1971 Hemi Road Runner

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SAV@RPM
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1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by SAV@RPM »

I thought it was time to write up another Mopar adventure from the past this time concerning a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Roadrunner. It’s difficult to remember how it all began but the story starts with a trip to Chudleigh in Devon in the trusty RPM transporter to collect the car. The Roadrunner in question belonged to an interesting character called Francis who was best described as slightly eccentric. He lived with his parents in a run down property surrounded by derelict outbuildings housing a number of cars in various states of disrepair. It must have been an impressive place at one time and I can clearly remember a large outdoor swimming pool full of stagnant water with some old weather beaten statues around it. Francis spent some time in America during the seventies and it was during this time that he bought the Roadrunner and had it shipped to England. It was clear that the car had not been used for some time so the plan was to load it up and get it back to Pete Jordan’s house where it could be checked over.
This is where the drama began, initially the idea was to get the car running and on the road again but it soon became clear that dealing with Francis was never going to be easy. The Roadrunner had a few unusual features including a Plumrose chopped ham and pork label cut from a tin and stuck to the dash. Apparently a girlfriend of Francis’s had named the car Plumrose in deference to it’s colour. It also had a series of several toggle switches mounted under the dash which had to be on or off in a certain order before you could start the car. Francis had fitted these as an anti theft device and as you can imagine the wiring left a little to be desired. Once the Roadrunner was at Pete’s it was decided to get Francis to come down and talk through what he wanted to do with the car as he had discussed possibly selling it rather than spending money putting it back on the road. This is where the story really becomes interesting. More to follow !
Here are some photos of the Roadrunner back at Pete’s house.


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Captain Chaos
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by Captain Chaos »

Excellent news, I love a story and that’s one my favourite body styles too.

This isn’t from the big Manor House that featured on Shed and Buried and other media?
sublimemike
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by sublimemike »

Keep it coming...look forward to next update
if you think speed kills don't get on a plane
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Pete
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by Pete »

I just love these old stories!!

:plymouth: :plymouth: :plymouth:

8-) 8-) 8-)
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
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RobTwin
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by RobTwin »

Thanks Martin, cant wait for part 2!! :) :salute:

How's that white cuda getting on, is it still being finished in Canada?
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SAV@RPM
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by SAV@RPM »

Hi Rob
The white Hemi Cuda is finished now. It’s still in Canada while we decide whether to bring it over or not. I will post a few pictures up later although I was waiting for Mauro to send a video and some good quality photos. I’ve got a bit of time on my hands for the next ten days or so recovering from a hernia op, I need to stop humping engine blocks around !
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RobTwin
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by RobTwin »

SAV@RPM wrote: Wed Feb 23, 22 9:50 am Hi Rob
The white Hemi Cuda is finished now. It’s still in Canada while we decide whether to bring it over or not. I will post a few pictures up later although I was waiting for Mauro to send a video and some good quality photos. I’ve got a bit of time on my hands for the next ten days or so recovering from a hernia op, I need to stop humping engine blocks around !
Thanks Martin. Hernia op?! :shock: :pale: Hope the recovery goes well :thumbright:
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RM23
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by RM23 »

Can’t wait for episode two :salute:
watch out for the quiet ones ...
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Adam
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by Adam »

Great stuff Martin. I remember seeing this car at a Slyfield Wheels Day many years ago.

Found a pic...
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71 Hemi RR.jpg
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Last edited by Adam on Wed Mar 02, 22 1:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
SAV@RPM
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by SAV@RPM »

Hi Adam
Yes, I remember that, drove the car there on trade plates. It was amazing what used to turn up at those early Wheels Days at Slyfield. Had to get there early if you wanted a space !
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Derek
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by Derek »

Great stuff Martin, keep it coming.
Are we there yet dad ..... 10 to the gallon but worth it.

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SAV@RPM
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by SAV@RPM »

While the car was at Pete’s it attracted quite a lot of interest and I remember Tim Fenell, Pete Webb and Stuart Valance among others coming to see the car, this was the late eighties and Hemi cars were few and far between in the UK. We decided the first thing to do was get the car running and assess what else needed doing so I set to work. The old fuel was drained out, Francis’s anti theft system removed, a new battery fitted and the oil changed, I removed the distributor and primed the system to make sure it had oil pressure. After cleaning and checking the points the distributor went back in and it was ready to try and start the engine. I sat in the car while Pete oversaw what went on under the bonnet, everything seemed fine and the engine was turning over smoothly but seemed reluctant to fire. With the air cleaner off Pete decided some Easy Start should do the trick, what happened next is ingrained in my memory. As Pete liberally squirted the Easy Start the car suddenly fired up and backfired spectacularly through the carbs. Pete was engulfed in what was best described as a fireball which hung in the air for a moment or two before leaving him with considerably less facial hair than he started with. Excitement over the engine was restarted and it soon settled down to a steady idle and apart from a blowing exhaust all seemed well. At this point we did discuss buying the Roadrunner from Francis but he wanted around twenty thousand pounds which at the time was at least twice what it was worth. If he kept the car Francis had some pretty wild ideas about what he wanted to do with it which would have seriously affected the value of what was a very rare and desirable car. As it happened we had a 71 383 Roadrunner which we had imported from the States (we were bringing quite a few cars over back then). Somehow between buying the 383 car in the US and it arriving in the UK someone had managed to blow up the engine. So a decision was made, we would build Francis a 71 Roadrunner to his specifications based on the 383 car and swap it for the Hemi car. His list was quite specific, it needed to be Ford Raven Black with a white strobe stripe, Centreline wheels, big tyres on the back and most importantly a 440 six pack engine with an auto. So far so good !
RM23
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by RM23 »

Was the black rd runner featured in street machine in about 1992 I remember the article when I was a kid cheers :study: :salute:
watch out for the quiet ones ...
SAV@RPM
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by SAV@RPM »

Hi Adam, thanks for the great photograph.Sadly I rarely took photos back in the day which is a regret looking back, not sure I even had a decent camera ! Yes the black Road Runner was featured in a couple of magazines in the early nineties (well remembered) one article was a group test at Santa Pod and the other article was in Classic American I think. I can remember changing the wheels as they wanted something looking more stock than the Centrelines. There is a book on big block Mopar engines and the front cover shows Pete leaning over the engine bay of the black Road Runner. That photo was taken on the same day as the Classic American article filmed at the government test track in Chobham. I have the magazines and book somewhere, I will try and dig them out and post some pictures.
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Stu Twin
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Re: 1971 Hemi Road Runner

Post by Stu Twin »

ooh Pete Barton's '69 in the background. Presumably recently restored?
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