The Plymouth Road Runner was an absolute success when the first ones hit the street in 1968. They were a return to what the muscle car was originally about, an affordable performance car. You didn’t get any fancy interior features or exterior trim. What you got was a base car with a big engine and that really appealed to younger buyers of the day. Why spend a few hundred extra dollars on visual parts that did nothing to make the car go faster when you could put that money towards a more powerful engine? That being said, the near thousand dollar premium to step up to the 426 Hemi V8 was a little too rich for most buyers, so not many came equipped with it. And that’s part of what makes this 1969 Plymouth Road Runner incredibly special! The other part is that it could very well be an all-original survivor. In the Mopar world, this thing is pretty close to being the Holy Grail of finds.
From what can be seen in the photos (which seem a bit low resolution for a car like this) it looks like an amazing machine inside and out. The seller is asking $215,000 or best offer, which seems a bit steep considering Hagerty puts a #1 condition car at $170,000. That being said, if the mileage and originality can be verified, it would definitely fetch a premium over a restored car in equivalent condition. The question then becomes what condition is this example in and what kind of premium does originality equate to. It’s hard to tell from photos alone, but it looks to be in extremely nice condition. I personally don’t believe #1 condition cars exist, even brand new cars have flaws, but this one could be close to it. So let’s say it’s a #1 condition car, does originally add 25% to the value? I can’t say for sure, but that seems high.
From an options standpoint, this thing is optioned the way I would have ordered it! The Hemi is obviously the star of the show here. It’s sitting under an Air Grabber hood and is still wearing its correct style Coyote Duster air cleaner. Plymouth rated the Hemi at 425 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque. Even by modern standards, that’s a lot of power, especially in a car that lacks ABS or traction control. The seller claims that the drivetrain is original to the car with the documentation to verify the numbers.
While you could order the Hemi in any of the ’69 B-body Mopars, the fact that you could get the Hemi in a Road Runner with the base interior and trim is what I like the most about these cars. There’s just something cool about seeing a bench seat in a muscle car. Sure bucket seats will keep you in place better going around a turn, but to me the bench seat is a statement of what this car’s purpose really was, going fast in a straight line. You don’t need a fancy interior racing from one light to the next, you just need the absolute basics and that’s what you got with a Road Runner. And I like to think the Beep Beep horn was just there to humiliate your opponents after beating them. Again, the photos aren’t stellar here, but it looks like the interior is in good shape and not showing any signs of excessive wear.
This could be an amazing machine, but it’s hard to be certain from the seller’s photos. You can take a closer look at their listing here on eBay and the car is in Rushford, Minnesota. I guess if you are going to spend this kind of money on a car, you’re going to either go see it in person first or send an expert to check it out for you. I also wish the seller had provided more of the story behind the car. How did it end up only seeing 35k miles? Where did they purchase it and what work has been done to it over the years? What I do know is that I love this color combo and if it’s really an unrestored survivor, it could be one of the nicest original Bahama Yellow Hemi 4-Speed Road Runners out there! So, did any of you get to experience the Road Runner when they first debuted and what was it like?
My play money is on this Road Runner being an original actual mile survivor car. The original owner even opted for the factory tach. What a color combo too. The Seller would have done himself a huge favor by posting a picture of the fender tag. The styling gurus at Plymouth sure got it right with the ’69 Road Runner. Like the ’66 Pontiac GTO there is no mistaking the ’69 Plymouth Road Runner taillights at night. My guess is plenty of street racers got a good look at these taillights.
Agreed Diamond. What a nice Plymouth hemi rocket. Great lines, great colors, no spoiler, bench seat, 4spd.
3.54 gears ⚙️ std. 4.10 option.
Perfect
All business. no fluff.
