Advice for a 73 Roadrunner - take 2 - with pix!

[wags70ss]

So............. I BOUGHT THE CAR! I have to tell you it is a REALLY nice car! The interior is all original & is in very good condition for a 40 year old car. The brake pedal pad is an original with very little wear on it. The underside is super clean, the suspension has never been touched, except shocks. The gas tank has never been out, the gas lines are all original. There is only 1 rust hole I could find about 1/2 the size of a dollar bill. It is in the trunk floor on the drivers side. You can see it in the pictures I posted.

I had an appraiser look at the car before I bought it. He said it has one of the nicest paint jobs he has ever seen. He said he could tell the car was disassembled, painted & reassembled. The door jams were done & they even left all the original decals in place. He said there were no tape lines anywhere. He estimated that the paint job would cost around $10,000! He owns a body shop & has been a body man since 1969, so he would know.

All the VIN codes are where they are supposed to be on the body & they all match. The engine & transmission are also numbers matching. The engine has been "rebuilt" ( not sure how extensive yet) & was painted with the oil filter on, & that filter is still on so the engine doesnt even have enough miles on it to get the oil changed yet! They did put a cam in it & it has a complete "x" pipe, stainless steel PYPES brand exhaust on it, & ceramic headers! It runs great & yes it will roast em LOL! The trans appears to be rebuilt also. I am checking into that more & will let you guys know what I find out.

I recieved a copy of the Iowa title with 2 previous owners names on it, along with the build sheet, & the ORIGINAL BILL OF SALE!

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I have been able to contact one of the previous owners so far. He bought the car in 2004 & sold it in 2007. He said the engine & trans had already been done when he bought it, so it has almost no miles on it since then!

I am 99% sure it is a 22,000 mile car because of the condition of all the original parts on it. I hope to make that 100% with some more research & maybe some service records. We will see!

VERY SWEET CAR! If anyone was considering buying it, you really missed out thats all I can say! Bad for you, good for me LOL!

I will get pix of the underside & all the original stuff I can & post them.

 

[old tired rebel]

So............. I BOUGHT THE CAR! I have to tell you it is a REALLY nice car! The interior is all original & is in very good condition for a 40 year old car. The brake pedal pad is an original with very little wear on it. The underside is super clean, the suspension has never been touched, except shocks. The gas tank has never been out, the gas lines are all original. There is only 1 rust hole I could find about 1/2 the size of a dollar bill. It is in the trunk floor on the drivers side. You can see it in the pictures I posted.

I had an appraiser look at the car before I bought it. He said it has one of the nicest paint jobs he has ever seen. He said he could tell the car was disassembled, painted & reassembled. The door jams were done & they even left all the original decals in place. He said there were no tape lines anywhere. He estimated that the paint job would cost around $10,000! He owns a body shop & has been a body man since 1969, so he would know.

All the VIN codes are where they are supposed to be on the body & they all match. The engine & transmission are also numbers matching. The engine has been "rebuilt" ( not sure how extensive yet) & was painted with the oil filter on, & that filter is still on so the engine doesnt even have enough miles on it to get the oil changed yet! They did put a cam in it & it has a complete "x" pipe, stainless steel PYPES brand exhaust on it, & ceramic headers! It runs great & yes it will roast em LOL! The trans appears to be rebuilt also. I am checking into that more & will let you guys know what I find out.

I recieved a copy of the Iowa title with 2 previous owners names on it, along with the build sheet, & the ORIGINAL BILL OF SALE!

- - - Updated - - -

So............. I BOUGHT THE CAR! I have to tell you it is a REALLY nice car! The interior is all original & is in very good condition for a 40 year old car. The brake pedal pad is an original with very little wear on it. The underside is super clean, the suspension has never been touched, except shocks. The gas tank has never been out, the gas lines are all original. There is only 1 rust hole I could find about 1/2 the size of a dollar bill. It is in the trunk floor on the drivers side. You can see it in the pictures I posted.

I had an appraiser look at the car before I bought it. He said it has one of the nicest paint jobs he has ever seen. He said he could tell the car was disassembled, painted & reassembled. The door jams were done & they even left all the original decals in place. He said there were no tape lines anywhere. He estimated that the paint job would cost around $10,000! He owns a body shop & has been a body man since 1969, so he would know.

All the VIN codes are where they are supposed to be on the body & they all match. The engine & transmission are also numbers matching. The engine has been "rebuilt" ( not sure how extensive yet) & was painted with the oil filter on, & that filter is still on so the engine doesnt even have enough miles on it to get the oil changed yet! They did put a cam in it & it has a complete "x" pipe, stainless steel PYPES brand exhaust on it, & ceramic headers! It runs great & yes it will roast em LOL! The trans appears to be rebuilt also. I am checking into that more & will let you guys know what I find out.

