It’s always refreshing to find a non-muscle car version of a muscle car, in this case, a 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus, as opposed to its performance-themed sibling, the Road Runner. But this Plymouth appears to have a trick up its sleeve so let’s review. It is located in Chula Vista, California and is available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $18,000.
By 1973, the Mopar B-Body intermediate-sized cars were in their third iteration of what was known as “fuselage” styling and, subjectively, I preferred this version of the Satellite to the two years that proceeded it. And Plymouth did a fine job of incorporating the Federally mandated 5 MPH bumper into the Sebring’s redesigned front end. The Satellite lineup included body styles of a two-door hardtop, a four-door sedan, and a station wagon, with trim levels of a basic Satellite, Satellite Custom, Sebring, and crowning out with the Satellite Sebring Plus which was perched at the top of the heap. The Road Runner continued on as the two-door hardtop performance variant but high performance wasn’t standard any longer, just the look – more on that at another time.
This Satellite was supposedly on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum and it’s now up for sale. The pictorial is fair but the details are light, very light – interested acquirers will have to contact the seller. Right off the bat, it looks great! And if you followed my write-up on a ’72 Ford Torino, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of brown, but this Plymouth really pulls it off! The finish is deep and rich, it just presents beautifully and is enhanced by its body-colored steel wheels and doggie bowl hup caps. Of note, this Sebring Plus has an optional sunroof which was not a commonly selected option back in the day. If this were my Plymouth, I wouldn’t change a single exterior detail.
Where the disappointment comes is under the hood – there is no engine image provided even though there is a shot with the hood in the raised position! The listing states that there is a “360 factory roller” for power but ChryCo’s 360 CI V8 engine was not available in a Sebring Plus in ’73 as a 318 V8 was standard and options included a pair of 400 CI motors. So, the powerplant is a transplant, and the assumption will be that it’s a strong runner, but we don’t know for certain. Besides the no-engine image, there is no shot of what we are told is an “immaculate interior” either. Obviously, it’s tan in color and is either all vinyl or cloth and vinyl mix, based on availability. The front seat could be comprised of a pair of buckets but could also be a high-back, split-bench seat too. I wish that I had more for you, but I don’t.
This is a strong-looking car and the museum association makes it interesting enough to dig further if you are really interested in such a Mopar. The typical abbreviated Facebook posting, however, isn’t doing this beautiful Plymouth any favors. What do you think, worth a deeper dive?
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