With the great variety of tips our readers send in about muscle cars to consider featuring here on Barn Finds, it’s not uncommon to find some where sellers try to cover up how hard a life their vehicle has led. On the other hand, a few are very forthcoming about the fact that their car has been beaten on, and it’s always refreshing to run across examples where the owners admit the auto was used as intended. Such is the case with this 1969 Plymouth Road Runner here on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon. It’s scarred and proud, as the owner puts it, and will need sheet metal work plus an engine and transmission. If you’ve been searching for a B-Body to bring back to life, this one’s priced at $14,500, and we’d like to tip our hats to Curvette for providing the tip here!
It’s not unusual to find early Road Runners that survived in this condition, as they were low-priced and aimed toward the younger crowd who wanted to go fast on a budget. One of the best features of the first-generation cars is that Plymouth included a big block engine at no extra charge: a 383 that delivered 335 HP and a satisfying 425 lb-ft of torque. While that’s how this one came equipped from the factory, the engine and automatic transmission are long gone, but not before serving their duty as planned. The seller reports that he’s owned the car for decades, and although this Mopar is said to have lived a wild life with no dull moments, it’s also been stored and sitting for quite some time.
Though this one’s now wearing bright red paint, my best guess is that it was originally Frost Green Poly, as that seems to be the primary shade in the engine compartment. The exterior is mostly complete, with most of the panels appearing reasonably straight, but the lower sections of the quarters are stated to have rust. There’s also some corrosion mentioned under the rear window, so a few sheet metal repairs will be needed before this one’s ready to be resprayed in whatever hue the next owner desires. I’d probably go back to green, but since this one will never be numbers-matching again, choosing another color shouldn’t result in too many sleepless nights.
Things inside could use a good refreshing as well, including new seat upholstery and also floors, as the front buckets are said to be sitting on boards. It’s also important to note that the seller is keeping the mag wheels and tires shown in the photos, and that the buyer will receive the car with steel-type rollers with different skins attached. He seems keenly aware that this one has plenty of defects and needs lots of TLC, but believes it’s priced accordingly. As it sits, is this 1969 Plymouth Road Runner project a good value for money?
Yes! It’s a good deal 👌 it doesn’t look that bad, honestly I’ve seen way worse get resurrected. Legendary has everything to make the interior new again, AMD has everything to give her the figure she deserves and Jegs could fix the emptiness under the hood. I can see a crate stroker living under that hood if she were mine. I too would paint it green or maybe white? It’s going to take some serious $$ but what musclecar project doesn’t? It’s not a cheap hobby. Yes I would love to give her a new life.