Vehicle Description
1973 Plymouth Road Runner GTX
A strange thing happened in 1973. Federally mandated 5 mph bumpers
up front, (and 2.5 mph bumpers in the rear), were literally
changing the face of the American automobile. But over at Mopar, at
least in the Plymouth division, the changes required to pass the
federal bumper standards were well integrated and actually improved
the looks of the intermediate car. The 1971 and 1972 Plymouth
B-bodies were fitted with enormous chrome wraparound bumpers that
gave the cars a sad-eyed countenance. And not only did the
Satellite have a homely face, it also had a big, bulbous rear end.
Plymouth's 1973 effort was a conservative approach, dumping the
weird wraparound bumper for a much more traditional
grille-over-bumper design. Clearly, whatever the stylists did
worked, because Plymouth sold more than 120,000 coupes alone in
1973 (in Satellite, Sebring, Sebring Plus and Road Runner trims) -
nearly double what it did in 1971.
For consignment and gracing the West Mallway of our Hallowed Halls,
a 1973 Plymouth Road Runner GTX showing in its original hue of
green with a green interior, (were not the 70's great?). 1 of 749
Road Runner GTX cars built with an automatic transmission makes
this car one worth returning to its former glory. Add in a snappy
strobe stripe, a bulged hood, machine gun tip exhaust, a literal
ton of extra parts, the Broadcast Sheet, window sticker, and a
numbers matching drivetrain...who said that the muscle car died in
1971.
Exterior
Bathed in a respray of the factory, (JF8), Forest Green Metallic
which is showing with cracking, fading and overall wear this body
is ready for a restoration. This hardtop lost the weird wrap around
bumper from the previous year and now has a deeply recessed egg
crate style grille which is set off by deeply canted quad
headlamps. A twin scoop bulged hood, correctly badged as a GTX 440,
rests between the coke bottle style fenders, which have a slight
hint of throwback to the 1930's style pontoon fenders. The
fuselage's bulbous sides are carried over from the prior year
design with a faded back strobe stripe breaking up the sea of green
down the sides and up over the rear of the roof. The stripes are
showing some cracking and crazing but are still visible. At the
rear, the draft horse style hiney hit the gym and lost most of its
bulkiness. Smaller and better integrated than the prior year, the
taillights sit neatly in the shiny chrome rear bumper and black
hard rubber bumperettes are there to keep Big Brother happy.
Adorning the right side of the trunk lid is the fabled Road Runner
from Warner Brother decal. This decal is faded but a new
replacement is included. 15" Mopar rally wheels adorn all 4 corners
and are wrapped in staggered width radial rubber. The body shows
signs of invasive rust on nearly every panel save for the hood,
trunk lid and roof. The driver's side rear quarter panel also has
received an unfortunate boo-boo in the past and shows as,
well....crunched. But to the rescue are another pair of fenders
only needing minor work, both outer wheel houses for the rear, a
left rear quarter panel section and wheel trim molding for the left
and right along with 2 cans of Forest Green base coat paint.
Interior
Matching up with the window sticker, green vinyl and plastic door
panels have a chrome window crank, door release, and a mirror
joystick to break up the expanse of green. Inside sleek styled with
integrated headrests, buttoned green vinyl buckets present in aged
and used condition with tearing and seam separation noted on both
seats. Fronting these chairs, is the original molded plastic to
look like a wood covered dash front. On top is padded green
textured vinyl with one small crack. The gauges have been "molded
into" the wood and are all clean and functioning and are fronted by
the original 3 spoke Mopar Tuff Wheel with satin silver spokes and
a black pad in the center. More green as the dash extends over to
the passenger side with an ash receptacle and lighter, and a glove
box. Newer green carpeting floods the floors for the front and
rear, and just above the rear is a rear bench with buttons which
match the buckets up front. A center console in green molded
plastic surfs through the front buckets and has some wood applique
in it and a T-handled slap stick shifter. Above, a worn and torn
green cloth headliner begs for replacement.
Drivetrain
Under the hood in an unrestored engine bay we see a Chrysler blue
painted block in numbers matching 440ci format. On top is the
correct 4bbl carburetor and intake hidden under the Hemi Orange 440
4-Barrel air cleaner assembly. Bolted to the mill is the numbers
matching A727 Torqueflite 3-speed automatic transmission. Putting
the power to the road is an 8 3/4" rear axle assembly weighing in
with a 3.23 gear ratio.
Undercarriage
Obviously never restored underneath but showing only surface rust
on the unibody, suspension, and flooring. Independent torsion bar
front suspension, and leaf sprung for the rear, along with power
disc brakes upfront, and power drums for the back. A Flowmaster
exhaust snakes its way to chrome machine gun tipped rear exits.
Drive-Ability
A very quick fire up and a low rumble with the idle. Off on the
test track she performed with great acceleration, bias free
braking, and all simple functions were working just swimmingly.
While not the raw horsepower of a big block from a few years prior,
but still enough to boil the hides and the sound from the machine
gun tips is music to any muscle car lover's ears and I dig the
groovy Beep Beep horn.
A mechanically solid muscle car built when the era was coming to a
screeching halt thanks in part to regulations, insurance and
skyrocketing gas prices....sounds familiar doesn't it? A powerful
V8 engine, a very 70's color combo, factory paperwork, tons of
extra sheet metal along with various other parts, and a popular
redesign of the coke bottle platform all wrapped up and ready to
keep you coyote proof. Beep Beep Indeed!
VIN DECODE
RM21U3R230303
R-Plymouth Satellite
M-Medium Price Class
21-2 Door Coupe
U-440ci V8 4bbl 280hp
3-1973
R-Windsor, Ontario, Canada Assy Plant
230303-Sequential Unit Number
FENDER TAG
RM2-Plymouth Belvedere,Satellite
Medium, Road Runner 2 Door Coupe
U3R-440 280hp 4bbl V8 1973
Windsor, ONT, CAN
230303-Sequence number
E86-440ci 4 barrel V8
D34-727 Torqueflite Automatic
JF8-Forest Green Metallic
D6F6- Luxury, Vinyl Bucket Seats, Green
JF8-Forest Green Metallic Int. Door Frames
118-Build Date: January 18
159438-Order number
JF8-Forest Green Metallic Top Color
U-USA Specifications
28-28" Radiator
B41-Power Front Disc Brakes w/Standard 10in RR Drum
C16-Console w/Woodgrain Panel
C56-Bucket Seats
G37-OS Dual Racing Mirrors
J45-Hood Tie Down Pins
J52-Inside Hood Release
M21-Roof drip rail moldings
M26-Wheel Lip Moldings
N41-Dual Exhaust
N42-Chrome Exhaust Tips
N76-Coolant Recovery System
R11-AM Radio
END-End of Sales Codes
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
