1968 Plymouth Road Runner

Jim Wahl · 09-20-2011, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MEMORIES

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.

Wayne, It's a '69. Jim

.

Geerhead55 · 09-20-2011, 10:31 PM

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

Jim Wahl · 09-20-2011, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geerhead55

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

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

.

bill dedman · 09-21-2011, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

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

.

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....

Hemi Moose · 09-21-2011, 12:55 AM

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.

Jim Wahl · 09-21-2011, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill dedman

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 drive train and that really surprised me. Took me a long time to reconcile that fact....

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

.

Greg Reimer 7376 · 09-21-2011, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

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

.

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.

Ron Ortiz · 09-21-2011, 09:43 AM

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

bill dedman · 09-21-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

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

.

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...

Paul Ceasrine · 09-21-2011, 02:37 PM

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.

09-20-2011, 10:31 PM	#2
Geerhead55 VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Tacoma, Washington Posts: 1,632 Likes: 0 Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts	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

09-21-2011, 12:55 AM	#5
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	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. Last edited by Hemi Moose; 09-21-2011 at 01:35 AM.

09-21-2011, 09:43 AM	#8
Ron Ortiz Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Englewood, Florida Posts: 990 Likes: 36 Liked 317 Times in 103 Posts	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 __________________ Ron Ortiz 2102 STK

09-21-2011, 02:37 PM	#10
Paul Ceasrine VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,546 Likes: 0 Liked 10 Times in 10 Posts	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.