1968 Road Runner 383-4v Road Runner Engine 4 Spd. |
Featured on My Car Story with Lou Costabile August 2022
In 1968 Plymouth introduced a new coupe. With hardtop styling, 2 door sedan
lightness and rigidity, This new Plymouth would go down in history
as being the most ingenious car concept to ever come out of Detroit.
Chrysler's Robert Anderson asked Brock Yates, "How do I get the kids' attention?"
Brock's advice was, "Take a car and just strip it down. Anything that isn't
essential, get rid of it. And then stuff the biggest engine you've got into it, so
that car will sit at a red light and go: Vroom, vroom, vroom. All the other
cars will see it, and they'll be so frightened that they will run up alleys
and hide. Do that car and you'll get their attention."
It was going to be a low budget stripped model with a taxi cab interior.
Per Brock's advice, it would have an exclusive NEW Engine known
as the "Road Runner Engine" The name was boldly printed on its
unsilenced air breather. A 383 Engine with 440 Heads, Camshaft
and unsilenced air cleaner with a chrome Oil Breather.
The 1968 models were being put into production, and they
still had no name for this new model. At first, this new Plymouth was
going to be call the "Lamancha". A name given to the car by the advertising
group Chrysler commissioned for the job of naming the new model.
Robert Anderson's assistant, Gordon Cherry, came into his office and
asked him if he watched Saturday Morning Cartoons. He replied,
no, but his daughters did. Gordon started talking to Robert about this
little Bird, Road Runner, and how he cannot be caught. He cannot
be caught because he is so agile. He's just a happy-go-lucky guy,
loping along. He's just a happy personality. He can take off the line very
quickly! When he gets going, he is very fast. Now, anything that goes that fast
has to be able to stop very quickly; stop on a dime. You can see the characteristics
that he had. He is never caught and that's why! And best of all, he whoops: Beep, beep!
Chrysler struck up a deal with Warner Brothers paying them for the rights
to use a cartoon character on the side their new model. At this point the
Road Runner was born. Warner Brothers had certain rules regarding
the Road Runner, nine rules that the Road Runner never violates.
For example, if anything is purchased, it has to come from Acme
Corporation; Wile E. Coyote keeps buying things to try to blow up
Road Runner, and they always comes from Acme. Road Runner never
runs on the prairie, he only runs on roads. Things like that.
Sales were projected to be good with anticipated sales to be around
25,000 units. Well, that was off by an additional 25,000 units. The Road Runner made
musclecar brand loyalists take a look at this little light
Bird equipped with it's own Road Runner Engine, a 4Spd and Brakes
that would stop you on a dime.
Featured on My Car Story with Lou Costabile August 2022
View the Verification and Restoration of this very Rare Road Runner
Verification-
Page 1
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| Disassembly-
Page 2
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| Body Work-
Page 3
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| Paint- Page
4
Paint- Page 5
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| Assembly Page
6
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| Assembly-
Can be seen on my FB Pages as well
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