1969 Plymouth Road Runner

Description

When you dream of Mopar muscle, isn't this 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner what it looks like? Not candy-colored with cartoon characters, but black, mean, and nasty, full of horsepower, and ready to collect trophies at the track. Not for the meek or timid, this gnarly 'Beeper is the real deal.

If you're going to paint it black, make it straight, and that was clearly the mantra for the guys who put this one together. Just because it's built for combat and doesn't take prisoners doesn't mean that it shouldn't be straight as an arrow. The long quarter panels are ripple-free and still showcase that neat slash of relief along the upper edge. Panel gaps are good, and the garage-sized hood scoop sits in the middle of a satin black hood ostensibly designed to emulate the mighty A12 cars that terrorized drag strips in late 1969. No decals, a minimum of chrome and stainless trim, and just the basic "roadrunner" badges (OK, there is a cartoon character on the deck lid, but who's complaining?). The sucker just looks brutal, doesn't it?

The interior is quite stock and while it emulates a no-frills attitude, the bucket seats with integral headrests (mandatory for 1969) have a very handsome look. There's a 4-speed sticking out of the floor so there's no weight-adding console to slow you down and it's topped with a proper pistol-grip handle. It's got factory gauges, including a somewhat rare tachometer, but there are also auxiliary gauges under the dash monitoring oil pressure and coolant temperatures. Even more noteworthy is the under-dash A/C system which is quite effective and a welcome addition in an all-black car. A Pioneer AM/FM/CD stereo head unit feeds a set of Infiniti speakers, and if you're not listening to the engine, the sound is quite good. The trunk is minimalist, offering a reproduction mat but precious little else, which is just the way it was intended.

For performance, few cars could keep pace with a Plymouth packing a 440/Six-Pack under the hood. Inhaling through that giant scoop, the bright Hemi Orange torque factory looks ready for show, but a few upgrades like the big aluminum radiator suggest that it was also built to run. The A/C was neatly integrated into the engine bay and you almost don't notice the compact compressor sitting there on top of the engine. Triple Holley carbs, Hooker long-tube headers, and a set of stainless pipes give it an awesome sound and immediate throttle response, and the suspension has been given a makeover with parts from Hotchkiss. The 4-speed manual transmission feeds a bulletproof Dana 60 rear end, which is fortified with a chrome cover, just so the guy you just passed has something interesting to look at. Thanks to a lot of recent work, the underside is nicely detailed and with 4-wheel disc brakes, this car's stopping is no longer inferior to its going. Plain-Jane black steel wheels are installed without hubcaps, A12-style, and carry 235/60/15 front and 275/60/15 BFG radials for a predatory stance.

This is a seriously nice car, but the quality only adds to its sinister looks. It's intimidating, but once you get over it, you'll also find that it's beautifully built. Call today!