Should I be embarrassed

[Ranger]

Oh yeah, weren't they tri-power (six packs)? Thanks for the correction.

But I found it on the internet so it must be true. :redface:

 

[TOMRR]

NOPE !!! Not At All !!

 

[artiststan]

Great post. I just bought a 69 with stick and power steering with numbers matching throughout. This is a survivor car with 50 miles on the first rebuild of the motor and no rust. I paid under 30k and feel I did well. Any thoughts from others on the value aspects of the car? To get back to the topic of this thread; I wanted to drive this car as much as possible, so the 383 is exactly what I wanted. No embarrassment here. Heck, in Graveyard Carz they just restored a Charger with a 318. The owner couldn't be happier or more proud of it.

 

[Big John]

Oh yeah, weren't they tri-power (six packs)? Thanks for the correction.

But I found it on the internet so it must be true. :redface:

They offered a 440 6bbl option mid year in 1969. That was the A12 package.

It became a regular option in 1970.

And.... Tri Power was a Pontiac name for their 3 Rochester 2bb setup. Six Pack is the Dodge name and 6 Barrel or 440 6 Barrel is the Plymouth name.

 

[Ranger]

And.... Tri Power was a Pontiac name for their 3 Rochester 2bb setup. Six Pack is the Dodge name and 6 Barrel or 440 6 Barrel is the Plymouth name.

Hehe, I was thinking that after I posted and suspected I might get called on that.

 

[mcmopar]

Nothing wrong with the 383. It was the Chrysler workhorse engine with over 3 million produced. The 383 carried the Chrysler performance banner on the street for many a year and pounded on many bowtie and blue oval branded machines. When I bought my '71 Charger SE back in '94 it had a 383 but I swapped in a 440 simply because one cylinder was bad and a buddy had a readily available 440 after getting in an accident and totaling his '66 Coronet. When I got my roadrunner in 2000 I knew it had a 383 in it and that was okay by me. I like the 383. I have since made some engine/drive train/exhaust modifications and in reality it would probably smoke that guy's Hemi car. Would I love a Hemi or 440 6-BBL? Sure, who wouldn't! But I am telling you I love my 383. It is trouble free and rock solid and is always appreciated by spectators whenever I take it out.

 

[MadBird69]

Completely agree with mcmopar. The 383 is a rock solid engine. I've had two '69 Roadrunners in my lifetime, and both were 383's. The first one was bought in 1983, and it was my daily driver for 6 years. It was one of the most reliable cars I've ever had. That bird took a thrashing on many occasions, but it would just keep coming back for more. My current Roadrunner has a warmed over 383, and it's got plenty of snot to keep me happy. Sure, a 440 Six-Pak or a Hemi would be great to have, but there's nothing to be embarrased about with the tried and true 383.

 

[tallhair]

Oh yeah, weren't they tri-power (six packs)? Thanks for the correction.

But I found it on the internet so it must be true. :redface:

440 4 BBL was the standard engine in Superbirds. 440 6 BBL and Hemi were optional

 

[RoadRunnerJD]

That Hemi owner was not a typical Mopar guy. I doubt if he has a clue what our passion is all about! He must have a lot of money tied up in it and sounds like a snobby collector type who never drives it! If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be that guy for what he said! Back in the day, I raced and beat a few Hemi's on the street. A 426 Hemi with a 3.23 rear and 727 was somewhat of a dog and a good running 383 with a good rear and driver could beat a Hemi. I have owned and driven them all and my first 1969 383 4 speed Runner that I bought new (just before my 20th birthday) in 1969 is still my favorite of all the cars that I've owned. Not that it was my quickest car, but it was a better and a more fun all around car to drive and "squirrel" around in than an A12 or a Hemi. Nothing to be embarrassed about!

 

[artiststan]

Right on RoadrunnerJD.. you nailed it.

 

[rusty]

I'm still a little new to this site but wanted to toss in my 2 cents. First I do own a few Hemi's but I also have a 440 and a 340 and love them all, the 340 is the car that's the most fun for me to drive but the Hemi's let the general public use the line "gotta Hemi?".
Last year I sold a 70 SuperBee 383 all numbers matching car and today I wish I still had it, if it was a 4 speed I would have never sold it.
So my answer is 383/440/426 and 340's are all cars to be a proud owner of even some 318's have earned my respect over the years.
Numbers matching? Always the best......
P.S. None of my cars ever arrive or leave a show in a trailer and everyday this addiction to Mopar no matter what engine makes me stop and drool over everyone's toys....

 

[69/b5/n96]

yes i have a 400 stroked to 512 and have emberisted some hemi cars on the street so just have fun!!