I recieved a copy of the Iowa title with 2 previous owners names on it, along with the build sheet, & the ORIGINAL BILL OF SALE!

I have been able to contact one of the previous owners so far. He bought the car in 2004 & sold it in 2007. He said the engine & trans had already been done when he bought it, so it has almost no miles on it since then!

I am 99% sure it is a 22,000 mile car because of the condition of all the original parts on it. I hope to make that 100% with some more research & maybe some service records. We will see!

VERY SWEET CAR! If anyone was considering buying it, you really missed out thats all I can say! Bad for you, good for me LOL!

I will get pix of the underside & all the original stuff I can & post them.

Congrats,Post up lots of pictures when you get it home.

 

[RJS]

So if I read what you wrote correctly the oilfilter hasn't been changed since before 2004????

 

[cngordon]

Very dubious that the car has 22,000 miles on in, and been repainted etc. But see a couple replies saying $3k or $4k for it. I know up here in Saskatchewan I'd pay $8k or more for that car in it's condition all day long. If it runs good and looks as nice from up close as it does in the pictures, I wouldn't hesitate to ask $10k for it in this area.

I'd laugh all the way home if i got that sweet ride for 3 or 4 K.

 

[Bruzilla]

Congrats on the car, but I'm 100% sure it's not a 22k mile car. So what did you end up paying for it?

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Good point on the paint, especially since it was listed as a southern car. Sounds like the rust is consistent with poor drainage, so that would fit, but I agree... why repaint a car that should be in great shape? Now if it had 122k, that would be consistent.

I was grinning all the way home when I bought my car for $2,000. I'm just glad he was spending his money and not mine.

 

[wags70ss]

So if I read what you wrote correctly the oilfilter hasn't been changed since before 2004????

Correct. The car has been driven very little in the last 9 years. I am going to replace the oil & filter though.

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Congrats on the car, but I'm 100% sure it's not a 22k mile car. So what did you end up paying for it?

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Good point on the paint, especially since it was listed as a southern car. Sounds like the rust is consistent with poor drainage, so that would fit, but I agree... why repaint a car that should be in great shape? Now if it had 122k, that would be consistent.

I was grinning all the way home when I bought my car for $2,000. I'm just glad he was spending his money and not mine.

I really dont think you should be saying you are 100% sure it is not a 22K car. You have never seen the car so there is no way you can make that claim without seeing it first. If you did see it, & knew what you were looking for, you would see why I say that.

The appraiser I had look at it has been a body man for over 40 years & has been an appraiser for over 25. He told me that while he had no way to prove the mileage, he was absolutly sure it wasnt 122K. He said it definitly was a low mileage car & could very well be 22K. He also said it looked way better than the pictures made it appear. I dont think anyone can look at some pictures of an old car & determine the mileage on it. I disagree totally with you. I cant say its 22K either for sure - yet. But I can say it is way less than 100K & anyone that knows old cars & what time & miles can do to them would agree if they saw it in person.

I paid less than the asking price & less than it will appraise for.

 

[Bruzilla]

I agree that no one can look at pictures and tell exactly what a car is milage wise, but you can tell what it isn't and I can tell this car is definately not a 22k mile car. No offense, but I thought it was pretty abvious by your posts that you were trying to defend the seller and look for a means to see what you wanted to see and convince yourself the car was what you hoped it would be. I don't fault you for that as it's a common condition for most of us who really want to buy a car.

You haven't offered up any information that would lead me to believe this is a 22k mile car. You mention it's got a nice paint job, has lots of original parts, and you have the names of two former owners on a single title, but none of that is any kind of evidence and if the resto was done as well as your appraiser says, the body and mechanicals wouldn't be showing much wear and tear. This car is 100% typical of someone who restores a car by spending all their money and attention on the exterior and doesn't spend money redoing the interior because it is in excellent shape. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does leave the tells I've mentioned before and that I'm sure the folks at Mecum noticed too, which is why low milage was never mentioned in their listing.

But if you're happy with your car, that's what counts.

 

[wags70ss]

"the body & mechanicals wouldnt be showing much wear & tear"???

I guess you havent seen very many cars with 122,000 miles on them that are 40 years old.

And you havent given any proof that it is NOT a 22,000 mile car, other than your opinion on a few pictures. You have ZERO evidence to support your opinion & all it is is an opinion. I have much more evidence to support my opinion that you do, so Im sorry but you cant convince me that your opinion trumps mine. I am not stupid when it comes to old cars & I know what I am looking for.

