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“Birth of a Chrysler Nation”, or “Mad Max Wedge" part 1 of a 3 part series

“Chrysler Fire Power” has always been synonymous with high power engines. In 1951 Chrysler introduced the Hemi V8 engine. This engine had 332cid and featured “Hemisphereical” combustion chambers. This engine design produced a docile 180 horsepower @ 4000 rpm and debuted in such boats as the New Yorker and Saratoga series. Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth (RIP), DeSoto (RIP), and Imperial (once a separate line of Chrysler cars) were the top of the automotive world with respect to power and performance, but these cars were huge and, well, quirky. Yeah, real quirky. With odd styling and push-button automatic transmissions, nothing said these were hot cars, except the engine and the way it ran. Look at a Plymouth Savoy or a Dodge Coronet Lancer of that era and compare them with a Tri-Five Chevrolets, or even a ‘57 Ford. Though if you found a Coronet Lancer that was badged D300, it was “Hemi Powered.” And it needed it. Two tons of steel and four tires, oh, and a big-o Hemi up front. Sadly, in 1958, Chrysler released it’s last of the first series of Hemi cars . After growing the Hemi to 352cid and 392cid, production costs were too much for Chrysler to absorb. A new engine series was to replace the monstrous “HEMI’s”. The B/RB series of engines. This new series was to include the venerable 383cid V8. Available in throughout the line of MoPar trucks and automobiles, the 383 was just a reliable old workhorse of a motor. In June of 1957 the Automobile Manufacturing Association (or AMA), passed a ban on all factory sponsored racing activities. The AMA thought that cars were too fast and too powerful already. “Hot Rodders” were showing up on the street and “Drag Racing”. Compliance with this ban did not last long. In 1960, Ford was the first to defy the order, by producing the “Special Power” 352cid engine of their FE (Ford/Edsel) line. The FE turned out to be one of automotives most versatile engines - 332/352/390/406/427low riser/427medium riser/427high riser/427SOHC (the only engine the second Hemi every feared), and a host of comparable size engines in the truck, Lincoln and Mercury lines. Chevrolet and Pontiac also jumped into the fray with the famed 409s and “Tri-power” carbed Bonneville's. This not only got them attention on the racetrack, but also generated a lot of “image” and sales at the dealerships.

Mopar had no such “image” product at the time. Just some drag racer guys running Hemi’s in “Slingshot Dragsters”, as they called them. Enter a bunch of crew cut engineers from Chrysler town. Dick Maxwell, Jim Thornton and Tom Hoover. They were Chrysler line engineers during the week, and on the weekend fledging knuckle busting drag racing sons-a-bitches. Together they formed the famed RamChargers racing team. Working with limited resources, they left an impressive mark on drag racing during this era and laid the groundwork for what was to come. These guys knew their stuff. They really made those MoPars fly. In 1960, in part of what the RamCharger guy were doing, Chrysler introduced a wild aluminum cross-ram intake set-up for the 383, which placed the carbs over the inner fenders and fed the air/fuel mixture through long two runners which ran over the valve covers on opposite sides of the engine (the first “cross-ram manifold”). They also introduced a nasty short-ram setup, but only through the parts department. The RamChargers guys took what was available to the racing world and loosely applied it to “street” cars. This gave the appearance of hot street cars (Dodge and Plymouth alike) and eventually led to those options being offered in cars. They were fast and dominated the strips everywhere.

