Classic Muscle Cars » Plymouth Muscle Cars

1969 Plymouth Road Runner

Larisa M. — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:14:07 +0000

Between the years 1968 and 1980 the Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth division produced a bare bones or no frills muscle car popularly known as the Road Runner. One of the most prized muscle cars of it's day, today the 1969 Plymouth Road Runner has arisen to the status of one of the most sought after collectible muscle cars on the market.

The 1969 Plymouth Road Runner followed in the tradition of some of Plymouth's earlier successful muscle cars such as the GTX and it was that success that had the Plymouth engineers going back to the basics of their muscle car line and come up with the Plymouth Road Runner line.

This model came in a 2 door coupe, 2 door hardtop and 2 door convertible with a 3 speed automatic or 4 speed manual. Bucket seats made for comfortable seating and it was in 1969 that the 1969 Plymouth Road Runner was adapted to convertible but only about 2,128 were produced and of those only about ten of them came with the Hemi engine. Four of them were four speed and six were automatics so you can imagine the fight to find any of these rare models.

The 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner came with the following specifications such as:

383 V8 with 335 horse power @ 5200 rpm and 425 lb per ft @ 3400 rpm.
440 V8 with 375 horse power @ 4600 rpm and 480 lb per ft @ 3200 rpm.
440+6 V8 with 390 horse power @ 4700 rpm and 490 lb per ft @ 3200 rpm.
426 Hemi V8 with 425 horse power @ 5000 rpm and 490 lb per ft @ 4000 rpm.

The three models of this classic muscle car saw the following production numbers. The ER2-M 2 door coupe saw 33,743 produced, the ER2-M 2 door hardtop coupe saw 48,549 produced and the aforementioned ER2-M 2 door convertible saw 2,128 produced which is why this particular model of the 1969 Plymouth Road Runner so valuable and such one of the most sought after muscle cars in the world.

Plymouth's muscle car line can get confusing with it's other models such as the Plymouth Super Bee. The roadrunner was bare bones. It didn't sport wheel covers nor hubcaps. It also was modified to the point that it could qualify for the racing circuit and it did just that with legendary status. It was the speed of the 383 Hemi that boosted Plymouth and Dodge to the top of the heap of the dragstrip industry. These performance specifications is what put the 1960 Plymouth Roadrunner as the lead competitor to such hot cars at the time as the Chevelle SS-396 and the Pontiac GTO. Actually the 1960 Plymouth Roadrunner became so popular and sales so high that it was named Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1969.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner

Larisa M. — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:34:59 +0000

No other car in American automotive history captured the imagination as did the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner. This car had the distinction of being named after one of the most popular cartoon characters of all time, Warner Bros. "Road Runner". Plymouth even paid a reported sum of around $50k just to option the name. The lightweight muscle car even sported a decal of the Road Runner cartoon which added even more pop culture to this class muscle car.

The 1968 Plymouth Road Runner made history in more than one way. First of all the aforementioned Warner Bros. association, but also, it was designed and engineered to cut the fat off muscle cars of the day and get back to the basics of what muscle cars were originally created. Low cost and powerful, and when it came to no frills, only walking could beat the Road Runner. Inside was just two bench seats seating six, a dashboard with speedometer and basic gauges, no radio, no air conditioning or other creature comforts. You got into this car and drove fast. That was it.

However, to Chrysler's surprise they thought they would sell roughly 2,000 plus models but instead broke industry expectations by selling over 45,000 1968 Plymouth Road Runner cars! The name must have caught on and the low price tag of just under $3,000. It was an affordable, popular, powerful muscle car. It's basic construction allowed for customizers to go wild. People made careers creating dashboard modifications, seats, carpeting, and more. It was a blank canvas on which anyone could paint and be even cooler.

This car was no joke regarding power though. This B Body platform had a standard MOPAR 383 cid which brought it to 335 bhp and a torque of 425 lb-ft. Reinforced suspensions, four speed manual transmission. You could even spend a $714 more to have a 426 Hemi put in. The 440 Magnum was the base here. So you're talking about a V8 that could do the 1/4 mile in 13.5 seconds at just a wee bit over 100 mph thanks again to the MOPAR 383 cid, manifolds, valve springs, camshafts, and crankcase windage tray.

