71 RoadRunner - Real or Clone?

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:50 am

Please cut me a little slack here guys. I'm new to this forum and new to Mopar but love the cars and am trying to find some facts about the 71RR. I am looking at buying a 71 RR but was wondering how to tell if it is real or a clone? I presume that you can tell by the VIN or fender tag but was also wondering if you can tell just by looking at the car? From what I can tell this car seems to have all of the markings, emblems, etc. but is there something that would confirm that it was real or cloned?

Thanks for any and all help!

landon1 · Post by **landon1** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:16 pm

I'd say the only real way to tell is by the vin because of all the cloning and such going on....basically though a RR is jus a plain jane satellite....

CtownRunner · Post by **CtownRunner** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:21 pm

http://jonsteiger.com/www/moparvin/

Click the link or cut and paste this and you can find out a lot about the car your lookin at.

Good luck.

Post by **Eric** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:49 pm

To be a true 71 runner the VIN would have to start with RM23. If it has RH, RP, or RL as the first two VIN characters it would be a Satellite (RS designates GTX). Good luck and welcome to the nest!

Post by **bruce** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:15 am

And the 5th character would be an N -- 383, V -- 440+6, R -- 426, or H -- 340... H IS 340 for '71, right guys? Where's my white book when I need it?

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:18 am

Thanks for all the help guys! I really appreciate it. After talking to the owner a little more I believe this car was originally a satellite. It is nicely done and definitely looks like a RR from what I can tell. It does not have round guages in the dash. Is this a dead giveaway from a satellite to a RR? I am posting a pic of the car too. Any thoughts or opinions? What would a car like this be worth if it's in decent shape and a clone?

Mark

Post by **bruce** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:43 am

WOW! I don't care whether that thing is a Road Runner OR a gussied up Satellite, it's BEAUTIFUL! What's the asking price? From the way it looks, it shouldn't be cheap. Oh yeah, the sweep dash rather than the ralley guages is a dead give away that it's likely a Satty. What's the VIN?

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:47 am

I haven't gotten the VIN number yet. The asking price is $11,000. It is a good looking car isn't it!?

Post by **bruce** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:54 am

$11k actually doesn't sound outrageous for a car that looks that good. As long as the body is solid, it runs well, no major issues. You'd certainly spend way more than that building one like it!

mopar71 · Post by **mopar71** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 12:18 pm

Hows the engine? It looks good,the dash is definetly a dead givaway,most roadrunners had a rally.

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:17 pm

The engine is a crate 383. Supposed to run good. I'm going to look at this car this coming Thursday so we'll see. I've attached an engine pic.

Post by **bruce** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:33 pm

Only two things I can see, you need to get rid of all the black "trim" on the outside of the car (particularly the marker light bezels) and you need to get rid of all that black in the engine compartment. Post the VIN when you get it!

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:37 pm

OK...I'm going to ask a dumb question. What's the deal with the black. Is it just not "correct"? Is engine bay and trim supposed to be the car color?

Thanks for putting up with such a mopar challenged person!

Post by **bruce** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:50 pm

No need to apologize, EVERYONE has to learn sometime! Yeah the marker light bezels should be body color. So should the engine compartment. It's a typical shortcut to just paint the engine compartment black. Often seems easier than painting it properly.

Also, since GM and Ford products usually have black engine compartments, you'll often see folks who like THOSE cars doing Mopar engine compartments in a similar fashion. Can't say that's their FAULT, they just don't KNOW any better!

mivy · Post by **mivy** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:55 pm

Thanks for the wealth of information! You're absolutely right too. I have always been a GM guy and black in the engine compartment didn't look wrong to me at all. Now I know.

I really like the looks of this car but just want to make sure that I'm buying crap. I know tons about GM vehicles especially camaros and chevelles but when it comes to Mopar vehicles I feel like a complete idiot! In addition to being something for me to enjoy I have to look at it like an investment as well and want to make sure that this car is worthy of a 10-11K asking price.

I really appreciate all of the info.!

Mark

Road Runner Nest

71 RoadRunner - Real or Clone?

71 RoadRunner - Real or Clone?

Vin decoder