1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

How many had one,,,,,

,http://www.oldride.com/library/files...r_overview.jpg

The 1968 Road Runner, introduced to the public by Plymouth in
October 1967.

Kind of a 'general purpose performance car', available with the 383/335 HP
power-plant as its standard engine.

Built on the Belvedere frame, it was a 'no frills' car, with no trim package,
basic interior with a bench seat, and rubber mat flooring.
No consoles, either a 4-speed on the floor, or column-shifted automatic.
A 'plain jane' dashboard, with a standard 120 MPH speedometer, and 3 dash gages
(amps, temperature and fuel). An idiot indicator light was utilized for oil pressure.

Standard 11" drum brakes, and 8 3/4" Sure-Grip posi-rear w/3.23 gears.
14" x 5.5" wheels, with F70 x 14" tires (Red-line or RWL)

Originally advertised as a $3000 car that could run 14.00's @ 100 MPH
A 'bit' exaggerated,,,,,as the car ran closer to 14.90's @ 93 MPH.

Only real options;,,,,,,, disc brakes and power steering,,,,,,and the 426 HEMI.

pc

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I always wanted one. Loved those cars, still do. Gunna have to settle for this 'ol '78 RR Stocker I have I guess! Jim:eek:


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Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I had a '69. Same car, 383,4speed,bench seat, rubber floor mats, 2 dr. post with tillt out rear windows,orange with black stripes, black vinyl top,3.23 gears, NO posi,ran 15.31 at the original Irwindale strip in 1976 at 92 MPH. Great car. It handles pretty well for what it was, never gave me any problems, I sold it in 1976 with just under 100,000 miles on it.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

When I was an art student in the mid eighties I had a brown '69 Super Bee. Bench, 383/auto, 3.23 Sure Grip. I bought it for $1700 and sold it a couple of years later for $2100. I thought I came out like a bandit. Ha! I guess I'm not cool enough to drive around in a car like that...

Chris Barnes
Wagons of Steel
Stock 6621

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I had a '69 in B5 blue. 383 4 speed, bench seat with 3:23 gears. Cragars all around. I could chirp the first three gears but fourth was too tall! I wish I had that car back now.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I knew this guy in the late 60s that owned a 68 RR--automatic and ran 13.60s @ 103 all day long--only thing done was a shift-kit and a famous Bill Hill valve job--and a pair of dumps on the exhaust---would kick the ***** out of any RRs that came around-:D

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I drove this car for Raymond King in 1980 and 81. Don't know if it was a 68 or 69 but we had the 440 six pack in it. I won three races in a row one time with it, only time in my racing career I was able to do that.

Wayne.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ANSOM-1981.jpg

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I bought 2 new. The 1st 1 I bought in Oct of 1967, Red with an auto. I drove the car to California that christmas and burned a quart of oil about every 500 miles. The motor had some serious ring problems

The dealership traded it back in on another 1 in May of 1968. That car was a winner It was purple with an auto, I changed the gears from 3:55's to 3:91's. It ran 14:50's at Marion, SD all day long. I made no other changes to the car. I have still have the trophies that I won with that car. I ran F/Pure Stock with it.

Those were the glory days of the muscle car era. I am so happy that I was a part of it!

#5457

Curt Rees

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Back in early-1968, Chrysler Plymouth/Dodge had some kind of
dealer installed only 'performance package' offered for the
383 Road Runner and/or 383 Super Bee.

* 4.10 gears
* a special adjustable pinion snubber
* Hooker Headers (1 3/4" pipe x 44" length w/3" collectors)
* distributor kit (w/heavier counter-weights and weaker springs)

The cost, around $375,,,,,,
called the 'Quarter in a 100 MPH package'...

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I had Frost Green '69 383, 4-speed, 3.23 with the Air Grabber option.
It ran very well after some tweaking.
I loved that car.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I didn't own one, but my brother bought the first hardtop 68 Road Runner I'd ever seen in the spring/summer of 68. None of the magazines (which was our only source for info) had mentioned that option yet so I did a serious doubletake when he brought it home.

It was really too pretty to be a Road Runner. It was light yellow, had a two tone tan interior including carpet, had road wheels with trim rings, and chrome around the windows. The wide ovals were even thin line whitewalls. It didn't have any performance options at all; in fact I think the 3:23 rear end wasn't even Sure Grip. It looked like a really nice Belvedere and would have been the sleeper of all time if it had a Hemi.

