“The Plymouth Road Runner”
|
|
The mid-1960s were the heyday of the muscle car. Started in 1964 by the Pontiac GTO, the muscle car craze boomed out of control as every American carmaker hurried high performance products to market. Cars like Chevy’s Chevelle SS, the GTO, the Oldsmobile 442, the Buick GS, the Ford Fairlane 500XL and GT, even American Motors had the Rambler Rebel. Plymouth, Chrysler’s bargain brand, needed a car that could take a chunk out of that lucrative market for the home team.
Chrysler wanted a low-cost muscle car it could build out of parts it already had. Marketing manager John Herlitz and Product Planner Jack Pitman pushed for a stripped-down B-body (midsize) car with a big engine, but devoid of frills or luxury features as standard equipment with the goal of keeping the MSRP Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) under $3,000.
As it turned out, all of the 1968 cars in its class made it under the $3,000-mark. The Road Runner at $2869 wasn’t even the lowest. That honor went to the Rebel at $2,689. Lots of very stripped Road Runners rolled off the lots with powerful engines, but manual drum brakes, manual steering, ‘dog dish’ hubcaps or even a 3-speed manual shifted on the column. They were actually an option, as it came standard with either the excellent New Process A-833 4-speed manual or the rugged 727 Torque Flite 3-speed automatic. But the 3-speed manual could be optioned to get the cost down. Few were ordered that way.
The ’68 Runner Runner came standard with the 383 Magnum rated at 335 hp. Optional engines were the 440 Magnum with single 4-barrel with 375 hp and the awesome 426 Hemi at 425 hp. Other standard equipment included heavy-duty suspension, dual exhaust, Redline tires, a 3.55:1 rear axle ratio and no frills. Inside they came standard with a front bench seat, no center console, no radio and rubber floor mats instead of carpet. 44,599 Road Runners were built during its first year, 1968, much more than
expected.
The name, by the way came from the popular Saturday morning TV cartoon the Road Runner Show. It featured this road runner that was faster than the speed of sound and he was being chased by this scrawny, starving coyote that was trying to eat him. But the Road Runner was always too fast to catch. As he’d leave the coyote in his dust he would happily say “Meep meep!” and be gone. Chrysler paid Warner Brothers $50,000 for the rights to the image and that crazy “Meep meep”. They named the new car Road Runner and made the horn go “Meep Meep”. They went further by adding a large graphic to the oblong air cleaner lid that said “Coyote Duster” with a picture of Wiley Coyote on it. It was part of the N96 Air Grabber option, available with any engine starting in 1969.
|
|
Things went so well the first year, they loaded up the Road Runner with lots of new, and highly profitable options. The new, optional new Air Grabber was a functional hood scoop that offered ram air/cold air induction. The 440 Six-Pack became optional and the styling got more aggressive with a new grille and side stripes. 1969 saw 45,034 Road Runners sold, which turned out to be its high-water mark.
The stated goal of the Road Runner was always to put race-winning performance within reach of young buyers who didn’t have a lot of money, and didn’t demand too many frills. At that, they absolutely nailed it. On the streets, Road Runners quickly gained a reputation for being quick. They had a series of TV commercials back in the day where a young fellow was pulled over in a Road Runner by a pot bellied Southern
sheriff who naturally assumed this kid couldn’t afford a car this nice, so he must have stolen it. He’d say “You’re in a heap a’ trouble, boy”, only to be proven wrong. Even a young kid like this could afford a Road Runner.
1970 saw a complete reskinning of the car that many feel made for the best looking Road Runner ever. It softened the boxy lines of the former model, and gave it more of a ‘Coke bottle-shape’. Faux scoops were added to the rear quarters. The blacked-out grill had a bright band that circled the headlights and crossed the grille forming what is called today a ‘race track’. The entire body shell, with the exception of the greenhouse was changed. 1970 turned out to be the last unfettered year before the Malaise Era
reared its ugly head. It brought with it all sorts of new federal laws governing emissions, fuel consumption and safety, and Detroit scrambled to meet the new rules after two decades of doing whatever the heck they wanted. It was a wakeup call for the industry and it was ugly at first, very ugly. Between the formerly-powerful engines
that now just gasped to the hideous, park bench-sized 5 mph bumpers, it was tough on Detroit and on buyers of high performance cars.
