Custom 1972 Plymouth Road Runner Ditches Factory 340 Engine for All-Time Great V8

I’m a big fan of the first-generation Road Runner. It’s a tremendous car to own in today’s automotive landscape. A great weekend ride for those of us who love muscle cars. The second-generation? I like it, just not as much.

The Road Runner was redesigned for the 1971 model year, featuring a more rounded body, a raked windshield, and a hidden cowl. I think they did a better job the following year, when they redesigned the grille, and the taillights were made to look more aerodynamic. Unfortunately, they kept cutting performance across the range, but that’s a whole different story.

Let’s focus on this particular orange-painted 1972 Road Runner, up for grabs to the highest bidder and featuring quite a few performance-enhancing modifications.

Visually, we can't help but notice the partial black vinyl roof, the black body striping over the rear pillars, black hood accents, 440 graphics, black canards, rear wing, dual “machine gun” tailpipes, chrome mirror housings, plus the chrome finished Cragar SS 15” wheels with BFGoodrich Radial T/A rubber measuring 225/60 at the front and 295/50 at the rear.

As you can see, the suspension has been modified where it now boasts air shocks and replacement sway-bar links and leaf springs. This Road Runner also comes with power steering and power-assisted discs at all corners.

Moving on to the interior, that’s where you’ll find the orange and black vinyl front bucket seats and rear bench combo, woodgrain trim, air conditioning, custom center console, a B&M reverse lock-out shifter, carpeted floor mats, custom instrumentation, and a grippy Tuff-style steering wheel – got to love those.

As for the powertrain, according to this car’s chassis number, a 340 ci V8 used to reside underneath the hood, originally. Well, those days are gone, and in its place is a 440 ci V8, housing a four-barrel carburetor, a Mopar aluminum intake, Mopar Performance finned valve covers, aluminum radiator, an electric cooling fan, plus one or two other solid mods.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a replacement TorqueFlite 727 three-speed automatic gearbox, working alongside a limited-slip differential.

We should note that this is not a mint condition car (it’s got one or two minor dings, some chipped paint and so on), but the spec is pretty darn interesting, and if you take an overview, it’s hard to not get excited about it.