The sands of time were running down for the American muscle car by 1973, with a combination of factors forcing sales volumes lower with each passing year. Plymouth continued rolling its iconic Road Runner off the line, and ticking the right boxes brought respectable performance in an era when power figures dropped constantly. This 1973 Road Runner presents beautifully, with only a few minor needs. The seller feels that after sinking a considerable sum into a fresh paint job and other upgrades, the time is right for it to find a new home. It is listed here on eBay in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bidding has raced beyond the reserve to sit at $20,100.
Plymouth introduced its Second Generation Road Runner in 1971, adopting its new “fuselage” design that produced a car with a more pronounced physical presence. This car rolled off the line in 1973, and its spotless presentation is easily understood. The seller indicates that only six months have passed since it received a repaint in its original shade of Basin Street Blue. It makes a bold visual statement, with the White stripes providing a striking contrast. The panels are straight, and there is no evidence or mention of existing rust or prior repairs. The panel gaps look consistent, although the trunk lid alignment looks slightly “off” in this article’s last photo. Otherwise, there is little to criticize. The trim sparkles as impressively as the paint, and there are no visible glass issues.
Examining this Road Runner’s interior reveals one of the few flaws the buyer needs to tackle. The seller says it needs a new headliner, representing a $210 investment. Otherwise, the Black upholstered surfaces show no signs of wear or damage, the dash and pad have avoided the cracking that often plagues these vehicles, and the faux woodgrain is excellent. That woodgrain and the console help instill a luxury touch into an interior largely devoid of optional equipment. The buyer won’t receive air conditioning or power equipment, and whether it features a radio or stereo is unclear. Most buyers probably won’t care about in-car entertainment and will be happy to enjoy the tune produced by the lump of iron hiding under the hood.
Some buyers felt disappointed that if they ordered their 1973 Road Runner with the range-topping 440ci V8, it brought the three-speed TorqueFlite transmission. If they wished to undertake shifting duties themself, Plymouth only offered that option with its smaller motors. Interestingly, 749 buyers chose the 400/4-speed combination, with 440-equipped cars achieving an identical sales figure. What are the odds? It is unclear whether this Road Runner is numbers-matching, but its original owner may have wanted to extract maximum performance from a car that was hurting under the tyranny of tightening emission standards by selecting the 440. The motor produced 280hp in its original form, although this one sports a few upgrades like an Edelbrock intake. It means that with a few additional ponies and improved grip provided by modern tires, it should have no trouble matching the manufacturer’s claimed 14.9-second ¼-mile ET. The list of recent work beyond the new intake is pretty long, helping ensure this classic is in first-class mechanical health. It sports a new aluminum radiator, a new fuel tank, a new sender unit, new brakes, and a new dual exhaust. The seller describes the driving experience as “awesome,” a claim I find entirely believable.
Although it isn’t 100% original, this 1973 Road Runner should still turn heads and attract attention. Replacing the headliner is one of the few relatively inexpensive tasks facing the new owner if they seek an impressive driver-grade classic. Values aren’t rising rapidly, but they have continued heading in the right direction. I believe the bidding has a way to go before the hammer falls, and I will be surprised if it doesn’t pass $30,000. If it sells for less, it could be one of the better buys of 2023. Would that be enough to tempt you to pursue it further?
I’ll admit to liking this color blue but overall this is a really good looking car that’s done right with all the details taken care of.
except for the deck lid gaps
Nobody is questioning this but is this a factory Petty Blue car? If you read the ad carefully, they do not directly say that, and they do not post a picture of the fender tag.
I’d want to make sure this was not an original dark brown 318 car before spending this kind of cash on a 1973.
This is the car I drove in highschool, but with a 340. The ladies loved that bird as much as I did, and still miss the car, and those days !
I drove a White one with black stripes in High School it was a 318 but it had balls the only thing I dislike about the car was the radio a am only with the knobs on one side. So I brought a under dash cassette player and kept it rolling. My dream car is a 71 GTX but it must be a 4 Speed.
My ’73 Barracuda was the same: AM radio in the dash, Craig FM/Cassette deck mounted underneath. Graphic EQ and Antenna Booster came a bit later.
My dad had a’72 red with black 4 speed it was fast
Yes anything under $30k would be a steal, also has a 65 Mustang listed that has met reserve.
“$210 for a headliner” gets you a pre-cut bolt of cloth. No clips, bows, or hardware, let alone the skill set required to install it to professional standards.
Quotes that I’ve gotten here in Connecticut started at $ 750.00 – $ 1,000.00
This one looks nice but I’d go over it with a fine tooth comb. Not to be one of those guys who complains about everything but the poor fitment of that trunk on a car just painted gets me spider senses tingling..glwta
I agree Tommy. I noticed the same thing. And many other things if zoom in on it closely.
