WIW. '74 Roadrunner

[cascius]

Hey guys, just wanted to get some other opinions from people more knowledgeable about these cars than myself. I have a guy that wants to trade me a '74 Roadrunner and I'm trying to get an idea of what it's worth in it's current shape. I know different areas of the country are going to be different but trying to figure out a ball park here. I don't have any pictures which I know would help in making an accurate prediction.

The car is a 1974 Roadrunner, 318, auto, Ralley dash with 150 speedo, bucket seats with console, 8 3/4 rear end. It hasn't ran in probably 8-10 years but a local kid used to drive it around. Comes with a good running 400 and 727 to put in it. Body is original and pretty straight but needs restored. The only rust is in the lower quarters behind the wheel wells. Floors and frame rails are all solid. Seats are trash (foam and covers) but I haven't looked at the car for a while to remember what the rest of the interior is like. I know this isn't the best description but it's all I have right now.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[WP29440SE]

1,000 to 5,000

 

[super-bee_ski]

Be careful with the "it only has rust in the lower quaters".
If you see rust, there could be 3X more hidden.
Just my opinion. Hope this helps.

 

[cascius]

Be careful with the "it only has rust in the lower quaters".
If you see rust, there could be 3X more hidden.
Just my opinion. Hope this helps.

Not a problem at all. That's the kind of info I'm looking for. I don't know a thing about B-bodies or their common rust areas so where are some other areas I might watch or look at?

 

[Bruzilla]

73/74 Roadrunners are my all time favorite car hands down... except maybe the 1966 Batmobile. I love 'em and have owned seven of them. The last one I bought I spent close to a year looking for because I would not touch any car with any rusted out areas in the quarters. These cars had severe draining issues in the rear, and are very prone to rusting out. If not treated early, and many aren't, the cancer spreads and eats up the whole quarter. I've seen dozens and dozens of these cars that look ok at first glance, but you start pushing in the quarter panel lower edges and they're about like paper.

So my rule is no matter how good the price is, I pass on any 73/74 with rust in the quarters since there have been no reproduction quarters made and to fix the rust you usually have to pay big $$$ for panels from doner cars and those are fast going away too. There are some patch panels being made now, which helps if the rust is in the area before and after the wheel well, but if the well itself is rusted, it's a parts car.

I would agree with Super77SE and say $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the condition of the quarters. Big block cars are a premium, but fixing quarters costs a big pot of $$$$$.

 

[bigredbird]

I don't know a thing about B-bodies or their common rust areas so where are some other areas I might watch or look at?

Bottom right corner of the doors, fenders behind the wheels, rear quarters in front of and and behind the wheels, rear window L&R corners, front floor pans under DS and PS footwells, and main weld points in trunk, under sill plates, at door hinges... that "7-stage dip" process sounded good in theory but didn't work so well in practice.

 

[YY1]

Don't forget the cowl and vent tube flange. Mega labor intensive and costly repair.