I was 16 in 1969 and my bosses’ son got one, green in color with an alligator vinyl roof.. Not a hemi. Not a 4-speed. But, still a nice machine compared to my ’65 Mustang. And, yes, Road Runners beat me and my 289 pony car every time I raced one! LoL
I remember looking at a remarkably clean survivor 69 hemi, 4sp Charger RT at Mopar Nationals back in about ’85 for $9000, and thinking to myself: Who, in their right mind, would pay 9k for a 69 Charger? Off topic, I know.
I remember being offered many great cars in those days for even more reasonable amounts and laughing them off as a joke.
Hey the dealers used to remove the wing and front nose from the superbirds and Daytonas cause guys didn’t want them
Dont know if it ever happened or just an urban legend, but the reason was actually so they could sell them . Superbirds were a hard sell back then , but changing it to a roadrunner wasn’t an easy swap , The fenders were 70Coronets and the entire front sheet metal had the be replaced, and holes filled in where the wing was. The other story is that some Superbirds were made into plain Roadrunners at the factory because of slow sales , the difference if it ever happened would be the back glass area , which was not changed
I personally know of a Daytona that was changed to a Charger due to the fact it wasn’t wanted.
Just a note to clarify…the Hemi was NOT available in any and all B-Bodies in 1969. It was only available in the Plymouth Road Runner or GTX, and the Dodge Super Bee or R/T. Not sure where the author got that misinformation.
This is the best car I have seen for sale in a long time. Amazing.
I didn’t know “Baby-Sh*t Brown” was a color option offered for the
69 Road Runner… or is that supposed to be yellow?
Thought that was Baby Sh*t Butterscotch…?
Anyway worst color in the world for a performance car, unless you were going for the sleeper look. Or the stinker look, which was probably less noticeable to cops then any other color. And really, who wants to pull over a stinker? See, perfect color!
Im with Greg, This has to be the most unimpressive color ive seen on a car. I was waiting to hear how someones kid painted it with a roller. Thats the first impression i got , then with the hood and the 3 pedals made me realize how special this is.
Hope I hit the lottery tonight, great car,not to mention the low production number.This coming from a first generation Camaro guy.that just sold his Hellcat Challenger
I’m digging the color just because of how few I’ve seen, and the cab-style bench seat in a Hemi car makes me smile every time, especially if there’s a stick-shift in front of it. This will be a good one to follow to see if anyone taps the buy-it-now button.
No Road Runner for me when they debuted, as I was 4, but at age 17 I had saved up enough to buy this 1970 RR for $900 in early 1982. Had a 413 wedge I was told came from a 1962 police interceptor, no idea what car, and ran really well when it would start! Car was black and I got it Bondoed, primered, and ready to paint when a friend made me an offer my 18 year old mind couldn’t refuse. Plus I wanted an apartment and a more dependable car, win-win for me in my youth but now I’d like to have it back!
– great color – love it – pure style
The price this seller is asking is totally ludicrous………..way out of line……car’s condition certainly doesn’t impress me………but they say, “a sucker is born every day”………that price………..are you kiddin’ me???????
It wasn’t as much the option price as it was the outrageous cost to insure these beasts. I wanted a hemispheric so bad but insurance rates “forced” me to go GTX w the 440. Come to find out that was a semi-beast!!
One reason the price is high is probably the color. Bahama yellow was an extra cost paint and most people didn’t want to pay extra for a color when you had 15 or more free colors to choose from . It could very well be a 1 of 1 ; the color wasn’t popular and few 69 Mopars would have been painted this color
Bahama Yellow and it has the optional upgrade deluxe vinyl interior. Identical to the A12 440 6bbl Runner I purchased @ 17yo for $750 bucks. Seeing this one makes me hurt………
Happen to still have the A12 or like many of us end up selling those special cars due to reasons beyond our control?
A12 Road Runner is long gone, baby on the way story. But I did have six fun years with that car and a lot of stories that make me smile to this day.
On a completely different note: a guy wants 230 large for a car and the picture presentation has all the quality and clarity of selling a Hyundai minivan………: