The Plymouth Road Runner of 1973 - 1974 :
1973 :
Are
you or aren't you" ...a muscle car? Gone was the bird's standard big block
400ci V-8, replaced by the garden-variety 318ci small block.
The 1973 Road
Runner sported new looks both front and rear. The previous year's hoop bumper
was expensive to manufacture, so to decrease overall cost a convention al bumper
design took its place.
The new grille used a larger egg crate pattern with
a center horizontal bar.
The hood was also restyled and included a large,
raised dome in the center with twin simulated air intakes on the forward edge.
Heavy feature lines were used on the hood and these were transferred to
the front filler panel, which now sported a decal of the car- toon character instead
of an emblem. The Air Grabber option was cancelled shortly before the end of the
1972 production run, hence no 1973 Road Runners came with functional hood scoops.
ln the 1960s, muscle cars had come to prominence on the strength of powerful
engines, but by 1973, looks were the most important. The Slotted Road Rallye Wheels
were made standard. The older style chrome spoke road wheels remained optional,
as did 15in Rallye wheels.
A total of sixteen exterior colors were available
for the Road Runner and the interior came in three standard colors. The optional
bench seat interior came in one of five colors, and bucket seats were offered
in six colors.
A three-speed, manual transmission was standard with the
318ci or 400ci V-8, and the automatic was standard with the 440.
A suspension
with front and rear sway bars and front disc brakes was standard.
1974
:
The Plymouth Road Runner received few changes in 1974, like,
new bumpers, the engine call outs on the sides of the dome hood. Body side stripes
were again standard and were the same pat- tern and style as the year before.
Hood stripes were again optional.
Engine options were the same as in 1973
Emission standards also took their toll on the 340ci engine, which did not
return. Instead, the 340 grew to 360ci. Unlike the 340ci power plant, the 360ci
V-8 came in two versions rated at 200hp,
A new option on the Plymouth Road
Runner was chrome 15in wheels.
But 1974 saw the End of the Road Runner as
a "Muscle Car".