 

[BL1 70 roadrunner]

My 70 charger has a 383 in it and I've owned it for 10 years and never had a problem with it, ever! The only work I've done on it is change the oil a couple of times and clean the carb. My roadrunner has a 383 in it to, numbers matching. I've only put 400 miles on it and that was when I purchased it in Michigan and drove it back to minnesota. They're good reliable engines plenty of power and nothing to be ashamed of. My buddy owns a 440 cuda and he joking mentions how much faster his engine is then my 383, but everytime he says that I bring up the amount of time each year he spends in the repair shop getting something fixed on his engine. I enjoy the 383 engines in my cars.... But if somebody offered me a 440... I might take it, never owned a 440 before. It'd be fun to see how it compared to my charger or roadrunner.

 

[A12]

That Hemi owner was not a typical Mopar guy. I doubt if he has a clue what our passion is all about! He must have a lot of money tied up in it and sounds like a snobby collector type who never drives it! If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be that guy for what he said! Back in the day, I raced and beat a few Hemi's on the street. A 426 Hemi with a 3.23 rear and 727 was somewhat of a dog and a good running 383 with a good rear and driver could beat a Hemi. I have owned and driven them all and my first 1969 383 4 speed Runner that I bought new (just before my 20th birthday) in 1969 is still my favorite of all the cars that I've owned. Not that it was my quickest car, but it was a better and a more fun all around car to drive and "squirrel" around in than an A12 or a Hemi. Nothing to be embarrassed about!

Right on John! I think it so funny to be at local car show and cruises and see people walk by a car, any car that doesn't have a callout with 426, 427, 440, 454, 455, etc., on it like anything less is not worthy. Very few bought or ordered the biggest engine available unless they were old enough to afford the INSURANCE and made enough money to PAY someone to keep it in tune for them. The FEW hardcore racer car guys that RACED and worked on the car themselves bought the Hemi's and 427's etc., back then and the others bought 440 GTX's with automatics. Over 80,000 young, and up coming hot rodders went into a Plymouth dealership and put down their hard earned money and drove away in a cool, nice running, great bang for the buck, easy to tune and low on the monthly insurance bill and of course the sweetest sounding of all of the mid-sized muscle cars ever!

I was too young to not have the parents co-sign for my '69 383 road runner and there was no way that I was going to get the okay to order the Hemi (that I really didn't want anyway). So with the money I saved from not ordering the Hemi I put it into 3.91 Suregrip, air grabber (stock with the Hemi I know), hood stripes, A01 light package, bucket seats, console, power steering, a radio, and then within a few months still had money to buy and put a set of Hooker Headers and have the distributor tweaked and the carb jetted. The 383 made a lot of road runner owners very happy and still does. As for the current ego tripping guys that still buy their way into something with the "mine is bigger than yours" they were never there back in the day and just as now if they did buy the biggest hood callout motor badge they were mostly posers back then too.....................My three most favorite of the four road runners that I've owned were all 383 engine cars. It's a road runner and that's the most important thing to have as a callout on the car! Remember it's: FOR(EVER) ROAD RUNNERS ONLY!!!!

 

[Ranger]

It's a road runner and that's the most important thing to have as a callout on the car! Remember it's: FOR(EVER) ROAD RUNNERS ONLY!!!!

Amen brother! :worship:

 

[jays69bird]

I was too young back in the day to own these cars new, however there was two brothers in Fulton, that had two Plymouth's The older one ,Tim worked at the Nestle plant made good money,bought a green 69 Hemi Road Runner 4 speed new. The younger brother, Larry had a 66 Belevedere with a 383 4 speed. Now Larry worked at a Carrols which was a fast food chain back then. Not having the money,Larry took what He had and worked on it,an Offenhauser 2x4 barrel intake,some cam work and a set of headers. At the old 1/8 mile Fulton Raceway dragstrip,the 383 ran faster then the Hemi , he always busted his older brother about that.

 

[jays69bird]

To be honest this has nothing to do with Plymouth's, but I have drove a number of Camaro's over the year,the one that impressed me the most was a 69 307 two barrel with a powerglide,that my friend Shawn owned. For what that car was,it would move. If you restored that car and brought it to a Chebbie show, all the Z/28 and SS owners would look down their noses at it. Sometimes though the plain old engines are the ones you respect.

 

[69hemibeep]

Just be happy as hell you have a Road runner.

 

[Steve]

The guy was right....383s are for pussies.:acme::acme:

 

[jays69bird]

The guy was right....383s are for pussies.:acme::acme:

Only when driven in England,Steve, and then when installed in an Jensen !:stooges: