1970 Roadrunner - again
This forum is dedicated to those with a love of Mopars. Most everyone here already knows the history behind the Roadrunner. Few would question it's legendary status amongst muscle cars.
It wasn't the all-time fastest.
It wasn't the best built.
It wasn't the best handling.
It didn't have the most options.
But it was the epitome of what a muscle car was supposed to be. It with all of it's imperfections, was THE perfect icon to represent the performance rivalry between the automakers. I'm certain that everyone that's ever owned one had to smile whenever they honked... I mean BEEPED the horn.
http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/beep.gif
Out of the box there was no mistaking the bulging hoods and that 'lil bird decal meant something special. But they were born during the late 60s and the psychedelic 70s were on the way.
Customizing was becoming more prevalent as performance parts became easier to obtain. No one thought about preserving their muscle car in original condition. - After all, the factory had already started the customizing by installing higher horsepower engines, racing stripes, special body panels, stereos, mag wheels, and wider tires.
The influence of racing had enough of an impact on car sales that now everyone's familiar with the term "What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday!" It may not hold true today but 'back in the day' it was accepted as fact.
Not everybody modified their cars. But some that did created local legends. - The cars that were rumored to be THE fastest. Whether they thought good or bad about them, everybody knew those cars.
In the movie American Graffiti John Milner's '32 was the local legend. Who would have expected Harrison Ford to take him on? lol
There was a yellow '55 Chevy running the streets in the town I grew up. He had a banana painted on the front fenders behind his wheels. http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/banana.gif
Everybody said it was quick. I never got to find out.
I had my '70 Roadrunner repainted black, modified the 383 as much as I knew how to in order to get more power. I installed the modified torqueflite out of my '69 SixPack Superbee. At idle, going down the street, it would chirp the tires every time it shifted. - Your foot didn't have to be on the gas pedal. I paid a custom car painter to do the flames in a traditional yellow fading to orange with a white pinstripe around them. I loved to flip the switch for the air grabber whenever I was at a stop light next to a guy revving his motor. Usually there were jaws dropping and fingers pointing as it opened. The sight was enough to scare most people off. http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/disillusionment.png
I think the guy with that yellow '55 was as scared of me as I was of him. As much as people egged us on to race each other, we never gave in. But here it is almost 40 years later and anyone around here who is old enough to remember those days, still remember our cars.
Today I'm an old fart. And I've returned to my passion for building cars. But I don't want to build just any cars. I want to build legends! http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/cool.gif
It wasn't the all-time fastest.
It wasn't the best built.
It wasn't the best handling.
It didn't have the most options.
But it was the epitome of what a muscle car was supposed to be. It with all of it's imperfections, was THE perfect icon to represent the performance rivalry between the automakers. I'm certain that everyone that's ever owned one had to smile whenever they honked... I mean BEEPED the horn.
http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/beep.gif
Out of the box there was no mistaking the bulging hoods and that 'lil bird decal meant something special. But they were born during the late 60s and the psychedelic 70s were on the way.
Customizing was becoming more prevalent as performance parts became easier to obtain. No one thought about preserving their muscle car in original condition. - After all, the factory had already started the customizing by installing higher horsepower engines, racing stripes, special body panels, stereos, mag wheels, and wider tires.
The influence of racing had enough of an impact on car sales that now everyone's familiar with the term "What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday!" It may not hold true today but 'back in the day' it was accepted as fact.
Not everybody modified their cars. But some that did created local legends. - The cars that were rumored to be THE fastest. Whether they thought good or bad about them, everybody knew those cars.
In the movie American Graffiti John Milner's '32 was the local legend. Who would have expected Harrison Ford to take him on? lol
There was a yellow '55 Chevy running the streets in the town I grew up. He had a banana painted on the front fenders behind his wheels. http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/banana.gif
Everybody said it was quick. I never got to find out. I had my '70 Roadrunner repainted black, modified the 383 as much as I knew how to in order to get more power. I installed the modified torqueflite out of my '69 SixPack Superbee. At idle, going down the street, it would chirp the tires every time it shifted. - Your foot didn't have to be on the gas pedal. I paid a custom car painter to do the flames in a traditional yellow fading to orange with a white pinstripe around them. I loved to flip the switch for the air grabber whenever I was at a stop light next to a guy revving his motor. Usually there were jaws dropping and fingers pointing as it opened. The sight was enough to scare most people off. http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/disillusionment.png
I think the guy with that yellow '55 was as scared of me as I was of him. As much as people egged us on to race each other, we never gave in. But here it is almost 40 years later and anyone around here who is old enough to remember those days, still remember our cars.
Today I'm an old fart. And I've returned to my passion for building cars. But I don't want to build just any cars. I want to build legends! http://www.69roadrunner.net/mopar/images/smilies/cool.gif
