1968 Plymouth Road Runner

[Paul Ceasrine]

How many had one,,,,,

,

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

[Jim Wahl]

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


.

[Greg Reimer 7376]

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.

[Mike Gray]

Originally Posted by Greg Reimer 7376

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.

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.

[Greg Reimer 7376]

Originally Posted by Mike Gray

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.

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.

[Paul Ceasrine]

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

[Mike Brogniez]

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

[Chris Barnes]

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

[Bob Don]

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.

[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.