“There was a big salvage yard in Effingham, South Carolina, that had a bunch of junked muscle cars and muscle car parts. The owner and I got acquainted. He was a Ford guy, but he loved all the old muscle cars. He would let me look around his yard and buy parts. About 1983 or 1984, I saw this red 1972 Road Runner GTX sitting apart from the other junkers. It had an electric sunroof, an Air Grabber hood, a short-block was in the car, the radiator was gone, and it had no rotors. The car had the RM23V2G code in the VIN. I knew the V Code was a Six Pack. I thought to myself, I didn’t know they made a Six Pack in 1972.” (they are known to have made 3)
Looking back on that fateful day in the salvage yard, Russell recalls, “Always on the hunt for cool parts, I asked the owner how much he wanted for the Air Grabber hood on that red 1972 Road Runner GTX sunroof car. I bought the hood for $150. I took the hood to a swap meet in Charlotte, North Carolina. A man came up to me and asked me what car had that hood. I told him it was a 1972 Six Pack Road Runner GTX, and he said he had been looking for that car for years. He then asked me where the car was, and I said, ‘I ain’t gonna tell you.'”
Russell immediately put the hood back in his truck and headed to the yard the next Monday. The yard’s owner had a clean title for the car and factory literature from 1972 that showed the Six Pack motor offered in the Road Runner GTX.
“He sold me the car with a clean title for $150,” says Russell. “He knew exactly what it was, but he knew I was a Mopar guy and that I would appreciate this car.”
Hot Rod has improved a lot over the last couple years.. enjoy it while it's good! Never know, they might back slide into VWs and boats again...
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/check-out-the-1972-plymouth-road-runner-gtx-4406-chrysler-swore-never-existed/
ReplyDeleteOne of the good things about the eighties was hearing the guy at the wrecking yard say "Oh, I dunno...twenty bucks?"
Then in the two thousands it was " Ah, their fourty nine ninety five."
Now its "No.....try Ebay."
It was also a good time to pick up a gem for a few bucks. The Barn Find phenomenon of today, was pretty much started by the stories of the dust pioneers of this period.
It really shits me when some guys were actually smart enough to know a good thing when they saw it and not part with it, unlike so many dumb ass's like us did.