You've got to take notice of the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner because of all it achieved. It hit all it's marks and more. It nailed the marketing name from a popular cartoon, caprtured the public's imagination and admiration, combined a powerful engine in a lighter weight car that took engineers back to where muscle cars were supposed to be. It met it's market price, exceeded it's sales projections 20 times over, made it in the history books several times over and is still the subject of enthusiasts, collectors, photographers, movies, and more. The toy model kits and toy cars like Hot Wheels featured the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner and it just will not, will not go away in charm and legend.

In those days you would actually see parents, teenagers, college kids, clergy even driving around in a Road Runner. You would also see people pass these cars down and today you'll see them driving around all polished up proudly displayed.

1969 Plymouth Barracuda

Larisa M. — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:53:47 +0000

When it comes to classic muscle cars, only a handful can reach the legendary status of the 1969 Plymouth Barracuda.

To this very day this model of muscle car is spoken of in hushed whispers and boisterous admiration as being an icon of the days when powering down the highways and streets letting people know you had power under your butt.

People would flock around these cars when they first came out and even today when one is cruising down the streets or parked outside, people will literally gather around taking pictures and posing and reminiscing about the good old days of classic muscle cars!

Plymouth originally decided to upgrade the 'Cuda as it's affectionately called and added more power to this automatic transmission driven vehicle and only the strong survived it. It's manual steering and heavy front end meant there was no room for fooling around.

It's aesthetics and power and long lasting durability has brought this classic muscle car to such status that when one finds one, one had better start reaching for the wallet and fast! Collectors are hard pressed to depart from this vehicle and for good reason. If you find one for auction, go for it. These cars will probably never go out of high collector status and that means they're a solid investment for the wary muscle car hunter.

Let's take a brief look at the specs on this classic and you'll see what people were up against in the good ol' days of muscle cars!

The two versions start off with a V-8/B Block Wedge at 383 and horsepower starts at 280/300/330 at respective 4200/4400/5000 rpm ( last two in the '68 and '69 ). Torque rolls in at 400 at 2400 pounds per foot to 435 at 3200 lbs/ft in the '69 version. Compression ratio at 10.0:1, Bore in inches at 4.25, stroke in inches 3.37. Valve lifters are hydraulic.

Speed started off at 0-60 in 6.6 seconds just a second longer roughly compared to today's muscle cars! 0-100 in 18.7 seconds. and top speed at 114 mph.

When these cars hit the high speed back in those days things got out of the way!

Since the first 'Cudas hit the market in 1964, the brand has continued to be one of the most revered. They weren't the fastest but fast enough, not the most powerful, but heavily respected, when it comes to looks and feel, you're talking the legend aborning.

Finally, once you sit inside one of these classic muscle cars you'll realize another reason they're so popular and the center of any major classic car show.

If you find one, get it. It's not going to go out of style in the legendary limelight.

1970 Plymouth Superbird

Larisa M. — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:17:39 +0000

If there's anything memorable about the 1970 Plymouth Superbird, it's the massive rear wing. This car was Plymouth's dare on the Nascar track. Burning tires on the track going 200mph was business as usual for the 1970 Plymouth Superbird. It was a racing version of the famous Road Runner, which originally was a tuned-up Belvedere. Although Nascar only needs 500 eligible cars to be manufactured, Plymouth ordered one Superbird to be built per dealership. They ended up producing nearly 2,000 Superbirds, which came in one of three engine types: Super Commando 440 V8 (375 horse powers), 440 Six Pack (390 hp), and 426 Hemi (425 hp). The latter was only made for less than 100 buyers – it's the rarest 1970 Superbird out there. What made this car more well-known than many other Nascar-oriented muscle cars was the same thing that set Dodge Daytona apart: it was available to public for purchase.

Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird even looked similarly, but they were significantly different in their structure. Superbird's special hood nose was longer, the sheet metal was different – and so was the airfoil. Both had a rear spoiler, but the 1970 Plymouth Superbird really deserves the name "wing" because it was much larger (a whole 2 feet tall), and it was also angled differently. You could show off in the streets, but unless you were racing over 100mph you really couldn’t feel any aerodynamic improvements stemming from the rear spoiler.

