History About The Plymouth Road Runner:
An all-new body design appeared for the Plymouth Road Runner/GTX in
1971, now based on the Satellite platform in the two-door hardtop
only. The chassis featured a wider rear track and shorter wheelbase
along with big-car fuselage looks catering to a more rounded fender
and quarter panel shape. The front end was dominated by a chrome
loop bumper and a performance hood treatment with side-facing
scoops with engine size callouts.
Details About Our Available Plymouth Road Runner Example:
Offered for sale at the St. Louis Car Museum is a 1971 Plymouth
Road Runner finished in factory code correct GY9- Tawny Gold
Metallic over H2Y9- Ember Gold Vinyl Bench interior. Under the hood
lies its factory-issued, numbers matching 383ci V8 mated to the
column-shifted A727 TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission.
Options include Heavy-Duty power front disc brakes, HD suspension,
power steering, automatic cruise control, Solid State AM radio with
Stereo Tape player with microphone recorder; Decor Package to
include Deluxe steering wheel, Custom Style vinyl trim, wheel lip
moldings, hood scoop sport stripes, & rear bumper tape treatment;
strobe roof stripe, roof rail moldings, and dual exhaust!
This well-survived example comes with a documented ownership
history that begins with the original Lake Worth, Florida owner,
Robert L. Rooke, who purchased this Road Runner from Heywood Mercer
Chrysler-Plymouth Inc. on February 16th, 1971. At the time of his
purchase, he was 80 years old and maintained ownership until his
death at 103 years of age! It would stay with the family estate for
more than another decade before it would finally sell to a New York
collector in the mid 2000's as an all-original, unrestored car.
Always preserved properly and garage kept, it survived incredibly
well!
The second owner took necessary steps to bring the Road Runner back
to worthy, drivable condition once again, beginning with a full
engine rebuild to factory specifications and fresh gaskets when the
odometer read approximately 90,000 miles. It would be enjoyed for
about 10k miles, then he would go on to sell it in October 2007 to
his friend, Marvin Petty, a close relative of the famed King of
NASCAR, Richard Petty. Marvin would contribute to the car
cosmetically by re-chroming the rear bumper, replacing the absent
wheel lip moldings, and finally refinishing the paint surrounding
the engine bay and underneath the hood, along with new hood
insulation. It would trade hands again to a collector in Texas,
before finally landing back in New Smyrna, Florida with MOPAR
collector and enthusiast, Joseph Patti from April 2010 until its
arrival at the St. Louis Car Museum in October 2020.
With the paint and interior still original to the car, we elected
to utilize our onsite upholstery department in March 2021 to
finally give the interior a fresh look with new upholstery, foam
cushions, door panels, rear panels, dash pad, and various trim
pieces. Little did we anticipate the delays we would encounter for
the materials from Legendary Auto Interiors LTD. With supply chain
issues and delays, we ultimately received all of our made-to-order
components by August 2021. Everything was done to OEM specification
right down to the proper Ember Gold and Medium Gold finishes on the
dash face and padded dash cover. The carpet and headliner remain
factory original.
With the odometer now reading 112,088 miles, approximately 22k
being on the rebuilt engine, our experienced service team did
perform a service inspection with the following completed more
recently in December 2021/January 2022- cleaned and tuned the
replacement Edelbrock 1406 600cfm carburetor with new accelerator
pump, replaced the distributor vacuum advance canister; new engine
oil/filter, PCV valve, air filter, radiator cap, along with new
front ball joints and bushings. With the engine bay presentation
looking quite magnificent, and a new interior, we are very proud to
celebrate our contributions to this worthy Road Runner! The
exterior paint continues to show well, but obviously will show some
areas that are getting thin from years of polishing and waxing, and
likely as few small areas that have been corrected already over the
years. This only goes to show the quality of care this special
Plymouth has received by all past owners. It will come with two
older show boards with much of the original material and ownership
history attached.
To learn more about this ready to drive Plymouth Road Runner for
sale, contact Jon Faust by calling (800)957-5707 or by emailing
[email protected]! Finance & Shipping options available on
all models.