All of us have seen a desirable and intact old car in a barn or, maybe, under an oak tree. Ever dreamed of then getting it for next to nothing?

This is what happened to Darrin Johnson of Goochland County, Virginia. For 10 years, he knew the location of a seemingly well preserved 1971 Plymouth Road Runner, parked under a large oak in another county. Darrin always loved the body style of the second-generation cars, and 1971 had been their first year.

Though the styling has long been controversial among the Mopar faithful, I think Darrin has a discerning eye. There is something undeniably brutal about the fuselage body, stance, and especially the 1971 and 1972 wrap-around chrome front end. The combination screams end-of-era Muscle, one last bong hit before the Malaise Era crept into our driveways. A friend who saw an early photo of the car in this story said that these Road Runners “look like they’re glaring out from under a unibrow.” I am sure that, in the mid-1970s, the Plymouth’s glowering-thug face intimidated many a boy racer when he glanced in the rear-view mirror of his new Camaro, then saw exactly what was riding his 5 MPH, federally mandated bumper.

How this Mopar beauty won over a member of the classic Ford faithful.