1968 Plymouth Road Runner

Throughout the 1960s, especially the ladder part of the decade, many mainstream models were being equipped with large and potent engines, offering phenomenal power but at a hefty cost, out of reach for many America. What the market needed was an inexpensive mainstream model with an inexpensive special engine, something that Plymouth rectified with its new Road Runner.

Based on the cartoon character, the Road Runner was equipped with a horn that went 'beep beep!' and an ad campaign featuring Wiley Coyote. The air cleaner had a cartoon with the logo 'Coyote Duster,' and depending on the model and year, the steering wheel had a little Road Runner. The Superbird models had a helmeted Roadrunner onto its rear spoiler.

The Dodge Super Bee, the sister model to Plymouths Road Runner, required no such royalties, as it wore a cartoon bee with a helmet, headers, stinger, and fat tires. Based on the Coronet, the Super Bee was equipped with larger brakes, a different hood, heavier duty shocks and suspension components, and an inch larger wheelbase than the Road Runner.

Body styles on both the Road Runner and Super Bee were initially a pillared coupe, the lightest and least-costly version of the new Belvedere body. The base engine was Mopar's 383 cubic-inch V8, but with manifolds, valve springs, camshafts, crankcase, and heads from the 440 Magnum. With the help of a Carter four-barrel carburetor, hydraulic valve lifters, five mains bearings, and an unsilenced air cleaner, the engine delivered 335 horsepower. Standard features included a four-speed manual transmission, 3.23:1 gears, 11-inch heavy-duty drum brakes, Polyglas F70x15 tires, and a beefed-up suspension with high-rate leaf springs. A TorqueFlite was optional, and the interior had bench seats and rubber floor mats. The base price was a reasonable $2,896.

For the right to use the name and likeness of the Road Runner television cartoon character, Plymouth paid Warner Brothers studio $50,000. The cheeky cartoon character was known for its speed, an image Plymouth wanted for its Road Runner. Perhaps the cartoon character, the price, the engine, or the styling - or a combination of all these elements, the Road Runner was a smash hit. Plymouth forecasted sales of 2,500 but these were proven wildly inaccurate as nearly 45,000 examples were sold.

For buyers seeking even more performance, Plymouth offered an $88 High-Performance Axle Package with 3.55:1 Sure Grip. Just 1,019 buyers selected the $714 426 Hemi option with 425 horsepower. This came with a 3.54:1 Sure-Grip Dana 60 axle as a $139 mandatory option. Power front discs and power steering were smart extras. Two versions of the 440 cubic-inch V8 were optional as well. With a four-barrel carburetor, the Commando 440 CID V8 delivered 350 horsepower, and the Super Commando 440 delivered 375 horsepower.

Appearance and convenience options included tinted glass, upper belt moldings, two-tone paint, Road Runner body accent stripes, solid-state AM radio, AM radio with a stereo radio, Deluxe wheel covers, sport-style wheel covers, black-out hood finish, tachometer, and power windows.

Mid-year, a hardtop coupe joined the pillared coupe, along with an optional under-dash knob to open the otherwise-decorative hood vents.

The Road Runner was essentially a stripped-down version of the B-body-based Belvedere intermediate coupe with the right amount of performance at a very attractive price. It dispensed with such niceties as sound insulation and luxury interior appointments, and originally available only in two-door post coupe form until December 1967. The 383 Magnum V8 delivered mid-15-second quarter-mile times, or even faster with the 426 Hemi.

The coupe had a base price of $2,870 and 29,240 examples were built. 15,359 of the hardtop coupe were built and had a factory base price of $3,035. The 116-inch wheelbase platform was shared with the Belvedere, Satellite, and GTX, all measuring 202.7 inches in length.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2010