This work resulted in the 1962 introduction of the “Max Wedge 413”, which came equipped with not only a cross-ram setup, but also a pair of huge, upswept cast iron exhaust manifolds. They looked like boat headers, going up before going down in the fender wells. Wild looking stuff, especially for the factory. Pistons were available in two compression ratios: 11:1 and 13.5:1. Imagine, a 13.5:1 factory engine! These parts made the 413 Max Wedge cars all but unusable on the street, but at the drag strip the results were immediate. The 1962 N.H.R.A. record books show four class records established by the 413. With the correct gearing and tires, mid-twelve-second passes became commonplace. But they still had that quirky styling. These “B” body cars were overweight, bulky and ugly. OK, nearly everything else was ugly in 1962, but Chrysler won first prize here. Jan and Dean sang about the 413. It was an awesome power plant. “It happened on the strip where the road is wide, two cool shorts standing side by side, my fuel-injected Sting-Ray and a 413, revving up our engines and it sounds real mean . . . The Super Stock Dodge winding out in low, but my fuel-injected Sting-Ray’s really startin’ to go, to get the traction I’m a riding the clutch, the pressure plates burning and a she’s too much. . .” The MoPars were fast, and they were showing everyone from east to west how fast they were. In 1963, the Max Wedge grew to 426cid due to a larger 4.25” bore. These were referred to as the ‘Stage II’ engines. Now, Chrysler began producing special bodies which would complement these engines, using aluminum front ends, trunk-mounted batteries, hood scoops and other lightweight parts. By this time MoPars virtually owned the Super Stock classes in the N.H.R.A. Ford countered with the Galaxie Lightweight with the 427FE, while Chevrolet introduced it’s 427 Biscayne. These were also full sized, heavy, bulky cars. The ‘Stage II’ versions of the Max Wedge motors were significant because they opened up the science of cylinder- head air flow engineering. The RamChargers guys figured out if you could flow more air/fuel in, and get it out, then you made more horsepower. The end result of their work on flow would lead to the rebirth of the (new or second) Hemi. The final Max Wedge, the ‘Stage III’, was released in 1964. The biggest improvements were a revised cylinder head and new camshaft design. This was thought to be the pinnacle of the Max Wedge series. However, in 1964 the Hemi was re-introduced, the engine that would blow away the Max Wedge motors and (nearly) everything else in terms of performance (more on that in the next series). The Max Wedge motors that gave the MoPar engineers time to perfect multi-carb setups, camshaft designs, valve and port shapes, and bottom-end reliability. However, the guys in the styling department must have all come from Rambler or Studebaker, as there still wasn’t a platform that spelled performance. The “A” bodied MoPars (Dodge Lancer and Plymouth Valiant) were too small and sported the Slant-6 engine. They were in the Nova and Falcon class. Econo-boxes. In 1965, Plymouth introduced the Barracuda by adapting a fish-bowl rear glass window to the Valiant. Though it had some success, it couldn’t match up to what Ford was doing with the Mustang and Pontiac with the GTO. Dodge introducted the 1966 Charger during the Rose Bowl game halftime, and for all of it’s hoopla and glitz, it sold less than 39,000 cars in it’s two year run. No Savoy, Fury, Belvedere, Polara, Coronet or anything else spelled young. They just didn’t get it. Hell, even the “Little old lady from Pasadena” drove a “brand new shiny red Super Stock Dodge.” Throughout the line, Chrysler still had stodgy, square, fast but funky looking cars. Chrysler had two main objectives as it entered the mid-sixties and the “Horsepower Wars.” What platforms could we put the new Hemi in, and how to make a car that would peel the young market away from Ford and Pontiac with the Mustang and the GTO.

'05 RCSB 1500 SLT 5.7 Hemi Ram - 4" ram air from fog light hole - Amsoil drop-in filter - AirAid MIT - Taylor shorty wires - FM 50HD SI/SO 3" Magnaflow y-pipe - General Grabber UHP 295/50 20 tires - Superchips Flashpaq 3815 - Motive 4.56 gears - Detroit Truetrac differential
Lakewood traction bars - PML differential cover - Best reaction time .011 @ Bowling Green
Best 1/8 mile 9.28 @ Bowling Green - Best 1/4 mile 14.51 @ Bowling Green - ETs before gears, DTT, traction bars, improved ram air, and y-pipe

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“Birth of a Chrysler Nation”, or “Mad Max Wedge" part 2 of a 3 part series

Those Incredible Hemi’s and the Elephant Cars The Hemi, what an engine! Storied racing success in everything it did, stump pulling truck and even tank engine, and what we want to know about -- the heart and soul of some ass kicking Muscle Cars that we (old guys) grew up with. Back in the late 1930s, Chrysler began experimenting with different types of engine designs to improve the performance of their cars. The first hemispherical shaped (or half sphere) combustion chamber engine was developed primarily as an Industrial or Marine engine, but the engineers saw hope for a passenger car engine as well. At that time, almost all passenger car engines, whether V-8 (as in Ford’s Flathead V-8), straight 6 or straight 8, were flathead designs featuring valves in the engine block.

