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Biography |
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| A Brief History of the Development of the Plymouth Road Runner |
| 1968
By the time 1968 rolled around, muscle cars had begun to evolve into luxurious cruisers with big engines. They were still fast, very fast, in fact, but it wasn't uncommon to see a tricked out GTX or Chevelle loaded up with power everything and air conditioning. Window stickers had climbed accordingly; muscle cars could easily push the $5,000 mark when properly optioned. Chrysler decided to get back to basics. The idea for the Road Runner had initially been rejected, probably so as not to interfere with the new GTX and R/T models. However, based on the rosy muscle car sales pictures they were seeing, Chrysler execs decided that there was room for more muscle cars, especially cheap ones. They paid Warner Bros. 50 large for rights to the Road Runner image and name, and voila, a new muscle car was born. The 1968 Road Runner was marketed for what it was; a stripped down, brutal street car able to withstand anything you threw at it. Based on the 2 door post Belvedere, the brain child of Jack Smith had a bench seat available in black / silver, parchment, or blue, no carpets, pivoting crankless rear windows, F70 x 14 tires, and a price tag of $2896.00. Everything under the car was heavy duty. Want AC? Too bad, buy an Imperial. This thing didn't even come with a radio. It did have a 4 speed transmission and the newest version of the 383, which would come to be known as the 383 Magnum. This name was adopted because the motor shared the heads, cam and valve train, windage tray, and exhaust manifolds with its big brother the 440 Magnum. Carburetion came from Carter's AVS 4426S for manual trans cars, or the AVS 4401S for automatics. The result was a rather conservative rating of 335 horsepower with 425 ft-lbs of torque. For those who wanted to go faster, (1019 did, for $714.00 extra) the street hemi was optional. In the Road Runner, which weighed less than a Barracuda because it had been stripped down like a taxi cab, the hemi would turn in respectable times. A hardtop coupe and functional hood vents were added half way through 1968. A horn that went "beep-beep" complimented the Road Runner decals, which were not yet in color due to production time constraints. No convertibles were offered, if you see one it's a fake. The ragtop came out in 1969. Plymouth originally thought they would sell 2,500 Road Runners in 1968; they actually sold 44,599. The 1968 Road Runner is the second most significant muscle car after the 1964 Pontiac GTO. Production: 2 door post sedan: 29,240 1968 Engines: Engines:
1969 After the success of the 1968 Road Runner, Plymouth decided to expand the choices. Gee, what a surprise! They just had to play with the platform. Luckily for them, it worked this time. A convertible was added, and bucket seats were now optional. The Road Runner decals were now in color. Some changes were made under the hood, too. The Runner won Motor Trend's car of the year award for 1969. In addition to the standard 383 and the optional hemi, you could now get (at mid year) the insane 440 six pack (know by various names, see air cleaners) rated at a very conservative 390 bhp. The engine featured higher compression than the 440 Magnum, better internals, and 3 x 2 barrel Holley carburetors on an Edelbrock aluminum manifold. Included with the 440 six pack engine were simple black wheels with chrome lug nuts and no wheel covers, and a flat black fiberglass lift off hood with a functional scoop. The 390 bhp monster is one of the deadliest street cars ever offered to the public, much faster in stock trim than the vaunted hemi. Super Stock magazine tested one with a 4 speed and 4.10 gears in June of 1969 and recorded a 1/4 mile time of 12.91@111.8 mph. The six pack reduced the hemi's sales to 826 while selling 388 of its own. Buyers bear me out.....good 6 barrel specimens bring in the neighborhood of $65,000, nearly three times the price of a 383 Runner. Nice neighborhood. Buyers rewarded Plymouth in 1969 by purchasing 84,510 Coyote machines, nearly doubling the 1968 sales figure. Production: Engines:
1970 The Road Runner received fresh new front and rear styling for 1970. The detachable "Six Pack" hood was dropped, but all Road Runners were now available with the optional "Air Grabber" hood. This consisted of an under dash switch which would open a vacuum operated trap door on the hood, revealing a shark cartoon with the words "Air Grabber." Tacky and ineffective, as the best place for an air scoop is backwards facing the windshield plenum. The "Air Grabber" would automatically close when the engine was turned off. A Rallye dash and 150 mph speedometer were added. Somebody at Chrysler apparently thought crazy paint colors would sell cars, and for 1970 the MoPar muscle cars could be had in such garish tones as Vitamin C Orange, Lemon Twist, In Violet (aka Plum Crazy), Lime Light Poly, Tor-Red, Sassy Grass Green, and Moulin Rouge. The names varied from year to year and by model, but I'm sure you've seen some of them and get the point. More stripes were added across the board as well, and a lot of fake scoops and decals that failed to spark sales. Stick to basics, boys, stick to basics. Another addition was the Superbird, a Nascar inspired mess with a tapered nose and a huge laundry rack spoiler on the trunk (made by Hackett Brass) featuring a large Road Runner decal. This thing was offered to the public as a Road Runner (or Charger Daytona) just to make it legal for the big circuit. (The Charger version had been introduced in 1969) Sound familiar? Ever see one on the road? Me neither. The engine choices remained the same, with slight changes. The 383 compression ratio dropped to 9.5 : 1 and carburetion was changed to a Holley 4 barrel. The 440 single 4 bbl engine was added, and the Hemi went from solid to hydraulic lifters for improved durability. Not that it mattered, the word was out on the big boat anchor motor and Road Runner customers ordered a mere 302 of them, 136 of which were in Superbirds. The standard four speed manual became an option as a strengthened three speed manual was made standard. Again, a mistake; don't downgrade a car when the sales are up. Gee, who could've guessed; sales dropped to 41,484, a drop of almost half. Undoubtedly some buyers grabbed the new Challengers and Barracudas, though. Production: Engines:
1971 1971 saw the dawn of the end of the muscle car. Emissions, unleaded gas, air pumps, catalytic converters, and all sorts of other government imposed free country isn't it junk killed sales deader than Julius Caesar. The car makers hung on though, and tried to milk the names for all they were worth. Who cared if the cars were dogs? Money was the name of the game. In just its fourth year, the Road Runner saw its standard 383 engine drop to 8.5 compression and 300 bhp while the 440 engines each lost 5 bhp. It was more than that, but somebody decided lying might produce sales. No 383s would be built after 1971. The 426 Hemi stayed fast at 425 bhp. This would be the last year for the Hemi. Just as well, only 59 Road Runners came through with the big engine. Both the 2 door post sedan and the convertible were dropped, leaving the 2 door coupe as the sole offering. Sales predictably went in the toilet. Production: Engines:
1972 The Road Runner was produced in one form or another through 1980, but for my purposes I will only cover it up to the 1972 model. To show how far Chrysler had sunk, the great Plymouth GTX was now a Road Runner option package and came only with the 440. No more Hemi. The Road Runner received a redesigned rear bumper and side markers along with electronic ignition, 60 series tires, and a rear sway bar. The front bumper now had two vertical slots for the bumper jack and the Road Runner received a new grille. Due to increasing emission standards, the 383 V8 and the 426 Hemi were dropped. The base engine was now the anemic 340. A new 400 cid V8 was introduced, rated at 255 bhp. Wow, get out of the way. Oh well, nothing lasts forever. Customers yawned to the tune of 7,628 Road Runners. Production: Engines:
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