I was 12 or 13 years old crossing the street and there it was, rough idle with the air grabber hood open. It was a '71 roadrunner that got me hooked on muscle cars.
Amazing that some cars survive like this one. It presents wonderfully and shows the perfect amount of age. The new owner will get a car to be proud of and hopefully keep it just the way that it is.
The modern trend though is to take a pristine car like this, cut out the original floor pans and hack it into something only a dim 12 year old could appreciate.
My best bud got one of the first Road Runners in Atlanta in '68 (383/4sp). Riding around we thought we were the stuff. Betting Frank would love to have that one back. Steve, great review as always. Get better brother you are missed.
Purchased my 71 right off the employee Lynch road lot. It was a plant manger car equipped with much more options. Sold it when gas went to 59 cents a gallon 😂🇺🇸
My father bought one of these when he was 16 in 1986 and has had it ever sense. I also thought it was interesting growing up that other peoples fathers didn’t have a muscle car.
gorgeous. since I'm known as a car guy, I'm frequently asked what my favorite muscle car is, and I always say a '71-72 B-body big block Mopar. luuuuv this RR...also the whole showroom looks like it would be fun to spend an afternoon...lots of bright colors.
I had a 72 Sebring which I built a 340 for, it was an oddball, my father also had a 72 but they were light years apart, his had the smog 318 2bbl(150hp), 904, 3:23 8 3/4 open diff built in June of 72 now is when things get weird, mine was built in June of 71, it came with a 1970 318(dinky little 2 barrel)230hp, 904, 8 3/4 3:23 Sure Grip no smog equipment. It would roast the hides of the stock tires and kicked the butts of 350 Olds rockets and even Chevy small blocks. We took both cars out to the Petawawa plains here in Ontario and it severely trounced my dads car in every way, I built a 400+hp 340 with a 727 and 391 gear set with frame connectors and was able to sink a set of L60/14's in the wheel housing, just, man I miss that beast.
Please learn your car design because you don't know everything, and just because you're on these auction sites selling cars for ridiculous amounts of money doesn't mean you know everything....
It’s beautiful for sure, I always thought those marker lights were very tasteful, especially when compared to what followed, the 72 up lights look like something generic you would buy at Autozone to stick on your trailer. The 72 did have better looking tail lights though.
Agreed, about the tail lights.Don't forget the front grill on the 72 which is far better. As for the side marker light, It is cool that they are flush but I think the large holes they made in the side aren't good. A small, flush light like on a 68 model year Mopar looks better yet, but the government must have mandated bigger ones. I am looking for small square flush ones that fit in the openings of 72 and newer, but no one makes them.
Man, they really nailed it with that styling. Love the grill more on the '72, but other than that, '71 all the way... Perfect color for this car, as well. I had a '70 Super Bee that was EV2!
Yup, with the VIN, you win: R for Plymouth Belvidere/Satellite, M for Medium price class, 23 for two door hardtop, N for 383 CID V8, high performance, 1 for 1971 model year, E for Los Angeles, CA (Maywood) assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Maywood plant closed in 1971. We got the tag, we can brag: END for end of sales codes, N41 for dual exhaust, N97 for noise reduction package, R11 for AM radio, 2 watt, V4X for black bodyside stripe, V8X for black transverse stripes, U for US specification vehicle, A87 for Roadrunner Decor package, B51 for power brakes, G33 for outside remote LH racing mirror, M21 for roof drip rail moldings, EV2 for Hemi Orange exterior paint, H2X9 should be for a black interior code, TX9 for black vinyl roof (off the top of my head), A13 for Plymouth Roadrunner, E65 for 383 V8 with four barrel, and D32 for heavy duty automatic transmission.
I owned a 1971 Satellite Sebring Plus with the 383 2 bbl. I really enjoyed that car and it was so similar to the Roadrunner in looks and performance, but mine had cloth seats and a/c, must haves in Florida.
My dad had a 71 RR in his wrecking yard, it was an insurance total. Whoever had it pulled the 340 before it went through an auction. I used the rear end and front bumper on a 69 Charger I built for a local short track. It was rear ended by a dump truck at 20 mph, that still shoved the rear bumper all the way to the rear window.
