Vehicle Description
Vintage Mopar fans, prepare to be blown away. This 1970 Plymouth
Road Runner Tribute was the product of a meticulous, uncompromising
restoration that's left it in stellar condition - as evidenced by
its Best in Show finish at the Dallas Autorama for 3 straight
years. Rotisserie restored to a level not often found in the Mopar
world, this killer B-Body features a thumping 440 V8 with aluminum
heads, an upgraded suspension, and an insanely clean, bright red
livery that really puts it over the top in the show field. Take a
closer look but do so quickly, because dialed-in Mopars that look
this good never last long.
Red is the color you choose when you want to get noticed, and what
could be more fitting for a Plymouth of this era than the slick red
color on this beauty? An incredible amount of prepping and
workmanship went into its application (blocked and sanded 8 times
before any paint touched the body!), so the shade is in great form,
with that special fresh look usually reserved for cars that have
just emerged from the paint shop. A sharp, contrasting flat black
scoop sits on the big hood and it's fully functional - ushering air
to the big block engine waiting inside, and the side scoops in the
giant rear fenders accentuate this Mopars muscular curves. Like all
the best-looking Road Runners from this era, the decal package
tells the story of the power underneath, although the '440' decals
are somewhat subdued - letting that laser-straight bodywork and
gorgeous paint do all the talking. As you'd expect from a
restoration of this caliber, all the finishing touches have been
looked after - the blacked-out grille and matching tail panel are
crisp, clean rubber trim surrounds all the windows and the body
lines are as precise as can be, allowing the doors, hood and
decklid to open and shut as smoothly as when this Plymouth first
hit the road.
The sporty vinyl interior is a combination of stock and modified,
and it's ever bit as dialed-in as the bodywork. Sculpted buckets
and a custom console anchor the cabin up front, beautifully
upholstered in black vinyl that makes it feel upscale inside. All
the soft stuff inside looks and feel almost brand new - from the
matching rear bench seat, the flanking door panels, and the taut
headliner above. The carpets have been replaced, and the
reproduction threads use the correct nap and weave for a
factory-correct look that fully insulates the entire cabin. It's
got a full complement of gauges inside the wide factory dash,
further augmented with a tachometer strapped to the steering column
and a set of Equus auxiliary units inside the custom center
console. That trick console gets lots of attention, as it also
houses a modern JVC head unit powering booming aftermarket
speakers, controls for the ice-cold Vintage A/C system, and a
chrome and cue-ball B&M shifter that manages the automatic
transmission below. The spacious trunk was finished back to stock
and features a period-perfect mat and full-size spare mounted
correctly in the back hump.
Under the big hood this Plymouth's original 318 is gone, replaced
by a fully rebuilt 440 cubic inch V8 augmented with aluminum heads.
It was rebuilt about 9000 miles ago and offers a very slick look,
from the blacked-out air cleaner and matching Mopar Performance
finned valve covers, to the deep black paint on the block itself.
There's an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor underneath, and thanks to
proper tuning, it starts easily and pulls through the gears like
it's trying to escape from something. A 727 TorqueFlite automatic
transmission was upgraded with a gear-vendor overdrive, making it a
6-speed unit that's an eager travelling partner, always picking the
right gear for long cruises and eager to downshift for a punch of
acceleration off the line thanks to the 3.91 POSI rear end. The
insanely clean underside shows off how everything was sand-blasted
and prepped during the rotisserie restoration, and it features an
upgraded suspension up front (tubular control arms, fresh shocks
and coils, a sway bar, and power steering and power front discs)
and heavy duty set-up out back (upgraded air shock, leaf springs,
and a sway bar) to make it easy to handle around town. A custom 2.5
inch exhaust with Flowmaster-style mufflers and exhaust cut-outs
sounds spectacular, existing through chrome tips underneath the
rear bumper. 17-inch chrome wheels are a great choice on this Mopar
muscle and they're wrapped in 235/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear
radials with plenty of grip
If you're looking for an upper-echelon MoPar ride that's at the top
of its game both in terms of looks and running condition, you have
to check out this absolutely dialed-in 197 Plymouth Road Runner
Tribute. Call today!