New owner of 71' RR Need Help

[pats71]

Hi everyone new to the Nest. I picked up my 1971 Roadrunner about a month ago and am having a hard time figuring out what the value of my car is worth restored. Its an all numbers matching RM23 roadrunner with a 383 hi-perf motor and 4 speed. So far what I've been told is that this car has a wide variety of options that make some people scratch their heads. Maybe some of you guys up here can help me out on some of the rare options and oddities on this car as well as a rough idea of what it's worth. Here are some of the options on the car:

-Black interior, Bucket Seats and console
-Power Steering
-Manual Brakes
-Air conditioning
-Cassette Recorder (Dictaphone)
-Black Canopy Vinyl Top
-GY3 Curious Yellow Paint
-Amber turn signals in front (Not sure which are rare, the clear signals or the amber)
-Has a clock instead of a RPM gauge (thinking it would be helpful on a 4 speed car)
-Rear speakers in speaker shelf (supposed option as well)
-Dual Sport mirrors painted to match paint
-Deluxe steering wheel and tires

One of the main oddities I've been told on this car is the combination of power steering, manual brakes, and Air Conditioning. Another supposed rare option is the Dictaphone in my car. I had one guy tell me that mine is 1 of 136 put in RR's that year. If that is true or not, I don't know. Also, can anyone tell me how I find out what kind of rims this car came with? Basically I wanna find out what are common options, what are uncommon or rare, and an idea of the factory restoration price of this car. Here are some pics of the car as well:

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211 ... v08065.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211 ... v08069.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211 ... v08062.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211 ... v08061.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211 ... v08070.jpg

[BuckNeccid]

A few things I can tell you: The curious yellow is a high impact and desireable color, the dictaphone is a rare and desireable option,t he amber lens, well, later in the year they went to amber, so that may just be a late build car. Clock, MAY be rarer than a tach, but whether it's more desireable than a tach would be up to the potential buyer. Wheels, odds are it was equipped with Magnum 500 wheels. You might post the fender tag and get it decoded to make sure all the options are factory or dealer installed options and can be verified.

I would guess, with a 1st quality restoration, you could get between $15 and $25K for the car, but that's going to depend on future markets, how much money's available, and where you sell it.

[471Magnum]

That IS a very cool combination. The four speed w/ AC makes it pretty rare for sure. The combination of other options definitely make it an odd duck, but not necessarily more valuable.

What it might be worth restored is anybody's guess right now, but these second generation road runners struggle to make over 30K unless they are six barrels or Hemis. An exceptionally well restored 383 car in a desireable combination might bring mid-30s, but not many folks are willing to spend that these days.

Bottom line: Your restoration will probably need to be a labor of love, not profit motivated.

[CtownRunner]

Really like your car! If the floor pans and trunk are rust free and the frame rail solid I'd say you have a great car to restore.
Sure the interior needs comleately redone and new paint.
If the mecanical stuff is solid you may not have too much to spend.
I'd make sure the mechanical stuff is reliable if you plan to drive it while you restore it.

When all said and done you may not sell if for what you put into the resto but you'll enjoy every min of it.
Of course it depends on how much you paid for it as is.


Good luck and welcome.

[Eric]

The only way to tell what wheels your car came with originally is from the broadcast sheet or the original window sticker. You can determine whether they were 14" or 15" by the tire inflation sticker on the drivers door jamb if the original is still there.
The 4spd and A/C combination is somewhat rare, and the cassette is not that common. Everything else on your list pretty normal to find on a 71 runner

[landon1]

indeed a nice car...my car came with PS, manual brakes and A/C and i've seen several like that (noramlly automatics, though) the casette/stereo radio is pretty neat. really, the tach thing i haven't figured out either...seems that most cars didn't have the tach, but the clock or a large split indicator gauges similar to the smaller gauges to the right....value -wise most 383s i've seen are around 25-30ish, some satellites can pull 25, but they keep saying that our bodystyle will be the next big thing...i'm pretty surprised it isn't, imo as one of, if not the best designed car from the era.

CONGRATS

[pats71]

My plans with this car is to keep it. I will not be using this car as a daily driver and really want to do a factory resto on it. The car did have the build sheet but there was a critter nesting under the back seat and used the origional build sheet as nesting. Kept whatever scraps of it that were left of course. As far as the whole making a profit thing, I'm keeping this car until I'm dead in the ground. This has been one of my favorite mopars mainly because of the body styling. Almost the entire car is rust free being that it's from california and has been sitting in garages ever since 1977. Trunk, floor pans, and quarters are solid as a rock. Now for wheels, my choice is probably gonna be steel rims with dog dish hubcaps all around. Think they give the car a nice look rather than the rally rims. I've had the fender tag decoded and everything is completely origional down to the heater hose and exhaust. The car runs but I have a feeling the heads need to be re-done and have hardened valve seats put in. Anyone know the specs such as lift etc. on a 383 factory high-perf. cam?