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The Amazing 69½ Or 440+6 Road Runner
By Dave Ashton
The 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner was squarely placed at the start of the muscle car revolution. A mid-sized coupe with a decent sized 383ci. V8 engine which gave you plenty of performance. If you wanted to go one step up you could opt for the 426 Hemi, but this added another $714 to the price tag which was 25% of the car price.
Granted, you could then compete with a 427 Camaro, Corvette and like, but if you just waited till 1969, you could opt for the 69 ½ Road Runner Six-Pack or A12 440 Six-Barrel as it was advertised.
The midyear 1969 model had the A12-code performance package, which was a stripped down setup with no A/C or power windows, but you did get 15×6 black steel rims with Redline Polyglas tires, liftoff hood with by four hood pins and functional air scoop.
The engine
Power wise you had a 440cu Wedge motor with three two-barrel carburetors, a custom cam, “maximum cooling” radiator and 390 HP and 390 ft-lbs of torque, which in reality was more like 410 Hp. This went through a 18-spline A833 4-speed transmission and a Dana 60 rear with 4.10 gears.
You also got upgraded suspension, chrome lug nuts and no sign of hub caps.
The very first 1969 1/2 Road Runner A12 was sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, Arizona in 2010 for $93,500, a long way from its original price of $3,800. The car also made famous by disrupting the status quo as Ronnie ‘Mr. 4-Speed’ Sox tested out the car and hit a record 12.91 at 111mph. This even bested the Hemi Cudas of the time, which can read more about here.
This Roadrunner isn’t just a rarity, but a history maker and with the association with Ronnie Sox cements the car in muscle car history.
More Muscle Cars For Sale – http://fastmusclecar.com/muscle-car-for-sale/
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