Why was 440 not a Road Runner option?

[harrisonm]

Does anyone know why the Road Runner never had the 375 HP 440 as an option? I was guessing that it might have been something like an attempt not to compete with GTX sales. I realize that the 390 HP 440 6-pack was an option, but I am talking about the plain old 375 HP 440.

 

[SSing]

When the Runner came in ´68 it was to offer a performance car to the young guys, so cost was of most importance.
Yes, there was an option, the Hemi but this was for the "win on Sunday sell on Monday" thing one would guess.
It may have been as simple as that...

 

[krazykuda]

It became an option after 1970...

 

[adriver]

Because then it would have been a Road Racer and not a Road Runner?
Best I can do.

 

[magnumdart]

Because the horn wasn't loud enough to hear over one.

 

[Alaskan_TA]

The 440 was the standard engine in the Road Runner Super Bird.

 

[Dartnut]

The 440 was the standard engine in the Road Runner Super Bird.

You beat me to it!
As a matter of fact, my brother owned a U code 440 4bbl '70 SuperBird for a few years back in the mid '80s.

 

[318willrun]

440-6 was an option in the '69 RR

 

[toolmanmike]

440-6 was an option in the '69 RR

69 1/2

 

[318willrun]

69 1/2

yep, still '69 though. There was one in Dubuque. I tried buying it years ago.

 

[cudajames]

As stated earlier, the 1967 GTX/RT came with the HP 440 and other options which pushed the base sticker price. Chrysler was the first to market with a cheaper version, RoadRunner/Superbee with a strong base engine HP383 and almost no options to keep the base price down. I believe even carpeting was an option.
The cars were aimed at two different market segments.

 

[318willrun]

Lift off hood and black steelies…… love to have one

 

[krazykuda]

You beat me to it!
As a matter of fact, my brother owned a U code 440 4bbl '70 SuperBird for a few years back in the mid '80s.

I know where a 440 six pack Superbird is....

 

[ramenth]

Once upon a time Mopar Action had an awesome series of articles about the development of the Road Runner and why the 440 wasn't an option.

I'll see if I can dig them out if I get the time.

 

[Alaskan_TA]

You beat me to it!
As a matter of fact, my brother owned a U code 440 4bbl '70 SuperBird for a few years back in the mid '80s.

The thread header of

Why was 440 not a Road Runner option?

is still correct too. Since the 440 was standard in the Super Bird, it was not an extra cost option.

 

[SSing]

This article from Oct ´67 mention it several times .
Keep the price down since aimed at youth.

 

[YY1]

I don't think it was available in 71 but in 72-74 you could option a 440 in a RR and it became a Road Runner/GTX

 

[adriver]

Does anyone know why the Road Runner never had the 375 HP 440 as an option? I was guessing that it might have been something like an attempt not to compete with GTX sales. I realize that the 390 HP 440 6-pack was an option, but I am talking about the plain old 375 HP 440.

Jack Smith and the Plymouth Road Runner

They called back and it turned out to be like a 47-cent penalty over what we were already spending for horns, so we had a horn. Sure, we said we’d buy that little bit of “plus;” at least I say “a little bit.” People in the industry would drive each other up the wall just to save a dime on a car. But a dime times a couple hundred thousand cars is a lot of money! In that case, we would have done a lot to save a small amount of money on each car. Cars are implicitly the product of a lot of cost reduction: coldly looking for pennies, trying to get the money out so we can be a competitive company and sell a car for a competitive price.

But we had the horn and it almost fit into the car. The horn was held by one bolt. There’s a little tab that goes into one hole and there’s a second hole for the screw that mounts the horn. That hole in the horn bracket was about 5/32 of an inch long. So we had to have them move that hole that little distance and moving that hole that little distance was the biggest tooling cost ($243 out of a total of less than $500) associated with the production of the Road Runner car!

 

[Dartnut]

The thread header of is still correct too. Since the 440 was standard in the Super Bird, it was not an extra cost option.

If you want to be technical about it, you could buy a 440 in a RoadRunner in '70, just you had to choose the SuperBird option (package) which was considered an extra cost option on a '70 RoadRunner and came standard with the 440 4bbl.
That's the only way you could get the 440 4 bbl engine in 1970 on a RoadRunner.
Just like in '69, you couldn't get the 440 6bbl in a standard RoadRunner unless you opted for the A12 option (package).
But............it was technically available, just not in a base car without the package.
So, it was an option.
Technically speaking...............

 

[67Dart273]

The 440 was the standard engine in the Road Runner Super Bird.

'S far's I'm concerned, nose cars are not real cars, never were, and never will be. Plus they are so ugly it's a federal crime.

 

[barbee6043]

The Roadrunner was a stroke of genius. I forget how many they made that first year, but seems like I remember 95,000 being the production of '69. That was a lot of that kind of car for the #3 car maker. 383 's are great engines, with auto or 4 speed.
Muscle car at its finest!

 

[Sparky1]

69 1/2

We ordered our 4 sp, bench seat, hardtop, b5 blue, 69 RR in Feb of 69 and the 440 was not avaialble however, the 426 Hemi was an option for a mere $400.00 extra!! Wife said 426 HP was too much for me and the 383/335HP would be fine. The 440 came out later in the year so, yes.. it was available as a 69 1/2.
Having sold my RR in 76 - sure wish I still had it... Damn that car was fast.....

 

[toolmanmike]

We ordered our 4 sp, bench seat, hardtop, b5 blue, 69 RR in Feb of 69 and the 440 was not avaialble however, the 426 Hemi was an option for a mere $400.00 extra!! Wife said 426 HP was too much for me and the 383/335HP would be fine. The 440 came out later in the year so, yes.. it was available as a 69 1/2.
Having sold my RR in 76 - sure wish I still had it... Damn that car was fast.....

There's a lot of guys kicking themselves for not checking the Hemi box on the order. They really weren't easy to drive. Fun yes, easy, no. They were a handful.

 

[barbee6043]

I had a couple Hemi cars. Tuning was the part that would separate them from the pack. 2 carbs are never that easy to keep in tune Tuned well, a couple tenths faster than a 440 or sometimes even 383. Not in tune, the others outran it. I would be neck and neck till close to end of qtr an then the extra breath of those heads it took off.
Part is younger people don't not realize today, that base 383 runner could be bought for bout $2900. OK a $100 was a lot of $ back then, but a kid with a job after school and sat. could make $100 a month, some places more. He could make the payments, by gas, dad would need to help with ins. Look what it costs to get into a new hp Challenger?

 

[diymirage]

But this guy at the show said his uncle had a roadrunner with a 440
Said he just filled out a central office production order and got it that way