Update 3/5/20 – This Road Runner has been relisted here on eBay with no reserve!
From 2/7/20 – While it will require some work to get this 1969 Plymouth Road Runner back to its best, the owner has at least commenced the process of addressing the rust issues that can afflict these great classics. It will be up to the new owner to decide whether they continue from where he left off, or whether they follow their own path. The Road Runner is located in Lewiston, Idaho, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. With bidding now sitting at $6,300 on the Road Runner, the reserve hasn’t been met.
There’s no doubt that the next owner is going to have to perform some work on the Limelight Green Plymouth before it is returned to its former glory. The car was originally fitted with a white vinyl top, but this has been removed to reveal some of the usual rust that can develop there. The panels show plenty of minor dings and dents, and the front fender on the driver’s side has been replaced at some point. External rust seems to be quite minimal, although it isn’t clear what is hiding under the primer that has been applied to the lower sections of both rear quarter panels. From underneath, things look quite encouraging, with no signs of any structural rust issues. The front driver’s side inner fender and lower core support have been professionally replaced, with this area receiving a coat of RustProof M/D. Inside the car, everything was removed, and all of the interior metalwork, along with that in the trunk, was sandblasted and given the same treatment. This is where the buyer might want to change things a bit. The floors and trunk pan are essentially solid, but there are numerous pinholes present in both areas. These could possibly be sealed to prevent further problems, although if the next owner was to choose to bite the bullet and replace the lot, then I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
The Road Runner is a numbers-matching car, featuring a 383ci V8, a TorqueFlite transmission, an 8¾” 3.23 rear end, and power steering. This was quite a decent package in its day, and with 335hp available when the engine is in good health, the Road Runner would still be capable of holding its head high amongst modern offerings. Unfortunately, the 383 isn’t in good health at present. The owner states that it spins freely, but that it doesn’t run. He goes on to say that it will require a rebuild but doesn’t elaborate on why he believes this. Hopefully, there are no major problems beyond it being a bit tired. That’s a question that I would definitely be asking.
Apart from the carpet, the interior of the Plymouth appears to be complete and original. The dash and pad look quite good, but it appears as though the seats will need new covers, and the front buckets might also require new foam. The remaining upholstered surfaces are also looking tired, and while the headliner has been removed and is included in the sale, it isn’t clear what sort of condition it is in. If you look at the floor in this shot, just to the left of the bottom spoke on the wheel you can see some of the pinholes that I referred to earlier. These are pretty indicative of what you will find around the car. They aren’t horrendous, but they would allow a certain amount of moisture to find its way through under the carpet if the car is driven in wet weather, which could cause the rust problems to occur all over again. I have seen panel-beaters address these sorts of holes with a MIG welder and very fine wire, but there are a lot of holes, so that is something to consider with this restoration.
There is no doubt that this 1969 Road Runner could be restored, and if this work was completed to a high standard, a numbers-matching car should be worth a minimum of $30,000. A meticulously detailed restoration could push this value above $50,000, but the ultimate value would depend on whether the original 383 could be revived. It has potential, so it will be interesting to see whether the reserve is met on the listing and if it is, what it was actually set at.
Looker over good, primer scares me. The holes in the roof are most troublesome. Seller really dolled it up with the primer under the hood, for the amount of work he went thru to prime the underhood area, you would think he would splash some green on it. That said- its a complete car with most of the RR specific goodies on it. IMHO, too bad its not a 4 speed. I’m thinking by the time you fixed this one up good you could buy a better one. Good luck to the new owner. This one looks nice enough in the pics to be lipstick on a pic.
Cheers
GPC
You mean PIG
Agree with the lipstick on a pig Chas. Why would you paint the engine without rebuilding it first or get it running? Then replace belts, hoses, radiator, and make sure everything looks shiny new. Nice car, but curious circumstances here.
Part Corvette with those glass quarters 😉
Its at least original running engine 👍
It will take Mopes person willing to spend to get back .
Engine does not run
That’s not Limelight green, Just f8 green.
Wrong. F5 is Limelight Metallic…which is what this is. Do your research. Know your stuff if you’re gonna try to be a smart guy.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~iIAAOSw9MRd2jn9/s-l1600.jpg
Failed resto attempt.
Non runner. Engine probably toast.
He should be taking present offer and forget about some pie in sky reserve.
Like the full wheel covers on one side and dog dish caps on other side.
