For the 1970 model year, Plymouth built 43,404 Road Runners, and the convertible quickly became a collectible, accounting for less than a thousand units of the total figure. The majority of convertibles were built with a 383 engine under the hood, and only 13 were equipped with a 3-speed transmission. 429 Road Runner convertibles were built with an automatic transmission.
One is here, fighting for survival after spending many years in a barn. The car was listed on Craigslist earlier this week, with a difficult shape and likely numerous missing pieces.
I’ll start with what the eyes can see and tell you that rust is a serious concern on this Road Runner. The 1970 convertible shows metal damage in all the usual spots, so the buyer must deal with the typical suspects, including the floors and the trunk. The car will need new floors, as the existing panels are already wrecked. The body looks rough, too, so be ready for some panel replacements.
The seller says the car was once painted green, but the original finish is nearly impossible to spot on the body. The surface rust is obvious, but the buyer should check out everything in person, especially as I can already notice some occasional signs of rot.
The 383 V8 paired with an automatic transmission makes this Road Runner incredibly rare, considering only 429 such configurations left the factory in 1970. It’s unclear how many are still around today, but the buyer will probably want to retain the original setup on this project anyway. The rarest Road Runner in 1970 used a 426 V8 paired with a 4-speed transmission – Plymouth produced just a single car using this drivetrain, and it’s impossible to tell if it’s still alive in 2023.
I wouldn’t expect the engine to be in functional order after its time in the barn, but a qualified mechanic should be able to decipher more information by looking beneath the hood.
The owner mentions nothing about the missing parts, but it’s safe to suppose you’ll spend a lot of time looking for 1970 Road Runner parts on the internet. The removable top, for example, appears to be damaged, and I don’t suppose the seats are still accessible (one of the photographs shows certain elements already removed from the car).
The selling price seems fair, given this is a rare Road Runner with the original engine. On the other hand, some people will certainly walk away due to the rough shape. The vehicle is currently parked close to Detroit, and the buyer will need a trailer to take it home.