1969 Roadrunner Project Car...need opinions fast

I've got a time-sensitive deal in the works for purchasing a project car and need opinions on this situation quickly.

A friend of mine has a 1969 Roadrunner (pics attached) with a partial VIN that indicates it most-likely had a 440 originally with an automatic transmission. The car is pretty much stripped of all parts...seats, front grill, lights, side windows, door panels and pretty much all engine and trans components (as well as the core engine and trans). The body is in pretty good shape with rust on the floor and trunk pans (primarily surface rust, but the metal is a little thin on the driver's side). It also has good front and rear glass with the trim.

I guess what I'd like to know from you are three things:

My friend wants $1800 firm...is that a reasonable price given the condition and amount of work (based on what I know and have seen it seems like a good deal but I need some objective opinions still)?

I'm a good mechanic, but have never done a complete bottom-up restoration...how difficult of a restoration is something like this for my first time (I'm not in a rush)?

How much do you believe it will cost me to bring this vehicle back to near original condition?

Thanks in advance

It looks "solid" so for a rolling shell $1800 is not over priced.
Any documentation to go along with it?
What are your goals? Original show quality restoration or make it your restomod.
If your not picky about year correct seat covers, year correct block and spark plug wires etc
I'd say go for it. Lots of stuff can be found at a swap meet to get started.
I got 74 B body rear seat in my 71 fro $40 and use to have 73 Dart buckets in it I got for $80. Looked damn good too.
Just figure twice as much money and time as any estimate you come up with.

Watch out for mechanical swap parts as they may need rebuilt anyway.
This could go on forever if I stop to think about it too much.

The only 69 runner that had a 440 would have a VIN that is RM21 (or 23)M9A

anything other than that, and I have no idea what you've got.

What it costs to restore depends on what level of restoration you plan on doing. You will spend a minimum of 10 grand for an "Al's trim shop" level of resto. Double that for a nice car. Triple that for a drop dead resto

Thanks for the quick response...no paperwork at all on it. I'll probably go more along the lines of a restomod route than original show quality restoration (correct seat covers, block wires, etc). I'm a little concerned about the rust...once you start into something like this and get it cleaned up/blasted, you can start finding "little surprises" that start to add up really fast.

The partial VIN that I was passed to me (I didn't put eyes on it) contains RM21HMR9. He left the info on my voicemail and his message was garbled. He said that based on what he knew, he thought that it had a 440 in it and that he "thought" the partial VIN supported that

69 Runner...do you think the price is fair?

Good questions! And, the car looks good too! Media Blasting is a must - do on this car, and, given what you want to do. Figure on the cheap side 1500, up towards 2500 for some markets. For me to do that car, it's about 1800, but I'm in San Antonio and everything is cheap here :( You will have rot around the rear windows, trunk lid, and if the car was in salty northern roads, the rot will hide everywhere, but, it looks pretty good to work with. Figure at least 20K. Good luck!

As 69 was alluding to, the 440 was only available as a Sixpack in Road Runners thru 1971.
The GTX would have had the 440 4bbl
The partial vin including an -H- makes it a 383 4 barrel.
R---Plymouth
M---Medium price class
21---sedan/post with popout windows
H---383 single 4BBL
M--- would be the sixpack 440
9---1969
R---Built in Windsor/Ontario canada

Price seems fair to me and it looks like a relatively solid piece. If this is your price range you will not find one more solid and it is a Road Runner so it has that going for it too.

Oh yeah, 3 letters you will need, AMD.

As 69 was alluding to, the 440 was only available as a Sixpack in Road Runners thru 1971.
The GTX would have had the 440 4bbl
The partial vin including an -H- makes it a 383 4 barrel.
R---Plymouth
M---Medium price class
21---sedan/post with popout windows
H---383 single 4BBL
M--- would be the sixpack 440
9---1969
R---Built in Windsor/Ontario canada

The VIN numbers still don't make sense.

It should be RM21*9#.
The * would be the engine and could be H=383, J=426 or M = 440/6
The # would be A=Lynch Road, E= LA, or G=St, Louis.
69 RR's were not built at the Windsor plant.

If it's a resto mod, the original equipment really doesn't matter.

Look at the steering wheel, it doesn't look to be a RR one, even a Satellite wheel. Not that this is a big deal maker/breaker, just that steering wheels are likely not changed too often - this may also go hand in hand with the VIN discrepancies.

looks good and 1800.00 sounds like a good fair price . steering wheel looks like a 68 . See if it has a fender tag or a braodcast sheet with it .

I bought my car in a similar level of completeness. If it’s anything like my car keep in mind you will be tracking down many many small parts and clips and brackets and stuff like that. Try to factor in the time and expense for that too, it’s easy to overlook.

Car looks solid though.

Good point. As far as I know, that wheel was NOT available in a runner, but it's one of the easiest things to change on a car. As far as I know, the one I have pictured here is the only style that didn't have a runner in the pad.

