It’s time to feature a bit of Mopar goodness, provided once again by Hyperpack at the Cohort. A 1969 Road Runner with a 383 engine, found somewhere in Pennsylvania and hopefully, with better days ahead.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Hardtop – Spring Is Here!
Often when seeing pictures like this, I’ve left comments on why would a person do such a thing? Why allow such a nice car to sit and rot? Although it’s difficult to tell from these pics, it does appear that the tires are either flat or sinking into the ground. They have junk wedged between the car and wall. Other junk building up around it. Vines growing around and soon to be on the car.
So my brain just can’t understand the mentality these people have. If you are not going to keep it up. If you aren’t going to drive it a few times per month. If you aren’t or can’t afford to properly store it, why keep it? Nice car. Just another sad case of holding onto something for the wrong reason or at worst, hoarding.
I bet this “hoarder” knows 10x more about this car, has more sentimental attachment and is more interesting to have a conversation about cars with than the trader bros who bought a pristine one at Mecum for $70k to flex their egos.
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A couple of years ago, I spotted a similar 1969 Road Runner in front of a ‘classic car appraiser’ warehouse-type building. I stopped to look at it, and a guy came out to talk about it.
The car was nothing special, just a 383/auto/bench seat car. But it had been poorly restored with so much bondo in the sides they were wavy.
The guy tried to tell me it belonged to an older lady who had kept it after her husband had died. He tried to claim it was worth $25k, but she’d sell it for $20k. When I pointed out all the bondo, he tried to claim “they all have that”.
The whole encounter was exceedingly insulting (I must have looked like a real schmuck) but, then, I guess his hope was he was going to find some sucker for it.
Well XR7Matt: That may be all true. Why does that make it alright to leave like it is to rot? Parked under a half-arse lean-to, over dirt/gravel, with barrels and such wedged between it and wall.
But because you “bet” this person knows way more, it’s ok?
Sorry. Nice old cars and even half nice old cars deserve much better.
Dan, last time I checked there were no laws about having to keep old cars in climate-controlled sealed storage. It’s a free country! My ’66 F100 has been outside since at least since I bought it in ’87, and I’m 99% it was outside before that, since new. Don’t try to tell me that it’s not alright to do so.
This RR is living in the lap of luxury compared to my truck and untold hundreds of thousands of other old cars sitting outside. It’s dry, and it looks to be in quite good shape. Just needs to be cleaned up a bit.
That’s nice. Thanks for sharing.
Define better? Locked away in a McMansion garage and buffed with a diaper every other weekend?
But to answer your question, yes. My hobby car which I’ve literally had half of my life is monetarily pretty worthless and undesirable in the collector car world, but hypothetically if its value and desirability shot up to the stratosphere tomorrow and my modest means wasn’t up to snuff to monied collectors, would the car deserve much better because it has a couple rust bubbles here and there I’m not fixing? Am I a “hoarder” because there’s not a price I’d let it go for?
Hoarders > entitlement
It seems to me that many of the ‘high net worth individuals’ who collect cars in pristine condition, get them refreshed semi-annually, and store them in climate-controlled conditions are just as much hoarders as the guy who has five B-bodies sitting in his yard because he thinks he is going to restore them some day. Does the rich guy who is bragging about having 10% of the A-833 6-Barrel cars produced spend any more time driving on the street and talking to working enthusiasts than the dude who is waiting for the planets to align so he can fix one of his 383s? I doubt it.
May not have been parked there too long. Paint looks good. A little dusty and leaf strewn, Can’t tell if tires are all holding air. Sad that it looks to have rubbed up against that rubbermaid trash can. Hopefully for whatever reason it is there, that it is temporary.
Its under cover at least, it hardly looks like its “rotting away” just looks dusty. Not every car enthusiast has the luxury of a heated multi car garage. At least it’s not out in the rain, i just bought a classic that was sitting outside with not even a tarp, un-touched for 9 years. Rats had gotten in thru a rust hole in the floor. Water has gotten under the vinyl roof and there is rust holes in the roof, what a mess
Mike: That’s how it all starts. Next thing you know, it’s underbelly is rotted out (after all, it’s parked on dirt/gravel). The tires are shot. Critters have taken over.