The car ran OK but since it was pretty heavy with the options and he was a goob anyhow, it wasn't something anyone was afraid to pull next to.

I drove the car a bit that summer and the thing I remember more than anything was the great intake sound from the open aircleaner and AFB. I'd kick the Torqueflite down any chance I could just to listen those secondaries open.

I thought the car was pretty neat back then but looking back on it I'd probably rather have the 58 348 Impala he traded in.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

There's another one I messed up on. My neighbor had a dark green RR in his driveway and he was trying to decide what to do with it because he didn't have the money to put the original engine back in it. Someone replaced the HEMI with a 383, I bet I could have picked it up for about 2K !
(this was in 1976)

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Greg, I was running my mustang at Irwindale at the same time (usually Wednesday nights)
What area were you from? I grew up in West Covina, spent time at Irwindale, OCIR and Whittier Blvd.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

All the Road Runners were supposed to be equipped with the
Sure-Grip Posi-rear as standard equipment.

The standard gears were 3.23's.
But for $88 (a wise investment) you could get the 'Performance Axle',
3.55 gears with the Sure-Grip Posi.

The first cars out in October 1967, were pillared post cars, with the
swing out quarter-glass.

pc

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

My Dad bought a 70 model right after he came back from Viet Nam.383 4-speed 3.23's coupe Vitamin C orange with burnt orange bench seats.Raced it at Budds Creek and later at Gainesville,eventually ran 12.23 with the stock OEM shortblock, street hemi cam and the usual bolt on's

Still have it and it's undergoing a full resto,we kept all the original parts we took off to go racing except the hood.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

When we came back from Germany in 73 (dad was airforce) one of the first cars in town I saw was a jacked up bright orange 68 or 69 road runner with "Vitamin C" wrote across the back fenders.
I remember it was a 4 spd and had chrome 440 badges on the hood where the 383 should be. (or did they come with 440 badges?)

Loved that car as well as the red 55 chev with a blown bigblock that i used to help push down the neighbors driveway to start. it had a tilt front end and chrome ladderbars. (didn't have a starter for some reason)

If i was only a little older....

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Those first Road Runners came equipped with the outright pathetic
'Inland Shifter',,,,,remember them.

Then in mid-year 68', Mopar got smart, and changed over to the
'Hurst' standard model shifter unit.

And also offered carpeting in the Road Runner, as well as the
'hardtop' model, with roll-down quarter glass.

pc

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

A close friend of mine bought a new one in 68. It was a medium green with a matching vinyl top and black interior. It ran good, looked good, and sounded great. But to this day he still kicks himself for letting the salesman talk him out of ordering one with a Hemi, which is what he really wanted. He told him that it would probably take a really long time to get and it would cost him around $500 more! Of course the one he bought was on the lot and available for immediate delivery. So much for hindsight.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

This was one of the advertisements that got the 'Beep Beep' going,
the mid-year addition of the 'hardtop Road Runner'.

Not sure if anyone remembers the 'special Beep Beep horn'.
with the Road Runner decal on it.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I grew up/lived in Temple City at the time. I sold the Runner in fall of '76. My other automotive excitement at the time was a red '62 impala SS with a 409, dual AFB's and all. With a 4 speed, 4:88's and some 10 inch slicks, it ran low 13's at around 106-107. It had spoked American mags, and was the most brutal car I ever drove. The torque waas so immense that most of my buddies couldn't believe what a full throttle power shifting run felt like in something like that. Here, 35 years later, I still do this stuff. Currenty, it's a red 68 Chevelle, either a K/SA 2 door hardtop, or an O/SA 4 door wagon.It's all still fun.Doesn't matter if its Winternationals, test and tune, or the Summit Racing Series.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I'm glad you posted the ad as I hadn't seen it. It's interesting since it shows the car on chrome Magnum 500s. I positively remember my brother's 68 having the Magnums with the brushed aluminum trim rings. I remember it clearly since the 68 AMX I had at the time had the chrome versions and I always managed to get a rise out of him since he had the "cheap wheels".

As for the horn, I remember reading about the money that Mopar had to pay Warner Brothers in order to use the Road Runner image and the sound of the horn. I think they got away cheap compared with what Pontiac had to pay per car on the Trans Am.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

When the 68' Road Runner first came out in October 1967, and
if you went to race it during the 1967 season,
you were classed in B/S or B/SA.

In 1967, the B/S class had a a weight factor 9.50 - 10.59 wt/hp.
The B/S class was that broad of range.

