The interior is standard black, and was equipped with buckets, console, and Pistol Grip shifter. Tony did add a factory AM/FM radio to the mix.
At this time, people knew that muscle droptops were pretty scarce. In 1970, Plymouth had built X Road Runners this way, with 383-powered models being the most prevelent of all performance Mopar styles. However, time did not prove to be kind to them, as rough treatment and the ever-present damage by rust caused many to be gone by the time the first wave of muscle ‘excitement’ began in the late 1980s.
This was likely one of the most serpentine shifters to even come in a production car, with the handle placement where the driver could hammer through the gears. Yeah, it took a little practice…
In 1988, as Tony moved to Delaware and opened his present shop in Harrington to go into the parts business full-time, he sold the car, but soon wished he had not. It would not be until 2001 that he was able to buy it back, convincing the car’s fourth owner since he had sold it that it truly had sentimental value for him. Luckily, the odometer had only turned 5,000 more miles in the time it was not in his possession. With quality of restorations having increased over the years, the car was ready for a make-over.
This had not been a high-optioned car when new, so Tony decided to go ahead and leave some of the changes he had made when first rebuilding the car in place, such as the Ait Grabber hood and 1969 air cleaner outfit and an AM/FM factory raqdio in place of the AM-only version. As built, it had been a standard 383 car with a four-speed (Pistol-stirred, of course), buckets and console, and steel wheels. Tony added 15x7 Rally wheels, reinstalled a correct 8 ¾ rear with 3.55 SureGrip gearing, and tons of NOS parts, including a box-perfect correct Holley four-barrel.
While the work itself was done by Tony in his own work shop, he gives credit to many others for getting all the parts right. Replating everything, including the hood hardware, was done by Eric Manual of Ohio, and paint and bodywork was done by Harrington’s Richard McKenzie. Tony is good friends with Stephen Juliano, who shares a mutual passion for all things Mopar, and Tony says Steve helped influence how to do the car. His wife Cindi and son Robert get a big thumbs-up for moral support as the project went forward.
Tony, of course, still enjoys driving all of his cars, and this one is no exception. Being in the business he is in does have some advantages, not the least being having some old-school Goodyears on hand that can roar into asphalt crayons with no problem. He graciously put some fresh black soot into the fenderwells for the benefit of our readers. Perhaps 1970 Road Runners with 383s are not the most exotic in the world, but this one is a family treasure that will be around for some time to come.
Son Robert does his best impression of KILROY WAS HERE as the old man cruises in his own first car…