(first posted 8/10/2018) We all experience a change in priorities as we go through life. Many of the things that we strive for in our 20s quickly fade over time and bear little resemblance to priorities that develop in our 40s, 50s, and 60s.
The same concept, to a lesser extent, can be applied to automobiles. It’s pretty obvious by looking at this delightful Plymouth its biggest priority in life is to keep fighting the good fight and continue to do it for quite a while. It took some time for it to get to this point, but what a terrific point it is.
For the sake of argument let’s call this Road Runner a 1973 model. Of course it may not be a Road Runner at all; the two-door Satellite and Sebring had the same body shell as the Road Runner but they had different priorities in life. Regardless, the hood has a callout for a 340, an engine that was for Road Runners only and was gone for 1974, replaced with the 360 cubic inch (5.9 liter) engine that would be around for decades.
Sure, hoods can be changed easily enough, but we’re sticking with the proclamation of this being a 1973 Road Runner.
No doubt this Road Runner’s first priority was to find a good home. Odds are it looked a goodly amount different then, such as the wheels all being of identical size and the rear axle being a smidgeon wider, but who around here isn’t thicker in some areas, while thinner in others, in comparison to how they were in 1973?
Chrysler made it a priority to change the appearance of the 1973 Road Runner from the 1971 and 1972 models (1971 shown). A distinct driver in Mother Mopar’s decision was the government’s regulatory priority about cars needing to be better equipped to escape unscathed from low speed collisions. The solution often brought bigger, more prominent bumpers to the automotive party.
In the big scheme of things, the Mother did pretty good; no chrome plated guardrail or railroad ties here. It all integrates reasonably well and is infinitely better than anything from, say, Dearborn.
In an unusual move for them, one of Chrysler’s priorities from 1971 to 1974 was having a two-door intermediate with a substantially different body than that of the four-door. We’ve been looking at a two-door B-body so far; here’s a sample of the 1973 four-door B-body, seen here in Plymouth Satellite guise. It presents a totally different aura than the two-door, with the four-door having a distinct no nonsense, Dirty Harry vibe to it.
For 1975, this Chrysler priority evaporated as the B-body two-door morphed into something looking an awful lot like the four-door, with both being rechristened as Fury.
The Road Runner still existed but it seemed a bit forced, almost as if offering one was a habit. A convincing execution didn’t seem to be a priority at Plymouth, especially with a brochure saying “to remind you driving can still be fun.” That sure entices a person to reprioritize their finances and skedaddle to the Plymouth dealer, does it not?
Though to be fair, this could be a subtly snarky comment about the market moving to isolation chambers.
But we are running down the road from our featured Road Runner, a car whose priority in life was to appeal to younger people given how Plymouth had proclaimed it to be “young America’s favorite bird”.
It should also be noted the Plymouth GTX, the upmarket sibling of the Road Runner and Satellite, last saw the light of day in 1971. During the years the Road Runner and GTX were both offered, their priority in life was quite different. While both came with larger displacement engines as standard fare, with the GTX in 1971 having either a standard 440 or optional 426 Hemi, their levels of equipment were generally quite divergent with the Road Runner being pretty basic and the GTX being loaded, with Plymouth going so far as to refer to it as luxury performance.
The Road Runner had always been intended to appeal to the younger set (which could also be interpreted as those with less financial wherewithal) but its priority of function had certainly evolved since 1968, as priorities are want to do. Gone was the standard 383 cubic inch V8 as the standard 1973 mill was Chrysler’s omnipresent 318 cubic inch (5.2 liter) V8.
To Plymouth’s ever-lasting credit, a 440 could still be found on the option sheet for a Road Runner in 1973. Their priorities weren’t the jumbled mess they would later become.
From allpar.com
As an aside, Chrysler’s 318 was much like the slant six in as much as having oil in the crankcase wasn’t exactly a top priority in its functioning; coolant sometimes wasn’t high on its list of priorities either. If there is ever a Question Of The Day here about what engine is most resilient to abuse and neglect, these two could easily top the list.
