“Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself.” Yep, that’s exactly what’s going through my head as I write these words. The Rough Start series is basically my normal evening at the computer: surfing Craigslist for realistic options for cars that I’d love to adopt and bring to Casa de McTaggart. Sometimes I pick winners, sometimes I pick…well, “winners”…and then every once in a while, Craigslist decides that it’s high time to have a little fun with the serial window shopper. This is one of those times.
When I was seventeen I missed out on acquiring a 1973 Plymouth Satellite sedan. It was blue with a white top, and was completely unmolested. I drove it for a couple of weeks while I tried desperately to convince my grandfather to let me purchase the Plymouth…that didn’t happen. Instead his counter-offer was a 1989 Hyundai Sonata that was on it’s last legs. No, thank you. I didn’t think much about that car until I happened upon the green one pictured below. I don’t know why the combination of slot mags, KC HiLites and the 340 scoops woke something up in my head, but it did: the “moonshine runner” build. A four-door 1970s car built like a typical movie car shine runner. It’s practical, it’s potent, and it looks 110% better than a silver Camry in the driveway. 
Most of these cars are gone…crashed, ran ragged, or are now cop car tributes. This white Dodge seems to have escaped that fate, and while it needs the typical clean-up work any used car needs, it’s not bad at all. The dead-nuts reliable 318 is underhood, hooked to an automatic, and other than some slight rear quarter patchwork needed, the body looks alright. An upgraded sound system, 1970s-sized mags all the way around, maybe a slight lift in the rear for that raked look would get the ball rolling while the running gear gets sorted. A big-block swap seems ideal, but a 408 stroker LA motor with a high RPM limit wouldn’t suck either.
Three grand uncontested brings the car home. That’s a lot of money left over out of a five grand budget…
Craigslist Link: 1972 Dodge Coronet
roof is too short
more door needs long roof to be cool
a leading candidate for this spring’s demo derby season
pro touring crew cab, jet black with a small ‘interceptor” logo on the trunk
These Plymouths are soo cool.They are in almost all car and detective films from the seventies.
Tasty. Drop my motor in there, add some white steel wheels with a little more meat on em…CB antenna/CB and get her ready to run a weekly load down to Knoxville…
3 grand? dear lord I wish I wasn’t on the other side of the planet.. I’d happily drop 10 grand to land that in Australia
CarCraft did a story about a gearhead in Japan who did American cars a few years ago.. His ride was a white 72 Coronet 4 door. Made the cover. Absolutely perfect. Look it up.