But the war came, and Chrysler (and all the manufactures) did what they were asked in the war effort, and further engine development was halted. Post war, Chrysler resurrected this project of engine design for a number of passenger cars and trucks. In 1951, Chrysler introduced the Hemi V-8 engines to the public. From the lowly DeSoto (RIP) “Baby” Hemi of 276cid/160 hp; to the Chrysler and Imperial versions of 331cid and 180 horsepower at 4,000 rpm. Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Imperial, and Plymouth were the first cars and trucks to offer a Hemi engine as an option. Chrysler referred to these engines as the “Red Ram”, “Firedome” and “Firepower” motors. These early 241, 276, 301, 331, 354, and 392cid Hemi motors, had nothing in common with the 426 Hemi except for the basic valve train arrangement and spark plug location. What made this engine unique? This power plant, Chrysler’s first entry in the “V” type engine field, incorporated several revolutionary design features which made it the most powerful passenger car engine in the US at that time. First, this engine was extremely compact (despite how those heads look). A unique combustion chamber (a half sphere) and overhead valve arrangement (featuring 2 rocker assemblies, one running each side of the combustion chamber) and a center mounted spark plug were chiefly responsible for the number of advantages it held over competitive engines of similar type (OHV) and size (CID).

On the technical side, due to that characteristic shape of the combustion chamber, the engine had high volumetric efficiency, extremely high thermal efficiency with low specific heat rejection and superior flow and combustion characteristics. One of the most unique facets of this design was in placing one valve on each side of the cylinder, rather than side by side on the same side of the cylinder as in other OHV engines. This allowed for larger valves (all the way up to huge valves) and that better flow that you (racers) wanted. Whether by design or by chance, Chrysler had also found combinations between bore and stroke that would lead to high mechanical efficiency. In 1955 Chrysler introduced the first car in North America to produce 300 horsepower (and 345 pounds of torque), the 1955 Chrysler C300 (3NE55 code). Horsepower for the early Hemi (again, Chrysler C300, 58N3 code) peaked in 1958 with a dual 4-barrel version of the 392 rated at 390 hp.

Sadly, in 1958, the last of the early Hemi’s rolled off the assembly line. Early drag racers and dry lake runners were already using a variety of Hemi’s because of their superior horsepower and design. Supercharged 392 Hemi’s in racing applications were making close to 1,200 horsepower by 1961. Truly astounding at that time! Contrast that with the Top Fuelers of today making 6,500 horsepower - but then again - they are still using a derivative of that early Hemi design.

In the early 60’s, Chrysler released two new engines -- a 413 and 426cid with a wedge shaped cylinder head design. These engines were called the “Max Wedge” (see Article 1 of this series). Chrysler also built another head type in the 50’s called the “Poly Head” (similar to a small block Chevy in design), using some of the Hemi design features, but with a single rocker assembly per bank. The “Poly Head” led to the R/BR engine series that led to those “Max Wedge” motors. Thanks to those famous RamChargers guys, the “Max Wedge” was making a name for itself on drag strips all across America. Chrysler decided it was time to be taken seriously in the N.A.S.C.A.R. circuit as well. The RamChargers team had taken cylinder head, flow and shape very seriously, and their research and development led Chrysler back to the Hemi shape heads. The Hemi engine (second generation) reintroduced in 1964 was the called the “Race Hemi”. This engine was developed from the 426 Max Wedge, but featured a Hemi head design. This combination resulted in the famed “426 Hemi”. Just how much impact did the new Hemi have? The 426 engine set the Hemi legend in stone when it won first, second and third place in the 1964 Daytona 500 N.A.S.C.A.R. race, the very first race it was in! Ford, the dominate brand in N.A.S.C.A.R. then, managed to win 30 of the races that year, and the manufacture’s title, but everyone knew that the Hemi was truly “King of the Horsepower”. The new Hemi featured iron heads, a 12.5:1 compression ratio, and single Holley 4-bbl carburetor mounted on a cast iron manifold. Engines intended for the drag-strip had an aluminum cross ram with dual Holleys.