Chrysler’s priorities had certainly evolved in the six years since the original Road Runner’s debut; insurance rates were a distinct factor as were emission standards. That pesky OPEC derived oil embargo thing would also make itself known during the 1973 model year. In the places where shortages didn’t happen, prices certainly spiked to compensate.
As one who was born about ten minutes before the dawn of the 1973 model year, any memories of seeing these in daily duty are sketchy although this is partly due to the relatively modest sales of Plymouth’s two-door intermediates. With 1973 Road Runner sales of 19,056, this is less than half the volume of the Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna. While both the Satellite and Satellite Sebring sold in higher numbers than the Road Runner, they still paled in comparison to the Chevelle.
But seeing them infrequently doesn’t mean they were invisible. In fact, our featured Road Runner is highly reminiscent of Satellites and Road Runners seen long ago, a time warp to the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time when these Road Runners were likely with non-original owners and customization/modification was the priority of the day.
In retrospect, it seems a preponderance of these Road Runners (and Satellites) fell prey to the same law, statute, or ordinance that afflicted so many 1955 to 1957 Chevrolets – “Thou shalt be modified heavily and mightily to within an inch of thy life”.
One Road Runner (or Satellite) that is prominent in the memory banks belonged to a young gentleman who lived in the town where I grew up. I have no clue who he was although with his frizzy permed hair and grotesque lamb chop sideburns that grew perpendicular to his face, his head looked a lot like a seeded dandelion. But he could always be seen driving his Satellite with the fatties in the back and skinnies in the front.
However, from a personal perspective the most pervasive Road Runner from times past was this televised version, one that appeared factory original even in 1979.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nR_K3wWPyA
That Road Runner could also be found in this scene. Watching this can, amongst other things, make one thirsty for lemonade and hungry for chitlin sandwiches. Food is a priority for everyone.
This second video gives the viewer a much better cornucopia of Road Runner images, especially the freeze frame at the end, even if there is the irreparable loss of a mid-sized Dodge Coronet.
While our featured Road Runner hasn’t escaped the indignity of fat fatties and extra skinny skinnies, it is still soldiering on. While it’s being parked in the middle of a grocery store parking lot made a full complement of pictures a challenge, one could easily speculate this Road Runner has seen more life than nearly anything parked around it is likely to realize.
Further, this car came from Nebraska, a drive that isn’t a short one to where it was found. For this alone the owner deserves a big pat on the back – keeping this Road Runner vibrant is obviously a top priority.
Found July 2018, appropriately enough at Lucky’s Market on Providence Road
Columbia, Missouri
Jason’s right about the 73’s front clip – given the 5mph monstrosities emerging on others this is not a bad solution.
My priorities may change over time, but my tastes have remained fairly consistent.
Plymouth A bodies weathered the 5mph bumper debacle pretty well also. Granted, its a bit bland compared to the first iterations, but that stupid beaked prow foisted on the Dart/Demon was an outright travesty.
I don’t think the Dart Sport nose is that bad, it’s not as aggressive looking as the 70-72 Dart/Demon one but it’s basically a return to the 67-69 style. I think the taillights on both the Duster and Dart Sport are more disappointing, they were much more unique in 70-72
The Kim Kardashian of Mopar
cue aussies commenting on a rear end that is very holden like
HQ bumper slots with XA sedan taillight inserts. hehehe
+1!
Maybe, tim, but a bit hard to say. Her shorts cover a surprising amount.
It was still technically possible to get a GTX up thru 1974. When a 440-4v was specified for the Road Runner, it actually became a Road Runner/GTX.
In effect, Plymouth took a page from the GTO playbook and made the GTX an option package on the Road Runner after 1971, It just wasn’t ordered in the conventional manner.
It’s actually kind of an ironic twist, since the Road Runner started out as a stripped Belvedere with a GTX hood.
Speaking of options, was the colour-coded loop bumper on the 71 model-specific or an option on any two-door?