Speaking of dog dishes. it is one
It certainly has issues but looks to be pretty sound. You can be sure the quarters have mud in them but if the rust was addressed properly with metal patch panels then it’s not that big of a deal. The roof is a concern but all else looks good. If you can own it for less than $8500 your in a matching numbers car that you could fix into a nice driver for the right money.
I bet the reserve is over 15 grand.
Bidding stalled at around 6 something and that is all its worth
Yea I’d take the money and run…Needs both quarters replaced..The top is real bad..no telling what else you gonna find…When all is said and done..Could have bought one turn key cheaper…
Fresh engine paint and all hooked up to run but it doesn’t run, eh.
The engine won’t start because the engine obviously threw a rod or cracked a head. Major engine rebuilding will be in order no doubt. Frankly, any buyer can expect to trash the engine given that something major is most assuredly wrong with the engine. Trans probably works.
Car is a good buy for the body.
It should go past $15k as is.
Bob
How do you know it threw a rod or has a cracked cylinder head? There are more than a few lousy troubleshooters out there. I once bought a 1968 El Camino with a freshly rebuilt engine. The seller and his “master mechanic” uncle couldn’t get it started. When I towed it home a put a gallon of gas in the tank it it fired right up. I don’t like that the engine appears freshly painted but doesn’t run, however, immediately jumping to your conclusion is a stretch.
Steve R
I’m a good guesser and adept at spotting a ruse. New paint & fresh battery, plus a new vacuum advance on the distributer spells that the car was started or attempted to be started but would not run or blew up when it ran. The headers are a dead giveaway that the engine did not run for long before crapping out.
People don’t pull engines to paint them if they are not working engines. Claiming it needs a rebuild is a nod for complete rebuild given it is broken either via the heads, or piston rods. Could be a broken crank too. Could be a fried cam shaft too.
Guaranteed the engine is toast as is.
Bob
Those are stock manifolds, not headers.
Steve R
“Obviously threw a rod or cracked a head” What about the ad or pictures makes that so clear to you Bob?
Could be anything, agreed. I’d want to get it to spin and do a compression test. That would tell you a lot.
Those white walls and caps don’t do this bird any justice, either style. Save the numbers matching stuff for another day, if you know at I mean.
I’m not sure this car was born a Road Runner. Looking at the brief photo of the dash, it looks more like a standard Belvedere or Satellite model. Would like to know the first 7 digits of the VIN to be sure. Major project and not for the faint of heart.
The VIN is listed in the ad.
Steve R
Up to $15k even now. Ridiculous for that car. Who would take all the time to paint or prime the whole engine compartment like that? Nuts.
I’m confused header states no reserve, while comments state reserve not met???
It’s a pig in a poke!!! Without a good up close and personal inspection who knows what’s up with the motor!!! I hope the buyer gets lucky and gets something restorable but I don’t think so!! In my opinion the seller wouldn’t start the process of redoing the car and get to the running driving point and quit!!
Looks like someone used a mallet or hamfisted the trunklid a few times to get it open. Those niggly things add $$ to working the body back to cherry. I think the full wheelcovers are period Barracuda, not Road Runner.
I think they are accessory caps that you could get that year
With that deluxe interior ,white top , mag caps and whitewalls it looks more like a Sport Satellite. At first glace it looks like a good project , but the more you look at it ,its going to need a lot . – Then again, it is a 51 year old car so you cant expect them all to be mint .
Is that picture in the garage of the headliner supposed to be a selling point, I thought I read that there was a new headliner? Back in ’69 I bought this cars twin except mine was a 4 speed and I didnt have a vinyl top, same color , pukey green,,,, but mine had a bench seat and was green, the interior in this one looks like the one I had in mine which I think was a deluxe interior. Too much money for this specimen, but it’ll make some MOPAR lover happy I suppose. I sold mine in ’71 for $1200 bucks with a 383″ 2 bbl motor and a torqueflite, Cragar SS wheels & all.
Why do I get the feeling that the seller isnt telling the whole story, Oh maybe becuz he knows whats wrong and if he passes those little details along he wont get big money … well he aint getting the big money ,,, most buyers are savvy enough to know, but then some arent.. and thats what this seller is hoping for,, IMO anyway
In the video where they have the car turning over it doesn’t sound too kosher to me , it has that typical Chrysler gear reduction starter whine but it didn’t sound consistent, smooth, ? As much as this car brings back great memories for me I would not take a chance on it at anything close to the ask.
SOLD for $11,300.