Has the lowest-mileage 1970 Road Runner been found in an Ohio garage?

[cm23uoc]

You guys all say that. When you have a great conditioned low mileage survivor tell us then but until that time it is simply speculation. I thought the same way..... boy was I wrong.

4 cars with 15-30 k mls, each driven in the lower four Digit range each year, the best of both worlds keeping mileage relatively low but also have fun for a couple thousand miles. This isn't working as smoothly with just one car, I admit.

I have no bad Feelings at all passing another 10 k barrier and These are fair weather Drivers that won't Change much in Overall condition, counting out the danger of a collision.

On the other Hand I have a car with 100 k + miles that was kept in fanatically clean and original condition by the first owner for nearly 4 decades, nothing but the Service records can hint to this mileage.

 

[polara71]

I felt horrible when Adleen got to 60,000. At 50,000 I was enjoying her to the fullest extent until I realized what I was doing to the best of the best

 

[Samplingman]

You guys all say that. When you have a great conditioned low mileage survivor tell us then but until that time it is simply speculation. I thought the same way..... boy was I wrong.

I see two schools of thought here. There is the emotional one, where you can’t stand to see it grow old, and the financial one because it will be worth more in the future when you sell. You have the former affliction, and I felt that way when I was 18 and my ‘72 Challenger hit 80,000, but I’ve come to realize that no one in my future will care, so I might as well drive them ‘till the wheels fall off.

This guy on the other hand, could care less about keeping the history. He’s got a garage full of pristine cars that no one will ever see or drive, this one included. The trick is, can he cash in before it’s too late and no one gives a flip about these cars? My guess it will be at BJ or one of the other televangelist muscle car auctions next year, and he’ll be hunting the next cool mopar.

Like I said, what a waste.

 

[68 4spd Fury]

Great car and an almost unbelievable find now days. Hard to say, I tend to be on the side that it should be driven and I don't think another 10k would hurt the value very much. Parked it in 74, right about the time of first oil embargo, must have gotten tired of the gas prices or the insurance rates with the HP motor.

 

[68 4spd Fury]

What a waste. WTF is with that chain? Why is it still there in the cleaned up picture? How does a motor get that crusty just sitting there for 50 years, while the interior looks factory new?

My guess would be moisture that didn't vent well with the hood closed. If there were raccoons in that garage I'd imagine mice were too, under the seats and dash might not look so pretty. Still a great find!

 

[mdh157]

Hard to believe there are still some of those finds out there. What a car.

I agree.......but there definitely are some goodies left. I bet the Midwest still has a lot of stuff. It will prob keep coming out as the owners age and their kids decide they'd rather have the money than the car. I have my eye out for something, but I am sure some other guy will get it if it ever shows itself.

 

[Zymurgy]

Goldie had relatively low mileage at 62,000 but never even thought of not driving her because I completely restored her and so was no longer original.

My friend found a beautiful Lincoln with only 6,000 miles and the original tires. It is the only car in his collection which he sold. After the initial love of finding such an amazing car, he said he couldn't enjoy ownership. He always felt bad putting any miles on it and worried so much about being in an accident. As a result he never enjoyed driving it. He misses the car but still doesn't regret selling it.

 

[Newport 66]

Geez.....were only the caretakers of these things. I don't really buy into the low mileage thing to value every car. I'm sure there are plenty that disagree with me, but if I own it, I'm driving it. I can (and will) take care of it driving it us enjoying it. I see trailer/garage queens that make the owner crazy if someone gets to close too it......really?????

 

[odcics2]

Yeah, I have had cars with 100K on them with a similar looking engine compartment. Looks like it sat outside for a few years with the hood removed!

 

[67Monaco]

Yay another high dollar flipper. Meh. I'd have more respect for the guy if he said he was going to drive the piss out of it.

 

[polara71]

I see two schools of thought here. There is the emotional one, where you can’t stand to see it grow old, and the financial one because it will be worth more in the future when you sell. You have the former affliction, and I felt that way when I was 18 and my ‘72 Challenger hit 80,000, but I’ve come to realize that no one in my future will care, so I might as well drive them ‘till the wheels fall off.

