1973 Plymouth Road Runner Sedan

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 examples 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 56,861 title verified original mile 1973 Plymouth Road Runner showing in eyecatching Honey Gold with a gold interior.  This car is wearing its original paint, original metal and while not a muscle era Hi-Impact color, it looks period perfect.  Add in some snappy strobe stripe, a bulged hood, machine gun tip exhaust and a numbers matching rebuilt engine, and the factory broadcast sheet...who said that the muscle car died in 1971.  

Exterior
Bathed in the factory applied and still holding strong application of Honey Gold, this sedan 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 rests between the straight cokebottle fenders, which have a slight hint of throwback to the 1930's style pontoon fenders.  The coke bottle bulbous sides are carried over from the prior year design with a black strobe stripe breaking up the sea of gold down the sides and up over the rear of the roof.  The stripes are showing some cracking and crazing but hey, this is original paint and striping.  At the rear, the draft horse style hiney hit the gym and lost most of its bulkiness, and even without a spoiler atop of the trunk lid this tail end screams muscle.  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.  15-inch American Racing Torque Thrust wheels adorn all 4 corners and are wrapped in BF Goodrich raised white letter rubber.  Dings, chips, some scratches and a mangled lower front valance are seen throughout the body along with invasive rust on the lower rear quarter panel showing, but again...this is the original paint, and Mother Mopar sheet metal.

Interior
All looking like it came right off the factory floor, gold vinyl and plastic door panels have chrome window cranks, door releases, and a mirror joystick to break up the expanse of gold.  Inside, sleek styled with integrated headrests, buttoned gold vinyl buckets flank a center console in gold molded plastic that has some wood appliqué in it and a T-handled slap stick shifter.  Fronting these chairs, is the original molded plastic to look like a wood covered dash front.  On top is padded black textured vinyl.  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 steering wheel with a black horn pad in the center.  More gold as the dash extends over to the passenger side with an ash receptacle and lighter, and a glove box.  New gold carpeting floods the floors for the front and rear, and just above the rear is a pristine rear bench with buttons which match the buckets up front.  Above, a new and near perfect headliner hangs proudly in light gold.

Drivetrain
Under the hood in an unrestored engine bay painted Honey Gold, we see a Chrysler blue painted block in numbers matching 340ci format.  This mill has been totally rebuilt with a mere 200 miles clocked and on top is the contrasting orange air cleaner assembly and a 4-barrel carburetor.  To keep things cool a new radiator, belts and hoses have been installed and our consignor notes that the original radiator can be included if you so desire.  Bolted to the mill is a circa 1976 rebuilt A727 Torqueflite 3-speed automatic transmission with a 3500rpm stall converter.  Putting the power to the road is an 8 3/4" rear axle assembly.  

Undercarriage
Obviously not restored underneath but still showing nicely coated underpinnings with factory undercoating and a spattering of surface rust.  Independent torsion bar front suspension, and leaf sprung for the rear, along with power disc brakes upfront, and power drums for the back provide the ride and the whoah factor.  A dual exhaust snakes its way to chrome tipped machine gun rear exits.  Our consignor adds that a new fuel tank and sending unit was installed along with new rotors, pads, shoes, drums and hoses to keep things up to snuff. 

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 save for the tach not reading rpm and the fender mounted turn signals not flashing.  While not the raw horsepower of a big block, 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 well sorted out, unrestored and honest 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 and a popular redesign of the coke bottle platform all wrapped up and ready to keep you coyote proof.  Beep Beep Indeed!

RM21H3G180499

R-Satellite/Road Runner
M-Medium Price Class
21-2 Door Sedan
H-340ci V8 4bbl
3-1973
G-St. Louis, MO Assy Plant
180499-Sequential Unit Number

FENDER TAG

RM21:Plymouth Belvedere,Satellite
Medium Price Class, Road Runner
2 Door Sedan
H3G:340 240hp V8 1973
St. Louis, MO, USA
180499:Sequence number
E55:340 cid 4 barrel V8 275hp
D34:Light Duty Automatic Transmission
JY3: Honey Gold
D6Y4:Trim - Luxury, Vinyl Bucket Seats, Gold/Black
JY5:Unknown Int. Door Frames
223:Build Date: February 23
087205:Order number
JY3:Honey Gold Top Color
U:USA Specifications
A88:Interior Decor Group
B41:Front Disc Brakes w/Standard 10in RR Drum
C16: Console w/Woodgrain Panel
C56:Bucket Seats
G37:OS Dual Racing Mirrors
J25:3 Speed Wipers
L31:Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
M21:Roof drip rail moldings
M25:Wide sill moldings
M26:Wheel Lip Moldings
N41:Dual Exhaust
N42:Chrome Exhaust Tips
R11:Radio Solid State AM 
V8X:Transverse Stripes, Black
V9X:Hood Stripes, Black
END:End of Sales Codes

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 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.