As the 1960s were drawing to a close, insurance companies were beginning to develop a certain level of twitchiness towards the high-performance models produced by vehicle manufacturers. This led to a couple of different scenarios. The first of these was that certain manufacturers began to get somewhat “frugal” with the truth when it came to the true power outputs of their engines. It also saw some canny buyers order lesser models of some vehicles, and then furiously tick the boxes on the order sheet to produce something roughly approximating those performance or muscle cars. This way, they managed to achieve a nice balance between impressive performance and affordable insurance premiums. I’m not saying that this is the story behind this 1969 Plymouth Satellite, but it could potentially be somewhere close to the truth. This car does represent an unfinished restoration project, but it is a complete car that is just waiting for somebody to step in and return it to its former glory. It is located in Ashland, Wisconsin, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has now reached $7,300, and with the reserve having been met, the Plymouth is ready to head to a new home.

The Satellite must have been quite a car when new. It originally wore Performance Red paint, and you can see evidence of this in various areas around the vehicle. Interestingly, the vehicle was ordered with the “Spring Special” pack, which brought with it a number of cosmetic enhancements, including front and rear bumper guards, deluxe 14″ wheel covers, and a Pearlescent White vinyl top. The panels now wear grey primer, but they do look to be nice and straight. There is also no evidence of any rust issues, and while we only get the single shot of the vehicle’s underside, the steel looks to be both solid, and original. There are a couple of photos of the inside of the trunk, and once again, the steel looks to be solid and original. The owner says that the car is complete, and there is evidence in the photos that all of the trim and chrome is not only present but is in good condition. The Plymouth also was originally fitted with tinted glass all around, and what we can see of it now looks to be free of any major flaws.

The owner says that this is a Satellite that was ordered like a Road Runner, and this is probably relatively accurate…up to a certain point. This also takes me back to my earlier point about upgrading lower-spec cars to approximate more potent models. There were a number of engines available to buyers in the 1969 Satellite range, but the original owner chose to equip this particular one with the 383ci V8. The owner supplies photos of some of the original documentation, and this shows some contradictions with regards to which version of the 383 was actually ordered. With this in mind, I decoded the fender tag and can tell you that it was the 2-Barrel version, producing 290hp. Now, that sort of power isn’t to be sneezed at, but it is well short of the 330 pumped out by the 4-Barrel version, or the 335hp in the Road Runner. Still, I’d be willing to bet that this Satellite also cost a lot less to insure than a real Road Runner back in 1969. The 383 is backed by a heavy-duty TorqueFlite transmission, while power steering was also part of the package. This is a numbers-matching car, but as you can see, the 383 has been completely dismantled. However, this isn’t bad news. The block has been machined and is ready to be cleaned and assembled. With the shiny new forged Keith Black pistons that are waiting to be fitted, this has the potential to be a potent classic once again, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up producing a few more ponies into the bargain. As part of the restoration process, it also appears that the engine bay has been completely stripped and refinished, so once the engine has been assembled and detailed, things should look very nice under the hood.

One aspect of the Plymouth that will need the attention of the next owner, will be the interior. Originally trimmed in a combination of White and Black with a bench front seat, time has not been kind to it. I can’t see any signs of replacement pieces amongst the photos of the included parts, so it would appear that a full trim kit is going to be on the shopping list. However, all of the major pieces such as the seat frames are present, so returning the interior to its former glory should be a fairly straightforward job. The original radio is still in the dash, while I can see some of the air conditioning components peeking through the pile of parts.

While it is currently in a dismantled state, it appears that this 1969 Plymouth Satellite is a complete and numbers-matching car that is an unfinished project. It might not have quite the cachet of a Road Runner, but it will still be a potent and pretty attractive car once the restoration has been complete. When I look at the car and the potential that it has, I can fully understand why there have been 38 bids submitted on it up to this point. The question is, are you going to be the person to submit bid 39?