A lot of Plymouth Road Runners were built in the 1960s and 1970s, but only a small number were convertibles in 1969 and 1970. Only 1,880 were delivered in ’69 and even fewer at 658 in ’70. This 1969 Road Runner drop top is a work-in-progress and originally came with a 383 cubic inch V8 and a 4-speed manual. Still needing more elbow grease, the project will have to be completed by a new owner. Located in Verona, Virginia, this interesting Mopar is available here on eBay where the reserve is north of the current bid of $4,350. A tip brought to us by Dan Kuchenberg.
Only 769 of the 383-powered Road Runners came with a 4-speed manual transmission in 1969. Although this car was one of them, it’s not numbers-matching now. The seller bought this project from a friend who lost his storage space, but the seller has too much on his/her plate to deal with it further. The engine last ran in 2009, so a rebuild might be necessary, and the drivetrain is back in the car although the photos suggest otherwise.
When it was built, this Plymouth was finished in Ice Blue Metallic paint and came with a bench seat interior, possibly black. One of the options on this auto included the desirable N96 Fresh Air Hood (though it’s MIA now). Much of the sheet metal has been replaced or repaired, so rust shouldn’t be a big issue going forward. One problem area, though, is the convertible top frame which will need fixing (replacements may not be available in the aftermarket).
One of the headaches of finishing someone else’s project is determining what’s missing and how well the earlier work was done. Given the details the seller provides, we’re assuming neither will be a big hurdle for the next owner to see it all to a conclusion. Road Runners are not rare autos at car shows, but a Road Runner convertible would be a seldom-seen sighting.
Wow ! … Someone is going to a to do a lot of work, and
spend some big bucks to get this car in show car condition.
It will be a gorgeous car when it is done !
Sorry about that …….Someone is going to have to do a lot of work,
Hope one is good with puzzles.
Wiring, bolts and trim clips to body welds.
Not shown but make sure the wells that the convertible bows may sit on are correct. Okay only say this as a non mopar that i put together had flat areas the top with frame sat on that i had to modify.
Also another tip is when putting rear quarters on temporarily tack your weather strip on doors to set the quarter at right space to match the doors. I learned that on another convertible car the hard way .( quarter was a couple centimeters inward that doors due to not putting trim on door to space it right)
Good luck on future georgous car…
Back in the 1970’s I had a 1969 Road Runner convertable,383 4 speed with the functional ram air,B5 blue,bucket seats.I gave a guy $100 and a Honda CL350 motorcycle for it.I used to drag race it.Fun car but required a lot of constant work.
Ideally, the one who puts it together should be the one who took it apart… otherwise the assembly is a much greater challenge (unless one has already done a bunch of those restorations).
So strange to see one of these that doesn’t have its belly in the dirt and a six figure asking price. Best of luck to the new owner, it looks nice.
Quarter panels have been trimmed to fit a convertible. Says who? I can see all sorts of problems with this non number matching cobble of a hodgepodge. I’d say that whatever the thinking is on what it will cost to put back together, add at least 50% and double the time – but it still won’t be worth a king’s ransom when done.
Looks like a huge amount of money and work will be needed to get this one back on the road. I certainly hope it goes to the right person. It’ll be a really nice car. I’m too old to take on projects like this.
It’s a body shop project but can be done. It will be a worthy car when finish.
Well major projects like this at todays cost of time and materials is not going to pencil out sorry
Humpty Mopar sat in a shop. Humpty Mopar turned into a giant money flop. All the great restorers and all the great financiers really don’t want to put Humpty together again. Fit and finish…HA, fagetta bout it…..I bought several of these abandoned projects in my life. Here a box, there a box, everywhere a piece, piece, and the most important and expensive items are usually missing.