When Plymouth first introduced its Road Runner as a ’68 model, budget-minded muscle enthusiasts quickly took note and buyers seemed to love it, with the B-Body even earning Motor Trend’s coveted Car Of The Year award the following year in 1969. Sales soared to more than 80,000 units for the car’s second year of production but of that number fewer than 2,000 were convertibles, so locating a droptop is quite a nice find. This 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Convertible seems pretty much complete, but unfortunately, the next owner is going to have some rust issues to contend with. If you’re up for the task, the car can be spotted here on eBay and is located in Croydon, Pennsylvania if you want to check it out in person prior to making your decision. So far, bidding is up to $10,600, but plan to pay more than that as the reserve hasn’t yet been reached.
The seller is very upfront about the body, and instead of breaking it down panel-by-panel tells us that nearly every metal component outside except for the trunk lid will need to be replaced, then follows this with the statement “It’s rusty” followed by an exclamation point. I guess with all the hoopla thrown out about the corrosion, I was expecting it to look a bit worse on the outside, not that I’m excited about all the rust that will have to be contended with but we’ve seen some worse-looking cars where the owner implies the steel will buff out, so I’m digging the seller’s honesty here. Maybe he’s also including the chassis and areas down below in his explanation, as the tin worm has definitely not been kind to the undercarriage.
My preconceived notion was going to be that the interior would look worse, and while it’s not exactly in great shape things in there don’t really seem quite as bad as I was expecting. The radio is missing in action and better days for the console have passed, but the top of the dash appears OK. I’d like to have been able to view the metal underneath the carpeting, but we do get to see inside the trunk, and unless there are problems underneath the trunk pan might be salvageable.
The 383 under the hood is the original engine, and although it is running the seller mentions smoke coming out of the exhaust, so some motor work is probably not too far down the road. But some good news is this is a factory 4-Speed car, plus there are a couple of other cars visible at the seller’s residence, including a Chevelle and Camaro, both of which are SS models, so if the Road Runner isn’t your cup of tea maybe you can inquire about the Chevys. What are your thoughts on this 1969 Road Runner Convertible? Is it too plagued with rust to make it a worthwhile project?
Money pit imo.This was probably some teenagers ride in the early 80’s that got it cheap , slapped bondo on it and got an Earl Sheib paint job along with some old school chrome reverse wheels which I like .Cool car but be prepared to spend a kings ransom restoring this one.
You’re right. I think we’ve hit the bottom of the barrel on these cars. Anything decent has been picked up, the remaining are real money pits as you say. The market has got to be getting pretty old as buyers. Look at thr 50’s stuff. Buyers have aged out except for tri five Chevy stuff.
My friends makes 80-100 every hour on the internet. she has been without work for eight months but the previous month l19 her revenue was 20,000 only working on the laptop 5 hours a day..
Check this…………………ssur.cc/works11
***************************************************************************
Hey Barnfinds, don’t you have a way to filter out posts from this bottom feeder/barnicle “Anne”???????????
Every time a rust bucket Mopar like this comes up, I wish I had studied welding instead of computers. This is not a project for the faint of heart. But (almost) every one of the replacement panels you would need is available if you had the time and money and shop equipment to tackle it. In the end would you break even on the investment? Not likely. But how cool would it be to cruise around in a NOM 383 4 -speed Roadrunner convertible?
NOM stands for “non-original motor”, lol…so, not that cool.
Another rusted expensive Mopar!!🤦 You will blow your 401k on this! It’s a shame being a convertible and how much water got inside? Just walk away from this one! 🐻🇺🇸
A Chevy guy had this Runner. Easy way to tell.
Engine bay is black. Means micky mouse did all the mods
I don’t think I have seen a rusted out convertible! Usually the drop tops are babied & not driven in winter weather!
There was a reason that these cars received 80’s-style bondo restorations in the 80’s: they were inexpensive cars owned by folks who were not interested in showing the car, they just wanted something fun to drive at a time when a Dodge Challenger and Charger were rebadged Mitsubishis. The need to get it through inspection necessitated filling in holes, and chicks did not dig primer. If I could pick up a car like this for a few thousand bucks I would do it again and just enjoy it for what it is – an old, thrashed muscle car with a few more miles of life breathed into it.
Right on partner! I am glad someone else thinks like me it ain’t bout the rust it’s bout the cool feelin of popping the clutch on these babies even if they tear apart doing so. I grew up wishing I could buy one when I was younger back in the 80s, I’ll have one before long I hope.
Mopar or no car , in this case no car. Saw this listed on market place. So the reserve is around 28000. No thanx
Pennsylvania rot box… hard pass!
Cars like this were fun, we bought them, fixed what needed fixing and drove them until the tin worm caused safety issues or we tired of them. I did it with many. I went from a 64 impala convertible to a 59 Cadillac convertible, then a Challenger convertible, a GS Buick convertible and so on. In today’s world that no longer exists. Everything is priced ridiculous. Crappy Hondas, Tahoes and so on are 5 to 10 grand so as far as I am concerned I enjoyed the golden age of the automobile. Ions back unless it was a low mileage original,(and even they were pennies compared to today) they were beaters or parts cars. NO one wanted rust period! This car is way cool but you have to know how to do 80% of the work yourself. Most cannot and most are only in it for a profit, not real car guys but car dealers, a big difference. The last problem is the cost of these rust devils. You might as well buy a nice one and enjoy it. Collector cars can be financed and hell pay 75k for a finished whatever or buy some gargantuous SUV or pickup truck for that so it can be a row warmer at the pick-a-part yard a decade from now. This car is not for faint at heart but someone with more money than brains will likely push the button. It then will lay in some shop corner shredded for the next ten years.
@Michael Berkemeier
Correct. I should have said “Numbers Matching”, not NOM. Although in this case, the drivetrain might be the only thing left original on this car after you restored it.