In 1965, the “A-990” Race Hemi was introduced with aluminum heads and magnesium intake manifolds. In 1966, the “Street Hemi” became available. This is the one us Muscle Car freaks wanted. The “Street Hemi” differed from the “Race Hemi” by a lower compression ratio (10.25:1), a milder cam, and different intake and exhaust manifolds. Cast iron heads were used instead of aluminum. The Street Hemi came with dual Carter 4-barrel carbs mounted on an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold. The engine’s advertised horsepower and torque ratings were 425 hp at 5,000 rpm and 490 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. Most people claim the output was closer to 500 hp, but Chrysler hedged the ratings just like everyone else. The 426 Hemi was a $1,100 option on many models and came with either a 4-speed manual or a Torque-Flite automatic transmission. 1971 was the last year for the 426 Hemi option. Between the years 1966-1971 the 426 Hemi option was ordered in approximately 10,000 cars. Very few changes were made to the Hemi motor though its seven year run. In 1970, it received a hydraulic cam instead of the solid lifter variety, but the engine ratings remained the same. Concerns about emissions led to major detuning of all high performance engines, so Chrysler, rather than suffering through detuning a legend (like 1970 LS6 Chevrolet 454 that cranked out 450 hp, then choked down to 240 hp in the smog years), simply stopped manufacture of the Hemi engines once again. The Elephant Cars. That’s what they referred to the Hemi cars as, Elephant Cars. A pretty descriptive term for the engine that made more power than anything else on the street (or the strip). The B-Body and E-Body cars were the most popular and musclely of these street beasts with the new generation of Hemi power under the hood. The B-Body cars from ‘66 to ‘71 featured the Dodge Coronet, Charger, Super Bee and Daytona cars. In the Plymouth line, the B-Bodys were the Satellite, GTX, Road Runner and the Superbird. The E-Body cars were the ‘70 and ‘71 Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda and ‘Cuda. These all had trim up or trim down versions, with designations like SE or R/T, but no matter what - they all had that monster Hemi option under the hood. The MoPar engineering department knew what they had in that engine, and why people wanted to buy it -- to mash the pedal to floor and smoke the hell out of some unsuspecting rayon tires of the late 60s and early 70s. Even the new Firestone Wide-Oval tires were no match for 490 foot pounds of torque. You could haze those ‘Stones till hell froze over. So to combat some of that torque wrap up and awesome power, all of the Hemi cars were really convertibles in disguise! Rather than strengthening the existing chassis, all Hemi cars used a convertible body with an attached roof! Due to design differences, the convertible style is stronger than a hardtop.

