In 1969 the minimum wage was 1.30. So this car would cost about 2,073 hours or about a full years wages back then, assuming you slept at home and Mom fed and clothed you.
Since we we had 90% coin silver back then 1.30 worth of junk silver = 24.22 so the price adjusted for today would be about 50K.
Current street value of that Road Runner in excellent shape about 54K. But then again Honestly how much money did you have IN it to keep it so "just off the Car Lot" condition eh? Antique cars are a PASSION project.
I'm repeating this factoid: 1.30 worth of junk silver = 24.22
Probably averaged about 11 MPG With a 20 gallon tank you could expect to average about 220 miles per tank full That’s about the same thing I averaged with the 1969 Pontiac GTO I had
I had a brand-new 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, with the Special Edition package, power steering, tinted glass, Sure Grip (posi), and an AM radio. Window on it was $4,004. I'd wanted disc brakes, but that would require an extra-cost option of the 15" styled wheels and Poly-Glas tires, which blew my four grand budget out of the water. Same with the AM/FM Muliplex (stereo) radio.
I had a '70 340 Duster with a three on the floor and a 3.23 posi. Won a lot of back country highway races with that car. $3400 new less the $900 the dealer gave me for my '65 Ford Falcon with a Mustang four speed behind a 170 ci six cylinder.
In 1984 when I was 16 my dad and I went up to the local car lot and they had a 69 road runner with a 440 six pack for $400, but my dad said no because the windshield was cracked. I did buy a 68 Charger with a 440 though for $900 a couple weeks later. Unfortunately I totaled it a few years after that but it was a fun car. Replacement car was a 1971 Buick Riviera (with the cool rounded window in the back.) I bought that for $400 and sold it a few months later for $500. I remember trying to talk a gold colored 69 Chevelle SS seller down from $2000 to $1400, but he couldn't come down that far on his price. One friend back then first owned a 1964 Ford Falcon he bought for $125, later he had a 69 Olds 442 he bought for $1000. Another good friend, had a '69 AMX he had picked up for $500. Can you imagine having the forethought to buy all those muscle cars up and just store them for 30-40 years. We were just running them as long as we could (mostly would just eventually rust out), they were pretty much all we could afford if we didn't want to be seen in a pinto or a citation or something like that back then. I remember in the early 90's when the classic car market started to blow up, I couldn't believe how much they were going for.
I traded my '64 Chevelle Malibu SS way back in '73... tried buying it back about ten years ago. Didn't have the $20K he wanted-- and later got-- for it. Broke my heart.
While I'm here... the first vehicle I buried the needle in was a Road Runner.
I learned to drive in one of these back in 1972. After I got my License I used to borrow it to go cruise for Navajo Girls in Grants, NM (the very eastern edge of the Navajo Reservation is in Grants). We lived 60 miles away but with this car we could get there in 30 minutes (no posted upper speed limit on the Interstate at that time). That car purred at 100 mph. We would stop and fill up right at the interstate and then fill up again once we got to Grants, you could almost see the fuel needle move!!! Fun Times!!!
In '69 I was making 1.80 an hour, and glad to get it....I remember thinking then if I could just make 100 bucks a week I'd have it made.....you could own a house and drive a new car on that, and with the 20 bucks a week for groceries...well, that 7.50 electric bill was a bitch, don't you know....nothing has changed, it just takes more dollars for the same value, that's all....BTW, I ordered a '69 Roadrunner in Jamaica blue, but when it arrived after 6 weeks, the finance company wanted another 200 bucks down....that was all the money in the world in those days....at any rate, I never asked my Dad for the money....if I was going to own the car, I was gonna' do it on my own....an attitude that no longer exists among 19 year olds, I might add....refused to buy a Chrysler product after that....principals, you know....'sides, I later had an '86 Buick Regal T Type that would blow the doors off of most of the stock 60's muscle cars with a fuel injected turbo 6....Quarter mile time was mid 11's, stock....a bit quicker with a tweak of the exhaust, slicks, and a different chip....
I love hearing the stories from the commenters. What a source of "Americana"! It was a great time to be alive, encapsulated in those machines. Ohio Guy
Damn,the coupon expires tomorrow! If I send you the $$ now by Western Union, could you go grab me one? I'll make it worth your while.
ReplyDeleteRetRsvMike
HEAVEY DUTY MAN.
ReplyDeleteI'll take two at those prices, and they can keep the fifty bucks!
ReplyDeleteYou couldn’t even buy a 383 motor for $2600 today.
ReplyDeleteYou literally couldn't even buy the lug nuts for the wheels for that car for under 50 bucks anymore.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with an old carpenter that had a Roadrunner in 1970.
ReplyDeleteI think he still holds the county record for most 100 mph tickets !!!!
about $20,000 in todays US dollars
ReplyDeletedon't I wish !!