You may remember the graphic style of the Superbird – with a decal picturing Road Runner bird holding a racing helmet in its right wing, and waving with the left. This decal was on the left-side headlight door (the headlights retracted), and on the side of the rear wing. To allow breaks to cool, Plymouth designed rear fender scoops that blew air from the wheel wells. Every 1970 Plymouth Superbird came with a hardtop vinyl roof and Rallye rims on the wheels. Upon ordering, drivers could enjoy the heavy duty suspension with a choice of transmissions: either Torqueflight, or the unbreakable Hurst-Shifted four-speed gear. It was capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in under 6 seconds, and this made it an impressive show out on the racing track. Among normal drivers, though, it wasn’t very successful – the majority of prospective buyers went with the old-styled Road Runner, calling the Superbird's style "too extreme." Many unsold models remained at dealerships for over 2 years, so Plymouth decided to convert a large portion of those into Road Runners and sell them off. Other factors that have contributed to its poor sales were increased insurance premiums for race cars, and stricter emissions regulations. As a result, Plymouth did not manufacture the Superbird ever since the 1970s.

Fun fact: the Superbird has won 8 Nascar races. Today, this sexy 2-door coup fetches around $800,000 on eBay, with actual sales known to go for between $80,000 - $300,000 for the original 1970 Superbird. Its original Detroit build gives it a solid feel on the road, and the B-body platform was definitely the right choice for Nascar. It will be interesting to watch if Chrysler will ever revive the Superbird.

1975 Plymouth Duster

Larisa M. — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:10:23 +0000

Do any of these names sound familiar: 340 Duster, 360 Duster, Silver Duster, Gold Duster, Feather Duster, Space Duster … ? All of them were put in production to suit different markets looking for things like cargo space, speed, or just a cheaper model.

Semi-fastbacks are a rarity among classic American muscle cars, but the 1975 Plymouth Duster was one of the most fun to drive. It was also very reliable in terms of regular maintenance as compared to cars that came out after it. With a $15,000,000 budget, the engineers of Plymouth were given a special task: revive the older model, Valiant, and make it into a new, slick, well-selling vehicle. Duster’s biggest competitor, Chevy Nova (1962-1988), fought for the spot of the best-selling car of its kind. Designed as a rival of the Ford Maverick – another competitive semi-fastback model – it had one distinctive feature: it was 2-door, not 4-door. 1975 Plymouth Duster picked up its Valiant-like A-body platform body style where Plymouth Barracuda had left off in its 3rd generation. It was made in Hamtramck and Sterling Heights of Michigan, as well as Belvidere, Illinois, and Toluca, Mexico.

The engineers ran into a style-related difficulty when they were redesigning the Valiant: the roof and the wheels “didn’t look right” as compared to its competitors. The solution was to make the Plymouth Duster into a fastback car, although 3 out of 4 buyers – according to their market research – preferred a notchback. Despite this previous statistic, Duster became highly successful. But that’s not to say the designers got the first-ever 1970 Duster perfectly on-point: with rust issues and glass not being as round as desired, it took years of tweaking to finally get it just right.

Most argue that it’s the 1975 Plymouth Duster’s one-of-a-king design that attracted buyers from different socioeconomic groups. From 1970 until 1976, Plymouth expanded the choice of engines and other options on the Duster. From a 198 cu. in. 3.2L Slant 6, to a 360 cu. in. 5.9L LA V8, there was a lot to choose from. Additional features like a heavy duty suspension, custom-installed gear boxes, and power front disc brakes were sold separately. Its 108” wheelbase helped with handling issues that were predominantly uncomfortable in other cars of that time. Manual and automatic transmissions could be chosen. The front-engine rear-wheel drive was the traditional layout of the 20th century’s majority of cars, and the Duster was no exception.

