1 Of 386: 1974 Plymouth Road Runner GTX
Plymouth buyers had one final chance to associate the GTX moniker with a B-Body in 1974, although only 386 customers took advantage of that opportunity, making it quite a rare one. By this time, the car was no longer its own stand-alone model. Instead, a GTX was now the Road Runner’s 440 engine option, a rewarding box to tick on your order form during the 1972-74 years. This one could use some work, but with such a low production number and being truly the end of the GTX era, it’s probably well worth the effort.
Barn Finds readers my age can probably appreciate the stance here, with air shocks in the back plus big and little Cragar S/S wheels, though these may be among the first things to go for many purists. Looking over the outside, some rust has developed in a few of the lower sections, and there’s a moderate-sized dent on the passenger side quarter panel. On a positive note, the exterior appears pretty much complete, minus the federally mandated bumper guards on the back which have been removed.
The 440 is said to be a blank warranty replacement block from years ago, which unfortunately has recently developed a noise. The seller tells us he had the transmission rebuilt along with the installation of a shift kit, but upon picking it up from the shop, he noticed the sound coming from underneath the hood. The Road Runner has been driven less than 10 miles since, so it will be up to the next owner to delve in and figure out what’s going on here. Once that’s completed, some good news is that the automatic will hopefully be shifting flawlessly.
The front buckets would benefit greatly from some new upholstery, or at minimum, a nice set of seat covers. The dash is cracked and a bit warbled above the cluster, but the gauges themselves still look decent, plus it’s nice to see this one is a factory A/C car. This 1974 Plymouth Road Runner GTX is in Clark, South Dakota, and can be found listed here on eBay, where 25 bids have taken the price to $7,600 so far. Is this a Mopar you’d be interested in bringing up to a higher level?
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Comments
Love the rims and stance. Wouldn’t change it for anything.
In 74 a choked 440 makes a gtx? That drive line needs some attention
Was there sufficient oil 🛢 in the crankcase 🤔
Looks like a car chase movie car or CHIPS ep. car..
A car with great potential as driver or restoration. What makes it a GTX the engine only? Not sure what came with that package other than that. I see the road runner stipe and emblem on dash.
Can it be decoded in build sheet or trim tag? Just asking. My kind of car would love to have either way. God luck to buyer and seller.
Here you go @Harry:
VIN Tag:
Body Type: R = Road Runner
Price Class: M = Medium
Body Type: 21 = 2 Door Coupe
Engine: U = 440 385HP 3-2BBL 8 CYL
Year: 4 = 1974
Sequence Number: 193408 = 93408th Vehicle Built
Fender tag:
E86 440-4 Barrel High Performance
D34 TorqueFlite Automatic Transmission
RM21:
R = Plymouth Road Runner
M = Medium
21 = 2 Door Coupe
U4G:
U = 440 275HP(net) 1-4BBL 8 CYL
4 = 1974
G = St. Louis, MO, USA
193408 Sequence Number ‘193408’
KL8 Paint Code: Unknown At This Time
06X9 000 Upper Door Frame: Full Door Panel
204 Date Built: 2 / 04 / 1974
322925 Order Number: 322925
KL8 Roof Type OR Color: Unknown At This Time
U Built to Specifications for USA Order
B41 Front Disc Brakes Some Yrs. Power
C16 Console w/ Buckets
C56 Bucket Seats 1972 up
F18 65 Amp Heavy Duty Alternator
C55 Bucket Seats
C65 Air Foam Bench Seat Cushion
C75 Unknown At This Time
H51 Single Air /w Heater
J52 Inside Hood Release
J54 Hood Insulating Pad
L31 Hood / Fender Mount Turn Signal
N41 Dual Exhaust w/o Tips
N42 Chrome Dual Exhaust Tips
M38 Deck Lid Finish Panel Moldings 70-1
R35 AM / FM Multiplex Stereo
V88 Delete Transverse R/T Stripe
V9X Black Bumblebee Stripe / Longitudinal Stripes
28 Unknown At This Time
END End of Codes
This is an rare and highly optioned Mopar from the twilight of the muscle car ear. You don’t see too many with A/C and a 440. Too bad it’s in this sorry state. The resale value of these cars in a #2 condition is right around $40k, so restoration of this car would be a labor of love, not a quick flip.
I’m not an expert, but to my knowledge, every ’74 Road Runner ordered with the 440 was trimmed as a Road Runner/GTX. There are no other differences. The only thing hat looks odd to me on this whole car is the little chrome trimmed reverse light on the dashboard. Most Mopars with manual transmissions had this indicator because they were notoriously difficult to tell when you were actually in reverse gear. Not sure why you would see on on a car that came factory with a 727.
The “engine noise” may have caused by the rebuilder taking the car out for a “test drive”.
Agree…..and that’s so sad…..
Had the same issue with a rebuild trans , ended up in the back seat of a cruiser until the tech admitted his crazy driving technique
Leslie thanks for that breakdown. Good catch on the reverse indicator I had that on my 1972 Duster. 👍🏻
I put a dash mounted reverse light in my ’73 Satellite back in the day because I thought it was cool. I’m sure that would also be the case here.
Sold with a high bid of $8,000.
Steve R