All MoPar convertibles also had torque boxes attached that connected the rear bulkhead into the side rails in front of each rear leaf spring, this not only made the frame stronger, but serves as an identifying purpose on real Hemi cars as you can see these boxes if you look for them underneath. All the 4-speed cars came with a Dana 60 rear-end instead of the Chrysler 8 3/4”, and A/C was not an option (so if someone is trying to sell you a Hemi car and it’s got A/C or a patched up firewall where all that plumbing came through, then it ain’t no Hemi car). Additionally, all the Hemi cars came with a thick steel plate attached to the floor of the car above the rear pinion snubber, and they all came with 3/8” I.D. fuel line (careful, the 440 cars also had 3/8” fuel lines). Chrysler used a different K-member used to mount the Hemi in the car, and without extensive cutting and welding, you just don’t change that mount. They all came with the large radiator and support, just like the A/C cars that their tamer cousins got. All automatic equipped Hemis (Chrysler 727 Torque-Flite) got an auxiliary Trans cooler as standard. The Hemi’s also (except the ‘71 B-bodys) had a side mounted windshield wiper motor to provide clearance for the air cleaner or fresh air scoop. The all ‘69 cars except the Charger Daytona, Superbird and ‘70 Charger, came with outside induction as standard equipment. All ‘68 and earlier cars did not have factory outside induction standard, though some kind of hood scoops were available. The Hemi cars also had a slightly different wiring harness on the left side inner fender and a remote mounted starter solenoid there as well. You’ve had a tour around the outside, underside and under the hood of a Hemi car. Now slide behind the wheel, gently pump the gas once or twice, turn the key and hear that monster roar to life. 425 horsepower, 490 foot pounds of torque. A deep, throaty resonance echoes. Rev it little, that vibration you feel in your chest - it’s your heart beating faster. Ready for a spin? Put it in gear and drop the hammer. Wham! Grab second - Wham! (remember to breath), third, fourth. . . All of the Hemi cars were purpose built for one purpose and one purpose only -- going fast. The biggest and heaviest (Coronets and Super Bees) ran the quarter mile in the low 14’s with street tires and through the mufflers, while the lighter Road Runners and such were a true mid-12’s car in street trim. All that and it only cost you about $ 1,100.00 (average) when you ordered it new. Even then, with that low of a price for all of that performanac, only about 10,000 Street Hemi cars were built between 1966 and 1971 when they stopped producing them. And you probably rejoiced if you drove a street Chevy or Ford at the time, ‘cause aside from him sitting next to you at a signal, when the light turned green, about the only view you got when the smoke cleared was the back end of that MoPar Elephant car. Horsepower is King -- long live the King

'05 RCSB 1500 SLT 5.7 Hemi Ram - 4" ram air from fog light hole - Amsoil drop-in filter - AirAid MIT - Taylor shorty wires - FM 50HD SI/SO 3" Magnaflow y-pipe - General Grabber UHP 295/50 20 tires - Superchips Flashpaq 3815 - Motive 4.56 gears - Detroit Truetrac differential
Lakewood traction bars - PML differential cover - Best reaction time .011 @ Bowling Green
Best 1/8 mile 9.28 @ Bowling Green - Best 1/4 mile 14.51 @ Bowling Green - ETs before gears, DTT, traction bars, improved ram air, and y-pipe

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"ROAD RUNNER versus ACME RACING" (you lose)

Beep Beep, Yer Ass ! ! ! (final installment of a 3 part series)

In late 1966 or there abouts, the gearhead guys at Plymouth saw a definite, young market opening up. A market in the Muscle Car arena. Plymouth decided that Muscle Cars had gotten too far from their original purpose: cheap (and very fast) thrills. They were becoming luxury cars with a big engine. A niche was opening up in the car market for the "just turning 16 and just getting out of high school" segment, which needed to be filled, and filled FAST! Someone at Chrysler felt they needed to get back to the basic equation. The one that those Poncho guys had written just two years before -- CID + lighter car = Performance. Multiply that CID by the power of X (X equaling HEMI) and the thrills/performance when up like a exponentially (OK, I said in high school I would never use that stuff, but I just did). Pontiac was moving away from the basic equation themselves as the cheap, bare-bones GTO was going more upscale looking for wider appeal. Ford and the Mustang was growing up. Camaro was just out (1967) and not really yet defined.

The answer to this need that the MoPar boys saw came in the form of the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner. A very affordable car that came standard with low weight, great looks, and great power. In fact - a true Muscle Car. The original Road Runner was perhaps the second most significant Muscle Car to the 1964 Pontiac GTO as it shifted the market back to it’s "bang for the buck" roots. It was certainly the most important Muscle Car since the original GTO and now Plymouth wanted to own their part of this segment. Little did they know that they would redefine the segment and own it entirely. Plymouth originally estimated that it would sell 2,500 Road Runners in 1968; they actually sold an astounding 45,000 copies!