This car was 172” long, 67” wide, and 53” high. Plymouth produced it in 3 generations (’70-’76, ’85-’87, and ’92-’94). As you can see, there were breaks in production years, which were explained by new brand models coming to compete with other new brand models of other manufacturers like Ford and Mercury (only to be resurrected later). Over time, trim packs called “Duster” were released for the Plymouth Volare, Turismo, and Sundance to revive the 1975 Plymouth Duster’s look and feel.

The second-generation Duster was a 3-door liftback, and the third-generation cars were either a 3-door or a 5-door hatchback. Both of the latter generations were front-engine, front-wheel drive models, and featured smaller engines than the first generation – in part due to new emissions regulations.

1989 Plymouth Speedster (Concept Car)

Larisa M. — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:39:53 +0000

No one could quite put their finger on this mysterious concept car: half-motorcycle, half-automobile, the 1989 Plymouth Speedster was designed with youth in mind. Unfortunately, this model never made it into production due to lack of funding. The vision for this vehicle was to take teenagers and young adults to and from parties, beaches, etc. Had this whimsical design made it into the streets, we may have seen the first-ever car with no doors driving around our streets (yes, Plymouth expected to aim their marketing efforts at teenagers and drivers in their 20s, because analysts believed that being young meant an avalanche of pocket money that could be spent on the 1989 Speedster).

This unique blend of a sports convertible with a motorcycle-style feel was, for a lack of better word, unconventional. The steering wheel reminded you of a fighter jet joystick type of control, and the criss-cross seatbelts made you feel like you were on a rollercoaster. The 1989 Plymouth Speedster concept car had a sexy interior, with yellow seats and a front dashboard unlike any other. Since you’re used to moving your seat closer or further away from the front of the car, the 1989 Speedster had to defy that; instead, the pedals would move closer to or further away from the driver. The dashboard was also on a movable fork, to suit drivers of different sizes (although seeing a rather large teenager try to hop over the side of the car where the door is supposed to be would have been… well, hilarious).

Even the seats joined the body of the Speedster as a one-piece plastic mold, with wet suit material covering the foam pads that were installed for comfort. So if you came straight out of the ocean, or had to drive home from a community pool, there was no need to worry about changing first. Being an “ideal” car for the youngsters, cleaning the interior was made easy: throw out any garbage that you can see, then vacuum or hose away loose particles. Yes, you could actually put a hose inside the 1989 Plymouth Speedster to just blast away the dirt and grime of our youth (spilled sodas, fries that fall under the seats, and so on).

Clearly, the 1989 Plymouth Speedster was all about fun-to-drive. And despite the fact that this concept model was developed so long ago, manufacturers already knew that fun-to-drive cars didn’t need to be as hefty as full-size coupes or SUVs. This miniature model was only 130” bumper-to-bumper, and had a major motorcycle-esque drawback: it didn’t have a roof. Had this car made it to production, it would have been nearly impossible to drive comfortably in the rain, hail, snow, or dust storms.

The 1989 Plymouth Speedster concept car was a 2-person car; there was no back seat, which is sort of a setback, considering that their target market – young people – like to socialize, so therefore a back seat would allow more passengers to hop in. Because the 1989 Plymouth Speedster was a conceptual design and not even a prototype, the execs never even considered actually getting this car to an assembly line. There was no proposed engine, transmission, or anything like that, so we don’t even know how fast this concept vehicle may have been.

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2010 Plymouth Road Runner (Concept)

Larisa M. — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:20:25 +0000

The Plymouth Road Runner has been discontinued since the 80s. But that doesn’t stop the independent designer from Germany, Michael Leonhard. Leonhard is a die-hard graphics designer and a concept car maker who incorporated the Road Runner’s 70s style into a futuristic look that doesn’t even seem 21st century-ish. The 2010 Plymouth Road Runner resembles a Lamborghini-esque look with the swagger of a cop car. And the most exciting part? This concept car will become reality at the 2010 LA Auto Show.

The trick? Leonhard put his concept 2010 Plymouth Road Runner up for sale on eBay, with a hefty $950,000 price tag slapped on its bumper. That’s “just” fifty grand short of a million dollars, but whether its worth it or not is up for debate by individual interested parties. The sleek design features a 2-door, hardtop car with smooth curves and bright LED backlights and headlights. The front grille is a horizontal bar with headlights inserted into it. Just look at the pictures and see for yourself.

