Is this 1970 Plymouth Road Runner worth saving?

Think you would be looking at a big job. There is nothing that can't be restored if you have money and time. Yes, some kind of frame jig would have to be made but we can do almost anything with nothing. Dose it still have the motor and transmission. That car sure took a hard hit.
 
I saw it on FB. Worth it is up to the individual restoring it, I put way more time and money into my lowly `72 Barracuda than it will ever be worth money wise but it has sentimental value to me. Although it could be straightened with a lot of hours on a rack IMO it be easier to just re-body that one. Of course re-bodying is frowned upon in the hobby but after replacing all the sheet metal you end up wit the same thing. If that were a 440-6 or Hemi there woould be more interest in restoring it but a 383 car will most likely be parted out.
 
Unless you really love this car,
I’d take out every part that could be used as a donner part, then scrap the rest! My 69 looked a whole lot better than your 70 and I ended up pouring in over $350K… that included taking the body to bare metal; removing tons of rusted out holes (everywhere) and arriving at a lazer straight body without a drop of body filler. Only the sanding primer was used to take care extremely small sanding imperfections; striped the seats to the bare frames, and built them back with extremely high end Italian leather (front, back and side panels)
reinforced every inch of the frame; custom 572 MAAX Wedge by Indy Cylinder Heads, that dyno’d at 918 hp and 900 lbs torque (it’s a beast); fiberglass (hinged) hood with single scoop painted to match exterior; all new electrical; Hydrotec power brake system; Gear Vendor unit; EASY FAST 2.0 fuel injection system with cockpit control screen; ididit tilt steering; power steering; climat-control air conditioning system; stadium surround sound system; over 200 pounds of Dynamat; painted original PPG IvyGreen with four coats of clear and color sanded to perfection; Diamondback redlines on black Craigers. when completed (a ten year project) I was able to retain all original sheet metal; original bumpers and trim. My original goal was to have a Road Runner that exactly like the the one I had back in 1969.
I finally gave up trying to locate that car… it’s likely long gone to the crusher! Anyway, that’s my very long winded response to your question. Remember anything can be brought back to its original glory. Just takes$$$$

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Redoing message with intended photos. Don’t think anybody’s interested in 80 year old wedding photos; a fifty year old roof repair or a street rod I once owned (although not a Mopar, it was a really nice car). Anyway attached are the intended photos (I hope)!!

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Looks like a very nice, high end build. Yes, anything can be restored but it doesn`t have to cost anywhere near that much. If you look at the restoration threads you can see some of us do a lot of our own work. I am restoring my road runner in my garage and plan to have less than $40k into it when I am done. It may no be as nice or as fast as some but I will be proud of the fact I built it myself not just bought it or paid someone else to do it.
 
I agree with you. My initial intention was to just restore it to stock condition; rebuild the 383; new vinyl seat covers; new rims and tires and shop around for a decent paint job. I had no intentions of taking it to bare metal until the body and paint shop brought me over to see all the severe rust (the whole car) plus what looked like hundreds of bullet holes. I put everything on hold for six months while coming up with a plan. Fortunately I was good friends with one of the top collector car builders and restoration shops in California. Working together we arrived at a plan. I’d take care of the interior through another good friend whose work has won the Riddler Award, the Grand National and SEMA. The engine work was farmed out to Indy Cylinder Heads. They built me a 572 MAXX Wedge on a MEGA BLOCK. I rebuilt the dash in my garage. At one point my garage looked like a warehouse with stuff arriving almost daily from places like Summit; Canada; Rick’s Tanks; EZ FAST 2.0; The Leather Hide Store; Diamondback Tires; Sound system from New York; AC system built for a 68-70 B-Body; an array of bolt-ons for the engine bay. I could go on and on, but you can see why it became extremely costly. This is my last collector car, so I just went all in. Hope this answers some of your questions.
 
Additional information to your “kinda nice, albeit attack” because I put a lot of money in the build. Two things: One I’m in my mid 80’s with a lot of health issues, so I can no longer due the physical work I once did. Back in the day I’d build race cars from junk yard parts, so I know a thing or two about “do it yourself” projects.
 
There was no "attack" intended and maybe I mistook your post as well as it seemed kind of "braggy" to me.. Sorry if it came across that way, good for you that have the resources to be able to have that built. My point was that it doesn`t NEED to cost anywhere near that much whether you do the work or not although obviously doing the work saves you from paying someone else. I am getting close to the age where I can no longer do the work but not quite there yet although I may have a friend paint my road runner as I`m not very well set up in my current garage to do large paint projects.
 
The body and paint shop employed a very old master metal fabricator from Europe. I believe he passed away two years ago. He insisted he do the metal restoration and said it would take a year and that the end product would be flawless, which is was. In all my years of building cars I never saw anything that close to perfection. The body and paint was close to $150K. The engine, from Indy was $50K. The interior was right around $60K. All the many-many add-ons came in at another $90K. It is a lot of money; however, I know several Road Runner owners who have well over a million invested in there car. So in the end its all just relative. I choose this route. Others will say I’m a fool for putting that much in a car… but it’s not just a car… it’s my final dream car and what might surprise you is I drive it all the time. The neighbors love it, especially the sound (it’s loud)!!
 
Here’s a really expensive 69 Road Runner. This is what $3 million dollars will get you. I doubt this one sees much road time. I not really sure I even like it all that much… a bit too over the top

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That one above is definitely not my taste but s long as the owner likes it that`s all that matters and how someone spends their money is their choice. It is great to hear you drive your road runner, IMO nothing worse than a cool, fast muscle car that only sees a garage, trailer and show field.
 
It took eight years with over $3M invested in the build. It won the Riddler Award following the build. Attached are a few additional photos

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After the restoring my runner myself. Winning trophy's and Plack's makes me proud to be a runner owner. Beating out mustangs and Camaros makes me feel good with my Mopar. I guess if you have that kind of money then so be it. At this point trying to put the air grabber on the car and it is a challenged to find one. If you do they are in really bad shape. Have a guy that now we are in the buying process. It will probably need some work done to it and paying 1800 for this what the guy is asking.
 
torredcuda said:
That one above is definitely not my taste but s long as the owner likes it that`s all that matters and how someone spends their money is their choice. It is great to hear you drive your road runner, IMO nothing worse than a cool, fast muscle car that only sees a garage, trailer and show field.
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I almost hate to put this in writing… when I purchased my 69 Road Runner it had the fresh air (air grabber) setup that was in perfect condition. Because I’d planned to go with the fiberglass hood (hinged model), I advertised the original stock hood with air grabber attached for &100. The guy, who responded, drove 400 miles to pick it up. When he showed up, and was amazed at the condition, I asked if he’d also like four 14 inch magnum rims; stock steering wheel with column and column shift linkage; assortment of suspension parts and a bunch of engine add-on parts, including entire exhaust system. Fortunately he was driving a large heavy truck. We loaded everything up and he paid me $3,000 for the load… an all-around win! Three years later he emailed me photos of his Road Runner. He brought it back to 100% stock… a beautiful bronze exterior with tan interior. He’s since moved and resides Idaho. A lot of car guys have relocated to Idaho. He routinely drives the car and has picked up several awards along the way. So another great Road Runner tale.
 
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