In 1968, the company paid $50,000 to Warner Brothers to affix that certain cartoon bird onto its new vehicle, which was based on a stripped down Belvedere pillared coupe body, and the myth of the Road Runner was born. A horn that went "beep-beep" complimented the Road Runner decals (in gray in ‘68 due to time constraints) that were standard on all Road Runners. The standard engine was MoPar’s 383 cid powerplant, which was treated to the heads, manifolds, camshafts, valve springs, and crankcase windage tray from the race ready 440 Magnum engine. Thanks to those RamChargers guys for all that work on the Wedge motors and head work.

These changes made the old 383 into a 335bhp and 425lb.-ft. of torque, big block muscle motor, and some serious tire smokin’ power! This was coupled with numerous other performance features including beefed up suspensions, manual transmissions, brakes, tires, and Chrysler’s "Sure-Grip" rear-end.

The car came standard with a sparse "Taxi Cab" style interior, with very few options, if any. There were the plain bench seats, front and rear, with no radio, no trim, and right in the center of it all was the 4-speed A833 manual tranny shifter, and all in black, everything in black, and no carpeting - just rubber floor mats. Just like Mick and the Rolling Stones sang - "no colors anymore, I want them to turn black. . ."

The main attraction was all of that at a base price of $2,896.00. For those who wanted a little (sic) bit extra, there was one engine option; for $714.30 Plymouth would slide in a 426 Street Hemi (see "Those Incredible Hemi’s and the Elephant Cars", part 2 of this 3 part series). Clearly with one option you could raise the price of the car by 25% - but think of the return you would have had if you were smart enough to buy one and still had it today. Sadly, only 1,019 Road Runners were delivered with the Hemi option. The outside of the car was just as sparse, perhaps even dowdy. Very little chrome or shine with exception of the stainless steel grille, and bumpers front and rear, and the tail lights. Small Road Runner badges adorned the doors, with little stickers of the infamous cartoon bird just above. As stated earlier, due to time constraints the first year, the stickers were black and white - color came out later. By mid-year they had introduced a pure hardtop to go with the pillared roof (coupe/sedan) version.

This car made quite an impact in my high school parking lot. One of the guys from my school’s older brother got a brand new 1968 Road Runner in Competition Orange with a Black Vinyl top and black interior. He could smoke the tires as far as he wanted, and with few exceptions it was just like the cartoons -- you were the Coyote from Acme Racing Co. and he was the splendid Road Runner, rarefied among birds, sleek, fast, built for speed -- and try though you may, you lost every time.

Why mess with success? Due to the huge success of the 1968 Road Runner, Plymouth decided to expand the choices in ‘69. A convertible was added to the existing hardtop and pillared coupe body styles and bucket seats were added as options. The Road Runner decals were now in color. Joining the 383 and 426 Hemi engines were a choice of two 440 cid V-8s, a four barrel version rated at 375 bhp, and a triple-two barrel 440 cid V-8. Known as the "440 Six-Pack", this engine provided Hemi-like acceleration for about half the price. Included with the "Six-Pack" option were simple, black wheels, a flat black fiberglass lift-off hood, and a large, functional hood scoop. Similar to the hood scoop found on the Dodge Super Bee, this was one of the most efficient MoPar hood scoops ever.

Of course, the 440 Six-Pack still wasn’t a Hemi, which continued to dominate just about everything else one could race against on street or strip. The Muscle Car enthusiasts rewarded Plymouth’s decision on the Road Runner to "keep it real" by snatching up 82,109 copies in it’s sophomore year! No sophomore jinx here.

In ‘70, the Road Runner was a one of a kind body, with the basic ‘68/’69 body style and shape still being there, but no body panels fitting anywhere. The same short option list applied, with a few more basic options being available. Also in the offering for 1970 there was another "one off" design, the Plymouth Road Runner Super Bird. This Bird, designed to make the modified aerodynamic body N.A.S.C.A.R. legal, was produced in very limited quantities, and sold even less when first produced. Ford had rolled out it’s "Torino Talladega" and Chrysler countered with the droop nosed Super Bird and Charger with a wing that stood nearly 5 feet tall to the top. Those rice burner boys would have suffered wing envy back then.

