The B-body is the favorite of many Mopar muscle lovers, including myself. While the Charger has stolen much of the B-body’s glory over the years, the Coronet, Roadrunner, and GTX all have their place in classic Mopar history. This 1969 Roadrunner, owned by a person named Fuzzy, is being offered for sale here on craigslist in California with an asking price of $12,000. Last tagged in 1991, this Roadrunner has faired pretty well for sitting outside all these years. It is a complete car being sold as a project, and perhaps the asking price isn’t too off-base. Thanks to Steve T. for sending this one in!
Like parked cars are apt to do, this Roadrunner has become the home to spiders at the very least, if not larger critters. Though mostly complete, it looks like the ignition switch is dangling from the dash and has been spliced together. Aside from tears in the seats and general age, if someone wasn’t going to restore this car immediately it would clean up to ratty status well! In between the bucket seats is what looks to be the remains of an automatic ratchet shifter. For $12,000, I would think that the car would have at least had the spiderwebs removed, but I will admit they add a little bit of a “frozen in time” touch to this car.
Though originally a 383 big block car, under the hood now sits a Chrysler 440 with a 4-barrel and an aluminum Weiand intake. Don’t worry, that missing “Air Grabber” air cleaner is sitting in the back seat! The only thing that is concerning is it looks like it has been in the back seat for quite a while, meaning this carburetor has been sitting wide open for an unknown amount of time. That and the absence of oil caps/breathers on the valve covers is enough to make me want to thoroughly inspect this engine before attempting to fire it. Who knows what snuck down in there!
Its always a shame to see a cool old car like this sitting, however this picture is really a great shot of the car. There’s something about the way this car is presented that makes it seem like you could clean it up, get it running, and pick up right where Fuzzy left off. Though it has some body damage on the driver’s side, rust that is typically prevalent on these cars is minimal. A straightforward restoration candidate, this car will likely find a home with someone who wants to make it pretty again!
12k seems kinda high for non original motor and what looks like a rough body and interior but the mopar crowd may not agree. looks like it was originally column shifted.
Why why why? So heartbreaking, these sad Mopars. And yes, $12K is a lot for this vehicle. I’d say $6-8K max, there’s at least $15-20K to get it in decent shape.
I love it but with the motor questionable, wiring trashed along with interior plus body work and paint 8K tops. I paid 14,500 for our 70 Mach1 and did the same work this one needs with some upgrades that cost us 40K over the cost of the car and tried to sell it and can’t even get our 40K back. We have owned 7 classic cars and trucks and this is the first one I can’t recoup most of my money, never again.
I think that’s becoming more common – restoration parts and services are pretty high end for most folks.
I looks like the passenger side valve cover is not bolted down and it sitting cockeyed. It that’s the case that suggests engine problems at the time it was parked.
The Air Grabber parts definatley add value. If the undercarriage isn’t rusty the asking price might be within striking distance of a deal.
Steve R
No.
A 1969 Road Runner, 383-4 speed, convert. sold on e-bay last year for 13,900.00. Numbers matching drive train, and rebuilt engine and trans. NO rust anywhere ever. Needed paint and reassembly. I still have the ad print out. This car is not even close to that one for that money.
With these guys….little on the high side….but it’s hard to go higher from a lower price.
The only way that car is worth $12000 is if you get at least $7500 back in change.
Maybe in ten years it will be worth that number
No, in ten years it will be worth less, much less. I had this in high school, of course it was a 7 year old used car at the time. (Cost me $1050, and I tell you, it ran like a top and shined like the morning sun on a spring day. Not at all like this obvious grab for money from someone who was too lazy to call the scrapper 30 years ago to get rid of the neighborhood eyesore ) When my peers are too senile or crippled up to drive, then who will buy these? Our son is 24 years old. He could care less about this. If anything, he wants a 90s Honda like I drove when he was a tot. Heck, he can’t even drive a stick! (well, at least not that well, I did teach him, but he had nothing to practice with on a regular basis). This is a Baby Boomer wet dream related to our actual wet dreams when you could buy one. If you can get this and flip it for profit, well, goodie for you, but be very careful. The time for these is soon over. Now, don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed my Plymouth, got me in my fair share of hot water with the local police, but I also recall 12 MPG, poor tire wear, crummy handling. No wonder that I had it crushed in the spring of 1980. It had started to rust, had 120K on her, and my second tranny was in tranny Heaven. Had to decide, do I want an 11 year old worn out car or to finish college? Hmmmm? Do I look back with regret now? Sometimes, but I also remind myself that I have owned far superior cars over the years, and for what this will cost to own and restore, I could have a heck of a brand new, warranted, by far more polished sports car with wads of cash to spare. Part of growing up is having the maturity to realize that fond memories of youth are fine, just don’t put tens of thousands of dollars into trying to relive them.
