In 1969, Chrysler had a host of muscle cars from which buyers could choose. At Dodge, they were the Coronet and Charger R/Ts, and at Plymouth, you had the Road Runner and GTX. All mid-size, B-bodied hot rods with no less than a 383 cubic inch V8 to get the job done. Plymouth’s budget-minded Road Runner had its best year then at more than 82,000 units, including this rusty and incomplete roller. Should you decide to rob a bank to restore this one, you can find it in Stonewall, Oklahoma, and here on eBay for $4,000 OBO.
Of all the muscle cars to emerge in the 1960s, the Road Runner was perhaps the gimmickiest (but in a good sort of way). We understand that Chrysler paid Warner Brothers $50,000 to license the cartoon character likeliness associated with the Road Runner and Wiley Coyote. And spent another $10,000 to have the “beep beep” horn developed for use with the car. It was a worthwhile investment as Road Runner sales amounted to more than 167,000 units in the car’s first generation (1968-70).
The seller has no delusions when it comes to the viability of this 1969 Road Runner. It is devoid of its original 383 V8 (per the VIN), transmission, rear bumper, rear seat, and who knows what else. To restore this Plymouth will be a “huge undertaking” and the car has rust just about everywhere you look. The original paint color was Bronze Fire, but mostly old primer grey is present now. From the looks of things, this Mopar has lived outside for a long, long time.
The presence of VIN and cowl tags may be the selling points of this vehicle as using it as a parts car will likely net a minimal harvest. Back in the day, it was probably one cool ride, but today there is “no need to send appraisals. It is what it is.” That’s about as honest as you can get. When I was a teenager, you’d pay the man $25 to haul a car like this away, But that’s not the case anymore.
O Brother. Y Bother.
That’s a lot of scratch just to buy panels for parts.
Best be careful as they pick it up with that forklift as in the last photo of this article-it’s liable to break in half!
Whenever I hear someone say “Mopar” an image like those floorboards is what always comes to mind.
If you want to invest in rust and scale you’d be better off getting some old cast iron sewer pipes. Steel is $0.04/lb right now in case you need to cut your losses on this one.
Wow, 4c a pound for steel now!! What inflation, I remember not long ago when steel was 3c. Anyway, I still bring in my rotors and drums for recycling. I also bring in aluminum cans that I pick up off the street along with other litter. It’s exercise for the old man. Really.
Maybe negative $4000 dollars!!
The only reason that I even looked at this ad was to see how close to something like $20,000 the asking price is. While the price is till about $3,500 too high, I must say that I am pretty surprised that someone actually sees that these old rusted out Mopar’s are not necessarily a hidden gem.
I think I’d still pay the man $25 to haul it away and know that I got a deal.
I got a 67 Coronet that needs complete resto. Seeing this one makes me feel a little more anxious to get going on it. Of course this hunk is for parts and paper only. It’s worth something, but what is the question.
I am having a 69 Road Runner prepared at this time so I have a little experience with a project like this. If you get it for about $4K that is going to be the tip of the iceberg for a car that needs so much. If you don’t have the entire car chemically stripped at the start you will never remove all of the hidden corrosion and it’s true, rust never sleeps. The metal work needed is going to be huge so you might want to proceed only after adding up all your projected costs before beginning. Skilled labor to do the work to a high standard is also expensive. But on the other hand this car represents an opportunity to build the car exactly as you want it. But it is going to cost way more than buying a previously restored or original car. Allow me to correct on the horn matter: although Chrysler paid $50K to license the bird image, the horn itself to produce that sound was from a military application and cost 47 cents over the price of a standard horn. To learn all about the 1969 Road Runner, see Wes Eisenschenks book: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner in Detail.
Even Freiburger and Dulcich would pass on this one.
Sometimes you just have to call junk “junk”.
Probably a better candidate for a body swap.(Newer Charger)