You see, the 2010 Plymouth Road Runner hasn’t exactly been built yet. This concept car features a hefty 6.1L V8 HEMI, with an estimated 620hp @ 5,200 RPM. What’s it pushing? An incredible 3.8 sec 0-60mph, and an astounding 121mph quarter-mile in under 12 seconds. Compare that to an average Dodge Charger (250HP, 9.3 sec 0-60mph), equip it with a professional driver, and you have a monster on the roads that the police virtually can’t touch (whether a helicopter could keep up with this beast or not is questionable).

According to the designer, the 2010 Plymouth Road Runner is based off of the Dodge Challenger 6.1 L HEMI. From paper to reality, the entire process of making this vehicle should take approximately 40 weeks. Obviously, Leonhard just doesn’t want to make it yet until he has a solid buyer on file. His eBay lot stated that,

If required, minor changes to the design may occur during the building process.

At such a price tag, I just might have to ask to have a jet plane engine installed.

Although it seems like an amazing car on pictures, you could get similar performance from cheaper vehicles. For instance, you can find a comparable Porsche for around 100 grand. Leonhard wants to match the Challenger’s interior trim with minor modifications to fit his image; “A completely new interior with unique design and features is not part of the auction.” Many car enthusiasts around the world are criticizing his auction for such a high markup, but we all know that in this world, there’s a buyer for just about anything.

The pros? If you could get your hands on the 2010 Plymouth Road Runner Concept, you would be driving a one-of-a-kind vehicle that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. On the other side, you could purchase about 7 Lambos for the price of this one Plymouth. Is the overall appeal worth it? That’s up to you and your financial adviser.

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1970 Plymouth GTX

Larisa M. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:12:29 +0000

The GTX – a 2-door hardtop or convertible – was first introduced by Plymouth in 1967. Design-wise, the Plymouth GTX was certainly appealing, and not just by its looks. Each vehicle came with performance-enhancing upgrades, like modified shocks, leaf springs, torsion bars, etc. The base engine was impressive as is: a 440 cubic-inch V8 called the Super Commando 440. At a breath-taking 375 horse powers, it met or beat previous drag straights’ times and could accelerate from 0 to 60mph up to 126mph. No other car of its time could outperform it in this regard: indeed, Plymouth has gone out of the ordinary with GTX’s acceleration. Surprisingly, not even 800 buyers wanted the upgraded, 425 horse power optional 426 Hemi engine. The automatic, 3-speed TorqueFlite gear system could be upgraded to a manual 4-speed transmission for a set fee upon purchase.

Car dimensions were as follows

Wheelbase – 115”
Length – 200”
Width – 76”
Height – 54”
Front track – 60”
Rear track – 59”
Trunk capacity – 21.6 cubic feet
Fuel capacity – 19 gallons
Total weight – 3,550 lbs

For extra cash, features like air conditioning and power steering and power brakes could be included. Power-windows and sure-grip differentials were also available. Newly introduced 1969 options were impressive: unlike previous models, new buyers could opt in for an air grabber, a Hurst shifter, and variable rear axles. With three different engine options, Plymouth offered people a lot to pick from, but not many customers actually did so.

Like the Road Runner, Plymouth took everything out of the GTX, as well – including carpeting, radio, and car heater, making it a cold ride in the winter time. 1968 brought two kinds of changes to the GTX: mechanical and aerodynamic. An improved hood was added, and suspension was modified. Also, the designers gave the new GTX wider tires and a limited slip differential. A different grill and taillights were put in place, and frontal disc brakes were used, as well. The Road Runner, however, simply seemed like a better option in terms of performance, meaning less sales for the Plymouth GTX.

In 1971, the executives at Chevrolet decided to make the Plymouth GTX an upgrade for the 1972 Road Runner rather than a separate brand model. This signified the end of Plymouth GTX era.

