"We'd go out on Interstate 79 south of Pittsburgh, and there would be 100-120 cars out there at 12:30 at night on Fridays and Saturdays."--Ted Brine
'69 Plymouth Road Runner
Owned by: Ted Brine, Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Engine: Not the Bird's original 426 Hemi, but Ted and Mark Becker (with machining and dyno help from Tom Hemphill) built this one based on a .030-inch bored '66 block with a forged-steel crankshaft and rods, JE forged 10.3:1 pistons, solid-lifter Engle camshaft, Mopar aluminum heads, two 860 cfm Holleys on a magnesium cross-ram intake and Hooker Headers...all good for 501 horsepower and 520 lb/ft of torque on pump gas. "We have some leads on the original block" says Ted.
Transmission: A Passon-built, slick shifted, aluminum 833, with a Hurst DPFX shifter (like Ronnie Sox and Dick Landy used), with a Lakewood scattershield and McLeod twin disc clutch.
Rear: The car still carries the original Dana 60, but with 4.10 gears replacing the OEM 3.54s (and 4.88 Zoom gears the car was raced with).
Suspension: Modified stock '69 Road Runner, with Slant Six torsion bars and Mr. Gasket 80/20 shocks up front, and Mopar Super Stock leaf springs, Mr. Gasket shocks and a Mopar pinion snubber in back.
Brakes: Just like it came from the Lynch Road assembly line: Non-power 11-inch Mopar drums at all corners
Wheels/Tires: Installed-in-1970 Keystone "Kustomags" (15 x 4 inch fronts and 15 x 8 in back). Wear skinny, 7.75x15 Dayton Thoroughbred bias-plys in front, and Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro 29x12.5X15s in back
Paint/Body: Original 1969 Plymouth B-Body wears its original B5 Blue acrylic enamel paint that Chrysler's Lynch Road assembly plant sprayed on the car back then. The '69 1/2 A12 hood is matte black fiberglass with the same lettering painted on by Ted in 1969. According to Ted, the "starburst" HEMI covered up the outline of the "440 6 BBL" decal that came off when that hood went on to clear the race induction system and reduce weight. (Ted still has the original steel hood.)
Interior: Base '69 Road Runner black bench, in all its Spartan glory except for the Stewart Warner cable-driven mechanical tach and SW oil pressure and water temperature gauges.