While I prefer the looks of the pre-71 Road Runner, I think I could live with this ’72! It is going to need an insane amount of work, but it is one of 906 cars built with the 400 cui V8 and a 4 speed, add in the Air Grabber option and that number likely drops even more. While the 440 is more desirable, those go for quite a bit more money. This one is bid up to $4,500 with 2 days to go. You can take a closer look at it here on eBay in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Maybe by Rhode Island standards, this is a pretty solid classic. It structurally supports its own weight and can be rolled around, so it’s doing better than some. For those of us that live in drier climates, this looks like a bit of a rust bucket. The seller notes that all the panels are available to fix it though, but it isn’t going to be cheap.
The 400 replaced the 383 in ’72. It lost some of its grunt, but was still good for 255 horsepower and 410 pounds of torque. If you take the change to net horsepower ratings into account, it actually isn’t as drastic of a drop as it seems. And on the upside, the 400 received a heavier duty bottom end capable of handling considerable power. Whether the Air Grabber hood really improved performance that much, I can’t say, but it sure makes these cars look great when going down the road. It was also required to get the car fitted with the front to back stripes, which this car was optioned with.
I love the bench seat, pistol grip shifter and overall look of the interior in these cars. It’s going to need a lot of work in here too, but that shouldn’t come as a big surprise given the condition of the rest of the car. Parts are readily available to fix the interior up as well.
It’s going to take a lot to fix this Road Runner back up, but it sure would be awesome! Every time you take it out for a spin, you can pretend you are Richard Petty in the #43 Road Runner! Alright, so maybe it won’t be quite like driving a NASCAR car, but you can always dream. So which Road Runner body style is your favorite?
Chrome plating sure isn’t what it used be be. The air cleaner and other parts of this car are literally rusting in half, but the front bumper shines like a new penny.
forget the Plymouth, I want the Chevy truck in the background……..
… and which flood was this one in?
Wow, off the road since ’84, and under water ever since. I,,,have never seen an air cleaner rust like that. How does THAT happen. Save the shifter, that’s about it. I hope the Chevy truck goes with it for that.
Buy one already restored. Save a ton of money!!!
Oy vey! The shifter would make a cool beer tap in the man cave.
My favorite for the RR was the 71, even though they are all cool. A good friend many years ago had a Satellite Sebring Plus of this year with the 383 that made quite an impression as a youngster, so maybe that is why. I run from rusty muscle personally. To costly, time consuming, and requires special skills to correct unless you are paying someone to do it. The older you are, the more you start to realize that time is precious. Maybe get something that requires less work to enjoy out on the road longer. IMHO.
I think the coyote got the roadrunner this time and beat the heck out of him Beep Beep my but 🤕
Yikes!
“So why not do something different and keep the crusty custom look? Clean everything up, redo the interior in the same materials, and slap some new tires on there! I guarantee you’ll draw a larger crowd at a car show than you would with a shiny version of itself. Anyone brave enough to try?”
Does this apply here too?
I agree on the crusty look. I call it character. I recently bought a 52 dodge 5 window B3B. It sat in a barn since 1979. Ive done alot of engine and brake work to make it road worthy. Ill keep the patina and just enjoy the good old american quality steel. Heck, i just broke down the and fixed it with a screw driver snd dollar bill.
Super cool Road Runner when new. However, in it’s current condition, this is where I lose the ability to see any dollars and sense logic regardless of inflated MOPAR values.
It’s going to take a whole lot of and I do mean a whole lot of lovin to bring this bird back from the brink.
Voting for “looks like a little bit of a rust bucket” as the understatement of the year! Too bad.
I had a 1972 Satellite Sebring Plus with the 400 engine and that really cool cassette deck in a pod on the center hump. Had the car (new) for a week and it ate my Bee Gees tape (Trafalgar) and spit green smoke out of the console. At 5,000 miles the thermostat crapped out. At 10,000 the fuel pump stopped working because the push rod had peened off. At 30,000 I blew four freeze plugs. I traded for a brand new 1974 Dodge Ramcharger and never looked back. Loved the looks, loved my 1971 Satellite Sebring Plus with the 383, but could never wrap my head around another Plymouth.
Landfill
I’ve never seen rust like that. Literally the exhaust manifolds are rusted, and the air cleaner… Wow how did that happen?
In maritime climate this is very possible. No surprise here other than yes it still holds its weight up on the chassis. Once rust starts, it NEVER, EVER stops!
Dropped a 340 4 spd. in the Satellite with Roadrunner hood, same damn car. Very fast! Loved the pistol grip! I even welded one on my muncie shifter, in my 66 Chevelle SS 396-360 h.p. Told everybody in high school it was a Plymouth trans.for kicks. How many of you broke the “ears” off those fricken muncie aluminum transmissions? I finally found a cast iron bell housing and trans.
this would be a labor of love, too beat in my estimation, and am too old to see it through , I too like the bench with the 4 speed that is the only thing it has going for it . good luck to whomever gets it
Road runner the coyote is after you. If he catches you you’re through.
Stupids…..duh…..air grabber…..bad seal……rusted pie pan…..look it up.
If the price stays where its at…AND you can weld and do the sheet metal right, this could be a heck of a buy. If you have to contract out for rust repair…..chuck it in the phuck-it-bucket.
Never a Mopar fan, but I’ll say this in it’s defense: those of you who have “never” seen rust “that bad” surely haven’t ventured to the Northern U.S. or Canada. Considering this is a 45 year-old car, it’s far from the worst I’ve seen. Why do I say this? I live in sourthern Ontario where salt is common on our roads. It was not uncommon to see rust more advanced than this on cars from this era by the time they hit ten years old. Cars like this were a dime a dozen for teens getting their licence in the 80s. They were rusty, but as long as they were structurally sound, and the holes patched, you were good to go. Cars like this have all but vanished in the snow belt due to rust way more advanced than this. The handful that survive were someone’s labour of love, or stored away before rust set in, and hidden for a couple of decades. Ladies and gents of the south don’t realize how lucky they are.
And people waste that kind of money on this POS? You know what kind of deals are out there for $5000 these days? What a waste
Watched the new Fast And Furious movie last night (first of the series I’ve seen actually). Dopey, ridiculous fun, and it features Mr. Diesel in a properly murdered-out ’72 Roadrunner doing impossible things. So that’s the direction one could go with this, if one was so inclined…
I saw some oil on the ground under my 2010 F150 this weekend. In looking I think it’s the rear main seal. But what really got me is the corrosion and rust damage already prevalent on an 8 yr old truck. I live in Massachusetts, I blame the road salt but more so the liquid salt they use now, calcium chloride. It’s a real salt bath that gets in every nook and cranny. Yup, and both of the wheel arches on the bed are all bubbled up already too.