By the time 1972 rolled around, the muscle car’s glory days were already on the wane. The causes of the decline have been well documented, and the results of the degeneration are widely recognized as well. And as reported, the tremors from this downturn were immediately felt in the factories of Detroit, soon to spread to the dealerships across the nation. There was no doubt that the times, well, they were a-changing… and damn quick!
In this second year of the new decade, Mother Mopar continued with its newly restyled “fuselage” B-body from the previous year, doing what it could to please performance lovers. Not having the powertrain leeway they once had, the manufacturers needed to lure younger buyers in with a bevy of other tasty treats. Things like stripe packages, wings, spoilers, and sunroofs helped make up somewhat for the lack of grunt underhood and give a little excitement to the now depowered models. However, many speed freaks still needed a potent small-block or healthy big-block in their new rides. Lucky for them, there were still some options available from Chrysler to help quell the uproar. This power play by Chrysler would keep the 1971 redesign of the B-body a viable collector car for years to come.
B-Bird
Mopar fanatic Ed Althouse was looking for a new project. After restoring quite a few Pentastars over the years, Ed was ready for a new challenge. While scanning a Mopar forum one night, he came across an interesting ad. The ride in question was a 1972 Road Runner, an original three-speed, 400-powered, Air Grabber–hood car.
“I already had a four-speed 1970 Road Runner with an Air Grabber setup, so I figured this would be the perfect stable mate for it,” says Ed. A deal was finalized, and the B-body was sent from Missouri to Ed’s home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
One of the reasons Ed bought the car was because he thought it would be inexpensive to restore. He soon discovered that some parts were nearly impossible to find, and quite expensive when he did. “I had to find and purchase a grille for the car, which ended up costing me $1,500—and it still needed to be restored,” he recalls.
Nevertheless, the new owner stripped the car down for a complete restoration. Luckily the body was in very good shape when it arrived. “I filled in some dings and dents, but it was pretty solid.” From there he had to locate an Air Grabber hood, and all the mechanicals that make it work, since it was missing from the car when he bought it.
One big improvement was to the roof of the car. You see, the Road Runner came with a cheapo JC Whitney “pop-open” skylight unit mounted up top. The hack job definitely needed to go, as far as Ed was concerned. Question was, should he replace it with a fresh stock roof section from a donor car, or find the correct B-body sunroof and install it as if it came like that from the factory? Ed decided on the latter, sourcing a complete manual sunroof from a 1973 donor B-body. He spliced it in to factory standards, even replicating the OE drain holes and tubing like Chrysler would have done.
Once the body was set, Ed coated the flanks in the original EV2 Tor Red paint, and finished it off with V21 (hood) and V25 (deck) stripe kits. These were rare visual options that were only available on Air Grabber cars. Once the exterior was near complete, Ed took to the suspension, adding polyurethane bushings and replacing the vital parts. Everything was powdercoated to help longevity. The brake system was completely rebuilt with a new factory power-brake booster and master cylinder. Out back, the 8 3/4 rearend was rebuilt, keeping its 3.91 gear ratio. Air shocks control ride height and rake, and a rear sway bar was added for extra control in the curves.
Originally this B-body came with a 400ci B-series engine, but at some point it had been replaced with a late-1960s 383 wedge motor. Ed decided to go back to a 400, but stroked his powerplant to 451 ci and added good-flowing Edelbrock aluminum heads, an aftermarket intake, and a high-lift cam to the mix. He then saw his power output soar to more than 400 hp at the rear wheels. He finished off the mill and engine bay by making them look as stock as possible.
He backed his stroker motor with an original A833 four-speed transmission built by Passon Performance out of Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. High-flow Doug Thorley headers feed a 3-inch exhaust, which is finished with a set of original “machine gun” exhaust tips out back. At the corners Ed wanted something stock looking, but with a kick. “I wanted to keep the car basically factory appearing but with the widest tires I could get on the back. So I purchased factory Rallye rims that were widened to 8 inches and found N50 Goodyear tires to max out the rear wheelwells.”
After completing the car, Ed attended the Chryslers at Carlisle three consecutive years and won First in his class at each one. “With other cars to restore and a daughter heading off to college, I decided to sell the car and pay down some bills,” says Ed. Enter Ivan Goldenberg.
Ivan’s Gold
Ivan is a non-recovering caraholic who has owned more than 70 cars, trucks, and one motorcycle over his 30-odd years of licensed driving. His last classic, a stunning 1972 four-speed Demon 340, had been sold recently, and he was in the market for a new ride. He was lured to the Mopar world a decade ago with a 1971 Satellite, and he was interested in getting back to that coke-bottle design he loved so much.
Ivan says, “After tirelessly and feverishly watching online want ads, seeing the same old stuff with no new posts, I put feeler ads on every platform to shake the bushes.” What he was looking for was a restored 1971 or 1972 Road Runner or GTX. A four-speed shifter was a must, and he preferred a high-impact-color-basted ride.
He located a possible contender in Rhode Island and decided to take the five-hour ride complete with trailer. That turned out to be a bust. But the second listing he found was Ed’s Road Runner out in Lancaster. From the pictures Ivan was shocked this ride was in his price range. He cautiously agreed to take a look at the car, as he had been burned before by what the owner called a “near flawless” car.
When he saw Ed’s car in person, he was floored by its overall condition. “The chrome gleamed, the Air Grabber bubble and hood stripes complemented the EV2 paint, the sunroof, the Pistol Grip four-speed, the painted bumper, it had all the hot buttons,” says Ivan. However, things went south when they started the car. It billowed smoke for a while and never really ran right. But to Ivan, the mechanical issues were much more fixable than having to do expensive exterior work on the car.
The Road Runner was soon on its way to Ivan’s home in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. First order of business was to get the driveline straightened out. He brought the needy Road Runner to Mike Bonsanti at HP Motors in Morristown, New Jersey. There the big-block got the first aid it needed to run right. “He also went over a laundry list of things that needed to be done, including adding period- correct Polyglas GTs,” says Ivan. In five weeks he had his Mopar back, running as good as it looked.
Today, Ivan and his B-body are inseparable. They hit the streets of the Jersey Shore in earnest. “The looks I get locally when I take it out to stretch its legs are unbelievable. I have been pulled over by police just so they can get a better look.” And why not? This wild Runner is everything you could possibly stuff into a 1970s muscle ride, and more.
Ivan knows this one is a keeper, and will be used by the family for the foreseeable future. “It will be living with us for years to come, and my 6-year-old twins love to ride in it. In fact, the comments I get the most are about the two booster seats in the back.”
At a Glance
1972 Road Runner
Owned by: Ivan Goldenberg
Restored by: Ed Althouse; Mike Bonsanti, HP Motors, Morristown, NJ
Engine: 451ci B-series V-8
Transmission: A833 4-speed manual
Rearend: 8-3/4 with 3.91 gears
Interior: Black vinyl bucket seat
Wheels: 15×7 front, 15×8 rear Rallye
Tires: G60 front, L60 rear Goodyear Polyglas GT
Special parts: Air Grabber hood, Doug Thorley headers, sunroof, rear wing, front spoiler
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