One Of 234: This Numbers-Matching 1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner Heads To Mecum's Nashville Sale

A restored, numbers-matching 1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner is heading to Mecum's Nashville sale, and the lead photo above, courtesy of Mecum, gives a good first look at lot N483 before bidding opens on September 26. It's one of just 234 Road Runners built for 1969 with the 426 Hemi paired to a 4-speed manual, a combination that has become one of the most sought-after in the Mopar world.

This particular car carries its original 426/425-hp Hemi V-8 and A833 4-speed transmission, both matching numbers, backed by a Dana 60 rear axle with 4.10 gears. It was ordered with the A34 Super Track Pak, the Air Grabber hood, a Hurst shifter, and dual four-barrel carburetors, and it still has its original fender tag and trunk drip rail stamp. A 2015 restoration returned the black-on-black coupe to factory-correct specification, and it now rides on rebuilt suspension, power front disc brakes, and a fresh set of Firestone Redline tires on the correct 15-inch steel wheels. The odometer currently shows 32,415 miles, and the car comes with a third-party inspection report for bidders who want documentation beyond the catalog description.

The Road Runner was only in its second model year for 1969, but it was already Plymouth's best-selling performance car and had just won Motor Trend's Car of the Year award. Plymouth expanded the lineup with a convertible alongside the existing coupe and hardtop, and combined sales roughly doubled compared to 1968. The 383 V-8 remained standard equipment, but buyers willing to pay an extra $813.45 could order the 426 Hemi, a premium worth nearly a third of the car's base window sticker. Period road tests of Hemi-equipped B-body cars recorded 0-60 mph in the low five-second range and quarter-mile times in the low 13s, numbers that still hold up well against plenty of modern performance cars.

Hemi Road Runners have always commanded a premium over their 383- and 440-powered siblings, and Hagerty's Valuation Tools illustrate just how wide that gap has become. Hagerty prices a number-3-condition, or Good condition, 1969 Road Runner hardtop with the 426 Hemi and 4-speed at $93,000, up nearly 10 percent over the past year, while the same car in convertible form is valued at $123,000 in that condition. A 383-powered hardtop in comparable condition, by contrast, carries a Hagerty value of roughly $35,800. Real auction results can run well above guide numbers for the right car, too: a comparable Hemi Road Runner sold for $170,500 at a Mecum sale this past July. Where this Nashville example lands will likely depend on how much bidders value its documented restoration and matching-numbers drivetrain against that broader market.

For collectors weighing a Hemi car against other Mopar options, it's worth cross-shopping the current lineup of Plymouths for sale and brushing up on how to read an auction listing before bidding day arrives in Nashville.