$160 Plymouth Road Runner Transformed From Budget Buy To Tribute Masterpiece

Key Takeaways

• Schlesinger’s 1970 Plymouth Road Runner went from a cheap and rusty car to a professionally restored masterpiece.
• The car holds sentimental value for Schlesinger, as it was his first car and he has owned it for 44 years.
• Schlesinger added various options to the Road Runner, including a Hemi V8 engine, air-grabber hood, bucket seats, and hidden air conditioning, making it even more unique and valuable.

Sometimes, a car’s restoration will leave us breathless as we see it transformed from a cheap and beat-up example to a showroom fresh-looking vehicle. Lou Costabile, a YouTuber with over 100,000 subscribers, regularly showcases muscle cars and the people behind them. This one, which belongs to Adam Schlesinger, is one car that has gone from a budget buy to a tribute masterpiece. It is a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner in yellow, with a big Hemi under the hood.

What makes this Road Runner so special is that it was Schlesinger’s actual first car. He bought it for just a few hundred dollars back in the period, and he has had the car for 44 years. Now, it looks like it is fresh from the showroom and Schlesinger has elevated it far above what it was like when he first bought it. He even says that the Plymouth belonged in a junkyard when he first bought it, but now it has become so much more after he spent less than $200 on it in the 1970s.

Schlesinger Paid Less Than $200 For His Road Runner

1970 Plymouth Road Runner Engine Specs

(Sourced from Hemmings)

Schlesinger reveals that he paid just $160 for the car back in the 1970s, and it was in very different condition back then. The car was rusty and rotten when he came across it with a for-sale sign in the window. He was instantly intrigued by it so decided to take a chance on it. It was in poor condition, with the bumper just hanging on to it after the previous owner hit a telegraph pole driving it in a snowstorm. It was in rough shape with the hood also bent inwards from the incident.

Schlesinger decided to restore it but it took him a few attempts to get it right and progress with the restoration. Next to the car in the video, Schlesinger reveals a large Road Runner bird that his mom made out of wood, to prop up next to the car. This she made back in the early 1980s.

Eventually, Schlesinger decided to give the car a full-on, professional restoration. After stripping it down, he took it to Chrysler of Carlisle and they did an incredible job. The yellow paint is shining and gleaming, and Schlesinger also reveals that the original motor was a 383 CI V8 engine.

However, he has never had the original motor in the car for longer than three weeks. It had it when it came to him, but he has since swapped it out with a 426 CI Hemi V8 engine, with a four-speed manual transmission.

This is one of the most well-known V8 engines from this era of muscle cars, and it was an engine produced most notably for NASCAR and originally not available to the general public. The 426 Hemi V8 would find its way into cars such as the Plymouth Superbird.

Highlights Of Schlesinger’s 1970 Plymouth Road Runner

• Schlesinger bought this Road Runner after it hit a telegraph pole in a snowstorm
• The bodywork was rotten and the hood was bent inwards from its accident
• Its new owner replaced the 383 CI V8 with a Hemi 426 CI V8
• Schlesinger had the Road Runner professionally restored to a very high standard

To make his Road Runner even more interesting, Schlesinger decided to add some options to it. He lists them in the video, saying he added the air-grabber hood, Hemi V8, the bucket seats, and a hidden air-conditioning unit to name just a few. The dashboard was also modified to accommodate the A/C system. Schlesinger made sure to use a Plymouth factory A/C dash to keep the authentic look inside the muscle car. The seamless fit of the dash means you can’t tell it was modified.

Costabile and Schlesinger give us a look under the hood and the engine bay is just as clean as the outside of the Road Runner. What is very impressive is how well hidden the A/C setup is under the hood, and Schlesinger claims that only one person has ever spotted it without him pointing it out to them. Costabile does find it, hidden low down in the engine bay so it is not immediately visible to those looking. The owner was even more clever as the lines for the unit are under the right-hand wheel fender, and again are not immediately obvious unless you take a good, long look.

That setup was custom-designed during the Plymouth’s restoration, as kit applications simply didn’t work. Schlesinger fires the Hemi 426 up and the sound is as deep and throaty as you would hope from a 426 CI V8 engine.

Costabile is thoroughly impressed by how clean the build and restoration are, and the Road Runner looks as if it has just left the Plymouth factory. The application of the paint and stripes on the bodywork is superb, and it is difficult to imagine how this car looked when Schlesinger bought it back in the 1970s.

The Road Runner Shows Off Its Air Grabber Hood

One very neat feature of this Road Runner is its air grabber hood. This is a section in the center of the hood that opens up and closes to allow more air into it. It is typically open when the engine is revving before a race or 1/4 mile pass and allows cooler air to enter the engine. The hood would also open at speed, and the cooling allowed the engine to use as much of its power as possible. For standard driving, the air grabber is typically in the closed position.

1970 Plymouth Road Runners Hold A High Value In 2023

Plymouth Road Runner Prices

(Sourced from Classic.com)

When it comes to 1970 Road Runners and their value, they can sell for big numbers. According to Classic.com, the top sale of a 1970 Road Runner is $341,000. This was an exceptional 1970 Hemi Road Runner Rapid Transit sold at Mecum Auctions, with just 1,700 miles on the clock. Even the lowest sale of a 1970 Road Runner is above $25,000, standing at $26,400. These figures highlight just how desirable a muscle car the Plymouth Road Runner still is.

Source: Lou Costabile YouTube Channel, Classic.com, Mecum Auctions, Hemmings