David Baures Plymouth Roadrunner
This is my 1968 Plymouth Road Runner with a factory 383 and 4speed. I have owned it since 1989 and have taken it to many car shows and cruises over the years. While sitting at the dinner table one day, I was reading an advertisement for the upcoming Mopars At The Strip car show in Las Vegas at the end of March. I thought to myself, I sure would like to go to that show, but I new I couldn't since I had a busy work schedule. Then, later that day, I thought, well, why not go? The rest is history! I have made 2 trips to Las Vegas from Arlington in my Road Runner. Both trips were driving trips, taking the Road Runner to places it had never been before.
The first trip was a pretty direct route with just a stop at the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater and Painted Desert along the way. We only experienced a mild snowstorm at the Grand Canyon. My Road Runner took a second place trophy at the show! We had absolutely zero problems with the car! This trip was just the ice breaker.
The second trip to the show was the big one. My dad and I drove the Road Runner up through Colorado. Once there, we drove it up Pikes Peak, drove over Royal Gorge, and spent two days in Moab, UT. Moab offers several National Parks, including Canyonlands and the best of all, Arches National Park. This park is a perfect place to enjoy a car like this. The scenery and photo opportunities are endless. Our only mechanical problem was the alternator, which gave out in one of the worst snowstorms I can remember. Fortunately, there was an Autozone along the way and they had an alternator in stock! I had it swapped out in 35 minutes and were were back on the road. The show at the strip was again a big hit, although I did not win anything this year. I must say however, the quality of the cars at this show are incredible!
My dad and I really enjoy taking trips in this car. I install at set of 2.76:1 gears for the trip and make sure my heater is in excellent shape, since some mornings the temps are down into the teens. We averaged 15 MPG, but we were not easy on it. Our speeds were usually over 70 MPH on the freeway, and in some areas averaged 90 plus!
David Baures