It's the first bare-bones muscle car ... While many of the Mopar B-bodies I encounter have 426s and 440s under the hood, there's a certain purity about a 383 Road Runner

Almost two years ago at the annual John Force Christmas Show, I encountered a very special 1968 Plymouth Road Runner. In my travels to events like Mopars at the Strip in Las Vegas, I encounter many exceptional Mopar B-body intermediates (Plymouth Satellites, GTXs, and Road Runners, Dodge Coronets, Chargers, and Super Bees). This car, however, was clearly in a class of its own. Correct down to the smallest detail, it included chalk marks under the hood and on the battery, a hang tag on the mirror denoting that the car was factory-equipped with air conditioning, and the identification label on the spare tire (which had never seen pavement). Talking with Doug Moshy, I learned that he was the original owner and that the car had recently undergone a complete, down-to-the-last-bolt restoration by Phil LaChapelle, a restorer of exceptional ability based in Ventura, California. (LaChapelle also restored the 1970 Pontiac GTO posted earlier in the Automotive Traveler/Fotki Image Gallery.)

While many of the Road Runners I encounter have 426 Hemis and 440s under the hood, Doug resisted the temptation to replace the original 383. When I showed the preliminary photos of Doug's Road Runner taken at the John Force Show to Steve Statham at Musclecar Enthusiast, he didn't just give me the okay to do a feature on it. He decided to put Doug's Road Runner on the cover. The car was simply that good.

While the tracking shots were taken on one of Southern California's freeways, the static photos used the iconic Blair's Speed Shop in Pasadena as the backdrop.

Feel free to take a look at the 13 photos of Dave's 1968 Plymouth Road Runner just added to the Automotive Traveler/Fotki Image Gallery to get a clear idea of what goes into a reference restoration, especially valuable if you're considering buying or restoring a 1968-1970 Plymouth Road Runner.