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1968 Plymouth Road Runner – Road Gunner

Vehicle Quick Facts

Profile ID: 15985
Year: 1968
Make: Plymouth
Model: Road Runner
Markets: Driven Daily, Muscle Car, Performance, Resto-Mod
Vehicle Type: American
Contact: PAINTHOUSE

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Vehicle Story

Road Gunner.

What does that mean? Well, let me give you a little insight into the wonderfulness of me. Obviously, the car is a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, that is a given. In discussions with the owner, the whole era of Viet Nam and the 60's, in general, became a focus. These cars were out on the street, doing battle with the best of them. Heck, you could even get one of these with a 'pistol grip' Hurst shifter for the 4-speed transmission. Hence, the name "Road Gunner".

This Mopar Missile will feature a 572", all-aluminum, FHO-built "real" Hemi engine, fueled by a twin throttle bodies and a FAST fuel injection brain. The attempt is to resemble the original 426ci, 425hp (yeah, right!) Hemi, which had two 4-barrels feeding the monster within. Behind all that madness is a Bowler Transmission Tremec t56 Magnum 6-speed transmission and McLeod RXT twin disc clutch, along with the requisite Pistol Grip shifter - or perhaps something a bit more era specific, we shall see. All of those hippie-inspired horses are routed through a Dana 60 differential housing a healthy positraction unit. There will be no one-legged burnouts on this trip down memory lane.

A custom chassis was created for the car as well, featuring coil-over springs and exceptionally strong suspension parts. Suffice it to say that GAP Racing took the chassis that we started with and really took it over the top (or underneath in this case). These cars were originally built with a unibody structure which may be fine for a normal, stock-powered car, but not one that is hoping to harness over 850 horses of naturally-aspirated Hemi power.

The folks at GAP Racing also created a unique mount for the rear suspension's torque arm that finds its foundation on the beefy differential cover made from 1/4" steel plate (Flex? What's flex?). It truly is something that has to be seen to be appreciated. The rear control arms are also interesting in that GAP made from oval chrome moly tubing. You know, the same stuff that F1 cars use for their suspension. In addition to all that, GAP created a tightly-woven roll cage assembly that will ultimately tie all of this metal together into a strong, cohesive package. GAP Racing also tackled the custom exhaust system, featuring a "Loud" option that must be seen, and heard, to be appreciated. Lastly, the engine bay and smooth 10ga floor are a sight to behold, even if you can't see it from outside the car. With GAP Racings' help, we have done our level best to make sure that all the couped-up tension is properly harnessed - and released - when its time.

The wheels, custom shaker-ish hood scoop and a few other trinkets are being created by the inimitable folks at EVOD Industries. Hopefully, you see the Mopar Rallye wheels creatively woven into the style of the billet aluminum. Selective polishing and painting are applied to the faces of the wheels in order to specifically create the illusion of a factory wheel yet in a much more current proportion. After all, more rubber is definitely needed to ensure all this horsepower makes it to the ground.

The interior will be sewn by the talented artisans at Stitch by Stitch Design, in Cookeville, TN. We have used them on multiple projects and they never cease to impress with every project we send them. It will feature a tasteful blend of black and grey deceased Italian cows as well as other, perhaps military-inspired, materials. There will be no back seat because "ain't nobody gonna sit back there anyway!" All of the pertinent information will be provided to the driver by a custom-created set of gauges by Dakota Digital.

From a design standpoint, Eric Brockmeyer took our ideas, and a few of his own, and infused them into the rendering you see here. And yes, the color will be reminiscent of the original Panther Pink that could be had on various Mopars of the day. It is a custom PPG color created by us here at PAINTHOUSE. We call it "Ransberry Pearl". I told the owner that he had better have 850 horses if he was going to paint his car that color! If nothing else, it will be unique. There will be no sneaking around in this powerful Plymouth.

A few of the other products to be featured will be an American Autowire Highway 22 wiring harness, Kicker audio, Baer brakes, Rick's Tanks, FAST Fuel Injection, Billet Specialties engine drive system, Vintage Air climate control, Advanced Plating for the shiney stuff and MSD. As always, there will be additional companies involved, and we will make sure to keep this little story as current and accurate as possible. In the meantime, stay tuned as we continue to bring this uniquely-toned, traditionally-powered and exceptionally styled project to life.

As for now, we have to get back to work, as the Mopar Gods are calling. Those of you that have done this before know that their clarion call cannot be ignored...

 

 

 

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