Debating on new project.....70 Roadrunner

[gerno]

I found this basket case on craigslist and am thinking hard about picking it up this weekend. I know it's going to need a lot of body work but it looks fun to me. My first car was a 70 Roadrunner (383/4spd). I bought it with the help of my Dad at 15 by working at a snow cone booth all summer. I turned 16 and blew the radiator which toasted the engine. I didn't know what I was doing with the engine rebuild. I got frustrated and ended up selling it for $600 so I could get a car that drove. My Dad was always a bit pissed I sold the car. Now that I have a little $$ I figure I could make it up to him and start a new father/son project.

Guy is asking $4K and it comes with the grill, bumper, extra fender, dash with gauges, most of the trim and all glass except the front. It does not have engine/trans, seats and interior. He says the body needs qtr's but overall the frame and pillars are in great shape. My thought is to try to get the car for $2500. Am I crazy to think about a car needing so much work?


39288

39289

39290

39291

39292

39293

[Ron in SoCal]

OK, I'll be the first...just make sure you put an LS in it!

[Flash68]

Steve, don't you have a ton of stuff you want and are planning to do to the Camaro? :popcorn2:

[Vince@Meanstreets]

its a nice car but don't get sucked into that car guy disease man. Finallize that Camaro brother!!

[DTM Racing]

That Road Runner looks like a lot of work. IMO, Free to $500.00 would be my price range on it. I don't see a panel that doesn't need work.

[gerno]

I do have a ton of stuff I'm thinking about for the Camaro but my ADD is kicking in. It's also tough to find real Roadrunner's these days. I'm thinking to pick up this car and stick it in my Dad's garage for ~1 year so I can do a few more mods to the Camaro and get some cash together. The new project would not be something running anytime soon.

I'm thinking a late model Hemi with a 6spd is a must but I haven't done any other research as of yet.

I put some new Falken 615k's on the Camaro this week and the handling was soooo much better. I'm now close to competitive which has helped to easy the desire for crazy changes to the car. I still want to get rid of the c-clip axles but have the car set up to run for the rest of the year

[gerno]

Vince@MSperfab - its a nice car but don't get sucked into that car guy disease man. Finallize that Camaro brother!!

Too late, I've had an issue for a long time now.... The Camaro is on the road and at some sort of track event a lot. Question comes is it better to always "improve" the Camaro or start a new ride...


DTM Racing - That Road Runner looks like a lot of work. IMO, Free to $500.00 would be my price range on it. I don't see a panel that doesn't need work.

I agree with your assessment. Only issue is that it's tough to find a Roadrunner these days. There are a few other projects I've seen but even in pieces sellers are asking crazy prices ($10-15K)

[GrabberGT]

OK, I'll be the first...just make sure you put an LS in it!


Nah... Needs a Coyote in it.

[John510]

I agree with your assessment. Only issue is that it's tough to find a Roadrunner these days. There are a few other projects I've seen but even in pieces sellers are asking crazy prices ($10-15K)

If hes asking 4K and the others are 10-15K then I would jump on it before someone beats you to it.

[gerno]

If hes asking 4K and the others are 10-15K then I would jump on it before someone beats you to it.

I could be out of like with my assessment of the prices I am seeing in the market. I welcome any more intelligent opinions out there concerning the price to get a good Mopar project car.

[hp2]

I'd say that price depends on the options listed on the fender tag. You did ask for a picture of that didn't you? 1970 is when options proliferated the Mopar model lines. If this has a list of desireable options, that could justify the price. However, here is the conundrum with that, desireable options up the value of the car if you go the restoration route. If you heavily modify it, then you may be better of buying a better condition Satellite for less up front dough. If this is a very base car with a 383 3spd tag( yes that was the standard trans) and no options, then that price is a bit high. I recently picked up a 70 Road Runner, 440 six pak, air grabber, 4 speed in almost the exact same condition for $3500, for a point of comparison.

Also, having just done a Camaro, be prepared for sticker shock. Building the mopar will easily cost 3-5x as much. There is a lot of repro metal out there and a selection of aftermarket suspension sustems as well, but the choice of vendors are significantly less and this impacts the discounts you can negotiate.

For a quick assesment of market values of Satellite, Road Runners, and GTXs, hop over to moparts.com and browse the 1970 and earlier B body classifieds. You can find everything from basket cases, to proejcts to completed cars. I also believe there was a completely restored, running, Air Grabber, 383 Road Runner on protouring.com for $25k. Compared to some other ones out there, that is a screaming deal.

[gerno]

Very good points on the options of the car. I was excited thinking about a potential new project and did not even ask about the fender tag. I followed up with the seller and apparently the fender tag is no longer on the car at all. This makes me question the car.

I'll drag my trailer with me to check out the car this weekend with the intent of a very low offer if anything at all. I'll also check out the sites you noted to see what else is out there.

Now that my initial excitement has worn off I'm using my head again. I really want a Roadrunner as my next project but I'll make sure I find the right car to start with.

[hp2]

The fender tag and build sheets are two very important parts of the pedigree for those mopars to justify pricing. Without them, it is just a vin. However, the vin can tell you something about it. If he has given that to you, try running it through a decoder. It will verify if its a real Road Runner, engine size, and vin sequence. There should be a matching sequence of the last 6 vin digits on the radiator core support and along the drivers side trunk rail. If any of these don't match, you've got issues. http://www.stockmopar.com/mopar-vin-decoder.php

I notice in the pics there are a few other mopars scattered around the property. That means this guy should know the value of these documentable items and you may be able to talk him down to a decent price without them.

Something I've always like about that model was the top of the quarter panel line. I think it would lend its self very well to an eliptical insert to widen it out for a massive tire while still looking almost stock. Only way to notice it would be to park it next to an unmodified version.

[gerno]

HP2 - thanks for the link. The owner is going to send me over the VIN later tonight and I'll dig a little deeper. I also agree about adding some flares and making the body lines a little custom. I just need to learn how to do it myself......

Ratman - I'm all up to date and have confirmed it's no issue from beating myself up on other projects.

[gerno]

I took a little drive and checked out the Roadrunner today. I was surprised the car was actually a little better than I expected. The roof, floors pillars and frame were solid. The lower quarters were rusted out panels but not many other panels were terribly bad. All chrome and glass (except windshield) was also in good shape That said, it did look like someone was pissed off and beat the car with a sledge hammer (not literally but you know what I mean). Every panel was severely dented. I threw out an offer of $2k to the guy and he dropped from $4K to $3K. I then countered with $2.5K but he would not budge from $3k. I ended up walking away. I could probably sell the car in Austin or Houston for more than $3k but I'll just take the everyone's advise and stay focused on the Camaro. Thanks for helping with the decision.

Steve

[WSSix]

Being new to the arid midwest, I'm finding deals and projects all over the place. I have to keep reminding myself to focus on my TA since it's still a project as well regardless of what I might be able to do with another car or how great a deal it is at the time. You made the right decision :thumbsup: Good luck with the camaro

[Flash68]

You made the right decision :thumbsup: Good luck with the camaro

:king:


I just wanted to use this new emoticon.

[Revved]

Good decision... With the current market you really need to balance what your end result with what you are going to invest. A guy building a $250k custom can afford to throw $30k into sheet metal work because half of it is going to be modified anyway. If you want a stocker or mild resto-mod find something like that $25k driver that doesn't need the paint and body work and focus on your upgrades.... save yourself time and money. Right now it is still cheaper to buy something done than to build from scratch.


But of course that brings up the whole other conversation of the quality of a lot of "restored" or "built" cars out there.... but that is for another time....