1968 Roadrunner Clone New Paint, Interior, Drivetrain, Exhaust, Beautiful Car on 2040-cars

I apologize if my opening statement sounds harsh. I put this in for all of the nut jobs and dreamers out there in eBay land. I am a nice person, and honest person, so please contact me if you want to know more about me.

Notice to Bidders: I am a person, not a business. I am not selling this car to make money. I am certainly going to LOSE money on this car. I am NOT selling because I NEED money. I can afford to keep the car indefinitely. Please do not waste your time or mine with silly offers. Richard Rawlings and the wanabees can go pester someone else. I am not interested in trades. Repeat – NO TRADES. Please respect the bidding process and recognize that this auction has cost me money so please bid only if you have the means to pay. CONTACT me through eBay if you are unsure about anything BEFORE YOU MAKE AN OFFER.

FULL DISCLOSURE: For sale is my 1968 Plymouth. I am going to fully disclose everything I know about the car. That is not to say that I know everything about this car. I have not owned it long enough to know everything. I understand the pitfalls and anxiety of buying "blind". Many people leave out vital information and flat out lie to get a higher bid for a car. In fact, I have found that almost all do. I will not do this for my own gain. So please understand that I am being totally honest and truly intend to share anything I know with prospective buyers. I never, ever use the word "perfect". Every car has flaws if you look close enough. This car is extremely nice but it is NOT PERFECT. I will detail everything I know of and can think of. PLEASE PRINT THIS OUT IF YOU ARE INTENT ON BUYING AND READ ALL OF IT SO THAT WE DO NOT END UP AT ODDS. When bidding on other vehicles on eBay, ask yourself what has the seller not described and why. Don’t assume that things are okay or work unless the seller states so. I have been severely burned a couple of times by listings with short descriptions so I will write a novella about this car….

The Story: I took this car in trade over a year ago. I never drove it. I have many other cars and just never got to this one. I decided to sell it but felt I had have it painted first because the paint that was on there was a 20 footer at best and the wrong shade of blue. I am quite sure that I will not recover the money I spent on paint. I didn’t want to have to make excuses for the car. There was NO body damage or rust before the car was painted. I have pictures if of the car before it was painted. It was a gorgeous 20 footer, maybe even a 10 footer, but I hated it… I am fussy about paint.

The Short Description:

For those of you who are very busy or have A.D.D. I will give it to you short and sweet. This is a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner clone or replica. ALL of the Roadrunner suspension, driveline and trim has been added to this car. It has a completely rebuilt 383 HiPo with a 4 barrel carburetor and a completely rebuilt 727 transmission and rear end. It runs and starts excellent. It has one ticky lifter that I have not investigated. It wasn’t ticky before I let it sit for a long time. At the rear is an 8-3/4” rear and the car has drum brakes all around that are all new that work EXTREMELY well – I was so impressed by them when I drove the car. The interior is mostly new – seat covers, carpet, etc. Door panels are nice. Dash pad is wavy but decent otherwise. Nice headliner. The body and paint was just professionally re-done in the original B5 blue at a cost of over $5K (consider this when looking at other cars!). The body is very solid and straight. The body guy said the lower rear quarters had been professionally replaced at some point and noted no cracks or issues with them before paint prep. The underside of the car is also very solid and I have provided pictures taken by the previous owner who said there were two small softs spots  in the front floors that were repaired and treated with POR15. It has power steering and manual brakes. Tires and wheels are very nice – old school Crager S/S wheels in excellent (not perfect) shape with tires that look like new. See pictures. Glass is good and the windows roll up and down nicely. The windshield has some hazing low on the driver’s side but it does not affect a driver’s view at all. I have a clean, signed Michigan title from the previous owner that has no buyer named filled in so this can be registered anywhere on the planet by the next owner. All of the lights work except for the turn signals – I have honestly never investigated, didn’t know until I drove it to the body shop a few weeks ago. The heater core started leaking THIS WEEKEND! There is NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND ON THIS CAR.

More Photos: eBay has once again changed their rules so I cannot put the link to my Photobucket folder with 52 quality photos of the car in the listing. The link is

 http://s1133.photobucket.com/user/skyypilot/library/1968%20Roadrunner

The Long Description:

Body and paint:

The body work and paint are beautiful. This was just done at a cost of over $5K. There is not a single nick, chip or scratch on the car. This is two stage paint, color and clear with a buff. This is what I call “local show quality”. A regional or national show quality paint job is over $10K. The best paint you see at car shows costs over $15K. It is a better paintjob that what comes out of most car factories but true show cars have paint that is by definition PERFECT. If you don’t know the difference, I probably can’t explain it to you. There was NO body damage or rust before it was painted. It was the wrong (lighter) blue and it was blotchy. It was what some people would call “driver quality” which in the world today is anything from a $299 Maaco puke job to a halfway decent 10 footer. Now this car has amazing color, gloss, and nice FLAT paint – far better than it had from the factory. Everyone stops and STARES at this car. It really is stunning and looks BETTER in person than it does in the photos. I took the pictures on a day that was "severe clear" with blinding sun and it washed the camera out. It is a beautiful deep blue and I will add photos as soon as the weather is better. One small scuff around the trunk lock that the painter missed - see photo.

