Musclecar Showdown ~ 1968 Road Runner vs. 1964 GTO

[69 Cuda 440]

Your comparing wrong engines...
The 64 389 4 bbl was only good for a 15.8 from MT
http://myclassicgarage.com/marketplace/knowledge_base/1964-pontiac-gto#sales-brochures

Motor Trend >
Tested the 'heavy' convertible GTO with 3.23 Gears {Open Rear}, and 3-Speed Manual.

* It 'lugged' a 15.80 @ 93.0 MPH

Road and Track >
Got their hands on a 1964 GTO 'coupe' 4-Speed with 3.23 Gears with Safe-T-Track.

They posted a respectable 15.02 @ 91.5 MPH.

 

[fratzog lover]

How easily we have forgotten 15 second muscle cars. Urban legends and "buddies" cars all ran 13'sin the day, didnt they?

 

[69 Cuda 440]

How easily we have forgotten 15 second muscle cars. Urban legends and "buddies" cars all ran 13'sin the day, didnt they?

How about, the statement of ...... 'I know a guy'

Back-in-the-Day >

A low 14-Second car was a 'Street Beast'.

 

[fratzog lover]

"My buddy knows this guy"...yup!

 

[cuda620]

Still a shame,both mopars got beat...

 

[69 Cuda 440]

Gear Ratio's

~ 1968 Plymouth Road Runner '383' ~
* Standard ......... 3.23
* Optional .......... 3.55
* Special Order ... 3.91

Even the 'Sure-Grip' was not standard equipment with the 3.23 or 3.55 Gears.

And the {3.91 Gear Set} was only available thru 'approval' of the Regional Office
by a Special Order.

UGH !!!

~ 1964 Pontiac GTO '389' ~
* Standard ...... 3.23
* Optional ....... 3.08
* Optional ....... 3.36
* Optional ....... 3.55
* Optional ....... 3.91
* Special Order. 4.33 {Dealer Installed 'only'}

'Safe-T-Track' was required for 3.91 and 4.33 Gear Sets.

A Muncie M-21 {Close-Ratio 4-Speed} was available when a 3.91 or 4.33
Gear Set was installed.

 

[69 Cuda 440]

Production Numbers

1968 Plymouth Road Runner '383' ............ 43,394

1964 Pontiac GTO 389/325 HP ................. 24,450
1964 Pontiac GTO 389/348 HP 'Tri-Power ..... 8245
Total ................................................... {32,695}

 

[69 Cuda 440]

NHRA National Records

1964 B/Stock {9.50 to 10.59 Wt/HP}
* B/S ......... 12.88 @ 111.11 MPH
* B/SA ....... 13.07 @ 108.18 MPH

1968 E/Stock {10.00 to 10.49 Wt/HP}
* E/S ........ 12.77 @ 109.20 MPH
* E/SA ...... 12.79 @ 109.75 MPH

 

[daliant]

I'd have to say the '49 olds was the first "muscle car", an intermediate sized body with a big powerful (for the day) V8. The old Chrysler letter cars were big heavy luxury cars with big engines in them to compensate for the weight.

Now back to you regular scheduled program.....

 

[69 Cuda 440]

Cylinder Head Comparison

1964 Pontiac ~ 389/325 HP

Casting #9770716
Combustion Chamber CC's .. 72.0 {Factory} ~ 66.0 {Minimum}
Intake Valve ..................... 1.92"
Exhaust Valve ................... 1.66"

Intake Port Size ................ 1.06" x 1.98"
Exhaust Port Size .............. 1.26" x 1.72"
Intake Port Volume ............ 162 CC's
Exhaust Port Volume .......... 133 CC's

Intake Flow ....................... 153 CFM's @ .450"
Exhaust Flow ..................... 110 CFM's @ .450"
Intake-to-Exhaust Flow ....... 72.0%

The #9770716 Cylinder Heads, though regarded as an adequate Head for the
Street, were considered to have an under-flowing Exhaust Port.

 

[69 Cuda 440]

~ Sales Surprises ~

Both the 1964 Pontiac GTO and 1968 Plymouth Road Runner were 'sales surprises' due to smart 'Marketing and Advertising'.

In 1964, the Pontiac GTO was supposed to be a limited production 'Performance Car',
as only 5500 of these cars were planned for.

In 1968, the Plymouth Road Runner was also to be produced with a 'limited run'
of 2500 cars.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1964 Pontiac Tempest/Lemans with the GTO option.

Pontiac had planned to build 5000 'Coupes' with the base 389/325 HP 4-Barrel,
and another 500 with the 'special' 389/348 HP 'Tri-Power'.

A total of 5500 were scheduled to be built. Next thing, production reached
6-Times the projected sales number, with the addition of the 'Hardtop'
and 'Convertible'.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner.

Plymouth paid Warner Brothers $50,000 for the rights to use the Road Runner
name and the Road Runner bird on a base Belvedere Coupe.

The plan, to build 2500 'novelty' performance cars, costing Plymouth $20
per car for the 'name rights' to Warner Brothers.

By mid-year {January 1968} a 'Hardtop Model' was added to the available style.