1971 Plymouth Road Runner/GTX

Rare and desirable. Sometimes the two never meet. Certainly those curiously optioned cars with white walls, 440s, and four-speeds are rare, but if they were desirable back in their day, wouldn't we have seen a ton more of them?

Some have tried to argue that the late B-Bodies, circa 1971-74, were rare because they were less than desirable. That’s cruel. The curvaceous Plymouth Road Runner and GTX definitely were a departure from their previous designs, but one could argue these were the best B-Bodies to date--and Leon Perahia is the first to make that argument. "I owned the boxy B-cars, and they were nice for the time, but they looked like Grandma’s car," Leon retorts. "My favorite body style was the 1971 Road Runner/GTX. It was so far ahead of its time that the unbending Mopar enthusiasts of the era refused to accept it. Chrysler was well aware of the trend toward rounder, more luxurious cars and in turn gave us pop-up hoods, upholstered panels, and sleek consoles." He concludes, "Chrysler offered it all in 1971."

If it was performance you wanted, a Road Runner such as Leon’s delivered and backed up that performance with image. Leon contends that performance doesn’t end with tongue-swallowing torque--it just starts there. Yes, pinned-in-your-seat power is necessary to build an image on, and this Rallye Red 1971 440+6 Road Runner delivers. Couple this image with a satisfying foot-full of accelerator, and you have a feast for the eyes while making lunch of the competition. Perhaps it was all that flair that caught the attention of insurance companies and emissions geeks. Unfortunate for the Mopar enthusiast was the fact that 1971 was the year of the first gas crisis. Insurance rates climbed as the risk involved with insuring V8 cars also escalated exponentially.

Leon recalls, "Even one of the Chrysler advertisements showed an insurance salesman standing next to a 383 Road Runner with the quote ’the standard insurance rating is standard.’ Add in the emissions debacle of 1972 and soaring gas prices--the writing was on the wall. But that has never stopped Leon. "When I saw the 1971 in a brochure, I was awestruck. I guess I was the only one. Everyone I knew said it was too different. But I saw that it had all the good stuff. Orders were low. Insurance was a bitch. Worst of all, it seems that people were stuck on the 1967-70s. They seemed to say ’different is bad--I want a boxy car with standard brakes, flat door panels, and miserable steering.’ The 1971 captivated me. It was the next derivative. Imagination and creativity were brought forward."

As a tribute to the car, Leon spent more than eight years collecting the parts to complete the concours-style, ground-up restoration of this one of 246 Road Runners. Leon says, "I found NOS parts from all 50 states, Canada, Australia, and from U.S. military bases in Germany and Greece." As the car's second owner, Leon purchased it in 1985 from the original owner. What a car! The Road Runner remained a matching-numbers car and was equipped with a series of drool-worthy options: a 440 Six Pack engine; power steering; power disc brakes; Air Grabber fresh air hood; FE5 Rallye Red paint; Dana 4.10:1 Super Trak rearend with Sure Grip; 26-inch heavy-duty radiator; Rallye Dash with tachometer; Extra Heavy Duty suspension with a skidplate and a sway bar; H/D Group 27 battery; Slap-Stik heavy-duty performance automatic trans with console; 15x7 Rallye wheels fitted with Goodyear G60-15 Polyglas RWL tires; dual exhaust with crossover pipe and chrome exhaust tips; dual painted racing mirrors; vinyl top; bucket seats; AM Radio with rear speaker package; tinted glass; Light Group Package with fender-mounted turn signals, trunk light; Decor Group Package with wheel-opening mouldings, deluxe steering wheel and deluxe interior; rear bumper to lower valance tape stripes; blackout hood treatment; 440+6 callout decals on the front fenders; and the distinctive beep-beep horn.

This Mopar definitely has been researched. Leon explains, "It was built Feb. 25, 1971 at the Windsor, Canada plant. The original 23-year-old owner purchased the Road Runner from L. P. Stuart Chrysler Plymouth in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 1971--in fact, he financed it with a deposit of $1,378.70 of his own money and borrowed the remainder from The Giant Food Federal Credit Union." Obviously, the first owner was captivated by the 1971 styling, and more buyers would have had the car been introduced in 1970. Leon says, "Lest we forget, the 1971 Road Runner/GTX was slated to be marketed in 1970, along with the all new ’Cuda and Challenger. It is the 1971 B-Body that shares inner fender panels and other front-end components with the 1970 E-Bodies. Due to strikes and platform troubles at the plant, the real 1970 B-Bodies by Plymouth were held off until 1971."In the two years since the restoration was completed, the Road Runner has won more than 25 First Place and Best of Show awards at both Mopar-specific events and high-profile shows, including the Beverly Hills Concours Show and the Le Circle Concours d’Elegance in Los Angeles. Leon concludes, "All Mopars deserve to be on a pedestal, but the 1971 deserves the pinnacle."