So the 3400 lb., 383/335 HP Road Runner was classed with
the 440 GTX's, 440 R/T's, 400 GTO's and 4-4-2's, and SS396 Chevelle's.
All of which had much higher horsepower.

And not to forget the #2950 lb. 'Z-28' Camaro 4-speeds.

On the road, The Road Runners could handle themselves, but on
the drag strip,,,,,,,,,,,sometimes it wasn't pretty in late-1967.

In 1968, when NHRA re-classed everything, the Road Runners were
classed in E/S or E/SA (10.00 - 10.49 wt/hp).
The automatic cars were much more successful than the 4-speeds.

pc

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Had a dark green 68 sedan with the rear pop out window and a black vinyl roof and tan interior stick (hurst) car.
There was quite a bit of work done to the engine, tranny, gears, front end and cranking those torsion bars as required.....
It was a fun drag car, with slicks and narrow fronts on Keystone mags...it also won its fair share on the street with the red lines and small hub caps.
Still have some of those trophies.....somewhere.....
The guy I sold it to totalled it two weeks after he bought it............
MB

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Just pulled out an old 1968 Drag News,
found one of our friends winning in E/SA in August 1968.

Ran a 14.72 @ 95.50 MPH, in winning a Class Trophy at Dover Drag Strip.

A completely stock 383 engine and 727 automatic transmission, with Hooker Headers, 3.55 gears and 7' slicks,,,,,,,Oh,,, and 'foam dice'
hanging from the inside mirror.

Road Runner Fact;
The interesting thing about the 1968 383 Road Runners.
The 3.23 gears were standard.
The 3.55 gears could be ordered with the 'performance axle option' ($88)
The 3.91 gears could be 'special ordered', for an additional ($55), on top of the ($88) option.

4.10 gears from the factory were not available. Not because it was harmful to the cars
engine and drivetrain. It was because the Plymouth GTX sales and marketing department was afraid that a 383 Road Runner with 4.10 gears might outperform a 440 GTX with 3.55 gears.
And that, as we all know, would not have been too good for GTX sales.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Some 1970 performance tests by Sox & Martin with the Road Runner..


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Sun4V6UcSi...18eb89b4_o.bmp

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Wayne, It's a '69. Jim:D

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Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

a friend of mine bought a new 68 roadrunner in 68 , plain jane hemi bench seat auto on the coloum ,we street raced every week, my 69 ram -air iv gto and his hemi , and ten or so other muscle cars ,never will forget those times. Anyway my gto is long gone but he still has that 68 hemi car sitting up the road from me, 9000 original miles on it............. Dennis

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

I had a buddy with a '70 RR, 383 4speed combo that had been tweaked a little,,yellow with black interior, and a Air Grabber hood. We swapped rides one Friday night since he liked my '67 Malibu 327-4 speed hardtop. Anyway, after a night of cruising all the popular stops of the day, this is around '73 ,, I pull up to a stop light, inside lane, and a guy in a '69 Mustang pulls up beside me and revs his motor. I give him a little smile,,reach over and hit the switch for the Air grabber to open up, and watch his eyes grow as that thing slowly came up with the bad *** graphic on the side. He promptly decided to turn right and I never got to run him,,Dang, I was ready for him,,oh well. Thats my Road Runner story!
Danny Durham

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Now that is funny, I don't care who you are! Jim

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Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

All that sticks in my memory was that a 340 Duster/Dart Swinger A-body car, was about two tenths quicker in pure stock trim, than the 335/383 Road Runner package with any given drivetrain and that really surprised me. Took me a long time to reconcile that fact....

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

For 1968 the Road Runner came in either a coupe or a hardtop model, the high-performance 383 4-barrel was the standard engine, the 426 Hemi engine was optional...There were no 68 Road Runners built with 440 4-barrel engine, and no Road Runner convertibles were built that year.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x...t/68hemirr.jpg

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

As I posted before I wanted a Road Runner, but when it came time and I could afford a new car I bought a 1971 340 Demon with and auto and 3.91 suregrip. It took some driving finesse but bone stock with headers and E70/15 Goodyears it ran 14.11 @ 99 . I still own this car which served me well as a bracket racer, a Stocker and a Super Stocker for many years. It has 15,003 original miles on it. I love that car! Jim

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Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

After a 3 year stint with a '70 429 SCJ Torino, and with cash burning burning a hole in my pocket, I bought a '68 Hemi RR off a used car lot in Denver in '74. That thing ran so bad, it would hardly rev up. Needless to say, I was a bit dissapointed. Soon enough though, I started learning about tuning on a hemi. It was such a kick to drive. You just wanted to put your foot in it all the time. Turns out someone had installed 4.89 (4.88?) gears in it. No wonder it thrilled.