Glo green one cruising locally looks good sound awesome.
Good question. I’ve never seen a body-color front bumper on anything other than a Road Runner or GTX (and not many of them got it, either). But this is Chrysler, so if someone wanted one badly enough on their Sebring, they probably could have gotten it.
Frankly, though, I’d guess it would also have to have a ‘High Impact’ color, too, and those were definitely limited to the RR and GTX. I’d say the same applies to the ‘Cuda, as well.
Unless your Plymouth was a Road Runner, GTX, or Cuda, you weren’t getting either a High Impact color or a body-color bumper.
Cheers rudiger. I genuinely can’t decide which I prefer; colour-coded or chrome on one of my favourite ever shapes. The passage of time hasn’t helped me find the answer either.
Priorities do change, but core beliefs have, for me, only solidified (which is either a boast that I decided well when younger or a woeful admission of inflexibility).
Really nice post, Jason, especially as it’s about a car which I personally think isn’t.
Choosing well or being inflexible? There are distinct advantages either way.
Since we are speaking of priorities, one I need to cultivate is dumping pictures off my camera more often. Here’s another ’73 / ’74 Road Runner I found that does present itself a wee bit better than the featured one. Maybe.
Saw a fantastic example recently – will post it up soon.
I thought this would be an article about a car line that had been designed at the peak of the musclecar era, launched in time for the end of the party, Broughamized over the course of its’ run and then given the big-and-littles treatment and converted back into a muscle car starting with the third or fourth owner.
I’ve said this before – I think the 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe facelift was a mistake. Granted, Chrysler had to meet new bumper regulation, but their solution wasn’t very imaginative. After all, the Dodge Charger was able to keep its loop front bumper through the 1974 model year with the addition of some big rubber bumper guards. The ’73 Plymouth coupe’s bland front and rear styling could have been lifted off a mom’n’pop sedan.
After looking at the pictures and then reading your comments I am left wondering if Chrysler/Plymouth stylists purposely designed this car to incorporate elements of the larger Fury’s design. Look at the front end, there is (kind of) a similarity between the Satellite and the Fury…..though the rear of the Satellite could be a parts bin special.
My biggest complaint about the 73-74 Satellite is that a very attractive coupe was modified in what looked like a very non-cohesive fashion to be new. Whether being new meant being ugly almost didn’t matter.
If I had to chose a mid-sized 2 door that was built in 1973 I think several other cars would come before this one. It’s biggest attraction for me would be the instrument panel of the higher trim models and the reputation the smaller engines had for their unbreakable service. Biggest turn-off, unfortunately, would be the styling. Dodge did so much better with styling that was several years older in 73.
BTW, the 75-later cars border on the generic as far as styling.
This one always made a more convincing muscle car than it did a luxury coupe (as in the Satellite Sebring Plus). Even though this car zigged when styling trends zagged, I always liked these. By 1974 any pretense the Malibu or Torino had was gone so the Road Runner was a bit of a unicorn. And one that looked natural with the fat tires under its hiked up rear end.
I never developed the ability to distinguish the 73 from the 74 on the outside. The steering wheel is usually the best way because Chrysler introduced a new wheel design that went into almost everything it built in 1974.
And for which engine design tops the list for rock-like durability I would put the Studebaker V8 a notch above the Mopar LA. Timing gears FTW!
I too have intense dislike the timing chains, more so those awful nylon toothed ones or the pressed fiber cam gears .
Timing gears are noisier but ever so much longer lasting .
-Nate
The inertia reel seatbelt that hangs from top to bottom on the ’74 that can be seen through the windows is the clue I usually go by.
It’s great to see one of these old muscle-car warhorses still being used the old-fashioned way, presumably by an owner much younger than the car itself. In my part of the country (Western NY), the ravages of road salt made these disappear decades ago. However, the only souped-up cars you see young people driving around here are Japanese sport coupes, Mitsubishi EVOs and Subaru WRX/STI sedans. I think if a Road Runner like this came on the market here, young enthusiasts wouldn’t know what to make of it. The muscle-car contingent here consists mainly of ’70s Chevelles and Malibus, with an occasional GTO thrown in. These cars, however, are almost exclusively driven by guys aged fifty-five and up.
