Here’s yet another 1970 Plymouth Road Runner that appears to have been rode hard and put away wet. It possesses a lot of the maladies that afflict this generation of Plymouth’s legendary budget muscle car, so let’s take a look at it and think about it in terms of salvation. Logan, Iowa, is where you’ll find it, and it’s available here on eBay for a current no-reserve bid of $7,200 with four bids tendered so far.

Despite its similarities to its 1969 “Car of the Year” predecessor, sales for 1970’s Plymouth beep-beep muscle car fell by more than half, generating about 36K units. Three body styles still endured: two-door hardtops, coupes (sedan such as our subject), and a convertible. This coupe’s orange finish (Vitamin C?) is badly faded and peeling, while the body panels are suffering from both surface rust and rot-through. The seller adds, “Needs a complete restoration. All quarter panels have rust. Floor pans need replacing.” Also mentioned is three years of recent garage storage, but clearly this car has seen a whole lot of outdoor time, too. This Road Runner is going all General Lee on us with its Vector wheels. They enhance the overall look, even on a car as downtrodden as this example.

The bucket seat-equipped interior is as banged up as the exterior, with trashed upholstery – front and back, disintegrating door panels, a split dashpad, sagging headliner, ripped-out radio, and a jumble on the floor that looks like a mishmash of carpet and underlay piled over top of the previously mentioned rotted floor pans. Blow it up and start over.

Originally, this RR was powered by a standard 335 gross HP 383 CI V8 engine, but now under its domed hood is a 440 CI V8 engine of unknown provenance. The air cleaner lid with the “Lean Burn” decal makes me think it’s a seventies smog motor version.  Regardless, this one’s a Road Nonrunner. A TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission backs up the “RB” engine.

As with many things, the first version (’68-’70) is often the best, and that’s my outlook regarding the Road Runner and its similar sibling, the GTX. To parse it even further, I prefer the ’68 Road Runner over its two successors, because that freshman edition seemed to be the truest to the stripped-down, no-frills character that the Road Runner was supposed to embody. This example is far from a lost cause, but it’s going to take a ton of time, effort, and $$$ to make it right again. Regardless, three bidders are chasing this no-reserve Mopar, so it will get sold, but from my perspective, I’d want to keep looking. How about you?