This thing looked awesome (see Steve Tyler’s ‘70 Road Runner Super Bird here in the website under Feature Cars, or take a virtual spin in it in the "Wild Rides" video section). The Super Bird wasn’t a big success in the showroom though, with many stories of them sitting for more than one year before they were sold (just like the ZL-1 Camaro’s - many sat on dealers lots for one or two years before they sold). And N.A.S.C.A.R. apparently didn’t like it either and it was effectively outlawed for basically being too fast (they claimed unfair advantage).

For the regular Road Runner cars, a new, bold - well, over the top hood scoop was introduced. It was appropriately called the "Air Grabber." The side of the scoop was adorned with a cartoon shark character gulping up the air. Oh, those Chrysler guys and their sense of humor. It even came with a remote switch under the dash that allowed you to open the scoop on demand.

Now, imagine that you are in your ‘69 Mach 1 or 350 S/S Camaro and next to you is this "Plain Jane" Road Runner at a stoplight - he throws you a little rev, you throw one back -- he looks over and wryly smiles -- then throws the switch and pops open his scoop so you know he’s got a 440 Six-Pack -- you (A) Flip on your blinker and turn right (B) Tell him it’s your brother’s car and he would kill you if you street raced it (C) Tell him you have eggs in the trunk and don’t want to break them or (D) Wuss out and back down as he smokes away down the street. Doesn’t really matter anyway - he knows you don’t have the cahones to race him, and you can’t show your face at the local drive-in for a month.

In 1971 a major body change took place, more creature comfort inside, and smoother lines outside. We should probably end the discussion of the Road Runner here, since this year marked the death (RIP) of the era of the Muscle Car. Sure, cars still had V-8 engines, and they called them Muscle Cars, but the horsepower and performance numbers were dropping faster than co-ed’s tops in a "Girls Gone Wild" video. The oil embargo was here - the gas wars were over and gas won. Insurance costs all but killed those cars that remained. And the 1971 Road Runner was a very beautiful car by itself. In just its fourth year, the Road Runner saw its performance bent engines fall victim to tightening government regulations on emissions and fuel economy. The standard 383 powerplant dropped 35 bhp while the 440 engines both lost 5 bhp. The 426 Hemi stayed fast at 425 bhp. This would be the last year for the Hemi as it too would fall victim to the increased standards. Both the 2 Door Pillared Coupe and the Convertible body styles were dropped, leaving the 2 Door Hardtop as the sole offering.

In 1972, the Hemi was dropped in all of the Chrysler cars. The GTX was now available as an option on the Road Runner and came only with the 440 engine. A new 400 cid V-8 was introduced, rated at 255 bhp. Due to increasing emission standards, the old 383 was dropped. The Road Runner received a redesigned rear bumper and side markers along with electronic ignition, 60 series tires, and a rear sway bar. The front bumper now had two vertical slots for the bumper jack and the Road Runner received a new grille.

This body style continued into 1974 which was the last year for the B-bodied Road Runner. Along the way it continued to spiral downward as it shed most of it’s horsepower and engine options -- two barreled 318’s were offered and the 360 was the top engine. Chrysler tried to persevere with the performance cars - but by comparison to just a few years before, these were pretty pathetic cars.

For 1975, the Road Runner was moved to the Fury platform (mistake). This would be the only year that the Road Runner was based on this platform. Still trying to hold onto its muscular roots, but the emissions crunch took the looks and power of the once awesome Bird down still another notch, to a lower end "personal luxury" passenger car option. Bumpers stuck out of both ends of the car. The flowing lines and bare bone, muscular looks were replaced with overdone, overweight appearing designs. Basically, the Road Runner was trying to be a Muscle Car, but just couldn’t quite get the job done and live within the corporate structure. Plymouth wasn’t alone here, no other manufacturer even continued anything else resembling a Muscle Car either. The King was Dead, but not forgotten.