Despite this, the 1970 Road Runner retained its full list of engine options without any reduction in horsepower. This would be the last year of that. The 1970 Road Runner came standard with the 383 Magnum making 335 hp. There were still two 440s available, the good ol’ 440 Magnum Super Commando with single 4-barrel and 375 hp, and the rocking’ 440 Six Pack (three 2-barrel carbs) making 390 hp. And of course, always on the top of the heap, the mighty 426 Hemi, still making a claimed 425 hp (which was understated, they made more like 530 hp).
|
|
For the 1971 model year everything changed. Gone were the squared lines of the 1st generation Road Runner (1968-1970), replaced by a sleek new shape that they called ‘fuselage styling’. The front bumper was now a one-piece loop of chrome that encircled the entire grille opening. There was no break between the C-pillar and the rear quarters, they flowed smoothly together. The wheel openings were gently squared up, yet still rounded. It made for an impressive-looking car. The all-new interior was now mostly plastic. It was built on the same B-body platform as before with the same 116-inch wheelbase.
Despite the onset of the Malaise in 1971, the Road Runner managed to hold on to some serious muscle, for one more year at least. The standard 383 was still making 335 hp, but the 440 Magnum dropped from 375 hp to 370, and the 440 Six Pack dropped from 390 hp to 385. But the 426 Hemi thundered on with its same 425 hp.
In 1972 the base engine became the small block 340 making 240 hp, but the 440 was still on the option list, now down to 280 hp. This was the year that the Feds forced carmakers to express net horsepower numbers, rather than gross, so they appear even smaller than they actually were. But horsepower was dropping for sure. A 400 V8 B series big block was added to the option list. Horsepower continued to drop every year and 1974 was the last year for the 440.
1974 was also the last year for the ‘true Road Runners’. In 1975 the Road Runner became nothing more than an option package on the Plymouth Volare. From then on they were called Volare Road Runners and the fun was over. Hardly worth talking about here, and a disappointing end to a glorious car.
|
|
On a brighter note, mention must be made about special models. First, obviously, is the GTX. Strangely, it came out one year earlier than the Road Runner. Introduced in 1966 as a 1967 model, it was initially based off of the Belvedere, which would also spawn the Road Runner a year later. Then, for the rest of its short life, the GTX was a top-line version of the Road Runner.
Whereas 1st-gen Road Runners came standard with the 383 Magnum, the GTX came standard with the 440 Magnum, with the 440 Six Pack and 426 Hemi as options, and they came standard with just about every item on the Road Runner option list. The GTX ran from 1967 through 1970.
Of course, the king of the hill as far as Road Runners are concerned is clearly the 1970 Superbird. In late-60s NASCAR, every manufacturer was struggling to win on the track, assuming it would lead to increased sales in the showroom. But the boxy Road Runners were an aerodynamic brick and it was hurting their top speeds and high speed stability. Dodge had the same problem with the Charger, so they crafted a new nose and huge rear wing and cleaned up the back window area, and hit a new NASCAR speed record, topping 200 mph for the first time. They called it the Charger Daytona. So, Plymouth followed suit and built the Superbird.
|
|
The 1970 Superbird came standard with the 440 Magnum Super Commando making 375 hp, with the 440 Six Pack (390 hp) and the 426 Hemi (425 hp) as options. Of course the real attention-getter was that big wing on the back. It stood 23 inches off the deck lid and provided over 600 pounds of downforce at 150 mph. They also grafted on a huge fiberglass nosecone with hideaway headlights that streamlined the front end. And the rear window angle was laid down slightly to improve its drag coefficient, sort of like Dodge did with the Daytona.
The Superbird was a homologation car. NASCAR required that 500 similar units be sold to the public to qualify it. Plymouth sold 1,935 Superbirds in the 1970 model year, making it not only one of the rarest muscle cars, but one of the most sought after. One sold at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction in 2023 for $1,430,000! Yikes