The Plymouth Road Runner remains one of the most iconic muscle cars of the golden era, built to deliver raw performance with minimal frills. This 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, listed here on craigslist in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a factory RM23 code car, originally equipped with a 383 V8, manual floor shift, and 8¾ rear end. It’s a real-deal Road Runner with a clean title, but one that will require a dedicated restorer to bring back to life. Thanks for the tip Mitchell G.!
The seller provides the VIN (RM23N0A178152), confirming its status as a true Road Runner. While the car was originally finished in red, much of its factory identity has been stripped away over the years. The fender tag is missing, although the seller notes that someone once provided a photo of it. Unfortunately, the original tag itself has not resurfaced.
Today, the car sits as a major project, stripped of many of its original components. The seller mentions that the engine appears to be a 383, but casting numbers and dates have not been verified, so it should be assumed non-matching unless confirmed otherwise. There is no transmission included, and the interior is far from original, its current seats are said to have come from a late-1960s Firebird.
The Road Runner is also missing significant body components, including both doors and the trunk lid, though it still rolls and steers easily for transport. The shell itself offers a solid foundation for a restorer with vision, but make no mistake: this is a car that will need a full rebuild from the ground up.
For Mopar enthusiasts, however, the bones are there: a true RM23 Road Runner body, clean title in the seller’s name, and the promise of resurrecting one of Plymouth’s most beloved performance models. Whether rebuilt as a factory-correct 383 car, upgraded with a larger big-block, or transformed into a custom street machine, this project offers plenty of potential.
Would you restore this stripped 1970 Road Runner back to its factory 383 glory, or customize it into something wild?
Stick a fork in this bird it’s done
Yep-Wile E. caught this one and left just the carcass.
…..”Yep-Wile E. caught this one and left just the carcass.”
That was good!!! Thanks Nevada, I needed a good laugh today.
📞 1-800-the-hook 🛻🪝
Does it come equipped with the anchor chain? Not doin Donuts unless this is Dunkin back in the lake…
Mark Worman would have an organism of the highest degree to get his hands on this bird, but for the rest of us there’s too much to bring it back from wherever it is.
This won’t be restored, but there is a good chance the VIN will wind up on one that is.
Steve R
Most likely end up on a cloned Satellite.
Only cost you 3 grand, for a dream…. But, it does roll and steer… For 3 grand I’d rather buy the red Lincoln just listed here…
I have to get this for my collection Of rust. Right
Boy oh boy. $2,800.00 for THAT. LOL
first thing id do is run the vin through the sherrifs office because that cars probably on the road as we speak, just not as that car.
I’m sorry, is this where we’re at that this car is worth that instead of what the metals worth?
VIN swapping is nothing new. It’s not a sign of where we are at, it’s a sign of what’s been, for decades. There is a reason organizations such as the CHP does VIN verifications on cars coming into California, I think they’ve been doing it since at least the 1980’s, probably earlier.
Steve R
The front fenders are a one year only and they are not being reproduced.
I redid a 69 in very similar condition. But I had a good engine and transmission and a lot of other parts on hand. I traded an engine and transmission for the body. Take $2,000 off the price of this one and we got a deal
Accurate description: “Plymouth Road Runner remains”…
It’s a hard top and not a coupe strike one. No air grabber hood strike 2. Good luck finding a rust free trunk lid for it they’re the first thing to rust within 5 yrs. Ask me how I know. And strike three is the price. Although the I believe to be early gm buckets may be worth something to a gm guy.peace!
Hate to say it, but this bird is cooked. Since it’s a run-of-the mill 383 car with no crazy options, it’s time to part it out & let it go. Unless the 1970 roadrunner is your ultimate dream car & you just have to have it.
It looks like it’s already parted out/
This is not a “project,” it’s a sanity test to see if you’re sane ’nuff to walk away from it!
Lets see, about $100k to restore it for a car worth about $40k. I’ll pass.
Hey Pa lets sell her so we can buy a jug