Things can change quickly in the automotive world. After debuting in 1968, the Plymouth Road Runner, sales of the car quickly peaked at 82,000 units in 1969. Two years later, they could barely sell more than 14,000 of the muscle machines as the tides had turned on performance cars. While a drastic change in styling took place in ’71, the insurance industry was behind much of the decline in hot cars. This 1971 Road Runner looks to have been sitting in a barn for years but will run if you force-feed it some fuel. Located in Delphos, Ohio, this “Bird” is available for $10,800 here on Facebook Marketplace and comes with lots of extra parts.

New to the Road Runner in 1971 was a 340 small-block V8, which was mostly a compact muscle car engine the year before. The 383 was still the most popular engine in these vehicles and nearly 8,000 were produced with an automatic transmission, like this one. We’re told the Mopar is numbers matching, which should include the column-shifted TorqueFlite automatic and 3.91 gears. You could still get a 440 6-Pack and a Hemi in the Road Runner in ’71, but that was the last year you could choose to do so.

The seller has listed its Plymouth on behalf of his/her father, so if you want to make an offer, he’s the guy you’ll have to deal with. The Bahama Yellow paint could be original, Plymouth wears a vinyl top, and the bench seat interior is probably from the factory but needs lots of help. The carpeting is out, showing the yellow floorboards which help validate the original color that was used. You can get the 383 to come to life briefly with a can of gas dribbled into the carburetor. So maybe the engine won’t have to be rebuilt.

Extra parts will include lots of sheet metal, including a deck lid, fenders, rear quarters, doors, and more. Also, the seller has a partial front clip from another Road Runner (not pictured) to complement the deal. Too many projects and a lack of space have precipitated this sale. Offers will be considered, but trades will not. If you like the second-generation Road Runner, this would be the one to get before engine detuning began to suck all the remaining life out of 1970s muscle cars. Thanks for the Mopar tip, Barn Finder “Ted”!