It is a story we hear more and more these days: A car guy passes away, and his survivors just don't share his passion for the steel hulk that's sitting in the garage, or parked next to the shed, or stashed in the barn. You get the idea. Not knowing anything about the car, or our hobby, the family winds up asking around to see if anyone wants to buy "Dad's old car."

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Usually Dad's old car had a lot more sentimental value for him than collector value for anyone else. Sometimes, though, the old car can be a real gem, even if it's in the rough.

The father-and-son team of Terry and David Stoker of Stoker's Hot Rod Factory in Upland, California, was on the receiving end of just such a contact. A local man who owned several collector cars had passed, and a friend of the family (who was also a friend of the Stokers) was trying to help them sell the cars. Among them was this largely original 1970 Road Runner convertible with a 440 Six-Barrel and four-speed. The drivetrain is numbers-matching from stem to stern. Part of a build sheet found in the rear seat springs confirms the car's VIN. The odometer shows 82,000 miles and change.

Rare is a term thrown around a lot in the car hobby, but this one truly is. Plymouth made only 658 convertible Road Runners in 1970. Just 34 had the 440-6BBL engine, 14 with automatic transmissions, 20 with four-speeds. David figures if you drill down far enough, given the number and type of options on this car, it is likely a one-of-one.

Oh, you better believe they bought it.

As much as we love a good backstory when it comes to cars we feature, this car's history has been mostly lost to time. The patriarch of the family that sold it to the Stokers bought the car in New Jersey in 1973 and not long after moved the family to Southern California. "The yellow and blue California license plate starts with a 6," David points out, "which means the car was first registered here in 1974 or 1975."

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In the small-world department, Terry and his brother Steve remember seeing the car in the late 1970s or early 1980s "sitting on jackstands, all filthy, not covered or anything, near Don Lugo High School in Chino," says David. The brothers were Mopar guys, so the rare bird left an impression.

"I don't know when it was parked, but the last year it was registered was 1985," David says. It sat outside for decades before going into a garage when the family moved to a newer home. It was from that garage that the Stokers got the car, which had been covered in "boxes and junk." (It was pulled out before they could get a photo of it in there.)

As best as David can tell, three things have been altered on the convertible: The original B3 Ice Blue paint was covered by a poor-quality red paint job "sometime in the 1970s," he says, the original AM/FM radio was replaced by an aftermarket radio, and the steel wheels and dog dish caps were swapped out for Appliance slotted mag-style wheels.

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Fortunately they are getting the original radio and wheels back. And while the respray is so bad that it peels right off in the jambs, "they prepped and primered the body panels, so we'd have to be really, really careful to sand the car down to the original paint," David believes. "I don't think it's worth it."

The Stokers are huge fans of original iron, be it a muscle car or a hot rod, "so if this car had its original paint, we absolutely would not touch it. If it were the original blue we'd get it running and that would be it. It's a personal thing with us. But the red paint just kills it for us."

Their plan is to get the convertible running again "and drive it the way it is, to make sure the motor and trans are good and figure out what it needs," says David. Then they will mount a complete restoration. "We might play with it the way it is for a while, assuming we can get it to run. We have the wheels coming. They'll be blue, but it'll function. You could get away with fixing the rust and leaving it the way it is if you wanted to."

But auction prices are strong these days. A B5 Blue/white 440+6 convertible optioned similarly to this car sold for $107,000 at Mecum's 2016 Indy auction, while a 35,000-mile Citron Mist Metallic/black 440-6BBL convert, an older restoration by Julius, fetched $160,000 at Mecum's Kissimmee sale that same year. Given the quality of the Stokers' work, this car could very well eclipse that.

So the next time someone asks if you'd be interested in Dad's old car, check out the garage before answering.

At a Glance

1970 Road Runner Convertible

Owned by: Stoker's Hot Rod Factory, Upland, CA

Restored by: Unrestored

Engine: 440ci/390hp 6-BBL V-8

Transmission: A833 4-speed manual

Rearend: Dana 60 with Super Track Pak and 4.10 gears

Interior: White bucket seat with console

Wheels: 15x7 Appliance chromed steel

Tires: P215/65R15 Goodyear Eagle GT

Special parts: One of 20 built for 1970; power options include top, windows, brakes, and steering; Air Grabber hood; remote driver mirror; Tic Toc Tac

See all 45 photos David Stoker says he and his father, Terry, plan to "use as much of the original parts as possible" in the Road Runner's eventual restoration. "Everything is pretty much reusable or rebuildable." The small amount of rust on the car is limited to small patches on the rocker panels, the quarters, and behind the rear window.

See all 45 photos Like most of the Road Runner, the convertible top is original and in remarkably good condition considering how many years it sat outside. "The fender tag didn't call for a power top, but it's definitely a factory power top," says David. "Apparently they left a few codes off." The car's power steering is also not listed on the fender tag.

See all 45 photos "I am not sure if it runs. I haven't touched it," David says of the 440, which with its triple-Holley induction was rated at 390 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque. "But I have been under it." He found the Road Runner's VIN stamped in the block, the transmission, and the rearend.

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See all 45 photos The 440's massive air cleaner would seal to the Air Grabber apparatus under the hood, so when the toothy trap door opened, fresh air would feed those three hungry Holleys.

See all 45 photos The front-seat upholstery looks its age, but the rest of the interior is sound. "The floors are good," says David, thanks largely to the owner moving the car from New Jersey to California when it was just a couple years old.

See all 45 photos The Pistol-Grip shifter was new to the Road Runner for 1970. Note, too, the groovy graphic equalizer under the dash.

See all 45 photos There are 82,265 miles showing on the Road Runner's odometer, likely original mileage given how many years the car was parked. Next to the speedo is the Tic Toc Tac.

See all 45 photos David found this much of the car's build sheet in the rear-seat springs. "The rest of the build sheet is in pile the rats made, but what's there has the VIN, which proves it's a six-pack convertible."

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See all 45 photos 1970-plymouth-road-runner-440-6-convertible-trunk-lid-detailThe car's original B3 Ice Blue paint is most evident in doorjambs, on the firewall, and on the underside of the trunk lid—places that weren't prepped (or painted at all) when the car was resprayed in the 1970s.