Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year Finalist Mark Shaw Rocky Mount, NC 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
It’s not unusual to see a meticulously restored vintage muscle car change hands shortly after the work is completed. Sometimes the process is more appealing than actually owning and enjoying the car. For other car owners, it’s simply about trying to turn a profit or recoup expenses. For Mark Shaw, his Hemi powered 1968 Road Runner isn’t going anywhere. He bought the rare ride 33 years ago, performed an incredibly detailed restoration in just a few years, and decades later continues to enjoy driving the potent muscle car.
The Road Runner was launched as a bare-bones, lower-cost muscle car. Fast, not flush with creature comforts. Mark’s Road Runner exemplifies that goal since it was ordered as a non-Decore package, which meant the factory installed a two-tone front bench seat that was often called the taxi-cab interior because Chrysler had a deal with New York state to provide 5,000 Plymouth Belvederes with the least-expensive interior.
Mark’s car is one of just 391 of the 840 ’68 Hemi Road Runners equipped with the 727 automatic transmission. And his car has a column shifter since a floor-shifted automatic was not offered in a Hemi Road Runner in ’68 – or with a bench seat.
The Hemi in this 1968 Road Runner was rated by Chrysler at 425 horsepower with 490 lb-ft of torque, yet the actual horsepower was probably closer to 500 since the factories were overly conservative to help customers with insurance costs. Mark’s Hemi is restored with a combination of original and correct date-coded pieces, including the original Prestolite dual-point distributor. The dual exhaust system includes original date-coded Hemi mufflers, resonators, tips and other pieces. The restored chassis includes four-piston disc brakes in the front and drums in the rear. The original rear axle houses 3.23 gears.
The body required little work to get it back to factory original. Stripped to bare metal, small imperfections were fixed or eliminated before the GG1 Dark Green Metallic PPG paint was applied, including factory-style overspray.
The interior was fully restored thanks to reproduction seat covers from Legendary Auto Interiors. Despite the spartan interior, the 1968 Road Runner did come with the rare in-dash tachometer. While some of the original glass was restorable, the windshield needed replacement. Mark says he found a NOS tinted piece in 1998 that had the correct date code.
After more than three decades, this Hemi Plymouth isn’t going anywhere, except maybe for a cruise around town or to a car show. “Overall, the car is a blast to drive,” Mark says. “Since I’ve owned the car for so many years the Hemi is part of the family.”
Photos by Todd Ryden