1968 Plymouth Road Runner

[Jeff Teuton]

We have been the Mopar dealer since summer l968, but all our orders were for 69 models. Interesting thing in l969 the insurance industry missed the Super Bee, but classified the Road Runner as a Symbol 5 HP. So we sold optioned Super Bees to everyone because the Hemi did not offer air cond., (we live 30 miles from the Gulf), and was a almost uninsurable, the 440 was almost as bad, but you could get a/c, but uninsurable, same for the GTX (any motor) and the Road Runner (any motor), so we took advantage of it. In l970 the insurance people caught up. The air conditioned models (super bee and road runner) had the small cam and a Holley @ 330 hp, and the non air cars had the avs and big cam @ 335. A Super Bee with bucket seats, console, air, p. steering, road wheel upgrade, Polyglas tire upgrade, am radio, rear speaker, & a few other things (wheel opening mouldings, belt line mouldings etc) listed about 3900. Vinyl top put it over 4k. That car (along with the 340, R/T & such) kept us in business until we learned the word truck, station wagon, etc. Started on a side street in Houma, LA with a one car showroom and 7 people. We are now in our 44th year. It's been quite a ride.

[Jeff Teuton]

Cimo, I seem to remember in l970 the 3 speed was standard and about 40 bucks for the 4 speed in the Super Bee/Road Runner cars. The factory slipped that in if I remember right. Course you know how that memory thing is.

[Paul Ceasrine]

I wonder how many Hemi Road Runners were registered as
318 Belvedere's,,,,,,,,for insurance reasons,
or better yet,,,,registered in their grandmothers name,,,,,,,,,

I wonder if the 120 MPH speedometer in the 1968 Road Runner had anything to do with that.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Cheech,

Popular Mechanics was more concerned with the owners response, as
opposed to their own view of the car.

They did perform a Top Speed test with the 68' 383 4-speed car with 3.23 gears, and got a
result of 122 MPH.

With a general overview, that the car had good performance and handled well at top speeds, and it was mechanically well built.

Criticism, was with the poor workmanship of the interior, such as loose screws, missing fasteners, misaligned moldings, air noise through the window seals.
They labeled the interior as 'flat-out cheap'.

Major Dislikes:
* Interior workmanship (Loosely fastened components)
* Wind noise (Through the quarter-glass hinged window)
* Squeaks and rattles (Poorly fitted moldings)
* Water leaks (Through the window seals)
* Glove compartment (Hinged glove box clumsily designed)
* Dashboard (Set too high)
* Rear View Mirror (Set too low)
* Inadequate seat padding
* Lack of headroom
* Rear seat (Uncomfortable)
* Hinged Quarter-glass (Mixed reaction)
* Ashtray (Location)

Note: Not to be believed, but the #1 complaint was the Ashtray location. Positioned
dead-center and at the underside of the dash, and recessed. The owners complained that
it was hard to drive, and flick the ashes into the ashtray at the same time.
How times have changed,,,,,,,,

[Paul Ceasrine]

Dave,

This information came from 'Everything Road Runner'

In 1968, there were approximately 1900 Chrysler-Plymouth Dealerships
thoughout the United States.
1000 were labeled as Large to Mid-Level Sales
450 were labeled as Intermediate Sales
450 were listed as Small Division

Not sure on the distribution of the 68' Road Runner.
Sales numbers were 46,054.

I would think, that the 1000 or so Large to Mid-Level Sales dealerships
sold 80% of the cars, (approximately 35,000).

The other 900 dealerships, probably sold 10,000 or so.

Going by those numbers, even the smallest of the Plymouth Dealerships
had to sell at least 5 Road Runners in the 1968 sales year.

One of the 1019 Hemi Road Runners built for 1968.



pc

[Mike Brogniez]

Wonder how many ended up/sold in Canada?
I liked those Keystones..........
MB

[Frank Castros]

Too bad the vintage Keystone Klassics are no longer produced. The Cragar version isn't the same.

[cicero819]

Originally Posted by Jeff Teuton

We have been the Mopar dealer since summer l968, but all our orders were for 69 models. Interesting thing in l969 the insurance industry missed the Super Bee, but classified the Road Runner as a Symbol 5 HP. So we sold optioned Super Bees to everyone because the Hemi did not offer air cond., (we live 30 miles from the Gulf), and was a almost uninsurable, the 440 was almost as bad, but you could get a/c, but uninsurable, same for the GTX (any motor) and the Road Runner (any motor), so we took advantage of it. In l970 the insurance people caught up. The air conditioned models (super bee and road runner) had the small cam and a Holley @ 330 hp, and the non air cars had the avs and big cam @ 335. A Super Bee with bucket seats, console, air, p. steering, road wheel upgrade, Polyglas tire upgrade, am radio, rear speaker, & a few other things (wheel opening mouldings, belt line mouldings etc) listed about 3900. Vinyl top put it over 4k. That car (along with the 340, R/T & such) kept us in business until we learned the word truck, station wagon, etc. Started on a side street in Houma, LA with a one car showroom and 7 people. We are now in our 44th year. It's been quite a ride.

Congratulation to you and your family on your 44th year in business, in these time of belt tightening and Government intervention in the auto industry you've done a good job steering your ship through these trouble water. On the same note, my best wishes on your win at INDY, you deserve it after all those years. Claude Ruel

[Jeff Teuton]

Thank you for the kind remarks.

[STK4340]

If you ever have any dealings with Mr. Jeff, you'll see why they are still going strong. Believe me, it goes further than the sale. He and his family are A+ 1st class and it definitely shows. He should be the "above and beyond" icon.

Ryan Becnel