1968 Plymouth Road Runner 526 Miles Matador Red Hardtop 426 HEMI V8 Automatic

1968 Plymouth Road Runner -- Description

The Plymouth Road Runner created a niche within a niche and has been at the top of Mopar fans' wish lists for decades now. Big block power plus an affordable price tag was fine, but for some guys, the only way to fly was HEMI power and minimal weight. Enter this 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, which packs HEMI power and a minimum of frills for an all-out assault on your senses. Chrysler styling was a love-it-or-hate-it proposition in the late-60s,... too conservative for some, yet playfully aggressive and built to cater to those crazy kids and their hot rods. In truth, the Road Runner has aged better than most of its siblings simply because it didn't follow fads. Painting it Burgundy (yep, that's the factory name) certainly helps, and making sure the steel underneath is straight pays big dividends. The lack of stripes, loud colors, or other add-ons beyond the relatively subtle blacked-out hood treatment works well here, creating a neo-sleeper that packs big power without advertising it. Finish quality is good enough to go out and have fun without worries and it carries a bit of swagger when you pull into the cruise night parking lot. All the chrome and stainless trim is intact and in excellent shape, too, particularly that nigh-irreplaceable tail panel on the trunk. And those little tiny round side marker lights really are about the coolest thing you've seen today, aren't they? The interior of this car will impress you with its style. While most of these bargain-priced muscle cars wore basic black, Chrysler dressed it up with metal inserts on the seats to disguise the humble price tag (although, admittedly, a HEMI changes the game a bit). The seat covers and door panels are undoubtedly recent replacements that look great, and with a bench seat this big coupe is a legitimate 6-passenger automobile. The factory instruments cover all the vitals and you'll note that the original AM radio is still doing duty in the dash. The column-shifted TorqueFlite was an option (a 4-speed was standard) and it really suits this car quite well, despite its street-brawler mission, allowing you to simply focus on keeping it aimed straight ahead. The big trunk also bears in mind that this car can haul six passengers, and it's nicely finished and comes complete with a full-sized spare, which is a correct bias-ply, and jack assembly. This was originally a 383 car, but during the restoration, it received a 426 cubic inch HEMI V8 crate motor. With a 750 CFM carburetor on top, an MSD ignition, Mopar intake manifold, and a Powermaster alternator, it's clean, potent, and well-detailed. The big air cleaner on top of those dual quads is impossible to mistake for anything else and the way the plug wires go through the valve covers is a HEMI trademark. Hemi Orange paint on the block adds to the authentic look and it's nice to see power steering and power brakes on a vehicle with this much performance potential. The beefy TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission and 8.75-inch rear (which looks freshly finished) were bulletproof parts of the powertrain that made the Road Runner so formidable. There's also a nice-sounding Flowmaster dual exhaust system with correct rectangular tips, a new gas tank, and awesome painted steel wheels with 235/70/15 front and 255/70/15 rear blackwall radials, so it looks ready to pounce. With built receipts, restoration photos, and some original documentation, this HEMI Road Runner delivers maximum performance that still gets attention today. Call now!