There are so many memorable muscle cars from the 1960s. One of the flashiest had to be the Plymouth Road Runner, with its Warner Brothers cartoon graphics and “meep meep” horn. It debuted in 1968 as a budget-minded performance auto and sales quickly soared. This example from the first year is a coupe (door post) and has the rare 426 cubic inch Hemi V8, said to be numbers matching. This beauty is in Joshua, Texas, and is available here on eBay. $55,300 is the number to beat in the bidding war.
Chrysler redesigned its B-bodied intermediates in 1968 and sales took off. Both Dodge and Plymouth would promote performance versions of these machines in the form of the Charger and Super Bee and the GTX and Road Runner. Just as the market demand for the Pontiac GTO took some GM insiders by surprise, the same may have happened over at Plymouth. After selling more than 44,000 Road Runners in the first year, output nearly doubled to 81,000 units the next season. In 1968, the Hemi was at the top of the heap and Plymouth sold just 449 coupes with that engine and a 4-speed manual transmission (the seller says 460 copies).
For a car as fabled as this, the seller provides mostly basic information about it, not any history. And given that free shipping is offered, a dealer must be involved, and the car’s history may not be known. It looks like it has been restored, though no mention is made of such activities. And at 88,000 miles with an engine this powerful, surely the car didn’t stay this nice because it was treated with kid gloves.
The list of equipment includes a Sure-Grip rear axle, heavy-duty drum brakes, and a beefier suspension. The bronze/burgundy paint looks quite nice as does the red interior whose only flaw may be a split working on the driver’s side of the bench seat. The Road Runner wasn’t usually loaded with options, though this one has the Décor Group Package and a (gadzooks!) AM radio. We wish the seller would have included the VIN, but we’re told that copies of the window sticker and build sheet will come along that should verify authenticity. How much could this Hemi end up going for?
These were nice, but I prefer the previous body style, which were also built better. I’m sure the price will end up somewhere in the outer atmosphere
I’m going to go ahead and say it. ‘426 Hemi’ is pretty much an eyeroll for me. My background is mostly muscle era street or grudge racing from the late 70s on. I can really only think of a couple of notable 426 hemi street cars in all that time. Practically all of the ‘dangerous’ Mopar rides were 440s,426 wedges, or 340s. By the mid 1980s hemis were off the scene altogether, either scattered in perpetual restorations or squirreled away in giant Ziplock bags.
Agree. Hemis were over priced junk on the street. Properly tuned for the track they couldn’t be beat, but never ran well in the real world. If you just had to have a big block, the 440 was the only way to go. Personally, I think a 340 Dart is the greatest performance Mopar.
Lol, I might stop short of saying ‘junk’, but we’re on the same page. Like you, I never met a 340 I didn’t like. Even in an E-body they can impress. I have one Mopar in my little collection; it’s a 340-6.
Well I went a few years farther back than you guys. My first Mopar was a 1969 Superbee 383 4 speed. Then I up graded to one of the first 1970 Challengers RT’s to hit the streets of Detroit with the 440 SIX PACK Torque-Flite version.
I could not have said it better. I still respect the Hemi for what it was. But anyone who has ever driven a ’67-’71 340 A body knows they were simply the most fun (and underrated) street cars Mopar ever built. I used to surprise a lot of Mustangs and Camaros in my 340 Darts back in the day.
I find it ironic that a car like this (which is awesome in it’s own right) will probably go for a high six figure price. But it’s hard to even find a decent 340 Duster or Dart these days because they were never coveted and protected the way big block E and B body cars were.
The 340 cars were the devil……very,very deceiving
I had a 65 Fury III that I bought from a small town Police Chief, former Tennessee State Trooper, in 1969 with a Muncie 4spd., calibrated speedometer to 160 and a 426 Max Wedge Octopus, I had a friend who was a NASCAR mechanic in Nashville build it up with 1080 dual line Holleys, Venolli Pistons & Anson Crank. I have no idea what my top end was.. Only thing that I couldn’t keep up with on I 40 was a Superbird that had been tinkered with …a lot.. I do know I covered 56 miles in 19 minutes.. get close and he would pull away.
Ahh.. the days of NO traffic on I 40.. and my dumb youth
“This listing has been removed…”
Must have been a scam.
My stepdad took the 383 in his 69 Road Runner and built a 426 low deck.it ran 11.80s in the quarter back in the 80s and early 90s.made way more hp than a Hemi….
Disregard the low Blow remarks
Is his name John? :)
Disappeared from eBay, not even in completed listings.
“A couple”. Most accurate part of your statement. It cracks me up how many people talk smack about hemi’s…there weren’t enough of them around on the street, because they were VERY expensive at the time, and few were built. Correctly tuned and geared, they were unbeatable.
Like the car but sure not the color
“Never ran well in the real world”. Did you own one, or know anyone that did? I grew up in a major U.S. west coast city, and there was ONE hemi car on the street. It would boil the N50’s at will, and nothing could touch the car in a heads up race. It was geared properly, had headers, and that’s it. The myth of a hemi being hard to tune is B.S., I’ve worked on them, I know. I own one, I know. There’s a reason that the design dominates Top Fuel, etc.
Memories … my buddy had a 440 Roadrunner. Great fun until he took to a farmers field and wiped out 50 yards of fencing. This one is a real gem.
Yep….seen it at a few car shows here in the Dallas area where it was driven – not trailered…..not surprized it was taken off. Really nice car…..
I would rather have a 1970 GTX 440 torqueflight.