In 1967, Plymouth offered no fewer than three midsize cars with high-performance engines. The lineup included the bread-and-butter Belvedere, the slightly fancier Satellite, and the premium GTX. But this didn’t stop the brand from adding a fourth nameplate to its muscle car stable. The Road Runner arrived in 1968 and became an instant hit.
The company’s most affordable entry into HEMI ownership, the Road Runner remained in production through 1974 (the HEMI was gone in 1972, though). It spawned a short-lived and rare convertible version and was used as a starting point for the wild Superbird. And needless to say, it lived on as one of Plymouth’s most iconic nameplates.
Come 2024, the Road Runner is not as affordable as it used to be. However, it remains a relatively accessible choice for classic car enthusiasts. As long as you don’t want a HEMI, that is! The metallic green example you see here is the perfect proof.
A bit fancier than the regular Road Runner, this first-year example boasts a black over Avocado Green exterior combo, making it almost as stylish as a GTX. The cabin is just as attractive, thanks to its two-tone layout. It’s an Avocado Green / Velvet Green combo you won’t see very often, either.
More importantly, everything looks flawless thanks to a frame-off restoration. I’m very tempted to say this Road Runner looks better than new. And in addition to being spotless inside and out, this Mopar flaunts a squeaky clean engine bay that houses a numbers-matching powerplant.
The Road Runner was available with only two engines in 1968. Since it’s not a HEMI, this Plymouth packs a 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) big block. The unit was rated 335 horsepower and 425 pound-feet (576 Nm) of torque when new and enabled the midsize to run the quarter-mile in less than 15 seconds. Not bad for a vehicle tipping the scales at nearly 3,500 pounds (1,588 kg), right?
The good news continued toward the rear wheels because both the four-speed manual gearbox and the 3.56-ratio axle are also numbers-matching. Speaking, this drivetrain layout is not extremely rare, but it’s the scarcest when it comes to non-HEMI rigs.
Plymouth sold 44,303 Road Runners in 1968, and only 1,009 were ordered with the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI. This means a whopping 43,294 got the 383 V8. However, fewer than half of these rigs were specified with the four-speed manual – 20,393. That’s still a big number, but this example is a hardtop, making it one of only 6,686 pillarless Road Runners ordered with the 383/4-speed combo.
I’m pretty sure the exterior/upholstery layout puts that number into the tens, but that’s a bit of info I cannot confirm without proper documentation. But it doesn’t matter because this Road Runner is absolutely gorgeous. And it can be yours for $76,998. Yes, it’s not exactly cheap, but most HEMI rigs in this condition are usually twice as expensive.