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1970 Plymouth 340 Barracuda

Larisa M. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:59:04 +0000

The Plymouth Barracuda became widely known as the “Cuda,” and it was in production from 1964 to 1974. Because it was car markers’ goal to make compact race cars in mid-sixties, Chrysler-owned Plymouth company decided to base their new Barracuda brand on the former Valiant’s blueprint. This lowered Plymouth’s R&D costs associated with the vehicle, because basically the only new things about it were the metal and the glass. Fun fact: Plymouth execs wanted to name this car the Panda, until designers convinced them otherwise. What set the Barracuda apart from the competition at the time was the biggest rear glass window that’s ever been put in a car at that point: it was 14.4 squared feet in area, which was unmatched by any previous vehicle.

At 106” wheelbase, the car was 188” long, and 70” high. Plymouth Barracuda’s A-body platform featured the 2-door fastback coupe as the primary design. From 1967 to 1969, the side lights and reflectors were experimented with as federal safety regulations were introduced. These laws also affected performance car-makers, which explains why some Barracudas had engines not even capable of producing 200 horse powers, all the way to over 300 horse powers.

For a while, the Plymouth Barracuda was considered a pony car. Over years, though, upgrades to the engine, suspension, breaks, and transmission were introduced, which shifted the Cuda’s reputation. For example, in 1970, the 440 cubic inches 7.2L RB V8 engine was introduced. It offered double the power of the standard 3.6-liter engine, that wasn’t even a V8. Six-barrel carburetors were a requirement to have a 440 engine. Year 1971 was the only year the Cuda had four headlights; the only change this model had over 1970 was a different trim, a new grille, and some other minor feature changes. In 1972, big-engine options were no longer available due to the changing laws pertaining to fuel efficiency and emissions standards.

By 1974, the next-generation model (1975 Plymouth Barracuda) was designed as a running concept car, but it was never put into production. All Cuda prototypes weren’t made available because of the adding federal regulations and the changing consumer market who were out to buy cars. Plymouth instead focused on other models, like the Gran Fury.

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Plymouth Road Runner

Larisa M. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:53:31 +0000

Plymouth initially introduced the Road Runner in 1968, with production continuing until 1980. The idea behind this model was pretty simple: a $3,000 car that can run a quarter-mile in 14 seconds or less for breathtaking thrill riding. After some brainstorming and eventually research & development, the Road Runner was born. Plymouth’s brilliant idea followed a formula as simple as their vision: throw out everything that you don’t need to achieve the 14-second ¼ mile, and add everything that you do need. Simple, enough, right? This low-buck American muscle car ran on the Chrysler B base platform. Here’s an interesting fun fact: Plymouth purchased copyrights to use the name Road Runner, as well as the beeping horn idea, from Warner Brothers. This created a likeliness to the cartoon, which brought the Road Runner an instant recognition.

1968 was Road Runner’s first year. They got off on the right foot with making the right decision about the engine: a MOPAR 383 horse power V8. Sounds familiar? It was the same one put into 440 Magnums. Along with manual transmission, it came with firm suspension, and other performance-maximizing options. Everything else was stripped out, down to carpeting; Plymouth decided that just rubber mats would suffice. For a 2-door 6-seater, the Plymouth Road Runner was a good buy at under 3 grand.

By 1970, you could get a lot more options with the Road Runner: for those willing to pay extra, you could get a 425 horse power 426 Hemi V8 engine that was capable of going from 0 to 60mph in just 5.3 seconds. The top speed in a quarter-mile was 103mph, which allowed it to go through the strip in 13.5 seconds. Additional engines included optional 383 V8 at 335 hp, the 440 V8 running at 375 hp, and a 440+6 V8 doing 390 hp.

In 1971, heavy-duty suspension was hardened and heavy-duty breaks were added. Plymouth added safety features onto the Road Runner as they became standard among the competitive brands. This year’s model featured a more sporty design, which became more appealing over years previous.

The 1975 was extremely difficult to find parts for. Because the federal government began issuing emissions regulations, Plymouth realized that the Road Runner would be hard to sustain, given new catalytic converter and egr standards. Not even 8,000 of them were made, making it difficult to upkeep. It certainly underperformed from its predecessors: 0 to 60mph in nearly 9 seconds was abysmal for the brand, not to mention the 15.8 second ¼-mile. This was Road Runner’s last year in serial production.