One of the most memorable times on the street was a Boss 429 that took three beatings one evening, before he resigned himself to the fact that he did not have the beans to beat the Hemi.

At the risk of embarrassment though, I must admit I got beat pretty badly by a very stock appearing '701/2 Z28 on another occasion. I suspect that he was not sporting a 350. All I saw was his tailights as he kept pulling away. Ouch!

I later turned that car into my first Stock Eliminator ride in about 1976.

That's my Road Runner story.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

My Grandfather said he loved to see 390 Fairlanes, Comets, & 383 Road Runners @ the track with his 66 Impala SS 396/325....But said the 57 Chevy FI cars were another story!( he had the trophys to prove it) ;)

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Glad to hear about your experiences. I remember the 340 Dusters. They would really surprise you if you didn't know about them. Back in that day, there were so many muscle car combinations that there were several that didn't get the attention they deserved.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Purchased a 1968 1/2 in Viet Nam, had delivered to Miami, FL for pick up. It was midnight metallic blue. The '68 1/2 were slightly different in the tail lights. Had a 383 Sure Grip 3:23.
Had a friend who weighed about 300 lbs and worked at Miami Hollywood Speedway. He took me out and showed me how to shift and introduced me to drag racing. I thought he was going to rip the shifter out of the floor with his bang shifts, thought that was really cool.
The motor must have been one of the first off the assembly line as it was way quicker than any of the RR I ran Best time was a 14.03. Managed to acquire 3 speeding tickets the first month I owned it.
Entered my first race, the East Coast Winternationals and won the Eliminator running F/Pure Stock. Now I hooked. Had a six foot trophy riding in the front seat on the way home. This Mustang pulls up next to me and like an idiot I had to show what I had. Blew him off the line as he turned left down the road a piece and I noticed the blue lights behind me for ticket #4. Have not street raced since.

Put a giant hood scoop on it painted in multi colored snake skin. Won a buch of local races and then ended up working at the track also. Sold the car for a motorcycle.

Now I own a station wagon as it is convenient to haul around friends in the pits.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA and I'm still going 14's

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

The famous 1968 Road Runner 'Beep Beep Horn'

Developed by the Spartan Corporation, for $10,000.

The first Road Runner horn was all back, with no decal.

Near the end of the 1968 production year, the decal with
"Voice of the Road Runner" was added.

http://i22.ebayimg.com/03/i/02/59/0f/52_1.JPG

Road Runner Fun Fact;
When Chrysler Corporation struck a deal with Warner Brothers
in 1967 for $50,000 for the rights to name the new car the 'Road Runner' and brand
emblems on the car, it was based upon a production number of
2500 cars......More or less, $20 per car.

Of course, sales for the 1968 production year reached numbers beyond Chrysler's wildest
dream at 46,000+.

And at Warner Brothers, viewership increased by over 28% for the Saturday Morning
Bugs Bunny & Road Runner Show,,,especially with males between the ages of 18 to 25....

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

In early 1972 I was driving a 1964 Valiant 2 door sedan, bone stock 273 car and wanting more beans. I couldn't afford a new car, but spied a rolled-over 4-speed '71 Demon 340 in a junkyard that they were pulling the powertrain out of. I bought everything from the fan to the 3.91 Sure Grip 8.75" and it all went into my unsuspecting, sad-looking '64 Valiant.

Now, I had my 340 A-body...

With the the addition of a 3,000-pound clutch, a 4.56:1 limited slip, headers, slicks, a "Riddler" Stock eliminator Lunati cam, and blocked heat-risers, I now had a 12-second street ride that was still the saddest-looking sleeper you ever saw...

The only car I've ever owned that was never outrun...

Here's a picture of the "Trojan Horse".... and the "business office... hee hee...

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Bill,

Didn't they call those camshafts 'VOODOO',,,,,,,,

On the subject of the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner.
Despite it's 1968 success,,,,,,,the 68' Pontiac GTO won out as
the 1968 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

The 1969 Plymouth Road Runner was the 1969 Car of the Year.
Motor Trend Magazine, February 1969.

Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
 

Bill
That would of been a good street race make some money with it.