I have two very low miles and clean classic Cadillac’s and I don’t have the “luxury of a heated multi car garage”. I am lucky to have enough room in my car-port to fit both Caddy’s and my daily driver. They are on a cement drive, are never in the sun and seldom have any rain get on them. Although I love them both and enjoy them a lot, I would absolutely NOT keep one let alone two if I couldn’t properly store and keep them. I know there’s plenty of others out there who would have that place to keep them if I didn’t and I’d sell them before hoarding them.
You do you, but stop carrying on about what others do.There’s no way that sitting on that gravel under a roof is going to rot out the underbelly. You’re being hysterical.
If you say “You do you, but stop carrying on about what other do”, then why are you feeling the need to comment back to me?
I’ve expresses my opinion. You have yours obviously. You people on this site are really interesting. You stick together like some little click and you don’t like anyone coming in and stirring the pot.
You like old metal sitting out to rot. I find it absurd. Let’s leave it at that.
Paul and I have butted heads dozens of times since I’ve been commenting here, we and others have numerous different outlooks on cars. and that’s exactly why I keep on coming here to get perspectives I don’t necessarily agree with or am challenged by to try to understand.
We in this case happen to share the opinion that it’s his car to do as he wants and not to rush to judgement about who the owner is. I’m part of a few muscle car communities on and offline, the cliques are the ones who tend to throw around the term “hoarder” because they somehow feel entitled to others property simply because they made it to a point in life they have the money to theoretically buy it. Sometimes there’s just things money doesn’t buy.
Well XR7Matt: Let’s just agree to disagree on the meaning of hoarder and what hoarding is.
But I’ll stick with this, which appears to perfectly describe the above:
“What classifies someone as a hoarder?
Hoarding disorder is an ongoing difficulty throwing away or parting with possessions because you believe that you need to save them. You may experience distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. You gradually keep or gather a huge number of items, regardless of their actual value.”
Your view of hoarding doesn’t come close to the clinical definition.
“ You gradually keep or gather a huge number of items, regardless of their actual value”
Well the clinical definition doesn’t fit this car; I count exactly one car, not a huge amount of cars. In this case the actual value is fairly sizable, it’s a far cry from garbage bags full of diapers stacked in the living room.
It’s astonishing the obscene prices these old, sixties’ musclecars bring in today’s market. This one, in particular, looks like it would fetch big money due primarily to having what seems to be solid sheetmetal.
And it doesn’t appear to be anything particularly special, either. 1969 was the high-water mark for Road Runner sales, but even a relatively common 383/auto car (which is what this one might be) is still going to go for a bunch on the auction block.
I don’t know if they actually sell for it, but it’s not uncommon to see cars that look like they were pulled from boneyards on websites which are, quite literally, nothing more than old, rusty, beat-up shells with an asking price of five figures.
I happened to snap this one at a local MoPar enthusiast’s shop. It is a good looking specimen. maybe waiting for some me mechanical work or for the local cruise nite. Years ago there was a big Mid 60’s Chrysler in that spot with What seemed like truck axles everywhere. Now this great B Body is occupying the lean to for the time being.
A little washing up of the bird poo and some air in the tires and it should be good to go!👍
Looks decent to me .
Anything parked over dirt is most assuredly rusting .
-Nate
Chrome looks quite good.
Not a big muscle car fan, but I did drive a RR back in the day and it was quick. A/T and I have no idea what gear I was in, but it felt like it really came on the cam around 85. Fastest car I’d driven at the time.
On the car pictured and it’s storage, it’s the owners to do with as he pleases, but it hasn’t been there very long. A little dusty, not really much, I mean the bumpers still shine. I’d say it’s been there a few weeks at most, and it isn’t in the direct sun either. Not great, but not bad temp storage.
A very nice car, and a relatively decent long term storage space. We’ve seen much worse.
At any rate, sub-optimal long term storage is what got a lot of old cars to the present day. If only the super well cared for cars survived there would be a lot fewer now.
I for one would like to dust off this Road Runner and take it for a spin. As much as I appreciate B bodies I don’t think I’ve so much as ridden in one.
My immediate thought on seeing the pics was that the owner had a health crisis not long after getting the car.