Linda and Robin Cook had a few teething troubles when they bought this 1973 Plymouth Road Runner, but they persevered and now own a very original car that turned out to have some great history…
Words: Matt Renaut Photography: Gary Chapman
Linda Cook owns this fantastic 1973 Plymouth Road Runner, but is quick to mention that it’s husband Robin who keeps it clean and looks after it. “I drive her,” laughs Linda, “and she’s my car, but he was the one who bought her.”
The Road Runner came from Robin’s desire to own another big block car. “He now has a 1972 Camaro SS, but I’m a Mopar girl. I previously had a 1973 ‘Cuda and we also owned a 1969 Firebird with a 455cu in V8. We saw the Road Runner on eBay and the seller had ‘coming soon’ on his eBay ad for about seven or eight months. Robin was about to delete it from his watch list, but thought, “Sod it, I’ll email and ask.” It turned out from the reply it was coming into the UK that Wednesday, so we went over the following Saturday.”
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Linda asked the seller for the VIN and verified it was a genuine Road Runner, but even then they were still in two minds: “She was everything Robin hates in a car,” laughs Linda, “being white, automatic and a column shift. When we saw her, I thought the car looked tatty, but he bought her anyway.”
The Road Runner was delivered to the Cook’s driveway in October 2019, then Robin spent many hours cleaning it inside and out. “There was no rot or rust, but once Robin drove her he reported she was ‘completely gutless’ and he hated her. I drove her and agreed she just had no power. But I loved her now she was shiny.”
The badge seemed appropriate since the Road Runner ran all over the road despite having new tyres. “It later turned out the seller had a blowout on his way to the MoT – and it felt like she needed new suspension. We have terrible luck with cars, but still keep coming back for more. We had all the rubber bushings replaced as they were perished, then a new exhaust system was made. The first specialists we asked to recommission her did a good job of the rubbers and the exhaust, but terribly on the engine. The timing was out and she ran appallingly. The second guy brought her back as a non-runner and said she had beaten him, he was a Chevy guy, but had said ‘an engine is an engine’. He couldn’t even keep her running long enough to get her off his truck…
“It was third time lucky when we found Simon Devos at Vospower Ltd in Nottingham (search ‘vospower’ on Facebook) owner/driver of the Frankenstien ’57 Chevy Gasser. Simon got her sorted with correct engine timing and Pertronix ignition.” He also put in a new coil, repaired some wiring, added an aluminium gear selector bush to replace the floppy plastic original and fitted a new fuel tank sender with a brass float.
“We could finally start using her. After a couple of shows there was an ominous clunking underneath. It turned out that the wrong wheel bearings had been fitted, possibly by the importer. He was more used to Corvettes and done some suspension work, but perhaps then realised the Plymouth would not be a quick fix, so left it as it was.”
Bearing With It
With the correct wheel bearings installed, along with engine, gearbox and rear end servicing, the Road Runner became far more pleasant to drive. “Even Robin admitted ‘she drives quite nicely now’, and I started looking into the Road Runner’s history. The seller promised he had the original build sheet and she was sold as having one, though it wasn’t with the car when she was delivered. We were told they’d send it on, but it took nearly two years before we got a phone call out of the blue saying they had come across it.
“When the build sheet arrived, it was in tiny pieces the size of a fingernail which Robin then painstakingly pieced back together. Amongst other paperwork, I was astonished to see the name on the original handbook from 1973 and on a receipt was the same as on recent import paperwork; Gregory Goodyear. We’d previously sent a letter to the California address in the paperwork and received no reply so left it, but after getting the rest of the receipts Robin noticed a Facebook symbol next to the name.
Gregory’s wife was named Astrid which is not a common one, so I changed my Facebook profile pic to one of the Road Runner then sent a friend request and a message. A couple of weeks later I received a reply.
“Astrid said it took a while to get over the shock that their car was in England. The guy who had bought the Road Runner told them he would fix the car up with his son and then drive it back to show them when it was completed. In reality he was a car scout and flipper. Robin had been looking on Google Earth and was surprised to see the Road Runner parked in front of their house. He went back a further four years, and it was still there. On one occasion Greg was outside washing it. Astrid has since messaged me quite a bit of info and a back story. The Road Runner turned out to be a one-owner car since Greg bought her new in 1972.”
Paperwork which came with the Spinnaker White Road Runner shows it was purchased from Royal Chrysler Plymouth of San Bernardino, California on November 4, 1972. The VIN decodes correctly as a US-specification, 1973 Plymouth Road Runner, Code-R meaning a B-body, Code-M Medium price class, Code-21 two-door coupe, Code-M 400 single fourbarrel, eight-cylinder B-engine and Code-G denoted being built in St Louis, Missouri. It was completed on September 30, 1972.
The Inside Story
Linda has researched the options codes on the build sheet and they include Deluxe trim vinyl bucket seats with ‘Center Seat Foldown Armrest,’ Music Master AM Radio, left-hand remote and right-hand manual chrome door mirrors, belt and hood moulding, hood tie-down pins, roof drip-rail moulding, black stripe, front disc-brakes, noxious exhaust emission control, chrome dual exhaust tips and front licence plate surround.
Astrid explained in a recent email that Greg, “bought the car straight off the lot”, writing that, “the total cost was approximately $5200. He financed for 36 months at $119 a month and traded in a beige 1970 Road Runner with no power-steering, air conditioning or radio. We met in March 1974, ‘I fell in love with him and the car…’”
“They were married in 1974,” adds Linda, “and all three of their children were bought back from hospital in the Road Runner. She had one repaint in 1995 after a front fender bump and the repair was done in original factory paint with a new stripe kit by their son Brendon and his friend. That paint has since been bleached by the California sun and she has what I call ‘sunshine patina,’ the black stripe is now just a shadow over the roof. The interior is still the original one with 50 years of wear and tear. Robin removed it all for cleaning, but sadly didn’t find any other copies of the build sheet.
“The reason they finally sold her in April 2019 was their mechanic had retired, no one else was interested and Astrid told Greg: “You are too old to drive a car without working air con.” At first, we’d had the same problem they had; no one to work on the car. In fact, Tig Napier of Bad Habit Racing noticed one of the heater controls under the bonnet was stuck in the hot position while he was helping Simon Devos fit a new neutral safety switch. Once that was freed off, the cold air worked again.
“Our emailed messages included a video of me driving down the road when she was finally running properly in 2022. The video was timed nicely as it was Astrid’s birthday on one day and Greg’s the day after, or thereabouts. At the end, as I was driving into the garage Robin finished filming saying, ‘Happy Birthday Greg from an old friend.’ Astrid later messaged to say that was wonderful and made her cry, but we were driving on the wrong side of the road!
“Another message we sent across was video of the Lancaster Bomber flying over Santa Pod. Astrid was born in the UK and also lived in Germany before ending up in the USA so was over the moon their American car was at an old American airfield in the UK. The Road Runner got a brief mention previously in Classic American when it won the Tony Oksien Memorial Trophy at the Mopar Nats in 2023. Everyone that reads the showcard we’ve made loves her. Although, some comment we should remove the bumper overriders, but I like them; they’re an original part of the car. I think of her as Astrid’s out of respect for how they looked after it so well for almost 50 years, but she’s my car too. Robin does the work and the polishing; I just take all the praise!”