Nice driver. But I can never look at a 1970’s Road Runner without misty eyed rememberance of the 1971 GTX 440 6 pack air grabber hood four speed a friend and I almost bought for $1,200 in 1985. Twelve hundred bucks…
Oh, I know. In my area 1979-80 was Peak Used Mopar – everyone was convinced they were going out of business, but it didn’t matter because they were all such shitty cars. Their resale value was in the toilet and fabulous older models were dirt cheap. If only I had been into muscle cars and not into luxury barges at the time. The closest I came was a red 66 Charger 383/4bbl/Torqueflite that was pretty solid for $550 in 1977.
My older brother’s first car in 1980 was a white 1968 Hemi Road Runner that he paid $1500 for. It only lasted for maybe 6 months as it was too much car for him to keep up with at 16 and it was replaced by a yellow ’73 440 Road Runner (similar to Daisy Duke’s) that was much more teenage driver-friendly, so yeah, the late 70s and early 80s were the peak years for cheap muscle-era Mopars. Hemi and Six Pack cars were already 5 figure cars by 1986 or so
Catherine Bach was also in the movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot but the Plymouth in that one was a 1973 Fury. Coincidence?
As we say, “mooi van lelijkheid”. So ugly that it’s beautiful.
Last Saturday I visited a muscle-/pony car specialist up north, with a preference for late sixties/early seventies Mopars. They have this 1971 Road Runner 383 with a 4-speed manual in their showroom.
Last week’s discussion about Tri-five Chevys in high school parking lots got me thinking about the equivalent car for when I was growing up — and this is it. Where I lived, every high school parking lot in the late 1980s had one car that looked exactly like this lurking in some corner of the lot.
Given how the majority of these cars were treated when they hit the 10-to-20 year old mark, it’s amazing to see one still around. It’s almost like the owner garaged it (or barned it) when he was 19, and then a few decades later revived the old Road Runner for his own teenager.
The drive from Nebraska in the car must have been fun, though!
“The drive from Nebraska in the car must have been fun, though!”
Albeit a quick one!
Just how I like them. Great find.
1971-74 Road Runners are my second favorite bodystyle behind 68-70 Chargers and I think they look best when stuck in the late 70s/early 80s street machine look, and this one looks like its gone Pro Street with a tubbed rear. I support this. This was every Car Craft and Popular Hot Rodding magazine that I read back then. Much thanks to the owner for keeping it cool.
Of course Im biased with this crazy pair
This is a great pair; I’m also somewhat more biased (in a good way) toward the sedan as they are simply so scarce.
Then this one is for you Jason. It was at this years Chryslers at Carlisle show last month 318 with a 3 on the tree and driven by the owner to the show in Central PA from KY.
Sweet! A three on the tree and no a/c speaks to me in a loud voice.
This ’71 is also the same color as one belonging to a woman who lived just outside the town where I grew up. Her’s was a bit fancier trim.
Nice pair! You’ve shown them off before, but that pic doesn’t get old!
+1
I’ve never seen a photo (or an actual example) of a ’73-’74 Charger or Satellite/Road Runner with rear quarter windows rolled down; I believe they were fixed windows. (I know this is true for the equivalent 1975-78 coupes.)
Of course many ’73-’74 Chargers had the awful triple-opera-window vinyl roof treatment, but thankfully that never migrated over to the Satellite coupes.
I know for a fact that on the 73-74 Charger only the super-bottom-end-stripper (Charger Coupe) model came with fixed glass. If you got a higher trim level (Charger Hardtop) Chrysler would put the hardware in so that the quarter windows would roll down. I would suspet that the Satellite was the same way with fixed glass only in the ultra-cheap “coupe”.
