There’s always been something special to me about a first-year model of just about any muscle car. Even if a manufacturer made tweaks and improvements down the line, there’s just something magical about owning the debut model. The magic factor goes off the scale if the car happens to be a 1968 Hemi equipped Plymouth Road Runner, such as the car being offered for sale here on eBay. This first-year Road Runner is located in Canton, Michigan with a Buy It Now price tag of $89,000.
Let’s get the good news and bad news out of the way first. The good news is that the seller claims that his Road Runner is an original J Code factory Hemi car and that he has the original fender tag, which has been decoded by Galen Govier. A Chrysler that has been gone through and deciphered by Galen is about as close to gospel truth for authenticity as one can get in Mopar land. The bad news is that I could not find a photo of the fender tag anywhere in the listing, so I’d sure want to see the tag and Galen’s letter before I committed. The 426 Hemi that is in the car now is also not the numbers matching engine, but a period correct part.
As far as I can tell, everything else about this car is good news! The owner says that this Road Runner has been completely restored, and it sure looks like a best of everything type restoration inside and out. There is new sheet metal throughout, including quarter panels, floor pans, and trunk floor. The body wears its correct Forest Green color paint, which looks good on the outside, under the hood, and inside the trunk. The interior has been completely refreshed including restored gauges. The 426 Hemi engine has been completely rebuilt to stock specifications with correct hoses, clamps, and markings. The 4-speed transmission and 3:54 Dana rear end are also completely rebuilt.
I always appreciate it when the seller includes a photo from underneath, and things on the bottom seem to be as fresh and in good working order as above, including a new exhaust system. The seller says he has a stack of receipts from himself and the previous owner for work that has been done to this car. The car is said to run like a Swiss watch and drive extremely well.
This is one top-notch-looking B-body that seems like all the work has already been performed and is just waiting to be enjoyed by its next owner. There’s also an option to submit a Best Offer, so the owner may be willing to negotiate on the price. What are your thoughts on this 426 Hemi 1968 Plymouth Road Runner?
The Road Runner was a taxi cab body (inexpensive) setup with a big engine and this one fits the bill. This is my opinion, no matter how nice the car is, with non-oem parts like the engine, to me it’s no different than if someone took a 6 cylinder and plugged in a Hemi. IMO price it as if it was a clone and enjoy it.
It will always be a Hemi car based on the VIN. The theory that once the original engine is no longer with the car it has no additional value above a base model has been settled for decades. It won’t have the same value of a matching number car, nor should it, but the market has spoken, there are enough serious buyers that think otherwise as to make that line of thinking irrelevant.
Steve R
I wonder how many Hemi powered Mopars actually have the original engine, or block, transmission……clutch? No way on the clutch. Other parts that began to fail after repeated full throttle launches with cheater slicks, power shifts at over six grand, everything this 426 Road Runner was built for.
Nice machine up there.
Runs like a “Swiss watch”? I don’t think so, these hemis were not smooth runners. I assume it means that everything runs as it should, but that won’t last long. These are temperamental beasts that like to go out of tune. Except for the rich boys who want investments, a nice 440 would be better, and more power than most of us could use anyway. Myself? Not that anyone cares, but I always have found a 318 to be the best engine in these Bs. I had a few and they never let me down, either the polys or the LAs.
The only thing temperamental about pre-’71 Hemis was the abysmal choke arrangement. Much ado has been made about how hard they were to [insert anything here] but they had mild cams, relatively low compression, and easily-maintained Carter AFBs. Valve lash is not a big deal and holds its adjustment for five-digit intervals, just like any same-era Slant Six (which also had solid lifters). The distributor is no more finicky than any other Prestolite, but dual points give some people fits. The crappy heat-tube choke setup took forever to open fully, if ever, so they DID have an appetite for spark plugs. Chrysler rectified this in the 1971 with a manual choke, which it should’ve had from the start.
The “temperamental” reputation came from the spark-plug usage, plus guys slapping in huge cams, headers, aftermarket induction, etc. in the quest for stoplight supremacy. As-delivered, they were very fast but relatively docile. Anyone who ever owned or drove a stone-stock one can testify.
A friend sold his ’68 Hemi Road Runner in 2015 after 38 years of ownership. He’d bought it in ’77 for $825 at age 17; I never asked the selling price. It was one of very few (2 known at the time) post cars painted code L Surf Turquoise. It was the purest RR I’d ever seen: base silver/black interior, Hemi/4-speed/3.54, and not a single other option. Radio? You’ve got two AFBs and an 18-spline 4-speed for aural magic.
The car’s story made it a miracle that the numbers engine was with it and 100% original. First owner couldn’t make the payments; second owner was a street racer. His nemesis showed up one night with a 427 Yenko Chevelle but it wasn’t enough. Within a month, the 427 found its way into a Nova, which soundly beat the Chicken. Not to be outdone, the Hemi drivetrain quickly found its way into a post Dart and promptly invalidated the Nova. Not long after, Mr. Bowtie showed up with his 427 Vega. Our hero admitted defeat. Paul found the RR for sale on a trailer with the drivetrain next to it rather than in it. He sold his Plum Crazy ’70 Super Bee 383/4-speed/Ramcharger hood for $600 to buy it. He fully restored it in the early/mid ’00s and sold it with a ton of documentation and almost 40 years’ experience. His brother still owns the option-laden ’71 Curious Yellow ‘Cuda 340 he bought in ’78 for $2,200.
What a time to be alive and the right age.
The gap on the trunk lid by the right taillight bothers me, I mean for 89 large I would think that would be addressed. Other wise great car in a super color, with a 4 speed, nice ride for someone.
I honestly don’t think the lack of an original matching block is going to hurt the resale value of this car much. Sure, true numbers matching is always better, but you don’t see too many of those in a 4-speed Hemi car. A Govier documented true J-code ’68 car with a period correct replacement block is still a genuine first year Hemi RR. Which will still bring very close to top dollar.
I look at it this way: regardless of whether it has it’s original Hemi engine, it was still originally equipped with a Hemi, which definitely adds value over a 383 car.
Funny it has the later mid year hardtop trunk panel and not the correct Hemi call out on the trunk. Miss my J code that I sold in the late 80’s – because that was good money I got – but what did I know !