Time flies, and that’s a fact that isn’t lost on Rich, the owner of this 1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner. You see, Rich ran a successful transmission shop in New Jersey for years. While he worked on needy gearboxes for the local clientele, he was also buying and stashing away parts and cars at an alarming rate. Before he knew it, it was forty years later and he had successfully filled two storage facilities with rare and NOS car parts, as well as many, many interesting muscle cars.
That brings us to the T5 Bronze Fire Hemi Road Runner shown here. Rich remembers the day he grabbed up this car for his very own vividly. “The car became available, and I was interested. It didn’t have the original Hemi, but I knew it was worth the asking price. So, I grabbed it and stuck it in the back of my storage facility,” he said.
This Road Runner was retired after the original Hemi experienced catastrophic disassembly. Luckily, the rare Mopar was picked up by a collector who stashed the car away for the past four decades. Photo: Scott Lachenauer
What he bought was a bare-bones RM21-coded Road Runner, built by the factory with little more than a bench seat and a big Hemi up front. This lightly optioned monster roamed the dragstrips of the East Coast, creating plenty of high-speed havoc before the original Hemi reached the breaking point and self-destructed. But that alone did not stop this true J-code Plymouth from living on.
Once in Rich’s possession, the Road Runner’s empty engine bay was quickly filled with a Hemi pulled from a celebrated local race car. “I had a race ready 440 on hand. This guy was running a Challenger and wanted to change classes, so he traded me his Elephant motor for my hot-rodded 440 Wedge,” Rich explained. It was a great decision, as the engine bay is full all that Hemi goodness that made Mopars like this Road Runner legends back in the day.
The original 426 cu.in. Hemi engine didn’t live long (probably due to the car’s racing history). The present owner sourced a date-correct replacement, which occupies the engine bay.Photo: Scott Lachenauer
“It is a correct date code ‘69 Hemi, still wearing its Carter four-barrels. It hasn’t been started in years, and we will probably leave that up to the next owners,” states good friend John Fardone, the guy responsible for helping Rich liquidate some of his top rides. “It’s a solid ride that obviously needs some work. But to the right person, this ride is a great restorable example of one of Mopar’s ultimate muscle cars.”
Besides the non-matching numbers engine, the rest of the car seems to be there. The 727 automatic trans is attached, leading to the 8 3/4 out back. Drum brakes at the corners did their best to stop this beast back in the day. Steel wheels are the low buck wheel option on this plain-Jane street fighter.
The Road Runner was designed from the start to be the lowest-cost entry to the most power that Plymouth had on tap. Drum brakes, steel wheels, the most basic B-body dash, column shifter and a bench seat saved the bucks that were spent on the 426 Hemi option.Photo: Scott Lachenauer
The interior was modified for racing and is chock-full of parts and pieces from other cars, as well as some pertinent collected parts. “We are still sifting through all the goodies that were stuffed inside. There are a few pieces that go with the Road Runner, but a lot of it is not meant for this car and was due to the Road Runner being a rolling storage facility over the last four decades, “says John.
The Plymouth has seen some action over the years and wears some of the typical corrosion found on cars in the Northeast. The quarters are in poor shape and need help, with some major bangs and dings and some rust in the lower bits. The metal surrounding the rear glass has typical rust issues as well, and it appears that a replacement trunk lid was put on it at some time. The B-body is not a lost cause, however, as much of this can be remedied with some body work or panel replacement.
After sitting for years in a warehouse covered in parts, this Road Runner has been extracted and is in the process of being prepared for an upcoming sale. Photo: Scott Lachenauer
The few missing parts, like the headlight trim rings and the wheel covers, are probably stuffed somewhere inside the car, so that probably won’t be an issue for the next owner. There were several sets of these items located somewhere in the interior, as well as a hood that Rich stashed away some time ago. Overall, this Road Runner deserves another chance at life on the streets and will be offered for sale soon. What Mopar fanatic wouldn’t want a legendary Hemi-powered B-body in their collection?
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