I know the stripper “coupes” had fixed windows specified. But have you ever seen for yourself a higher-level 1973-74 Charger or Satellite/RR with quarter windows open, even in a photo? I’ve never seen, then or now, as much as a single advertisement photo of these cars with all four windows rolled down, whereas Chrysler’s ads for the equivalent 1971-72 cars consistently show all windows open.
My friends Dad had a 73 Rallye when we were in high school and the quarters definitely rolled down, in fact it was my first personal revelation of the genius of the hardtop. Most 73-74 Chargers I see in pictures however are SEs with the louvered quarter windows, which obviously are fixed in place, and that may give the impression that they were fixed on all.
They’re down in the brochure pics…
Plymouth
Also the 73 Charger brochure. I wonder if these were not featured much in ads because the SE model with the triple slit opera windows got all the attention.
I can personally attest to the fact that at least some models of 73 Plymouth coupes had roll down windows in the rear. From 1977-1982 my parents owned a 73 Plymouth Satellite Seabring (no Plus), I spent enough time in the back seat to know the windows had cranks and went down. Side note, there were also ashtrays on either side…….but no cup holder.
Almost forgot, Red with black interior, bench seat column shift 904, 318 2bbl, black canopy top.
OK then. It’s still a mystery why that capability wasn’t shown in advertising photos for the ’73-’74s, given that every other advertisement I’ve ever seen showing a photo of a 2- or 4-door hardtop whose windows could all go down (not only from Chrysler but GM, Ford, etc., from the 1950s through the ’70s) did in fact show them rolled down, so that their pillarless nature was not in doubt.
The ‘73 restyle on the Satellite was well received at the time, sales did increase some. My best friend in high school thought the Satellite/Sebring/RR front looked like a Jaguar XJS (which I realize is not everyone’s favorite Jag). This Plymouth was pretty common when I was in high school from ‘78 to ‘81, a classmate of mine had a beautiful black on black ‘73 or ‘74 with the fatties in back and the skinnies in front.
I actually slightly prefer the ’73-’74 Satellite coupes to the loop bumpered ones. For some reason, the look just works. Always wanted a ’74 RoadRunner since its from the year I was born…but with an older pre-smogger motor of course!
The 360 4Barrel HP was the engine to get in ’74, it was the same weight as the 318, and was better, even off the showroom floor, than the 400 was. The smog stuff was easy to defeat, and a recurve of the distributor and a little carb tuning really woke it up. The 440 wasn’t all that much faster stock for stock against the 360 4Barrel HP. My car, a 360, 245HP, 345LB/FT, after getting the new car bugs out of it, ran 15.20’s all day at Milan Dragway. A little timing bump, decent gas, and lower rear and higher front tire pressures got it into the 14’s the first time I took it there. A friend with a ’70 442 got a scare when my nearly stock RR could almost beat his 455 powered car (with a lot better tires). I would close on him big time right at about 1200′. Later on, I could beat him 100% of the time, even if he got out on me, as my car just walked away from him.
The weak spot in my car was the weakling rear end it had. Not the usual 8+3/4″ bulletproof one that was in every RR made unless it had a Dana 60 in it, mine appeared to be the one the Slant Six/318 Dusters had, and a set of hard as a rock narrow slicks about a year after I bought it got it into the 13’s, and blew the rear end. I couldn’t believe I made it from Irwindale Raceway outside LA back to Vegas before it locked up, but I did. I replaced it with a 8+3/4 3.55 posi out of a 71 RR, and had no more rear end issues. Just before I got stupid and traded it in on a truck, I ran my best time in it a Irwindale on a cold night, a 13.34 at 104 something. The RR lives on in Vegas with a 487″ big block in it with a built TQ and an added on overdrive. It still looks good to me after almost 45 years..
Mini tubs. Great.
I very briefly had a ’73. 318 four speed. I got this car in the late ’90’s and tried in vain to revive it. It was one of those cars I thought I could save. For everything I fixed, three more things would be wrong. What a mess. The final straw was the car trying to set fire to itself when I started it. The wiring was completely butchered. The fuse panel melted. Smoke everywhere, even from around the taillights. Enough. I put the death to another ’73 ‘Runner and parted it out. Never had that kind of trouble with another car.
