leave it black, you'll find a buyer when the time comes.

as for the runner, do what ya want. it's just a 383 road runner. it's not like anything you do, cant be undone. besides, i bet a good cloned bird will still be worth more than a restored 383 runner. right?

[hotrod98]

Let's just say that I offered the guy in Branson much more for the red clone than I would have ever paid for a roadrunner and his car was actually a Satellite. And, I think it still had the Satellite dash. This roadrunner restored would probably bring 25K on a good day. As a very nicely done Superbird clone it would probably bring 35K. I don't think you could buy a restorable real bird for less than 70K.

[petercharger]

Leave it and find a sat

[hotrod98]

I haven't seen a satellite as nice as this runner for sale in many years. They're much more rare.
I have no intentions of selling this car so I would have to spend another ten grand or more for a rust free satellite. Makes no sense.
They built Superbirds from Roadrunners so why shouldn't I? 

[A383Wing]

will ya just get busy on it so I can see it done?

Bryan

[Troy]

From a guy with too many projects and not enough time... you have two really nice, drivable cars there - enjoy them! Work on your projects if you feel like you must do something in the shop. I'm personally a huge fan of the 70 Roadrunners and would love to find an affordable one *that I don't have to work on*. On the Superbird, with the parts and labor involved would you really make that much more money off the car if you put it back to stock? Would you make enough to cover putting it back to stock AND cloning the RR into a bird? If not, from a money perspective, it's a losing proposition. Save your money in case you need it for your wife's care. Or, use your time to work on (paying) customer cars. Or flip the RR. I just don't see how spending another big pile of money will really net you that much more.

If the goal is less about money and more about having a less rare car then I'd just sell the Superbird "as is" and build your clone. That's the primary reason I'm not too keen on chasing down ultra-rare cars (even though I love them). I drive too much and I'd destroy the value of one way too quickly. Give me base models with upgrades!

Troy