Just as the 1964 Pontiac GTO marked the birth of the muscle car era, the Plymouth Road Runner marked its renaissance. By the late 60’s, muscle cars had become heavily optioned, high priced boulevard cruisers that were as much about luxury as they were performance. The Road Runner, however, was a purpose built machine, with every attention paid to horsepower and roadability, and little concern for creature comforts. The best news was the sticker price, which came in just below the $3000 mark for a base Road Runner. Sales for Plymouth’s back-to-basics B-body were extraordinary with nearly 45,000 copies sold in 1968 and almost double that in 1969.
In 1970, Plymouth gave the Road Runner a mild makeover and made it a central part of their new “Rapid Transit System” marketing campaign. Available in hardtop, pillared coupe, and convertible body styles, the new look incorporated clean lines and a redesigned, more aesthetically pleasing front grille and rear taillight panel. Standard equipment included the 335-hp 383-ci V8 coupled to an improved 3-speed manual transmission. The 4-speed joined the TorqueFlite automatic on the options list, along with the 390-horse 440 Six-Barrel and 425-hp 426 Hemi. Standard on all Hemi Road Runners was the new Air Grabber hood, featuring a single power door activated remotely from the interior via a switch under the dash. The feature was optional with the 440+6.
Other styling elements new for 1970 included non-functional air scoops on the rear quarter panels, repositioned Road Runner emblems with dust trail stripes that ran from the front fenders to the rear scoops, and an optional performance hood paint treatment that composed of a broad center stripe with a thin outer stripe on each side. The effects of increased emissions standards and insurance premiums were starting to be felt, causing overall sales of muscle cars to fall dramatically. Even so, Plymouth managed to sell nearly 40,000 Road Runners in 1970. While the figure wasn’t as spectacular as it was in 1969, it was still impressive, and today, the Hemi Road Runner is respected by enthusiasts as one of the best Mopars to ever roll out of Highland Park.
Interestingly enough, the 1/18-scale 1970 Plymouth Road Runner from Winder, GA based GMP is one of the best Mopar replicas available to diecast collectors. Voted “2006 Car of the Year” by the members of The Diecast Pub (a large diecast related Internet message board) GMP’s 1970 Road Runner combines a laundry list of details with innovative features uncommon to many other replicas. The latest releases, available in Black Velvet or Vitamin C Orange, are shining examples of why GMP’s series of 1970 Mopars are so popular.
With the void of dust trails following the sprinting birds on the front fenders, the lack of flat black stripes accenting the domed hood, and the absence of brightwork calling attention to the wheel openings, the Black Velvet Road Runner shown here has a real stripped down sleeper look to it. The color-keyed steel wheels with the detailed Plymouth Division center caps and standard F70-14 Goodyear tires further emphasize the look, but if you’d like an even more subdued look, those center caps are magnetic and can be easily removed. The only clues to what this Road Runner is hiding are the posable Air Grabber door in the hood with its menacing shark decals and the Hemi callout between the painted turn signal indicators on the rear of the hood bulge.
That’s not to say this Road Runner doesn’t exhibit at least a little aura of sophistication. The front, rear, and side vent windows are all trimmed in finely cut slices of chrome, as are the drip rails and loop shaped grille surround. From a modeler’s perspective, I was impressed by the cutouts in the front fenders and rear quarter panels which are filled with realistic red and amber colored plastic lenses. The photoetched Road Runner badges behind the quarter panel scoops look great while the generic 1970 front vanity plate and year-of-manufacture Georgia state rear license plate add a nice finishing touch. The rear plate folds down on a spring hinge, revealing a painted gas cap.
Beneath the Air Grabber hood is a fully loaded engine bay, at the center of which is a remarkably reproduced 426 Hemi. Wearing those familiar broad flat black crinkle finish valve covers and an orange oval-shaped open element air cleaner lid with painted wing-nuts and an authentic Coyote Duster decal, this miniature masterpiece of a motor is additionally engaged with an exceptional network of wires and hoses, including an accurately detailed distributor boot with properly routed plug wires and a vacuum advance control. I’ve said in past reviews that this powerplant would be incredibly popular if sold separately. Thankfully, GMP is making this a reality. Now all I need to do is figure out a means to display it, assuming GMP doesn’t beat me to it, because if they’ve proven anything with this Road Runner, it’s that they don’t miss a thing.
Take a look around the surrounding engine bay and you’ll see what I mean. On one hand, there’s the period-correct battery which is detailed with painted caps, terminals, and cables. The firewall is adequately detailed with a few molded and painted parts, like the wiper motor, and on the end is an accurate master cylinder fitted with steel brake lines. GMP also captured the Road Runners characteristic purple horn as well as the Air Grabber hardware on the underside of the hood. The metal hood latch and spring loaded hood hinges add a further element of realism as do the colors that have been poured out upon such details as the shock tower grommets, hose clamps, radiator cap, fluid reservoir, and so on.
Neatly tucked between a pair of realistically hinged doors with skillfully engineered windows that roll up and down, you’ll find a fully carpeted interior with rubber floor mats and chromed sill plates along with the Road Runner’s standard bench seat, trimmed in silver paint and woven fabric seat belts with clasps and retractors on the floor. GMP did an amazing job duplicating the gauge faces which are installed in the dash in individual circular instrument pods behind clear plastic lenses. The Pistol Grip shifter on the floor is equally awesome, with its black rubber boot and lifelike wood grain pattern on the ergonomically shaped handle. Other features include an opening glove box, posable sun visors, and one of my favorite attributes this model has to offer, removable clear plastic rear quarter windows.
GMP
#G1803109 1970 Plymouth Road Runner 426 Hemi
Black Velvet
Photography & Review by Dave Nicholson
But wait, there’s more! That’s right diecast fans, the chassis of GMP’s 1970 Road Runner hosts a variety of highlights of its own, including fuel and brake lines, precisely cut real metal leaf springs fastened to the rear axle with miniature U-bolts, and several splashes of paint calling attention to parts like the front disc brake calipers, manual transmission, gas tank, and exhaust. The working suspension and rotating driveshaft provide a touch of finger fun although they’re commonplace by today’s standards. I’m glad to report that GMP accurately included the rear torque boxes as this is a detail rarely seen on other Mopar models. In contrast, there isn’t much inside the Road Runners opening trunk to write about besides the usual suspects - a spare tire and jack assembly, a trunk mat with a realistic texture, and an instruction label on the underside of the trunk lid. What’s most important is that what’s supposed to be there is there, and it looks good.
Sales of Plymouth's Road Runner might not have been as strong in 1970 as they were in 1969, but if sales of GMP’s 1/18-scale models are any indication, this loved bird has an impressively strong following over 35 years later. Almost all of the Road Runner replicas that have been part of GMP’s 1970 Plymouth B-body series have quickly sold out, and the same is true of the latest two releases. Not only is GMP showing the Black Velvet and Vitamin C Orange Road Runners as “out of stock”, if you’re lucky to find an online dealer with them in stock, you’ll likely see the words “very few left”. With only 996 copies produced of each color, if you’re a Mopar enthusiast or a fan of the Road Runner, you better act swiftly before these birds have flown the coop for good.
Happy Collecting,
DetourDave
