1968 Plymouth Road Runner

Jeff Lee · 09-21-2011, 10:02 PM

In early 80's a friend had a '70 RR with 440-6 and a column shifted 727. Dana 4.10 & Air Grabber. It was Vitamin C with white bench interior and the "Trail Duster" side strip. I still think that is one of the best looking cars. This car was bone stock, mufflers and OEM style tires. He was obsessed with minimizing the ET in complete factory stock condition. He got it down to 13.72. I remember driving the car. I have to believe with slicks it would have gone into the twelves because from a 25-35 MPH role and dropping it into low, it was an animal. Wish I could remember the MPH it produced because that would be telling.

In the late '80's a friend restored an A12 Super Bee. 440 Six Barrel, 4-speed, 3.54 Dana. All stock except it did have higher compression domed pistons. At the same time, I restored a '66 HEMI Satellite with 4-speed and 3.54 Dana. We raced 3 times on a back road. I wish I had video. Classic B body HEMI vs. Six-Pack, same trans, same gears. Each race was the same. Six-Pack has the lead in first and second with the HEMI making up lost ground at the top of second, third gear the HEMI is dead even, forth gear the HEMI puts a fender on the Six-Pack and by the top of 4th, the HEMI is a fender and maybe part of a door ahead. In a typical in-town street race the Six-Pack would be the victor. Of course the Six-Pack did have some more compression than stock.

What is also interesting is the GTX vs. RR. The GTX came standard with a 440/375 and was a little bit heavier. The RR was standard with a 383 and you had two engine options; Six-Pack ('69 or '70) or HEMI ('68-'70 not counting the '71 models). In my mind, the GTX should be worth more than a 383 RR. But that's not the case in today's muscle car market. The RR is hands down the winner over a 440 GTX. And the '68-'70 RR will out sell the '68-'70 Super Bee.

Bill,
The same guy that had the '70 RR above also had a '64 Signet. It was a well known early '70's street racer in the Phoenix area. It was built by a guy that cut weight out of everything. A100 seats, home made aluminum single resivoir master cylinder, aluminum nuts and bolts and acid dipped body parts. It was plain silver. When my friend owned it, he had a bone stock '70 340 with cast exhaust manifolds in it with an A833 & 4.56's. It ran high 11's. He added a cam, fenderwell headers, a hi-rise and Holley and it was a 10 second car. This was around 1980 and a 10 second 340 was pretty darn
fast. Neil Smedly owned the car for awhile and he sold it to somebody. The car has completely dropped off the radar. I'm sure it's a roach by now but I sure would love to own that car.

09-21-2011, 10:02 PM	#11
Jeff Lee VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Anthem, Arizona Posts: 2,766 Likes: 0 Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: 1968 Plymouth Road Runner In early 80's a friend had a '70 RR with 440-6 and a column shifted 727. Dana 4.10 & Air Grabber. It was Vitamin C with white bench interior and the "Trail Duster" side strip. I still think that is one of the best looking cars. This car was bone stock, mufflers and OEM style tires. He was obsessed with minimizing the ET in complete factory stock condition. He got it down to 13.72. I remember driving the car. I have to believe with slicks it would have gone into the twelves because from a 25-35 MPH role and dropping it into low, it was an animal. Wish I could remember the MPH it produced because that would be telling. In the late '80's a friend restored an A12 Super Bee. 440 Six Barrel, 4-speed, 3.54 Dana. All stock except it did have higher compression domed pistons. At the same time, I restored a '66 HEMI Satellite with 4-speed and 3.54 Dana. We raced 3 times on a back road. I wish I had video. Classic B body HEMI vs. Six-Pack, same trans, same gears. Each race was the same. Six-Pack has the lead in first and second with the HEMI making up lost ground at the top of second, third gear the HEMI is dead even, forth gear the HEMI puts a fender on the Six-Pack and by the top of 4th, the HEMI is a fender and maybe part of a door ahead. In a typical in-town street race the Six-Pack would be the victor. Of course the Six-Pack did have some more compression than stock. What is also interesting is the GTX vs. RR. The GTX came standard with a 440/375 and was a little bit heavier. The RR was standard with a 383 and you had two engine options; Six-Pack ('69 or '70) or HEMI ('68-'70 not counting the '71 models). In my mind, the GTX should be worth more than a 383 RR. But that's not the case in today's muscle car market. The RR is hands down the winner over a 440 GTX. And the '68-'70 RR will out sell the '68-'70 Super Bee. Bill, The same guy that had the '70 RR above also had a '64 Signet. It was a well known early '70's street racer in the Phoenix area. It was built by a guy that cut weight out of everything. A100 seats, home made aluminum single resivoir master cylinder, aluminum nuts and bolts and acid dipped body parts. It was plain silver. When my friend owned it, he had a bone stock '70 340 with cast exhaust manifolds in it with an A833 & 4.56's. It ran high 11's. He added a cam, fenderwell headers, a hi-rise and Holley and it was a 10 second car. This was around 1980 and a 10 second 340 was pretty darn fast. Neil Smedly owned the car for awhile and he sold it to somebody. The car has completely dropped off the radar. I'm sure it's a roach by now but I sure would love to own that car. __________________ Jeff Lee 7494 D/S '70 AMX Last edited by Jeff Lee; 09-21-2011 at 10:16 PM.