I don’t see that kind of money at all. Does anyone else think that left rear wheel well looks modified?
diamond,
That wheel well IS modified – the shape was changed by whatever left that big-a__ dent right behind the door. This is not what I think of when I envision a CA car. Looks like rust through in the lower quarter panel.
– John
It’s a shame what all those ” collectors ” with more money than sense have done to the hobby. If this was a numbers matching 426 Hemi or 440 six pack car it might be worth the asking price, but it’s not. With a complete restoration it might be worth $30k on a very good auction day. Some “fuzzy” math going on here!
At least it has the engine Plymouth should have offered roadrunner buyers in the first place, the 440 4 barrel. This could be made into a cool driver, period correct mags,etc… but it is just too expensive for what looks like a potential budget buster.
I showed this picture to my dog and asked him what he thinks of this. his answer was “RUFF”
I have always had a spot in my heart for 68/69 road runners,
I just always thought , that they were cool,especially with some rubber in the back! It does seem that anybody wanting that kind of money,would spend a day or 2 cleaning it/detailing it , in order for it to look its best,maybe they want lowball offers?I’ll never understand ! If car was washed ,cleaned up and some minor work done,I could see close to what they want maybe 10grand ,but there is too much initial work needed.It is a muscle MOPAR,and thus very valued, but yes, I hate what the ELITE/Money/TV people have done to the car hobby !
it has made everybody think that their 78 diplomat 4dr is a “rare” car, or worth
a million bucks,but it aint so….unless it comes with $999.000 in the trunk.
Road runners will always command a nice price though.
I bought a 1969 Roadrunner, 383, automatic, same color but in better condition, in 1971.
I loved that car although it had no A/C and just an AM radio which is what most cars had in those days. I owned it about 18 months and determined that it had been “rode hard and put away wet” and it was going to cost some money. So I sold it and bought a new 1972 Chevy Nova. Sadly, I have no pictures of it and most of the cars I’ve owned, for that matter.
$12K? Must be dreaming…. $3K tops!
Shouldn’t the VIN for a ’69 383 Road Runner in this body style read RM23H9, not RM2319 as stated in the ad?
Love the 68/69 Road Runner! Back in the 80’s I had two 68’s (not simultaneously). Both were original engine 4-speed cars. One was rough like this one. I bought it from the original owner (neighbor). I was ready to tackle it, but then I found this other 68. The other was in primer ready for paint. Someone added a complete air grabber setup to it. It was in far better shape than the one I had so I sold it to buy this one.
At the time I was a Chevy & Olds guy. That 383/335 engine was seriously impressive and surprised a lot of people. 335 hp? I don’t think so. More like 350 if not more. Sadly, I ended up blowing the engine. I was so disgusted with myself, I sold the car for $500 to get it out of the yard. That was the only engine I ever blew up and it still haunts me to this day.
That’s not a Air Grabber air cleaner, it looks to me to be a E-Body 440 Six Barrel Shaker Base
About 7-8 years ago, I attended an auction of a local private car collection. Among the Bandit T/A’s, a couple Deloreans, the odd ball electric car, tri-fives, etc, was a AAR Cuda & a 68 Road Runner. The Cuda was rough, but the Road Runner was a nice 55k mile rust free survivor that had actually been stored correctly for the previous 25 years. Good orange paint, mint interior, all numbers matching 383, 4 speed, original wheels, running, driving car. I stopped bidding at $12k & the car ended up selling for $21. I was floored by what it brought. In retrospect, it was a bargain.
Oh, & the man’s son ended up pulling the Cuda out of the auction. I guess there was enough from the other sales to cover the estate.