The original concept pictures show the car in “Triple Black” and “Lemon Twist” color. King Hardeman (builder of the Road Runner Concept) decided to go a different route by using deep Orange combined with brown metallic strobe stripes.
After discussion with King the concept images were updated to give an impression how the result will look like: The new color direction looks just right on the body.
In their current November issue Auto Enthusiast Magazine brought a four page feature on the progress of the Road Runner Concept build. It’s great to see that the project gets the attention it deserves – especially for their builders King Hardeman and Pierre Mabile. Get to know more and check your local news stand for Auto Enthusiast Magazine.
The finished wheels (19″ in front and 20″ in rear) from Boyd’s Wheels just were delivered to King Hardemann. They now appear like intended: a brushed look with the face of the spokes polished. The red line tires were done by Diamondback and are also a one-off creation.
The tire & wheel combination looks totally stunning and just like in the concept illustrations.
The Road Runner concept build is now getting closer to become real road running.
With Boyd Coddington Wheels a big name is contributing to the project. The first draft of the wheels just came and were ready for a dry fit. They look exactly as shown in the concept renderings. Coddington sent one of each – Front and Rear Wheel – to King Hardeman to see how they fit on the axles. 19″ for the Front and 20″ rims for the Rear suit the wheel wells very well.
Well done Boyd!
In the final version the wheels will get a brushed look. And the face of 5-star spokes are getting a polished finish.
Trying to turn the rear of the original car into the illustration proved to be as big a challenge as trying to do the front but Pierre has done a great job. He removed the rear bumper and began with a new piece of sheet metal. A much nicer opening was formed where the original license plate/filler was so the fuel tank can be filled much like the original.
The Road Runner design concept has the exhaust exiting the rear pan but doing that on the real car was not feasible. There is a part of the frame just where the exhaust is supposed to be so the exhaust had to be directed to another area. The pipes now come out of the diffuser panel. But to do that, some of the undercarriage had to be cut and refabricated for clearance.
The next task for Pierre was custom fabrication of housings for the tail light lenses. King wanted the lenses for the housings custom made. The company he found that could do them wanted a lot of money so King ended up buying red lens material and some LED aftermarket lights. The result is unique and keeps with the theme of the Road Runner Concept.
As an added touch of his workmanship Pierre made a lip that runs around the lower part of the fenders and rear pan. It’s subtle but adds a lot to the look. The diffuser in the center will curve in (in the concept illustration it curves out) and will house the exhaust.
After the restoration of body the first area Pierre started coach building with for the ’71-Road-Runner-into-Road-Runner-Concept transformation was the front end. The original bumper was cut into sections and welded back together in the shape like in the Road Runner concept illustrations. Sheet metal was welded in place and a new lower grill opening was formed. Housings were fabricated to hold Camaro running lights. Along the way Pierre decided to make everything as smooth as possible, so he would weld the front fenders and the rest of the front end into one piece. When the car is finished the front end can be taken off after removing a few bolts and disconnecting a few wires. It takes extra planning and fabrication but the car can be worked on in the future if needed.
In the next step the body of the Road Runner was brought to a company specializing in paint removal and rust neutralizing in Arlington, Texas. After the dipping process was finished the body got some coats of epoxy primer.
The body of the base vehicle seemed to be in pretty good condition from far away. But a closer look showed rust on the typical critical areas. In addition the car had been in a couple of wrecks and the right sail panel (C pillar) had indications of a very poor attempt at repair. Pierre took care of the problems. He cut out the damaged areas and hand formed replacement sheet metal and new panels that he welded in. After some welding and grinding and a little primer, it is nearly impossible to tell there was any work done in those areas.
The Road Runner Concept that was put up for auction previously and was intended to be built as a one-off prototype, did not sell. But, that does not mean that this design concept will never ever become reality.
Thanks to 2 ambitious car enthusiasts, it seems that the concept will turn into shape, with the fabrication process being a little different like intended. King Hardeman of Baton Rouge (Louisiana) owns a ’71 Plymouth Road Runner. The car was in a poor shape when he bought it in 1992 and sat at his house for another 13-14 years waiting for him to get some money and to find someone who could do the body work needed.
Later, King found a car builder named Pierre Mabile in Donaldsonville (Louisiana). Pierre has a one-man shop that he works in part time. He has built several award winning vehicles including ’55-’57 Chevys. At first King and Pierre planned to make the Road Runner a mild custom. When they saw the renderings of the Road Runner Concept the project will now take a completely different direction.
On this blog you will get information and updates on the progess of the project. You will experience how the old ’71 Road Runner is coming to new life. The finished car will become very close to the Road Runner concept drawings.
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