I'll buy it.
ReplyDeleteIn 1969 the minimum wage was 1.30. So this car would cost about 2,073 hours or about a full years wages back then, assuming you slept at home and Mom fed and clothed you.
ReplyDeleteSince we we had 90% coin silver back then 1.30 worth of junk silver = 24.22 so the price adjusted for today would be about 50K.
Current street value of that Road Runner in excellent shape about 54K. But then again Honestly how much money did you have IN it to keep it so "just off the Car Lot" condition eh? Antique cars are a PASSION project.
I'm repeating this factoid: 1.30 worth of junk silver = 24.22
We don't need a minimum wage We NEED Sound Money.
Probably averaged about 11 MPG
ReplyDeleteWith a 20 gallon tank you could expect to average about 220 miles per tank full That’s about the same thing I averaged with the 1969 Pontiac GTO I had
I had a brand-new 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, with the Special Edition package, power steering, tinted glass, Sure Grip (posi), and an AM radio. Window on it was $4,004. I'd wanted disc brakes, but that would require an extra-cost option of the 15" styled wheels and Poly-Glas tires, which blew my four grand budget out of the water. Same with the AM/FM Muliplex (stereo) radio.
ReplyDeleteI had a '70 340 Duster with a three on the floor and a 3.23 posi. Won a lot of back country highway races with that car. $3400 new less the $900 the dealer gave me for my '65 Ford Falcon with a Mustang four speed behind a 170 ci six cylinder.
ReplyDeleteIn 1984 when I was 16 my dad and I went up to the local car lot and they had a 69 road runner with a 440 six pack for $400, but my dad said no because the windshield was cracked. I did buy a 68 Charger with a 440 though for $900 a couple weeks later. Unfortunately I totaled it a few years after that but it was a fun car. Replacement car was a 1971 Buick Riviera (with the cool rounded window in the back.) I bought that for $400 and sold it a few months later for $500. I remember trying to talk a gold colored 69 Chevelle SS seller down from $2000 to $1400, but he couldn't come down that far on his price. One friend back then first owned a 1964 Ford Falcon he bought for $125, later he had a 69 Olds 442 he bought for $1000. Another good friend, had a '69 AMX he had picked up for $500. Can you imagine having the forethought to buy all those muscle cars up and just store them for 30-40 years. We were just running them as long as we could (mostly would just eventually rust out), they were pretty much all we could afford if we didn't want to be seen in a pinto or a citation or something like that back then. I remember in the early 90's when the classic car market started to blow up, I couldn't believe how much they were going for.
ReplyDeleteI traded my '64 Chevelle Malibu SS way back in '73... tried buying it back about ten years ago. Didn't have the $20K he wanted-- and later got-- for it. Broke my heart.
DeleteWhile I'm here... the first vehicle I buried the needle in was a Road Runner.
Speechless and drooling.....
ReplyDeleteThere is NO substitute for cubic inches. Nemo
ReplyDeleteI learned to drive in one of these back in 1972. After I got my License I used to borrow it to go cruise for Navajo Girls in Grants, NM (the very eastern edge of the Navajo Reservation is in Grants). We lived 60 miles away but with this car we could get there in 30 minutes (no posted upper speed limit on the Interstate at that time). That car purred at 100 mph. We would stop and fill up right at the interstate and then fill up again once we got to Grants, you could almost see the fuel needle move!!! Fun Times!!!
ReplyDeleteIn '69 I was making 1.80 an hour, and glad to get it....I remember thinking then if I could just make 100 bucks a week I'd have it made.....you could own a house and drive a new car on that, and with the 20 bucks a week for groceries...well, that 7.50 electric bill was a bitch, don't you know....nothing has changed, it just takes more dollars for the same value, that's all....BTW, I ordered a '69 Roadrunner in Jamaica blue, but when it arrived after 6 weeks, the finance company wanted another 200 bucks down....that was all the money in the world in those days....at any rate, I never asked my Dad for the money....if I was going to own the car, I was gonna' do it on my own....an attitude that no longer exists among 19 year olds, I might add....refused to buy a Chrysler product after that....principals, you know....'sides, I later had an '86 Buick Regal T Type that would blow the doors off of most of the stock 60's muscle cars with a fuel injected turbo 6....Quarter mile time was mid 11's, stock....a bit quicker with a tweak of the exhaust, slicks, and a different chip....
ReplyDeleteFirst BEEP BEEP I ever drove was a 426...HEMI! Liked to killed us all. I was 15.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing the stories from the commenters. What a source of "Americana"! It was a great time to be alive, encapsulated in those machines. Ohio Guy
ReplyDeleteSorta surprised that nobody is commenting on the way this guy was operating the clutch, I was cringing.
ReplyDelete