Damn.
The 73 front end was a good effort, it was sort of a three dimensional redux of the 68-69 themes after the polarizing 71-72 design, and you’d never think the bumpers were to 73-74 standards, I mean the 68-70 bumpers were larger. Still I find them a comedown after the wild 71-72s, the more tame and predictable stripe treatment and more subdued color pallets alone signaled an end to the whimsical muscle car era, and the styling clearly bowed to the formal look as best it could despite its rakish bone structure. I never understood why the wheel openings never matched either, even the very formal 75s were closer to the original 71 look in that area.
The RoadRunner/GTX priorities got murky as early as 1969 IMO, when the 440 not only became an optional engine in the RoadRunner, but the Six Pack exclusively, which continued through 1971. RoadRunners could have enough additional options checked off to make them as luxurious as a GTX as well. I think it comes down to name, GTX was a lazy crib of GTO, while RoadRunner was totally original with better marketing, and as time went on the RoadRunner gradually replaced it since a prospective GTX buyer wasn’t likely attracted to the name, and may in fact even prefer the RoadRunner name.
I was never much of a fan of the pro-street look, the tires look like steamrollers and the track looks too narrow for the body in order to tuck them in, I prefer the super stock stance personally with wide(but not that wide) tires flush with the fenders or even sticking out with an accompanying rake. This one bothers me less, as most pro-stock cars I remember from childhood had lurid $10,000 paintjobs, loads of billet and those godawful Aero hood scoops, this seems DIY with a low budget, and I always respect that.
I bought a gold with white top 74 satellite sebring w 88k mi on it 318 motor in 1984 for $500. I was 17 and learned things the hard way. I drove the hell out of that car and it was quicker than one may think. I hit 60 mph in 1st gear, the speedo needle would slam past the 120 mph limit when i floored it in the rain . i blew the tranny and found a replacement for $75 and kept beating it. I hit 115 mph on the highway with 4 other people in it. I had many dates in it and must say the front and back seats were very roomy (and springy). A girl once barfed out the window while i was driving and it ate into the paint. It got stuck in the mud and i purposely sprayed mud in my friends face while they pushed me out. They forgave me. I had studded snows on the back one winter and for fun i would wheel out on manhole covers and make sparks. We toyed with the carb jets, drove with the aircleaner off on occasion (yes it howled when i got on it) . I poured “engine cleaner” in it and ran it for 5mins before changed the oil, smelled like kerosene. The rear side windows did roll down. Windshield fluid came out of the wiper arm itself (typical mopar). Torsion bar suspension was indestructable. I put 50k miles on that car and i couldnt kill it. One night a 1982 toyota tercel (look it up) t-boned me at 35mph right in front of the back wheel and the car never drove again. Man, I miss that car…
Haven’t seen to many 1973 Ply Fury lll , 4 Dr. with a 360 cid . Would like to share.my photo of my babe . Hope you like it .
Great piece, Jason – and these also always remind me of Daisy Duke!
We just introduced The Dukes to my daughter. She loves Daisy’s yellow car… hates the Jeep! LOL It was sad for her when Bo and Luke drove the Plymouth over a cliff.
-SIGH-
Now that I’m old I like the 72’s loop bumper .
Many MoPars failed my initial styling liked but looking back they were damn good cars and so easy to modify to suit your needs .
I’m a farm buy and know what are and where from come chitterlings, I have tried them but haven’t yet met a farmer who’ll eat them ,
-Nate
My uncle bought his new. It was a pretty disappointing car experience. It got 14 MPH, smog controls suffocated the engine, and the interior suffered from a high belt line, small windows and a generic dash. I had to ride in the back which was claustrophobic. The quality wasn’t tops and it was resold before payments were finished. It was replaced with a new Volare which was a lemon.
R.I.P. Plymouth cars !