Bradster

Brads Superbird project "Birds the word!"

Like everyone else I start with a few questions, do my research and try to learn as I go. Finally got the front end in my inventory for the project. Proceed futher in to the thread for my progress.
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Hello all,

Next summer I plan to start a new project, a super bird clone. I’m not new to restoring a car, I started a 1984 El Camino restoration project in 1996 and finished in 2003 (money constraints) but end result, a show room quality car and 350HP of fun. I also took auto body classes at night to learn how to properly do the work myself at a local Vocational school while going to high school. Here’s a you tube video of my restoration (missing lots of pictures) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPDLDk65eI

I also did a 84 S-10 Project. Stuffed a 400 Small block in there and used it as a daily driver for about a year (boy that was fast!). Also helped a few friends on a few restorations, 68 Firebird, 69 El Camino to name a few.

That was a long time ago, I’ve missed working on a car project ever sense. I can’t hold out any longer I need a new project to get back the joy I once had of a project like this. All my gear head friends moved away and I’ve been itching for years to get my hands dirty and work on something.

So I decided to search for my new “dream” car project. My guide lines on my search, Had to be manual and had to be a big block. Two things I don’t experience in my El Camino. I decided on a Dodge for two reasons. One, you don’t see Dodges at car shows as much (at least the ones I take my El Camino too which is about 12 different places). Two the sound! The unique sound of a 440 demands respect! The 1970 Super bird can’t compare to any other car choice out there, sure there’s lots of cars I could see myself driving, Cuda, Super bee, Dart etc.. But nothing holds up to the Super bird!

So I started doing my research and quickly realized that a real super bird is way out of my price range. Depressed I decided on a 1970 Roadrunner, just finished getting my affairs in order to start saving for my project and discovered Super bird clones. My excitement renewed I started surfing for hours trying to find out everything that I could.

Next month I’ll start heavily banking funds here on out for my new project next summer. Which isn’t a problem for me; once I start something I’m dedicated. That and I don’t want to be slowed down so much this time on my project.

Factors on my abilities play a big part on what project I can do. I’m still conducting my research to see if I can pull this off. Bolting on fenders, wiring, body prep, undercoating, engine, rear, suspension, axle replacement no problem. Welding, cutting or working with internal parts of an engine or trans I have a problem. I’m book smart in some areas but would prefer the comfort of a knowable person for swapping out a cam as an example.

Have a pretty decent tool selection including air tools; don’t have a welder or cutting torch outside of that I pretty much should have everything one would expect. I may take a three week welding class depending on the quality of the shell of the donor car I use for the project.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself give you guys an idea of my abilities, both strengths and weaknesses and your opinion on the difficulty of a project like this. Hard work and time isn’t a factor for me, it’s all fun. Only concern I have is how much I can’t do which means paying someone else to do it, which I want to avoid as much as possible.


I have a lot of questions, I was hoping to run into someone who has experience working on a project like this and this place looks like a great start.

Clone Shell Car options:
1970 Dodge Satellite
1970 Road Runner

The best base choice would be a Satellite, lower cost to purchase and I’d rather avoid hacking up a Roadrunner out of respect.

So here we have a 1970 Dodge Satellite (example)
http://showcase.netins.net/web/gtx/RLW70RP23.jpg

My first question is, where do I get the scopes on the fenders? (example)
http://www.bangshift.com/assets/gall...r_bird_34_.jpg
Research: No fender found with these on it, did find a site that sells fender scoops that mount with a steel, bolt-through tab mount underneath, priced per pair $175. Not bad.

Now the super bird front end. I’ve seen the nose in all different forms, fiberglass, steal and aluminum. But I’ve yet to find a complete nose (a kit) with everything I’d need for the conversion, such as the highlight bezels, motors etc. Does such a thing exist and what’s the price?

From research I found one person stating “The nose requires Dodge Coronet front fenders.” Is this accurate? He continued with “They also need to be modified in front of the wheel, to match the new valance.” In what way? Also “ Need a Coronet hood, which needs an addition to the front edge.” Again in what way.

Right now I’m focused on the front end. What do I need, what do I use, How do I do it, what needs modified, what’s the modification for, how’s it work and why. For me the Front end is the hard part. It’s really my only concern; from there I can fly on the auto body and interior work, and the addition of the wing. I don’t plan on the window plug so that won’t be a concern either.

I look forward to hearing from you guys, pretty excited about the upcoming project and the learning experience. I plan to documents the entire thing and make a How to guide that I can donate at the end.

Thanks
-Brad

old tired rebel

Brad Welcome. There is a wealth of info here and people who can answer your questions. here is one link that might help you.

http://www.officialdayclona.com/home

Bradster

Bradster

Sorry computer is super slow at work, didn't post my reply.

Thanks for the link it's pretty helpful, I sent them off an e-mail today with basically the same questions I had here, and if they did any package deals and if they included any kind of documentation with the parts to help put it on.

I'll follow up once I get a reply and let you know what they said.

old tired rebel

Cool it would be interesting to know how they do things. I seen some 68 and 69 Road Runners that had their wings on them, looked real good.

