For Sale: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner in Morgantown, Pennsylvania

1969 Plymouth Road Runner A12 Hardtop

As you may or may not know, Plymouth didn't name their stripped-down muscle car after any Road Runner. They named it after THE Road Runner - the cartoon character created by Warner Bros. What you probably don't know is that Plymouth paid Warner Bros. $50,000 for the rights to the name. An astronomical sum, which would buy you approximately 16 and a half Road Runners in 1968. Remember the "beep-beep" sound that the cartoon Road Runner made when he sped past Wile E. Coyote? When Plymouth purchased the rights to the name from Warner Bros., they made sure that the sound was part of the package. All Road Runners were equipped with a special horn that allowed you to do the same sound as you sped past the Mustangs and the Camaros.

The Road Runner 440 Six Barrel A12 was introduced mid-year as an alternative to those that wanted more power than the 383, but didn't want to pay the Hemi premium. It's also no secret the 1969 Plymouth Road Runner 440 Six Barrel A12 was created to rack up victories at the drag strip. Available as a coupe, (RM21M), and hardtop, (RM23M), the Road Runner 440 Six Barrel A12 came with an abundance of standard equipment. A lift-off fiberglass hood with four-pin hood latches, 15�6-inch stamped steel wheels, and Goodyear Polyglas Red Streak tires to grab your attention. This racer also featured an "Air Grabber" air cleaner, extra-heavy-duty "Hemi" suspension, and heavy-duty 11-inch drum brakes. Under the hood lurked an M-code 440 cubic-inch V8 rated at 390 horsepower and 490 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine featured three Holley 2300 two-barrel carburetors, an aluminum Edelbrock intake manifold, and a forged-steel crankshaft. This powerplant also included heavy-duty valve springs, a dual-breaker distributor, and 10.5:1 compression ratio. For consignment and right out the Mopar camp, a beautiful 1969 A12 dressed Road Runner, restored to original shape in the 90's is still looking good to this day. Brought new in central PA and spending most of its life in the Hershey/Grantville area, this car saw time on the local drag strips before being retired to a chicken house where it was found. It is all numbers matching and has not only the build sheet, but also a full decode by Mopar Guru Galen Govier. This car is one of the first 100 A12 cars built, and purportedly the first yellow car produced, and is #108 in the A12 registry. Enjoyed by our consignor, and with his collection growing, it's time to pass this piece of Mopar muscle on to the next caretaker. Will that lucky person be you?

Exterior
Sunfire Yellow bathes the straight steel panels that makeup this long and lean B-body Plymouth and is just a perfectly sedate color on this muscle car. Very straight steel and well minded gaps provide the foundation for the paint which on this car begets the age of the restoration and still presents well today, albeit with a few inclusions, chips and flaws. The trimmings remain nice and shiny, down to the fender tag correct door edge guard moldings and the long trunk deck and hood accentuate the overall size of this muscular machine. Speaking of the hood, it is the correct matte black finished pin on and lift off scooped hood that is part of the fabled A12 package, and shows with simple 440-6BBL decals that would make an opponent think twice before challenging you. Pristine chromed bumpers frame the bottoms of the front and rear and on the back shiny exhaust pipes peek out from either side of the bottom of the rear bumper. One has to love the detail on the rear glass with its "ogee" bottom window trim shape just adding some interest to the overall lines of this pretty much square and rectangle design car. Correct 15x6 black painted steel wheels, sans caps are shod in correct red stripe rubber in G70-15 format.

Interior
A swing of the muscle car's doors reveals black vinyl inserts with chrome edge trimming and black painted metal for the uppers and lowers. A shiny actuator is on the edge of the armrest, along with a nicely preserved crank for the glass. Inside we see full bench seats also covered in pristine black vinyl. These have tuck and roll inserts, with smooth bolsters in the edges. The front is a split backed version for easier access to the rear bench. These benches float on a sea of clean black carpeting. In front the factory dash in black has a horizontal rectangular cluster of gauges and the "fratzog" centered steering wheel with Road Runner cartoon badge in the center. The dash is very clean and all original with a single aftermarket oil pressure gauge hanging down below, this originality is unusual for these cars and fully appreciated. Above is a tight black colored headliner and black seat belts are installed throughout this muscle car. A shout out to the trunk which sports a like new mat and factory spare and jack.

Drivetrain
A 2 man operation to remove the pin on 6-BBL hood and once off reveals an orange air cleaner covering that fits into the hood opening and is sealed to ensure only fresh outside air is feeding the mill. An orange block and orange valve coverings are seen with nice supple black hoses and wires. These are all attached to the factory numbers matching 440ci V8. Below the air cleaner is a trio of Holley 2-barrel carburetors bolted to an Edelbrock intake manifold which is also factory correct. On the back is a numbers matching A833 4-speed manual transmission. Nice clean cast iron manifolds melt into a stock style exhaust that leads to the back of the car for its exit. Amazingly very little corrosion or even surface rust is seen anywhere near this engine or bay. Putting all that Pentastar power to the pavement is the correct Dana 60 rear axle fitted with SureGrip and 4.10 gearing.

Undercarriage
Not to be outdone by the topside, the undercarriage is all restored and lookingnearly showroom with black undercoated steel as far as the eye can see. We do note some invasive rust in the rear filler panel behind the bumper, but all else is solid. A few light drips, no rust, just solid black framing, floorboards and suspension which includes independent torsion bars for the front and leaf springs for the rear. Power drum braking is on all 4 corners.. Just lovely underneath this muscle car.

Driver-Ability
A fight nearly broke out as to who was going to test drive this beauty and I lost! So, my cohort decoder and muscle car madman took the ride and reported back with a smile on his face. Rarely does this duo draw straws for the driver's seat, but I knew he was impressed. He confided in me he loved its handling, acceleration, overall performance, commenting it was all buttoned up, and only two frowns on the drive. That being the heater blower not blowing and the transmission occasionally being difficult to engage second gear.

A very rare, very well documented and numbers matching beautiful piece of history, sure to increase in value over the upcoming years. Wearing an older restoration and fully documented and decoded by Galen Govier. All near perfectly appearing and mechanically sound, turn the key and lay some rubber...Beep! Beep! See ya!

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.