Collectors love the first of anything, such as the first model year of a particular vehicle or the first to the first one to come off the assembly line. But here we have a twist: the first 1970 Plymouth Road Runner before the first Road Runner was built, a pilot car that was built before production. And it’s a Hemi too!
Pilot cars are not prototypes. They are hand-built vehicles used to test processes and confirm the details of a product before mass production. This short production run brings to light any issues that may crop up so that they can be fixed before the moment of mass production begins. In today’s automotive parlance, it’s called a “production trial run.”
Dale Matthews just wanted a 1970 Hemi Road Runner, but he got more than what he bargained for. Twenty-five years ago, word got around that a new local resident had one, but it wasn’t for sale until the gentleman was in need of money not long after. Dale snapped up this ‘Runner coupe (note the B-pillar), which lacked a driveline, but then he started to notice several aspects that were a bit odd compared to other Mopars that were familiar to him – it was like a 1969 Road Runner with 1970 body panels. For example, the hole for the Air Grabber cable on the firewall was located like on what was used for ’69 than a proper ’70. And there was paint in areas that generally didn’t have paint like on known, original 1970 examples.
Dale’s a smart guy, so he left the car alone over the years – he didn’t even wash it – and had several of the Mopar cognoscenti look at his Road Runner to get their respective opinions and document what made this car different. Now, many years later, Dale finally has the Road Runner under restoration at Hodge Muscle Car Restorations in South Carolina. When finished, the Alpine White pilot car will be in such fine condition that Dale won’t want to drive it, which is painful considering Dale has several Mopars to his name and they all get driven. Car will be unveiled at the 2024 MCACN show in November.
The above video tells the tale from the minds of both Dale and Geoff Stunkard, he of Mopar Action fame. Geoff also throws in several bits of 1970 Road Runner ephemera including an unusual commercial from back in the day, a 1970 Plymouth promotional film, and several obscure movies featuring that menacing Mopar. If you dig this, be sure to check out Geoff’s Zookeeper’s Diary channel on YouTube.