Oldsmobileman

Did you guys see the 1966 satellite that the guy
made into a superbird? He calls it the sattelbird, creativity at it's best. Check out the link from the manasota mopar show I posted.

Bradster

No word yet on the front end, Thanks for the reply Kyle. Could you review my last post and see if you could come up with any suggestions for me? I've been busting my **** trying to locate a 1970 2Door Satllight, on luck as of yet. But can't move forward on purchase when I do find one until I have all the info I need about the front end.

Thanks
Bradster

scotts74birds

Race Ads | For Sale: 1970 plymouth belvedere

rr69half6bbl

hey bradster welcome to the forum. . I aplaud you for the task you want to take on, but i want to give you a heads up before you get started. I restored a super bird a few years ago. did a rotisorie job on 1. after it was done, I drove it a few thousand miles and came to the conlusion, the car absoutly sucks to drive on the street. the cons. the price from any vendor for a complete nose assmb. will be in the thousands. with all the pcs. you need. the only air flow the rad gets is through the little screen in the front of the nose. if you get below 30 mph. it gets hot quick. forget city traffic, it`ll get so hot you have t park it. this is from exp. the nose sits so high when you drive it you cant see over it. and working on it, tuning changing oil, etc. no way. you cant lean over the front the nose is there. you cant lean over the sides, youll bust the fender scoops. If you want a trailer queen, then yes build it, if you want to drive it alot, stay away from this kind of build. its just not stret practical. Im not trying to turn you off of it, i just want you to really think about this ounce you sink major bucks into it and then realize what you have, its a real bumer. In hind site, knowing what i do now, I would have passed on mine, and went to something else. and the sad reality is. you can say you have a bird and others dont, but while theyre driving their cars and enjoying them yours is in the garage covered up , cause you cant drive it to the store and back without over heating probs. for all you nay sayers, on the heating issue, i had a new 3 row rad, high vol. alum. water pump, and stat, watr wetter, and a shroud, w/ 7 blade torque drive fan. that car ran at 210 from 30 up, if i went into traffic, 280 right now. Just the voice of experience.

blue 68 gts

Youll need the whole front clip of a superbird... fenders are wider....

old tired rebel

The front clip of a Superbird was from a Dodge Coronet 69 or 70. I remember right it was the only clip that would fit the nose piece.

koondawg_74 roadrunner

i think its the 70 coronet fenders...atleast thats what a guy told me that has a few couple superbirds.....

Bradster

Well, I haven't been able to find any real numbers, but from what i've found so far, just the front end is going to cost roughly 10K, Add 2-3k for wing and minus the Window plug. That's before the donor shell, engine, trans and all the other misc things needed for the car. It could exceed 30k pretty easy for a project like that, I asked myself how much am I willing to spend and I feel 20k ball park would be more fitting with my budget. You can still make a pretty kick *** car for that amount, just not a superbird.

That’s a bit too rich for my blood. Granted it would be cool and all, but I honestly can’t say the front end is worth THAT much for me. I could be happy with a GTX or Roadrunner clone with the superbird wing on the back however.

This point it’s wait in see for this summer to see what I can find. I’m open to making an Eleanor clone GT-500E as well out of a 67-68 fastback, it’s a bit more appealing since the kit is 5K and needless to say the rest of the parts aren’t at Mopar prices. I've only built Chevys and helped on a few Fords. Never really went the dodge route due to the prices on everything.


I haven’t shelved the entire idea of going mopar, like I said when this summer hits it all depends what I find the best deal on. I could go either way.

I appreciate all your comments and suggestions, much appreciated

-Brad

old tired rebel

Brad shop around and you might be surprised at what you can find.

Coronet1970RTguy

The front fenders where used from a 70 Coronet. The valance panel lights where 70 coronet, side marker lights 70 coronet.

Im not sure what kind of hood was used but it did have a front end cap on it to fit the nose.

I think the doors are straight sat doors.

Do you have the marker lights already this is a hard to find part. I ran into that when I was getting parts for my R/T and was told a lot of guys buying them for Super Bird clones.

Good luck on the project I wanted to do a wing car myself and thought about doing a 70 Coronet wing car.

Bradster

I'm back! I've decided on superbird project. I tire kicked the idea as you can see for a while.

Been trying to track down a shell to start with, Only requirements for me is no welding required, minus trunk or parts of the floor. If quarter panels are rotted can’t do it (Can't weld!) But I'd be willing to try on floor or trunk as my work would be hidden.

Appreicate any heads up if you happen across one of the following cars in your travels. If they dont have a motor and trans and all that it's perfect for me. Cheaper the better.

1970 Satellite, Road Runner, GTX, Belvedere


Thanks
Brad



Edit: To date not a single company that provides the superbird front end has gotten back to me on a complete part list or price qoute.

Dizzle

Hey, do some research, but last winter I had several discussions with a guy in wisconsin who needed and he'd been collecting parts for the same build as you are doing for 25 FREAKING YEARS....the dude has EVERYTHING...and I mean EVERYTHING.
You can buy it all from him, including a 1969 Roadrunner for the doner, for $12,000 firm. He's got original superbird everything.
I was going to buy it all, and then my computer crashed, lost my email login passwords, and the rest is history......
But if you look hard enough, you'll find him. He's in northeastern wisconsin, maybe the New London area, maybe north and east of Green Bay...I just can't remember. But he's out there with it all.

