Parked in 2002: 1974 Plymouth Road Runner

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The owner of this 1974 Plymouth Road Runner refers to it as a one owner garage find that was purchased via a bankruptcy sale. It is a solid, driver-quality car, and the new owner could choose to use the car as it is or to undertake a restoration. Located in North Tonawanda, New York, it is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN price of $13,000 for the Road Runner, but there is also the option to make an offer.

Apparently, the Road Runner has been sitting idle in a garage since 2002. It has received a repaint at some point in the past, and rust issues appear to be quite minimal. It looks like it is limited to some small areas in the bottom corners of the doors, and a bit around the rear wheel arches. The owner says that the floors are solid, and the photos of the trunk seem to verify this.

When it comes to interior restoration, there really isn’t a lot for the new owner to do. The front seats will need new covers at some point, while the edges of the carpet have pulled out from under the trim in a few spots, and will need to be moved back into place. It looks like the rest of it will be nothing more than a bit of hard work with some cleaners to bring the interior back to life. Thankfully there hasn’t been a problem with rodents taking up residence, so there should be no chewed padding, and no odd smells to eliminate.

While the 727 transmission and the 3.55 Posi rear end are original, the engine most definitely isn’t. This Road Runner has been fitted with a 1970 383ci Magnum V8, and it has been given a bit of a tickle to unleash some additional horses. This has included a rebuild with new pistons, a new oil pan and pump, a Torker intake, Holley 780 carburetor, a warmer cam, and an Accel coil and distributor. The owner performed some basic maintenance on the car after its long hibernation, and it kicked right back into life. He says that the car runs and sounds great and that the brakes are really good. Given the fact that the car has had little use since 2002, you can probably expect that there will be a few little details to attend to before the car is driven any great distance. The original Owner’s Manual is still sitting in the glovebox, along with two Build Sheets.

For the person on the hunt for a project car that they can enjoy now and restore at their leisure, this Road Runner looks like quite a reasonable proposition. The reality is that the later Road Runners are not commanding the sorts of prices that the earlier versions currently do, but the values are swinging in the right direction. A pristine example can still fetch upwards of $30,000, so that makes this one look quite interesting at the BIN price.

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Comments

  1. edh

    Can the front clip be changed to a older model?

    Like 1
    • PRA4SNW

      I agree, not a big fan of this style front end.
      Still would love to have it though.

      Like 2
    • Erich

      Anything is possible with the right amount of time and money. It would be better to find a ’71 / ’72 model and restore it instead.

      Like 3
  2. bobhess bobhessMember

    Certainly a better looking piece with a better looking price than the brown ’69. The pumped 383 doesn’t hurt either.

    Like 4
  3. Dave

    Looks like a fun summer cruiser at a fair price. Western New York gets A LOT of snow so check those quarter panels with a magnet. I walked away from a 67 GTX in Ripley because its quarters thumped like a bathtub.

    Like 2
    • al

      Had a ’67 GTX w/ the 440, buckets & auto on the column. Bought for $600 in ’78 & sold for $800 in ’79. Big mistake!

      Like 3
  4. Pookie Jamie

    North Tonawanda?!?! My stomping grounds. Well, close to it. More like Buffalo. Better check for rust issues as this is in the MAJOR snow belt area.

    Like 2
  5. cunnanm

    73-74 cars are the same. They could have 400 or 440 engines with the GTX option added. I’ve never seen gold stripes, only red, white and black. I have seen gold cars. The paint on this car looks thick. The rear wheel arches rust out along with the rest of the rear quarters. The front fenders rust out on the top and the bottom. Floors and trunk also rust out. This was the end of the line for B-body Road Runners. I had a 73 400 Satellite Sebring 2 barrel. Fun car for a 19 year old.

    Like 5
  6. BR911

    Overall crappy condition, needs paint and much of the interior trim fixed/ replaced (see console shifter plastic “chrome” as one example) The rust is 5 times worse than what shows “outside” ask me how I know – I grew up there. Wrong Motor….

    Like 0
  7. Fred

    BR911… Good! Then you don’t have to buy it. Do you actually have physical proof of what you claim?

    Like 3
  8. Troy s

    Looks like a real runner, wonder how well that Torker intake works on a street engine. Attention getter, especially now days, with those stripes.
    Expect plenty of action from every would be stoplight racer wherever you go.

    Like 2
  9. Woody

    Wheels are the classic Crager S/S chrome and the big block Mopar will be the selling point.

    Like 2

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