This guy on the other hand, could care less about keeping the history. He’s got a garage full of pristine cars that no one will ever see or drive, this one included. The trick is, can he cash in before it’s too late and no one gives a flip about these cars? My guess it will be at BJ or one of the other televangelist muscle car auctions next year, and he’ll be hunting the next cool mopar.

Like I said, what a waste.

I was simply afraid of something happening to it. It is original once .

 

[LocuMob]

I was simply afraid of something happening to it. It is original once .

That's why I like mine scruffy, no real worries, about weather or people. Living out in the country helps too, plenty of open roads with no one around. But I'm not afraid to take them into the populated areas, and after going out of town and putting on a thousand miles over a weekend, I can't wait to get more traveling miles racked up, even with no radio.

My buddy who has a very nice restored '71 GTX 440/6 4 speed car is thinking of selling/trading it since he didn't drive it much last year. I saw it at the show in his town, maybe a mile to his house and back, and at the show in town here, ten miles each way. Cool car, but it just sits, and it's too fun for that.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

I was simply afraid of something happening to it. It is original once .

that is it.
If it is really a low mileage (and well taken care of) car it hurts to loose original parts when they are tired or fail.

To me passing a cetain barrier mileagewise hurts.
IE buying with 22k miles is fun till you come close to 30.
5k makes fun till you are close to 10k
Anything with more than 50k on the clock already doesn't hurt my barrier feeling but my first point with loosing original parts is still valid.

Barrier crossing hurts me not for the value I might loss but for the car itself.
Just my own silly feelings. Nothing else.

I drive my "nice" survivors only in nice/decent weather. My restored cars get a lot more rain. They aren't original anymore so if they "loose" condition: I can do them again.

Carsten

 

[thrashingcows]

I bought a very low mileage all original survivor 73 340/auto roadrunner ....back before all this survivor thing became a thing, probably around 1994-ish? I had just spent a god awful amount on my 68 Coronet 'vert and was very cheesed at the expense and wanted nothing to do with it for a while.....so found this road runner. By today standards it was a time capsule...original EW1 paint with red stripes and white bucket /console interior, original exhaust, and even still had the red paint on the rear drums, engine was all original and in amazing shape....but I drove the snot out of that car and enjoyed every minute of it. I did a google search for the car a year or two ago and saw it sold on E-bay for $20K USD! Think I paid $1500 cnd for it back then?

But I agree with both camps....can see why you'd want to keep and original survivor car, especially the high dollar muscle car types, in low to unused condition. But also understand wanting to drive the car since that is what it was built for and I lean more towards enjoying them out on the road, not just sitting in a garage as a piece of static art. As others have said pick up a restored car and drive the pants off of it since it has been restored once, can be done again....original is only that once so those rare pieces should be given a reprieve from heavy road duty. ;)

 

[mdh157]

You guys are diverting from the real intent....to enjoy the car. Once you start worrying abt value/money the fun drains out of it and you start to see it as work.

 

[The Goose]

I don’t see a problem here. C’mon guys you were all young once the solution is really simple. Disconnect the speedo “freeze it in time” and drive the piss out of it. Your Dad will never find out....

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Drive that beautiful car! I'm building mine as a fair weather daily driver & cross-country vacation car. Fun to look at, MORE fun to drive!

 

[68 4spd Fury]

I don't think there's a wrong answer here. For me, mine is a survivor car, had 102k when I got it, just past 113k now. I enjoy working on it and more driving it. If and when either of those things stops, (most likely the working on it part), that's it, I plan to keep it as original as possible and pass it on. I can also understand the ones that restore and show and get much enjoyment from that. The only thing I don't understand, (and I don't like to criticize that which I don't understand), is just squirreling things away for no one to see and then they disintegrate.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Drive, drive, drive. I'd drive it with my middle finger out the window to the people that think it should sit.

 

[Turboomni]

quote:VanDamia said the car has an estimated sale value of at least $175,000: quote.

Sell it and buy 2 or 3 super driver mopars .