Chassis/Floors/Frame:

See the photos of the underside taken by the previous owner. The floors, subframes, and trunk are very solid. There are two small repairs in the floors in non-structural areas the previous owner told me about – I can’t find them. The frame rails, torsion braces are all very solid. The trunk is very solid, and everything in the back looks very good which is unusual. This was a California car transferred to Michigan a few years back and it shows. The previous owner had the chassis soda blasted and coated with POR15 to protect it.

Interior:

The seats and carpet are like new – all redone by the previous owner. The dash is decent original. The dash pad is wavy but decent. The door panels and other interior panels look very nice. All of the gauges including a small set under the dash work properly except the aftermarket voltage gauge. Nice new sill trim plates on this car too. It has an after market stereo that I can’t figure out how to turn on.

Drivetrain and how it drives:

Completely rebuilt 383 (new everything) with an electric choke Holley runs beautifully and starts right up every time. It does have one ticky lifter on the passenger’s side that did not tick before I let the car sit for a year. I’m sure it would be an easy fix and almost every 383 I’ve been around has at least one ticky lifter. Completely rebuilt 727 automatic sits behind the engine, shifts beautifully. The rear end was rebuilt as well. The car drives wonderfully, like a brand new 1968 Plymouth. It does NOT drive like a new Accord…. If you haven’t driven something this old ever or for a long time you will think it drives awful (floaty, vague steering, legstrong brakes) but this is how these were made!

Tires, steering, and brakes:

The wheels are classic old school Cragar S/S in very good to excellent condition. These are very, very hard to find. They are shod with excellent tires, but different brand on the rear (Oddball radial but nice) than on the front (BF Goodrich radial T/A) . It has 4-wheel manual drum brakes that are all new and it stops GREAT – you just need more leg strength than with newer cars. Best drum brake car I have ever driven and I have driven over 100 old cars… The power steering seems to work well. The car has a newer tilt column which is a really nice feature for tall guys like me.

Glass:

The glass is in very good condition. The original windshield has a small area in the lower left that is hazy from age but it does not restrict the view.

Chrome and trim:

The bumpers are brand new. Gorgeous. The rest of the trim is good to excellent – see photos. I don’t think any of it is NEW, but it is all very nice.

Exhaust:

This car has brand new Aluminized Flowmaster dual exhaust with headers and has a very nice sound, not loud and not too quiet. All the way out the back – very well done.

Electrical:

The turn signals do not work - I have not investigated. The front "jewel" lights are not working - I have not investigated. Everything else works.

Detail items:

The heater core just started leaking (never let a car sit!). It is currently shut off.

Value::

I am selling this car at a fair price and I think it is well worth it. I will NOT sell it for less. I am not interested in other opinions of the value of the car. No matter what your opinion is; the price will not change. Paint of the quality that is on this car costs $5,000-6,000. The interior of the quality on this car costs $3,000-4000. Drivetrain of the quality of this car costs $8,000-10,000. Wheels and tires the quality of this car cost $1,500-2,000 IF you can find them. Bumpers $800 (remember, this isn't a Camaro). Exhaust $500. And on and on. Plus a straight, solid, low mileage car to start with - $10,000? Think you can build one for less?  

Trades/Offers/Payment

Payment is expected in 8 business days (at least a hefty deposit). I am not interested in any trades. I will sell worldwide but I am too smart to scam so you had better be real. I might consider letting someone pay me over time so long as the buyer understands that the car is 100% mine until it is 100% paid for AND is willing to pay $100 a month for storage beyond one month. Final payment would have to be received by January 30, 2013. No paperwork or keys will be exchanged until I have full payment. Payment by any means other than cash or wire transfer will require waiting until the payment is clear by my measure before the car leaves my possession. This includes a bank/cashier’s check! If you intent to do anything unusual in terms of payment please discuss it with me BEFORE YOU BID. I have no need or want to rip anyone off. If you have that need or want, go elsewhere. I am a decent, honest person but also not someone to trifle with. In closing, I strongly encourage an inspection in person if possible before bidding. I will be glad to talk on the phone if there are questions.

More photos/information:

I have a Photobucket link with large photos to make the condition as clear as I can. Message me for the link if you don't see it. Please realize that winning this auction does NOT entitle you to come out and pick the car apart and then make a lowball offer because you were not careful with your reading this description or were hoping the car would be better than described. Expect to pay what you bid and expect the car to be as described and we will have a smooth and cheerful transaction. I have been an eBay member for almost 15 years (I have another registered, linked account) and I fully understand that eBay only exists on the trust of its members and once there is no trust there can be no more eBay. I do hope that this car finds the right owner and hope to be friends with that person after the car is theirs.

Shipping/storage:

I will do my best to hand the car off to a shipper if that helps you. I have a couple that I would recommend if that helps. I will continue to store the car inside a dry, secure and insulated steel building for up to 3 weeks after auction close, beyond that I can store it for $100 at a friends garage unless we negotiate something up front. And I will not be responsible for the car once you own it even if it is still on my property! PLEASE ASK about this if you have special needs.