I have found a local 72 Road Runner that I'm interested in but I have very little knowledge about these cars and what they should be like to be correct. I'm obviously into Packards by my name but I really like this 72 Road Runner. I'll try to post some pics but can anyone please tell what to look for to signify it's a real correct Road Runner? The asking price is $24K, its a 4 speed pistol grip, 440 and looks to be in super shape. I found out the 440 is a 1968 motor or at least not original to the car. From what I read they only made 5 Road Runners in 1972 with original 440s because of not meeting gas standards.

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Not even close to being correct. I have no idea why the rear carb bracket is bent to hell nor why the front bracket and spring are missing all together. The wiring has been butchered along with the brakes.

Someone put a new aftermarket ac pump on it, wrong but its there. The ignition wires, aside from missing looms are obvoiusly wrong, wrongly run too so probably some crossfiring. Not sure why those valve covers are on there either.

To be correct for 72 the engine would have been blue but going orange makes it stand out against the blue paintjob so that is sorta passible.

No battery holddown to speak of.

Not crasy about the radio being visible but at least they didn't cut up the dash to hell to put that in. I usually hide aftermarket radio's under the passenger seat for customers who like to have modern radios. Many have remote controls for the radio that work.

What is the car really worth? In my opinion probably not more than 14k tops from what I see in the pictures. There might be some other good features but I have too much experience with cars built like this and have a good idea what the rest of the car looks like under the flashy paint job.

Half the time I get cars like this from customers the thing barely runs, the exhaust is a joke. The brakes have be customized badly and the front end ignored.

I end up taking apart the engine putting in a mopar performance cam, installing a carter carb, which for this year would be a thermoquad, correct date stamped mopar ignition wires, champion spark plugs, various brackets on the engine painted the correct color, springs so that the carb actualy closes, a working choke. Correct ac pump and brackets on an ac car. Fix the rear end, put correct dual exhaust hangers on the exhaust system after removing the crap mufflers for original style ones. Rewire the radio to a more hidden place.

Then of course there is repairing the wiring to be correct which is a day's project since I end up going through my supplies and having to find an unmelted bulkhead connection.

The front end is rebuilt with new bushings on the lower control arms that people seem to be unable to put in so the front end is all loose. Same goes with ball joints and other odds and ends.

All in all by the time I'm done fixing cars like this the bill for the customer is $7000 or so. However the car runs, drives, and when he puts his, or her, foot into it the tires break loose giving them their thrill. They feel completely safe driving the car to car shows even on long 400 mile trips. They generally win first or second place trophies on their cars.

You probably did not want to hear my rant and I probably got carried away with it a bit. Ive seen worse, much worse than this trust me. But you asked about correctness and I pointed out the stuff I saw.

 

No I'm very glad to hear all this, I have no problem with walking away from this car. That's the problem it seems with muscle cars. At least to me anyway, so many of them seem incorrect , modified, changed butchered etc. At least with a Packard I can tell you almost immediately if it's correct or not within 10 seconds and there isn't much you can change without it being really obvious.

Seriously, thanks for the insight!

 

If it is a real RR it will have a RM serial # on the dash
Typical week 2 restoration , With headers , aftermarket ign wires & valve covers , looks like a GM brake cylinder with an aftermarket brake proportioning valve added so it has probably converted to front disc brakes from drum, it also looks like a Gm Hydroboost power system which is a great upgrade but not original . Looks like a torker intake also which is why the throttle bracket is sitting differently .
I clearly see the battery hold down though & most would not be too hard to return to stock

 

Packard -

All depends on the price and what you want to do with the car. If the motor is running soundly, and the price is within your budget, doesn't look like anything is terminal. Basically the previous owner wanted a hot rod and built one.


If you want a prefect resto, them maybe it's not the car for you. I've never been a fan of perfect restos, rather do the mods.

Archer

 

I agree with Archer. Depends on what you want to do.

It looks sweet! And if its straight and YOU like it that's all that matters. Only one that needs to be happy is you.

I wouldn't get in the weeds on if stuff is exactly correct. Years of repairs and lack of replacement parts sometimes dictates a change from OE. Some for better, others for worse.

The interior is really nice and the body looks tight. Gaps looks good from what I can see. She is a beautiful looker!!

My only word of caution: Don't let the seller see you drive it. The pistol grip shifter and 440 rumble is known to cause an immediate grin that lasts at least an hour and that will directly affects purchase price.