Plymouth fielded two mid-size muscle cars in the late 1960s. The Road Runner was for the budget-minded and the options list was short, while the GTX was an upscale edition for those wanting some creature comforts along with speed. After the GTX was discontinued as a separate model, during 1972-74 Plymouth combined the two into one car, the Road Runner GTX. For its first year, only a few hundred of the RR GTX were built and the seller’s car was one of them. Located in Anderson, California, this automobile has been partially restored, but not numbers-matching. It’s available here on eBay where the bidding has not yet triggered the reserve at $33,100.

Between 1967-71 Plymouth sold the Belvedere/Satellite-based GTX as a mid-sized upscale-trimmed performance muscle car. A year after the GTX debuted and at the same time Chrysler redesigned all its B-bodied cars, the Road Runner was born to go after the budget-minded audience. So, for four model years, the cars were produced and sold alongside one another with the Road Runner always winning (in the sales game, which is). A changing market and decreasing demand for the GTX caused Plymouth to drop the car as a model after 1971 but kept it around as an option package on the Road Runner.

With power choices dwindling in the early 1970s due to higher insurance premiums on muscle cars and a push toward lower engine emissions, the 440 cubic inch V8 with a single 4-barrel carburetor was now top dog at Plymouth. The 440 6-Pack and 426 Hemi were done. But if you ordered the remaining 440, you could get yourself a Road Runner GTX rated at 280 hp with a detuned 8.2:1 compression ratio. Just 672 of the RR GTXs were built in 1972, with 453 having the TorqueFlite automatic. Such appears to be the case with the seller’s car.

This machine has received a substantial makeover, but not a nuts-and-bolts restoration. The original 440 motor is gone, replaced by a date-correct engine of the same displacement that has less than two hours run time on it. The ignition is more modern than in ’72 and – as a result – the factory tachometer doesn’t work with the Billet distributor (but the seller still has the stock one). The transmission has been rebuilt, and new stuff includes the exhaust system, gas tank, brakes, tires, and shocks, just to name a few (the seller says the list is extensive). This Plymouth also has the optional N96 air grabber hood that works!

Inside the car, the seats have been reupholstered and the headliner and carpeting are new. No mention is made of the paint having been redone, but we’re told the car is rust-free and it certainly looks that way. The VIN provided matches the factory description of one of these cars, but I’m not a fan of photos taken of the cowl tag when it has been removed from the car. Just makes it look like a clone or tribute that way. The 1971-72 Road Runner won a bunch of races in NASCAR and helped Richard Petty seal a championship in both of those years.