I do not think it is a fitment problem. I think it is a bent trunk lid problem. It makes you wonder why it was not replaced when the car was painted. Or the damage was done after the car was painted.
No PCV system? Red flag.
The 73 received the redesign on the roof. 71-72 have the better looking roof, front and rear designs.
Nice car but the reality is it’s not a Gen 1 Roadrunner, it’s overpriced already.
Mark, the prices of the Gen 1’s have turned the 71 – 74 models into the new 30K Road Runner.
If this Roadrunner was an original 440 car, it would also have the GTX tags. But no mention of original engine. Could have been a 318 car. Nice looking car either way.
I have tried hard to like these coke bottle Chryslers, but I just can’t. I wish I could understand why almost everything past 73 was ugly as hell. Cocaine, acid, qualudes?
all of the above
You are correct Scooter plus it doesn’t have the HP exhaust manifolds. More questions than answers.
Under the hood leaves a bit to be desired ; everything that’s supposed to be on the inner fenders are missing , like the washer bottle , coolant bottle, charcoal cannister system, emission stickers and the fender to cowl braces. There also seems to be a lot of overspray on the firewall components . It definitely looks good, but things like overspray make me question other things done to it
If it started life as a 318, then just dropping a RB 440 in it would cause problems. Body twist, skinny torsion bars (bad handling) and let’s not forget
an 8 and a quarter weak rear end assembly. Did I forget Torque Boxes?
If it’s a real 440 car, then no problem. If it isn’t a real 440 car, then it’s heartaches by the numbers. Check the VIN.
The trunk lid straightening would most likely require a repaint of that piece…..hopefully the paint person could match it…..like the previous knowledgeable people have commented, the car is missing items, who knows about the engine build, or if it’s original to the car too……somehow, I think not…..myself, I’d stay away from this one……
Fort Lauderdale? Tho this doesn’t look flooded
Missing the round Road Runner emblem on the trim panel in front of the hood.
Another red flag.
In ’73-’74 I’m almost positive it was just a sticker, unlike ’71-’72. With new paint, not surprising it’s not on there.
Did anyone notice that this was originally a column shifted automatic? Look closely and you will see the blacked out Gear selector area above the steering wheel. This car is what we used to call a “clone.” Now, in order to make more money, dealers and people call them “tributes.” The bottom line is that you’d better know what you are looking at or get someone who does. I’ve seen many Dusters that people are claiming to be original 340 cars and they are not. It’s rip-off theater out there. Be careful!
100% Agree with you ! There’s so many Duster 340 clones out there I’ve actually overheard people at car shows saying my Duster 340 is a clone because of its odd color and options ; some at least ask me if its a real one. Mopar guys know to look at the VIN .
Lots and lots of things wrong with this car…but, hey, it’s a Road Runner and that’s all that matters. If it goes “Beep Beep” then it’s worth twice as much as anything that doesn’t. This was not a factory 440 car, it was likely a 318 originally. Real ’73 U-code 440 cars bring an easy $50-75K if they’re really nice and numbers-matching. This car was nowhere close but looks like it still brought a good number. By the way, the 280 net-horsepower rating was actually close to probably 350 gross-horsepower, so not too bad, actually.
Dan, you’re absolutely correct about the column. Rally wheel center caps, 2 RF & LR are cone style (earlier) the LF is Star shaped (correct for year) don’t see RR. In fact, under hood missing many parts even a fan shroud and the HEI looking distributor (is that a MSD?) but not just the absence of heater hoses, there isn’t any fittings/nipples on the water pump housing for them to connect to just block off fittings. If you look at this seller’s completed listings he had/sold a 73 RR 318 in primer but with blue interior back in Feb 8th, could it be same car??
Good catch! Probably the same car!
Or maybe this car had a blue interior and he swapped them out. Lots of Basin Street Blue cars had a blue interior
Seller pulled it off of EBay. Probably got sick of people telling him that it isn’t a Road Runner.
I hope that’s all it was and somebody didn’t get creamed on this. Once the economy turns down and the muscle car market starts to turn, it’ll be very difficult to unload a 1973 440 “tribute” RR for anything near what this thing was bidding at.
My buddy Rick ordered one that exact same color but he had the blue interior. His has the 340 with automatic. He still has that car today. I remember when we drove to Altus Oklahoma to pick it up after school.
I like it
Gess l’ll be looking for another one
Had a white with red stripes 400cui slapstick white interior chrome spoke cragars andi.loved the hood
Beauti is in the eye of the owner
That car had quarters skins put on it. They were know to rot out right in the middle above the wheel well. I’ll bet it’s not that good looking of a car in person. But there aren’t many left so if it was done right it would be a fun ride.
This was probably the most popular cplor for the Roadrunner for the 73 and 74 model years. Good looking ride.