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Wylie’s Nemesis: 1973 Plymouth Road Runner

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We think these later Road Runners don’t receive as much love as the earlier cars do. This ’73 model is gorgeous with only a few flaws holding it back from a showroom appearance. With a suspected 80,000 miles and a 340 V8 this is a great late model Road Runner survivor. Half way through the auction, and bidding has reached $6,099.00 with the reserve unmet. Find it here on eBay out of Connellsville, Pennsylvania.

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Looking under the hood reveals the 340 cubic inch V8. Taking a deeper look into the engine bay reveals a rather nice bay with some minimal surface rust on the driver side inner fender edge Overall the bay and engine look nice, but many of the engine bay items could be painted giving the engine bay a grand appearance. Equipped with air conditioning, and an automatic transmission, this Plymouth would be easy to live to with.

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The interior of the road runner is great. The only things a nitpicky person could really point out are the creases in the driver side of the bench seat, and the lightly pulled and possibly frayed carpet seam by the bench seat. This interior is as nice as anyone could hope for in a survivor. Moving to the exterior reveals an awesome looking Road Runner but again with a minor flaw. The chrome and body work look excellent on this Road Runner, as does the paint until you take a closer look. The paint is very shiny, and still has a wonderful glow, but the paint has begun to fail on the trunk lid. That is the most obvious paint issue, but it would also appear that paint may be chipping on the rockers as well. There are some scratches on the driver door around the door handle, but from 10 feet away no one would likely see them. The chrome on this car is mesmerizing. It almost looks like the owner left the bumpers wrapped in plastic while this car was driven. The headlight bezels look great too, with no evidence of rock damage. Surely this would be an excellent restoration candidate, but we can easily see someone enjoying this Plymouth as is for a while until ponying up the funds for a restoration or a paint job.

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To each their own on either restoring, painting, or just driving this great looking Road Runner. What would you do with this Plymouth?

Comments

  1. Avatar Stephen

    My last car was one of these. 318 4 speed, not much on options. Red with a white stripe and a black interior. Car was one of the best commuter cars I’ve had. Made adequate horsepower and got great gas milage. I think I put under fifteen tanks of gas in it during my entire ownership.

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  2. Avatar Dovi65

    Great color combination. Don’t see many in Silver.

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  3. Avatar AMCSTEVE

    It needs buckets and a console. Other than that get in and drive.

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    • Avatar Steven Visek

      If you have a 4sp then yes. But with an automatic, a bench really makes more sense. Buckets and console with an automatic is just sort of pretending to be sporty IMHO.

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  4. Avatar Vegas Vic

    Thrive and drive in this lovely 1973!
    Great looking two door, a proud Plymouth guaranteed to turn heads.
    Ah… 1973… Wave to Cherly Tiegs, Peggy Lipton AND Susan Dey as you manly motor to the beach!

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  5. Avatar Nova Scotian

    Yes, I really like the look of the old runner too…sharp enough to cruise all over the place. I’d scrap that air conditioner to lesson the weight, not that it would make much difference in the big picture. Dual exhaust, and some minor engine mods. This car would look well with a wide set of mags under its bum. Not ridiculous wide, just enough to fill the well a bit.
    Uh- oh,.. is that an old twisted up copper tube running the fuel to the mill? One to many hard launches, or a rough idle will certainly light things up under the bonnet quick…that’s just waiting to fail. I’d fix that small thing too. Nice looking cruiser!

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  6. Avatar G 1

    My brother had this very same car. Not real fast.

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  7. Avatar Car Guy

    Not as good looking as the 72, but a very well kept example!

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  8. Avatar Bruce Best

    My friend had one of these in red, we had a pale blue charger but a 1974. Both had bucket seats and they were nice. Always liked seeing them on the road. We never had any trouble with either car. My friends was hit in a parking lot by a drunk and totaled. I hit black ice late one night and took out a chevy and a rambler. Totaled all three but I did love it for cruising. And for that the 318 and an automatic was just fine.

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  9. Avatar M B

    The bench seat/column shift play to the original Road Runner orientation, BUT buckets and console really fit better in the sporty category of the car. The car looks great in so many respects. Nice to see factory a/c, too!

    A Cordoba rear sway bar and 15×7 repro Rallye wheels on P225/70R-15 radials would upgrade things somewhat. The wheels could wait, though. Dual exhausts were a part of the Road Runner package, but might need some repro exhaust tips.

    Neat car in a neat color combination.

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  10. Avatar Mark PRND

    Restore this car just like it is…exactly ,don’t change a thing !!

    Except heads/cam on the 340..or drop in a 440,but the 340 is fine.. These are real nice handling and driving cars..

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  11. Avatar Philip

    Leave it alone and drive it as is on fair dry days. Maybe a healthy muscle cam and gears set up in a third member separate so you can install drag gears for Friday night., and then go back to highway gears on Sunday afternoon. This generation and body are under appreciated and I agree only four speed cars should have buckets and a console, that way it’s a contender not a pretender.

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  12. Avatar Jonathan

    That is a Satellite Sport not a Road Runner.All 70’s Road Runners had bucket seats,and badging on dash,deck lid,and under the hood/engine compartment.I don’t see any of this on this car.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Mark James

    Please explain why the picture shows a single exhaust car. ALL Road Runners produced in 1983 had dual exhaust and chrome tips from the factory.

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  14. Avatar Nette

    Not all 70s Road Runners had bucket seats. I owned a Richard Petty Blue with Black strips and a 340 engine with a bench seat. Loved that car!!

    Like 0

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