Had a chance to buy a 71 RR in the 70's, with a 440 and the air grabber hood, but my dad wouldn't co-sign for the loan. It was Torred , and I road tested it and wanted that car so much, but nothing I said to him would change his mind. BTW the dealer was asking $1700 for it.
Thank you Steve for keeping us informed of this cool stuff after the dumb motortrend aholes kickt us outside viewers from the program. I have seen every junkyard gold episode, it was a blast
This is my favorite car, along with the 72. Now just one correction. That steering wheel is not standard. It comes with the Decor Group. The seat covers and door panels are also the ones with the Decor Group, as is the carpet. The Decor Group comes on every bucket seat car, but had to be ordered on bench seat cars. I doubt those are the original wheels. I think they would have been black by 1971 and likely were 14 inch. He says he has the codes for the wheels but didn't say what they are.
I bought a 1971 Roadrunner in 1977, at age 18. It was blue, with a somewhat unusual blue/white interior, no vinyl top, had the silver rally wheels, 383, and a 4 speed. Mine was not a CA car, and it had the cool "flamethrower" exhaust tips. I drove that car for almost 10 years. I had to replace the engine once, because the PLASTIC teeth on the cam sprocket all ripped off, causing the pistons and valves to fight it out. Both lost. Over the years the paint faded and the interior became pretty well worn. Someone made me an offer on it I couldn't refuse, I sold it, and bought a white 1976 Corvette. I highly recommend anyone with one of these cars, or pretty much any classic American car to check the cam sprocket, if it is plastic, replace it IMMEDIATELY with a steel sprocket. I have a geared cam drive on my small block Corvette engine.
In 1973my neighbor bought a used roadrunner that was identical to this less the wheels ...be had rally wheels. I always thot it different having the column shift and split bench seat .it was the first car I seen lift the from tires
Just out of curiosity would it be worthwhile to take this car in its untouched condition to a car show or even a concours d'elegance? Like you said this has original everything and you can never get more authentic than that.
Yes. When you ordered a 72 Road Runner with the 440, you got the GTX package. Visually, the main thing was small GTX chrome emblems low on the fenders behind the front wheels and one on the trunk. They went on with sticky tape, not screws, so they often didn't last. You could order a similar package in 73 and 74. But the chrome emblems up front were on the side if the hood, if you got them. Your mom had a very rare option on a pretty rare car.
I wonder if Steve takes requests? Would love a video about the 72 Road Runner with a GTX package. I would show it to my family. This car gets brought up at family gatherings pretty much every time we get together.
The 72 gran Torino was fords best selling Torino so 72 was not a failure if you know how to swap cams and pistons and heads from previous years of the motor ( which was a common thing when these cars were available
Dog dish hubcaps that's what they were called I believe the coke bottle design was because of the Dodge charger 71 to 74 cuz it look like a coke bottle not the 71 72 roadrunner
@@CarsandCats He was also wrong on the horsepower. I've had eleven 383 engines, they were high performance. The Satellite Sebring plus might be rated @ 270--300 hp. This car was more orange than red. I say it's Hemi orange.
@@ricktaylor3748 Hemi Orange was what Dodge called this color. Even though Dodge and Plymouth used the same colors, they didn't have the same names. eg: Plum Crazy purple for a Dodge was called Invoilet Poly for a Plymouth This car is Tor Red.
@@jamesthomas7977 I looked it up. Tor red and Hemi orange are identical colors. Plymouth has the 6 barrel carb set up. Dodge has the 2 two bbl set up. Same carbs and intake. It's like saying :six of one, and half dozen of the other.
I kick myself now for not buying a 72 Roadrunner bronze metallic, 400 big block, automatic solid original car for $7500. It had slight damage under the rocker panel but no rust. That was around 2000 that I found it.
@@MisterMikeTexas A more widely accepted reference would be the "Fuselage" body style. The "Coke Bottle" was a 68-70 Charger reference for obvious reasons. No other American car had that look.
When they came out, I thought the same as you, and actually, I kept that opinion for about the next 4 decades or so, but I don’t mind them now. Part of it was that by 1971, it was so obvious the party was over, and there were grim times ahead.