A celebrated muscle car by all accounts, the Plymouth Road Runner could be had with anything from a puny (by Mopar standards) 318 to the race-proven 426 HEMI and the popular 440 RB. Finished in bright orange, this particular model features the latter engine with an interesting twist to it.
Bored and stroked to 542 cubic inches (8.9 liters), the 440-based motor in the “Holley Road Runner” is much obliged to crank out 711 horsepower and 740 pound-feet (1,003 Nm) of torque. The Hellcat-shaming performance comes courtesy of the guys at Indy Cylinder Head Inc., who have topped the leviathan with 440-SR heads with heart-shaped chambers.
Lunati forged internals also need to be mentioned, along with a supercharger that dates back to the 1960s. The Blower Shop 8-71 system boasts high-helix billet rotors, a 120-degree twist, and promises smooth power delivery across the entire RPM band. A couple of Holley four-barrel carburetors, updated cooling and ignition, and the Voice of the Road Runner beep-beep horn pretty much sum up the one-of-one Road Runner’s engine bay.
Covered by Mopar Muscle Magazine in a 12-part series, this incredible restomod is the mastermind of Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Over a decade after its completion, the car looks better than when it left the Lynch Road Assembly Plant in Detroit for the 1969 model year.
Equipped with chunky BFGoodrich Radial T/A boots, chromed five-spoke wheels, Baer disc brakes all around, and a coilover-type front suspension, the Road Runner flexes a five-speed Tremec manual transmission built by Keisler and a beefy Dana 60 rear axle with an ARB locker for good measure.
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