– Brand new for 1968 affordable performance car
– Equipped with 383 V8 with revised internals and standard 4-speed
– Only one engine upgrade option: the 426 HEMI®
Acceleratii Rapidus Maximus!
(Latin for Road Runner)
It sounded a lot better than the proposed name of the new performance car from Plymouth, “La Mancha”, prior to a meeting with the advertising agency! Chrysler Product Planner employee Gordon Cherry was watching the Saturday morning cartoon channel with his children when the “Road Runner” program came on, the idea hit him. Call it “Road Runner!”
A quick check with the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Association verified that the “Road Runner” name was in fact available, so it was soon registered. But it was also felt that in order to get the full effect, the actual cartoon character from Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, (with their permission and blessings) should appear on the car. A meeting was set up with the attorneys, a deal was made and the rest is history.
The 1968 Road Runner was a “bare bones” Plymouth performance car that combined a striped-down intermediate Belvedere 2-door pillared coupe body with a hopped-up big block, bulletproof drive train and eliminating the “fluff.” It was done in a “no frills” manner. “A total lack of unnecessary doodads, gewgaws and falderal,” is how the early advertising campaign’s copy read. And the Plymouth folks did this new budget-muscle machine with a sense of humor (cartoon characters of a flightless bird affixed throughout) along the way!
The base Road Runner engine was the 383-cid “wedge” that was factory reworked for the application. It was fitted with 10.0:1 compression ratio pistons, a crankshaft windage tray, 440 high-flow cylinder heads, a hotter hydraulic camshaft (.450/.465 lift, 276/292-degree duration), Carter AVS four-barrel carburetor (#4428S), unsilenced air cleaner, blocked-off heat risers and 2 ¼-inch dual exhausts. This was good for 335 horsepower and 425 lb.-ft. of torque.
Road Runner’s attractive body was slab-sided and devoid of chrome and trim. A pair of “GT” style flip-out rear quarter-windows were fitted and the car was considered a “coupe” (because of the B-pillars that were used in the design). The interior came with standard rubber mat instead of carpeting and vinyl bench seat. Nothing fancy, it was a “taxi-cab” specification arrangement and it added to the plain-Jane theme of the car.
With a base price of $2,870.00, it was a true bargain. Especially when you consider it came with F70 x 14-inch “wide boot” rubber, 11-inch brakes, heavy-duty torsion bars, shocks, rear springs with a .94-inch stabilizer bar and fully synchronized 4-speed. Heavy-duty TorqueFlite® (column-shifted) was optional. The car did get a performance-themed “GTX” hood (with simulated side scoops) and blacked-out grille. There was even a clever “Beep-Beep” horn as part of the package!
There was only one engine option: the HEMI. 426 cubes, 425 horsepower. Big hemispherical heads and compression pistons. A solid-lifter camshaft two inline four barrels. This engine was nicknamed “King Kong” and it was powerful.
A man named Jack Smith was the creator of the car named Road Runner, although Car and Driver Magazine’s Senior Editor, Brock Yates, most likely helped spark the initial “budget” theme of the car.
While Yates is credited as being involved in the initial concept of the car, his visions of an economy “supercar” from Plymouth was not as flashy as the Road Runner. It was early in 1967 when, according to a Road Runner road-test report in the Car and Driver January ’68 issue, Yates had proposed an economy street racer to management at Chrysler / Plymouth.
His idea for this unique vehicle was to take a stripped-down “business coupe” and fit it with a large production engine, like the 440 Super Commando or even the HEMI engine. Then also offer a detuned version of the car, fitted with a smaller mill like the 318 small block. Both versions would look perfectly innocent and rather inconspicuous in outward appearance.
The magazine writer told them the car should not have any hood scoops, racing stripes, chrome flashes and razzle-dazzle trim, however, it was to be marketed in “cool” primary colors. The econo-racer would cost $2,800.00, ready to hit the streets. He also talked about a malicious-looking interior with simple, Stewart-Warner instrumentation, and possibly tinted windows all around (reminiscent of “Gas Coupe” drag cars from the past).
Yates gave his ideas for this proposed car to Plymouth and was told that the (current) 1967 Belvedere 2-door sedan was “too ugly” for the theme, but said: “Wait’ll you see the ’68 coupe – that’s the perfect basis for your car!”
When the magazine staff tested a new Plymouth Road Runner in this January 1968 issue, they pointed out the differences between Yates’ theme and the actual car that the factory produced. With a base price ($2,870.00) that came within $70.00 of the figure Yates proposed, the Road Runner was indeed affordable. If you wanted the big HEMI engine, it was an additional $714.30, but well worth it if you were after victory on the stoplight circuit. Just the wow factor when opening the hood justified the extra cost.
While it did come in very close to the proposed cost to the consumer, the Car and Driver article review was critical of all the “hokey” touches (their words) but noted that “Plymouth will probably sell more Road Runners than they ever imagined – and congratulate themselves for being right on target.”