For 1976, the Road Runner was moved to the new Volare platform, which had replaced the popular Valiant, a bare boned econobox sled. Although available with either a two barrel 318 or 360 engine, the Road Runner was now truly just a trim package on an economy car. From 1976 to 1980 the Road Runner was to spend it’s final years before retirement within the Plymouth Volare line. All I can remember is Ricardo Monteban and the "Corinthyn Leather", I liked the song way better than the car anyway.

The 1977 Plymouth Road Runner saw the first use of an on-board engine computer, the Lean Burn system, which managed a 4 barrel electronic feedback carburetor on the 360 engine. It looked like an upgraded version of the K-car (though it was still a front engine, rear drive car). All of the switchgear inside the car said cheap. Nothing looked performance. Being down graded even more to little more than a "beauty" package, which consisted of stripes, and window louvers (on the quarter flipper windows no less), and rims, with little to no oomph under the hood, standard with the 318 2bbl over smog choked engine. Sad but true.

The only change for 1979 saw the introduction of an optional 4-barrel carburetor for the 318 cid engine!

Finally, 1980 was the last year for both the Volare (thank God) and the Road Runner. From a true Muscle Car that redefined the genre - to a barely warmed over P.O.S. with more graphics that bite in a very short time. Gas and insurance had killed all of the Muscle Cars of the era - and if the Road Runner was the current King, Chrysler was just too stubborn to lay it down and bury it.

You can still see them in car shows (and MoPar shows) all around the country, but it’s numbers are sadly thin. Look it over when you see one. Listen to it roar, imagine the smell of burning rubber and the screech of screaming tires. It’s an awesome experience.

What about the future? With all the new sheetmetal that the Plymouth keeps rolling out, and Chrysler’s new (3rd) generation Hemi on the market maybe we can see a Road Runner on the horizon. Those MoPar engineers already have available the new Hemi in Dodge Ram trucks in a 500hp version. Soon, they will be releasing a new Chrysler 300M with a 345hp version of the Hemi III that works like a 4 cylinder when you cruise (electronics, baby) and all 8 Hemi cylinders when you mash the gas. They actually coax 17 city/25 highway out of this package.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they just went back to the original dies and made a new Road Runner just like it was in 1968, but dropped all that new hardware (Hemi III engine, engine management computer, ABS brakes, air bags etc.) in it - instead of trying to create some kinda look alike. GM really missed the boat with the new GTO. You can’t just call something a GTO and make it one - it needs attitude and muscle - not refinement. My belief (and I’m a Blue Oval guy) is that their would be such a line up of the 40 to 55 year olds that Chrysler (or any other brave manufacturer) couldn’t keep up with the demand that a remake car could make. Then once again we could say -- "Beep Beep, Yer Ass !!!"

'05 RCSB 1500 SLT 5.7 Hemi Ram - 4" ram air from fog light hole - Amsoil drop-in filter - AirAid MIT - Taylor shorty wires - FM 50HD SI/SO 3" Magnaflow y-pipe - General Grabber UHP 295/50 20 tires - Superchips Flashpaq 3815 - Motive 4.56 gears - Detroit Truetrac differential
Lakewood traction bars - PML differential cover - Best reaction time .011 @ Bowling Green
Best 1/8 mile 9.28 @ Bowling Green - Best 1/4 mile 14.51 @ Bowling Green - ETs before gears, DTT, traction bars, improved ram air, and y-pipe

quote:

Horsepower for the early Hemi (again, Chrysler C300, 58N3 code) peaked in 1958 with a dual 4-barrel version of the 392 rated at 390 hp.

2003, Std. SWB, SLT, 20", 4:56 gear, AFE CAI, Superchip, 6.1 cam, 6.1 heads, Manley springs, retainers, pushrods, Edelbrock Hedders, 195 T-Stat, 8.2 Taylor, AEM, Power Wire, ARC-1,Amsoil Everything, and more. Veni Vidi Vici

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