Price seems pretty fair I guess if it's really that solid. Understand that (unless there are boxes of parts included) this car will nickel and dime you to death.

I had Runners and GTXs , neither had this style wheel, Could it be from a base model Belvedere , either way a 40 year old car has a good chance that it could have been replaced for some unknown reason,

I had Runners and GTXs , neither had this style wheel, Could it be from a base model Belvedere , either way a 40 year old car has a good chance that it could have been replaced for some unknown reason,

The base Belvedere and standard Road Runner steering wheel can be seen in the post just above yours.

69 Belvedere steering wheels

Go to legendary interiors web site. they will send you a free catalog. It will give you a good idea what it will cost to do a lot of what you need or replaced.

Yeah 1800 for a solid roller is pretty legit, but you gotta consider you budget, too. Me I look for the most for the money. If your dead set on a Roadrunner, thats a good price for a Real Roadrunner eventhough its missing alot....I would definately try to find a complete satellite/belvedere for parts. Or I would move on to something more complete, Example, I bought a really nice running driving 73 Rallye Charger original 340 car now 360, still has its #'s matching 4 speed, I got all new interior with it (I had to install it). Right before I bought it previous owner installed, New edlebrock intake and carb, new wheels and tires, new brakes, shocks and tie rods, and a few other odds and ends. Since I bought it I installed the interior, replaced the clutch, and painted engine bay and engine while replacing the clutch. Now I have a nice solid running driving B-body the could use a new coat of paint (hopefully in the next year). Right now I just have a little over double what that roller costs.
So my advise is unless you really want that Roadrunner, hold out a better bang for the buck will probably surface for you.

Good luck,
Jason

As far as I know ,the 68 roadrunner,satellite, belvedere wheel has 3 spokes{below},not 2 like the one pictured above

I have seen that wheel in a 68 c-body before. I think $1800 is a good deal and the car looks to be pretty solid. I agree with Donny and you will want to blast or chemically strip it head off future rust, plus it gives you an honest look at what your dealing with. Parts cars will be key to getting all the little items. I think it would be cheaper to buy a restored car, but you never know for sure whats under shiny new paint. I think restoring your own car always insures that it is done right and the way you want it. The upside is that you can work on it as time and money allows. You may not have 30k layin around to fork out on a done one. You can pretty much count on 30k to restore it to a good quality. Good luck and I am glad to see another one saved.

I have seen that wheel in a 68 c-body before. I think $1800 is a good deal and the car looks to be pretty solid. I agree with Donny and you will want to blast or chemically strip it head off future rust, plus it gives you an honest look at what your dealing with. Parts cars will be key to getting all the little items. I think it would be cheaper to buy a restored car, but you never know for sure whats under shiny new paint. I think restoring your own car always insures that it is done right and the way you want it. The upside is that you can work on it as time and money allows. You may not have 30k layin around to fork out on a done one. You can pretty much count on 30k to restore it to a good quality. Good luck and I am glad to see another one saved.

Absolutely. :yes:

Take the price of a done car and back up from there. $1800.00 for a real RR body that's not Swiss cheese doesn't sound bad. Find a Satellite or Belvedere parts car!

Most of the deep surface rusted panels can be sanded/blasted then sealed with a non porous epoxy paint like the rust encapsulator from Eastwood or the POR 15 stuff.

Take the price of a done car and back up from there. $1800.00 for a real RR body that's not Swiss cheese doesn't sound bad. Find a Satellite or Belvedere parts car!

Most of the deep surface rusted panels can be sanded/blasted then sealed with a non porous epoxy paint like the rust encapsulator from Eastwood or the POR 15 stuff.

meep, Have you had a good experience with POR -15. I only used it once but on the birdible , it peeled right off in stripes after prepping per the in structions . It had set for 2 years after appling it . So we went back and used rust bullet and it did the trick .

I painted my suspension parts with the "metal mask" and it seems tough enough being roughed up around the shop. In my case I did not paint over rusty metal but rather over bead blasted, properly prepped steel. Don't know if that makes a difference but supposedly it shouldn't.

Did you put it on in a humid environment? I just found this:

"POR-15 is cured and strengthened by exposure to
moisture and will dry faster under extreme humidity, but moderate to dry
atmospheric conditions are most desirable when applying this product.
That’s because extreme humidity may cause an immediate surface cure,
trapping carbon dioxide gas below the surface. When this happens,
bubbling may occur. Extreme humidity at the time of application may also
interfere with proper adhesion of the POR-15 coating to bare metal
because it is almost impossible to keep the metal dry under such
conditions".

I had no problems with the por-15 ,was told by the dealer to use dawn dish soap in hot water instead of the metal prep,worked great the only pealing was the runs where it wasn't washed

maybe i just got a bad batch of the stuff , it wasnt too humid and like i said we put the rust bullet product on the same way and it has been super durable . This was about 7 year ago now .