I have a 1975 Cosworth Vega sitting in my garage. It has 2800 original miles on it. I could send you 1000 pictures of it & you could look at them until you are blue in the face & never tell me 100% whether the mileage is correct or not. However, if you saw it in person, just like the Roadrunner, you could support your claim with evidence. You have no evidence, therefore you have no business saying that you are 100% sure of ANYTHING about this car. You may be 90% sure, maybe even 99% sure as I am, but I have evidence, you have none, & I will not claim 100% certainty until I can prove it.

 

[Sportfury63]

Car doesn't look bad, but check the seams and gaps--looks like drivers door or front fender are off--wide gap between those two looks different from pass side. Interior looks decent, not replaced, but look at the carpet--this interior does not look like a 22k mile interior would look. It looks like a well cared for 100k mile interior. Good Luck

 

[wags70ss]

How many cars have you seen that are 40 years old that have seats that look like these do? I own a 72 Chevelle with 102,000 on it. It has spend the majority of its life parked in a garage & driven by an old woman that bought it in 1974, yet the drivers seat area was torn & I had to recover it. That is not a seat with 100K on it.

The door gap on the driver side is because the car was disassembled before it was painted & when the door & fender were put back on the gap was not corrected.

The carpet looks that way because it is rotten from being 40 years old It is showing very little wear.

As I have stated already, you cant judge a car by pictures. I have had a professional appraiser look at it & he agrees that it is a "low mileage car". A car with 122,000 miles on it is not low mileage. This car has plenty of evidence to support the fact that it is low mileage. I am going to try to document that. I have already proven that it hasnt been driven enough in the last 9 years to even warrant an oil change, even though I would have changed it just due to time passed, but since it wasnt, that is to my advantage at this point. Now I just have to find evidence of the history before 2004.

 

[YY1]

Dissasembled, painted, rebuilt engine- there goes "survivor" status...

There's a body shop near me that does magazine quality work. Been featured in MCR, HPM, Mopar Muscle, Super Chevy, etc. They charge $5K for their magazine quality work including removal and reinstall of glass. Just sayin'.

It's still a nice car!

The seats in my 55K original are about as nice- about a 1.5 inch rip on the driver side seam. moderate wear on the DS door panel (and minor chalking), very light wear on the PS panel (and it's the cheap, thin interior). Very light pedal wear. No rust in trunk- shiny original paint in there.

My car spent a lot of time under a carport, then a "carport" style tent. It has some moderate surface rust on the underside of the valances and fenders/quarters, but the metal is solid, solid, solid (all spotwelds clean and visible). It has been repainted once and then touched up over the surface rust (which looks like an OK prep job was done). It has been repaired where the quarters meet the rockers. It has a very poor factory seam where the DS quarter meets the roof.

I'm glad you're happy with the car. Welcome to the 73/74 club

 

[old tired rebel]

wags70ss. When will your new car arrive? Sounds great and I am glad the inspection brought out everything you was hoping for. What are your plans with it?

 

[wags70ss]

wags70ss. When will your new car arrive? Sounds great and I am glad the inspection brought out everything you was hoping for. What are your plans with it?

I have it now.

 

[old tired rebel]

I have it now.

That is great. So do you have better pictures of your new RR?

 

[wags70ss]

No its too cold here to get good pix but I will be posting some soon.

 

[Ron 73]

Looking forward to the pictures, Sounds like your pleased with the car so all that needs done now is enjoy it.

 

[wags70ss]

I am enjoying it already. It may be cold, but its dry so Im driving it LOL!

I am looking for a grill for it though. I guess they are hard to find.

Just talked to Laysons I will be buying some stuff from them soon.

 

[YY1]

Wish I has known you were needing a grille last week.

I've seen two for sale in that time span, but both are an hour plus drive (in opposite directions).

 

[RJS]

I am enjoying it already. It may be cold, but its dry so Im driving it LOL!

I am looking for a grill for it though. I guess they are hard to find.

Just talked to Laysons I will be buying some stuff from them soon.

If it was me I'd stop driving it and change those LONG OVERDUE fluids asap!!

 

[wags70ss]

Wish I has known you were needing a grille last week.

I've seen two for sale in that time span, but both are an hour plus drive (in opposite directions).

Well I need one that is perfect or even NOS for this car.

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If it was me I'd stop driving it and change those LONG OVERDUE fluids asap!!

Yep tomorrow after I take pix of it.