Bradster

Awesome tip, thank you! Sadly the 68 has diffrent tail lights so what would be an issue. But the parts, now were talkin . I'll do some surfing around.

I lost a 1970 road runner today on ebay. Buyout was set at $2500 but he didnt have a title. I contacted him and he was going to take care of it then I was going to buy it. 10mins later someone bought it. Total list time 2 hours.

Bradster

Could anyone suggest a company for a complete nose and wing for the superbird? Here's the track record I have via search and what I’ve found so far.

http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com/superbird.html
Best prices. Sent two e-mails for part list and price quote, no response. Upon further research via Google this would not be the company to order anything from has a very large list of people unhappy with negative responses to the extreme.

http://www.wingcarfab.com/
Hood here would be a good choice. No Fiberglass nose, only steel noses at $6,000 JUST for the empty shell of the nose, no internal hardware, grill or head light bezels moving on.

http://www.officialdayclona.com/
Sent three e-mails for a part list and price quote, no response. Sent in Nov of last year, June and July of this year

Two are out for lack of communication. I look at it this way, if it takes this long for quick inquiry for an order, what if I had a problem with an order?
The other overpriced.

Anyone able to suggest a company that you've worked with?

mopardrt

the hood is a 1970 super bee coronet that is cut and modified

Bradster

Good news,

Well I haven't heard back from ANY of the sites that provide the front end. When I was about to loose hope I made a connection from a friend of a friend until it filtered down to a guy that has a steel reproduction front end with all the internet parts minus the headlight motors. Hes going to send me a few pictures, if it looks decent i'm going to take the long track to go buy it from him (hes a little over 6 hours from me). He also has one Cornet fender hes going to toss in. Due to the distance the arrangment for pick up is going to have to be 3-4 weeks from now.

I'll post pictures if I buy it, or at least update the status. If I can manage to grab the front end, then the hard part is over! The wing, fender scoops are a bit easyier to get, but this front end is the bane of the project. 6-10k is just to much imo for a reproduction anything.

BradD

Dayclona is on moparts.com daily. There is a guy in Georgia building steel noses. I forgot his name at the moment.
My brother and I are about to start on a Superbird convertible for a customer. The plan is to drive it on the Hot Rod Power Tour in June 2011.

Brad

Dorn Autocraft. com

Bradster

Thanks BradD,

I've already contacted that company. Out of all of them it seems the most appealing via feedback with them. However no response.

I’ve decided to abandon this project just as a few days ago due to lack of vendors and communication.
Something I learned the hard way is, making sure you have everything available before starting a project like this. Had I purchased a car and prepared it for the conversation I would have been up the creek without a paddle. It’s too bad about the vendors; I was really sincere about doing this project.Perhaps one of them will read this thread one day and realize how important communication is for sales and the next person that comes along will have the opportunity next time around.
I’m looking at a few potentials for a replacement project. Right now I’m collecting information about restoring a 1957 Dodge Custom Royal instead. Found the perfect car, just looking for some misc parts it needs first before making the purchase.

RROriginals

Brad, try wingedwarriorbodyparts.com for the Superbird/ Daytona front ends and wings.

Bradster

Thanks! I've contacted them via e-mail twice, called twice, decided to revisit them and gave them a call, got machine again. I'll try later this evening and Saturday before closing it out.

RROriginals

I was thinking about doing a Superbird clone, I called once before and got them, I know that the front nose cone is $1400? don't quote me on it though

Bradster

I leave this Friday morning, 7 hour drive later I should have a superbird front end compelete in my hands. Going to attempt to make the drive there and back all in one day. I'll post pictures when I get back after some much needed rest

Bradster

Hey All,

I'll take better pictures of the front end after a good nights rest. But I have the front end now, came with everything! Just need the motors for the head lights. I also picked up a 70 Coronet fender, and the fender scoops.

Here's the pics from my journey I left at 8am and got home around 11pm. From south eastern pa to North western New York on the tip near the lakes. It was one long haul! This front end was made by Ted Janak It was the higher end build $6500 package. http://www.wingedwarriorbodyparts.com/catalog.html Never used, was bought but the project was put on hold and never happened, then he needed money, bad. That's where I come in.

You guys are going to fall out of your chair when I tell you how little I paid for this. I'm not telling until I get better pictures of my inventory for full effect. It was a deal out of this world

In route to New york

No caption needed, just funny


Moutains!


Complete Nose kit, fender scoops and Coronet fender BARELY fit in my Blazer, my one seat was touching the dash after I we fit everything in there.



Around 5pm Thank god (Around Erie, I live in south east PA, so still many many hundrends of miles to go)




I pulled in my drive way and take a look at the Trip, I can't beleave I managed to do it all in one sitting!



Sneak peak at just the nose cone, Better pics later (too tired right now after that drive).

mopardrt

very cool cant wait to see more