Extremely Rare REAL 1970 Plymouth R Code Hemi Road Runner, 1 of 29

Do we have a treat here! Only 29 of these vehicles were ever produced and here we have one at Skyway Classics. We can't stress how rare this find is! It even has the "beep beep' Road Runner horn. See all the documentation we have on this car in the photos. Includes Fender Tag, Broadcast Sheets, and other items!

The Plymouth Road Runner is a mid-size car with a focus on performance built by Plymouth in the United States between 1968 and 1980. By 1968, some of the original muscle cars were moving away from their roots as relatively inexpensive, fast cars as they gained features and increased in price. Plymouth developed the Road Runner to market a lower priced, basic trim model to its upscale GTX.

Plymouth paid $50,000 to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts to use the Road Runner name and likeness from their Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner cartoons (as well as a "beep, beep" horn, which Plymouth paid $10,000 to develop).The Road Runner was based on the Chrysler B platform (the same as the Belvedere and Satellite), as a back-to-basics mid-size performance car.

The standard engine was an exclusive 383 cu in "Roadrunner" V8 engine rated at 335 bhp and 425 lb·ft of torque. Its extra 5 hp rating was the result of using the radical cam from the 440 Super Commando and a .25 raise in compression to 10.5:1 (vs. 10.25:1 with the 330 hp 383).

A $714 option was the 426 CID Hemi rated at 425 bhp and 490 lb·ft of torque.

The standard equipment transmission was a 4-speed manual with floor shifter and the three-speed TorqueFlite automatic was optional. Early four-speed 1968 Road Runners featured Inland shifters, which were replaced by Hurst shifters during the course of the model year.

The 1970 model year brought new front and rear end looks to the basic 1968 body, and it would prove to be another success. Updates included a new grille, a cloth & vinyl bench seat, hood, front fenders, quarter panels, single-piston Kelsey-Hayes disc brakes (improved from the rather small-rotor Bendix 4 piston calipers of '68 - '69 ), and even non-functional scoops in the rear quarters.

The design and functionality of the Air Grabber option was changed. A switch below the dash actuated a vacuum servo to slowly raise the forward-facing scoop, exposing shark-like teeth on either side. "High Impact" colors, with names like In-Violet, Moulin Rouge, and Vitamin C, were options available for that year. The engine lineup was left unchanged although a heavy-duty three-speed manual became the standard transmission, relegating the four-speed to the option list along with the TorqueFlite automatic. This was to be the second and last year of the Road Runner convertible, with only 834 made. The new high-back bucket seats shared with other Chrysler products which featured built-in headrests.

The 440 Six Barrel remained an option for 1970. The 1969 "M" Code Edelbrock aluminum intake was replaced by a factory-produced cast iron piece; however there were some early cars built prior to January 1, 1970 that were equipped with the left over aluminum Edelbrock intake from the year prior.

With freshened styling, the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi was an integral part of Plymouth's "Rapid Transit System" -- the advertising tagline it applied to its bawdiest muscle cars. The redesigned 'Cuda, the new Duster 340, and the restyled GTX were also charter members. Rapid Transit ads were rife with op-art graphics, flower-power imagery, and brilliant colors. They were an unabashed reflection of the times.

The Air Grabber hood was standard on 1970 Plymouth Road Runners with the 426-cid Hemi engine and available with either 440. The driver would trip an under dash switch, causing the power-operated trap door to rise slowly, revealing a planed-off scoop with a snarling shark cartoon painted on its side -- just the thing for psyching out the opposition at stoplights.

The source of the car's whimsical "beep-beep" horn sound was a purple under-hood module.
Externally, the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi was restyled with handsome loop-motif front and rear ends and dummy rear-fender scoops. Under the hood, powertrains were basically unchanged, though the 426 Hemi engine went from solid to hydraulic lifters in the interest of greater durability and cleaner emissions, and the Road Runner's standard four-speed manual moved to the options list, replaced by a heavy-duty three-speed. Plymouth Road Runner sales slipped from 43,400 to about 39,600 units for '70, of which 75 hardtops, 74 pillared coupes, and three convertibles got the optional 426 Hemi engine.

Only 29 of the R codes were ever created and we have one here at Skyway Classics. What a treat! See all the documentation we have on this car in the photos. Includes Fender Tag, Broadcast Sheets, and other items!

So give us a call at 941-254-6608.

In the meantime, check out this vehicle on our Skyway Classics blog here at https://www.skywayclassics.com/blog