In fact, Chrysler’s green eyeshade bean-counter-types projected only some 2,500 would be sold. These guys didn’t know the mind of the street racer, however, as some 44,599 Road Runners were sold! They under-estimated the budget performance appetite of the youth market, and in a big way. When the sales of the “Beep-Beep” started rolling in, they must have realized that Brock Yates was really on to something with the idea of a low-cost performance car for the masses.
There were numerous factors involved in the Road Runner’s success. Foremost was that it was a 14-second supercar priced at around $3,000. The 14-second ET was realistic and the Road Runner succeeded admirably. For power, the indestructible 383 was fitted with the camshaft, cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds from the mighty 440 Super Commando. This gave it an underrated 335 horsepower. With the only optional power plant being the HEMI, it made the choices simple.
To cut weight, “Beepers” or “Beep Beeps,” as they would come to be known, came with interiors that were so Spartan they could shame a New York City taxicab. Bench seats were standard; the flip-open rear windows did not roll down; and instead of carpeting, all you got was a rubber mat to cover the floor. The Road Runner was available only as a pillared coupe. (Later, a hardtop was offered in the middle of the ’68 model year.)
What made them so popular? As Big Brother and the Holding Company would have put it, “Cheap Thrills.” Plus, there was a little bit of magic in that bird – a Road Runner caricature on either door and another on the decklid. The horn went “Beep Beep” in the same voice as the famed cartoon character. Nor did it hurt that the new-for-’68 B-body was one of the cleanest shapes ever to come out of Motor City. It wouldn’t be long before the streets of America would become flooded with Road Runners – 44,599 copies that first year!
PREVIEW ADVERTISEMENT
Prior to the advertising campaign that showed pictures of the new Road Runner, the ad agency ran this teaser ad introducing the Warner Bros Road Runner cartoon character and hinting about what the “whole new kind of car” their upcoming Road Runner was: having a new coupe body, plus an exclusive new engine.
THE ROAD RUNNER PROPOSAL
The product planners rolled out the proposed prototype car, a 383 base car and with full wheel covers, white wall tires and vinyl top.
DECAL PLACEMENT ILLUSTRATION
Dated July 21, 1967, this engineering illustration showed where the Road Runner markings went on the doors, instrument panel and decklid.
SEE-THRU VIEW DRAWING
Highlighting the various standard equipment that made the Road Runner special, along with selected options including Viscous Fan Drive, Fan Shroud, Accent Paint Stripe, and Wide Sill and Belt Moldings. The drawing also shows it equipped with Power Steering.
MEDIA SPLASH
Some bright and exciting magazine advertisement came as the Road Runner was hitting the dealership showrooms, and the ad copy included “Special body markings warn would-be predators” as well as “A price way below what you would pay for a Supercar.” The term “muscle car” was not used at the time as describing cars like the Pontiac GTO and Plymouth GTX, etc. “It’s all put together for the guy who really digs cars!”
AD TARGETED OLDER BUYERS
A clever two-page magazine ad ran in popular “car buff” magazines that was not targeted at the youth market or the drag-race crowd. Rather, it talked about a fictional annual gymkhana competition of a traditional “sports car” club filled with what at the time were “foreign” cars. And when their club secretary bought a HEMI Road Runner, complete with Hurst-shifted 4-speed, posted one of the best times on the track. Well, the members just shook their heads. Preposterous!
MID-YEAR HARDTOP AVAILABILITY
It was later in the model year when a hardtop version of the Road Runner was made available, and among the the features was the rear decklid applique panel, which added some flash. It also had premium vinyl seats, higher lever of interior trim, color-keyed carpeting and partial horn ring. 15,359 of them were produced.
THE ROAD RUNNER 383 ENGINE
Here’s how the brochure described the standard Road Runner engine: “A little something special we whipped up for our new bird. Hoo boy, is it special! A high-lift, high overlap, long duration cam (we swiped it from the high-performance 440 V-8) is the thing that makes the biggest difference. Plus a big 4-barrel carburetor, it turns out 335-horsepower at 5200 rpm. And you can’t get it on any other car in the whole wide world but the Road Runner. Beep Beep!”
How quick was a stock 383 Road Runner? Hot Rod Magazine got a 14.74-second run with their test car (4-speed, 355:1 gears) in the November 1967 issue, and Super Stock & Drag Illustrated in their March ’68 issue was able to get Ronnie Sox to drive a 3.90:1 4-speed 383 car to a quicker 14.27 ET. Add headers and the usual “day two” speed shop go-fast aftermarket parts, and solid 13s for certain!
ONLY ONE ENGINE OPTION: 426 STREET HEMI
It was a $714.30 option to get the HEMI engine in a Road Runner, and records show there were 1,109 people that opted for the upgrade. Of course, nobody knows exactly how many remain today, and of those, there were numerous “warranty” replacement blocks installed as owners with heavy right foots would blow them up early on in the warranty timeframe!
BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE / THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Inside the pages of the 1968 Mid-Size dealer brochure, the Road Runner page describes the new model as having brilliant performance and that the price is right. The pictured example on the page is a 383 car done in PP1 Red paint and with the optional Performance Hood Blackout Paint and chrome-plated Styled Road Wheels.
FULL COVER SHOT FOR HOT ROD
A great deal of exposure for the Road Runner came when Hot Rod Magazine featured the new Sox & Martin HEMI 4-speed Road Runner Super Stocker on the February ’68 cover.
With team manager Buddy Martin (left), head mechanic Jake King (center) and driver Ronnie Sox (right), the red, white and blue Road Runner was in the pages of the magazines, plus could be seen at selected Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships across the nation, as part of their Performance Clinic Program. The general idea was, race the Road Runner on the drag strips, bring them to show potential customers at dealerships, be it a HEMI or the “Road Runner 383”, and sell cars!
RONNIE SOX AND THE FIRST TEST OF THEIR HEMI RR
It was in November of 1967 when the team of Sox & Martin finished up the building of their Super Stock HEMI 4-speed Road Runner for the ’68 racing season. The car was taken out to the Sportsman Park Drag Strip in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, fully prepped and final tuned by Jake King, and with Buddy and Ronnie at the track, Jake stayed at the shop working on the new ’68 GTX team car (with 440 engine).
Writer John Raffa was there to report on the test, and wondered aloud on why Jake wasn’t there, just in case of something coming up. Ronnie had listened and said: “When Jake closes the hood, that’s it. Don’t worry, the car’s ‘right’.” With the modifications done to the car (all within the NHRA S/S rules) it was time to get it on the track and run it down the 1320. This particular track had some bumps and “rough spots” on the surface and Ronnie stated that if he turned a good time at Sportsman Park, he could turn good times anywhere.
First pass saw Ronnie rev the engine, pop the clutch and run hard through the first three gears, then take it through the finish line at a leisurely pace in high gear. Next run saw an 11.315-second time at 126.22 mph, albeit with the car drifting off to the left a few feet and Ronnie’s steering correction taking place, which didn’t help the time slip numbers.
By the time they got to their fourth run, and having cooled the big HEMI engine down with a water spray lowering the air pressure in the slicks down to seven pounds, it got the Road Runner into the 10s – a 10.949-second blast at 126.05 mph. Yeah, a fast car and the engine’s piston rings starting to get a good seat. Proving it was no fluke, the car was taken back to the line and delivered an even more impressive 10.916 at 127.84!
Of course a customer that purchased a new HEMI Road Runner in stock condition, and with stock tires, wasn’t going to get anywhere near those numbers; however, the vast majority of buyers were not really going to go all-out to run in the SS/B category on the drag strip.
PETTY ENTERPRISES ROAD RUNNER
Running an extremely “raked” stance and a special textured roof, the 1968 Plymouth Richard Petty ran was this Road Runner and while he did win 16 races (15 of them on short tracks), he wasn’t anywhere near as successful as he had been in 1967. He in fact temporarily ended his long affiliation with Chrysler Corporation for 1969 by joining Ford (which he felt was a more aerodynamic car). This caught the attention of the top brass at Plymouth big time, enough to get him back for the 1970 season in a brand-new winged SuperBird!
BEEP BEEP IN JAPAN
In Tokyo, there’s a number of Road Runners that had made their way across the Pacific Ocean to Japanese muscle car enthusiasts, many of which are California cars. Numerous were imported to Japan by Kennie’s Mopar® Service, a shop that had been run by former Mopar Funny Car driver Kenji Okazaki. Even though a long ways from the USA, they are cherished and loved just like they are with American owners!
ROAD RUNNER IN SCALE
AMT released in recent times a “Skill 2” plastic kit 1/25th scale HEMI ’68 Road Runner Hardtop, 112 detailed parts and can be built as stock or custom. SKU AMT1363.
Autoworld (#AMM1125) came up with a 1:18 1968 Plymouth 383 Road Runner Coupe, steerable front wheels, opening hood, doors decklid and, plumbed and wired, engine in the correct turquoise color. Magnum 500 wheels.
The Danbury Mint had a rather unique “ownership tie-in” with their customers that had purchased their 1968 Plymouth Road Runner 383 diecast, Part # DM1528M. Silver Metallic with Red interior, the 1/24th scale model came with a Certificate of Title, issued in 2004 with simulated vinyl top, opening hood, doors, decklid and operating antenna.
A BRIGHT FUTURE
The association with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc. turned out to be a big winner in terms of marketing opportunities and was a brilliant way to promote the car, using a popular cartoon character that most everyone was familiar with because of the the weekly TV presentation, obviously with kids.
THE MAN WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
Jack Smith was a true “car guy” as evidenced with him owning, as his company car, a specially-equipped ’67 Plymouth Belvedere that was the basic inspiration of the Road Runner concept. He did however have to fight for the placement of the cartoon bird on the body, and in the end, he got it approved and his idea car went on to make a lot of money for the corporation, all due to his brilliant insight.
Author: James Maxwell
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