It is not uncommon for us to see stalled project cars come across our desks here at Barn Finds. This 1970 Plymouth Road Runner is a perfect example of this trend. It seems that the owner had gotten no further than partially dismantling the vehicle when he ran out of time and money. Rather than letting it sit for years, he has taken the difficult decision to part with it. The Plymouth is located in Morgan Hill, California, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. It has only attracted a single bid to this point, which sees it sitting at $10,500 with the reserve unmet. There are currently 78 people watching the listing, so there is still the possibility that someone might choose to hit the BIN button at $16,000.

The seller of the Tor Red Plymouth has listed it on behalf of a friend and rightly points out that it has some rust issues that will need to be repaired. Both rear quarter panels are now in primer, so it isn’t clear whether some repairs have already been performed there. It’s no great surprise to find that there is rust in the rockers, along with spots in the bottoms of the fenders and the bottom corners of the doors. It is a bonus that the area around the rear window is still clean because this area could be a rust-trap. The floors are a different story. The front floor on the driver’s side received some pretty rough amateur repairs, and I don’t think that the buyer will be left with any alternative than to replace that entirely. It is hard to see the remaining floors, and it also isn’t clear what sort of state the trunk pan and frame rails are in. There is a shot of the engine bay, and it looks to have little more than some surface corrosion on the radiator support. There are a few trim items that are missing, and the grille is damaged. I believe that the bumpers would respond to some work with a high-quality polish, while the glass appears to be in good condition.

It isn’t just the body of the Road Runner that will require attention because the buyer will be spending time and money on the interior. The front seats aren’t original, and most of the upholstery looks like it will need to be replaced. The dash pad is cracked, although the rest of the dash is unmodified. The Rallye gauges look to be in good order, and the original AM radio remains in situ. Whipping the interior into shape will not be cheap, with a trim kit in the right color and pattern selling for approximately $2,500. As I have said in past articles, this hurts the wallet, but it is a one-off expense. If the car is treated with care and respect when finished, the interior trim should last for decades.

The Road Runner rolled off the production line fitted with a 383ci V8, a 4-speed manual transmission, and a Sure Grip rear end. It isn’t clear whether the transmission and rear end that are currently fitted to the car are the original components, but the numbers-matching engine block is quite literally hanging in there. The cylinder heads are sitting on the front floor, but it isn’t clear whether items like the carburetor, air cleaner, or alternator are missing or are squirreled away somewhere. The Plymouth will require a mechanical refurbish, but it should be well worth the effort. In a mechanically sound state, this is a classic that should be capable of ripping through the ¼ mile in 14.7 seconds. Find a long enough piece of straight road, and the top speed should threaten 132mph.

This 1970 Plymouth Road Runner is a classic that will require a full restoration. However, its rust problems don’t look as bad as they have been on some examples that we have seen here at Barn Finds. That raises the question of the car’s potential value once it has been returned to its former glory. If it is a numbers-matching vehicle and restored to a high standard, then $35,000 or more is not out of the question. If the next owner is meticulous, then there is no reason why it couldn’t threaten $50,000. That makes it a classic worth pondering if you are a person searching for a project car.