1969 was the first year for Plymouth Road Runner convertibles and Mother Mopar only built 2128 of them during that time frame.
Kirk Lewis was just a kid when he spotted his first ’69 Road Runner drop top.
Jim Sutherland
The local car guys had a favorite place to meet, and Kirk recalls when the Road Runner’s first owner showed up at the location. The ’69 Road Runner made a huge impression on Kirk, and he immediately wanted to own that very car because it was cool and owned by one of the local car guy legends.
The biggest obstacle for Kirk was the fact he was only a kid at the time and was in no position to buy the car. Nevertheless, Kirk started to save every penny from odd jobs and move toward his goal to own the ’69 Road Runner convertible of his young adolescent dreams.
His opportunity to buy the car came early because Kirk was only 14 when the previous owner offered to sell the Road Runner to him during the early 1970s. The former owner gave Kirk an incredible deal on the car, but he still needed his dad’s financial assistance to seal the deal.
The net result was a kid who was still in junior high got his dream car, long before Kirk even had a driver’s license. The most important part of the equation was very simple: Kirk had his dream car.
The Road Runner had a very colorful history during its early years and became a stunt car for some wild driving antics, as well as a track car for some ¼ mile action. The net result is a car that survived plenty of abuse during the 1970s.
The world of a high school kid is filled with impulsive decisions, including a fateful day when Kirk got rid of his 1969 Plymouth Road Runner and bought a Chevy Nova with an engine that blew up shortly after he got it.
Kirk added that he “regretted selling it (the Road Runner) as a kid” but kept track of it over the years.
Life moved on for Kirk, but he had an opportunity to buy back his first car in 1988 and seized the opportunity. However, Kirk sold the Road Runner again in 2001 because he realized the car needed a ton of work to repair the wear and tear on it from decades of hard use. The restoration process was difficult and took six years, but the classic muscle car convertible was brought back to its original glory.
Kirk always felt the Road Runner “was my car forever-whether I owned it or not”, a sentiment that drove his decision to repurchase the car a few years ago and reunite (for the final time) with the car of his adolescent dreams.
His Road Runner is now one of the finest examples of a 383 big block/4-speed stick Plymouth from the muscle car era. Despite its obvious value, Kirk drives the car a lot during the summer months and who can really blame him?
Every trip is a trip down memory lane for Kirk.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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