1965 Dodge — The Roadrunner
Fred writes: The Dodge Roadrunner broke the B/FX national record (both top speed and
ET) several times during the 1965 racing season. It would have won the 1965 Nationals in that an illegal Ford that beat us in the
final run was eventually thrown out. We had already “unwired” the Roadrunner before the Ford was DQed, so we could not
get the win either.
The Dodge Roadrunner was the only 386 Hemi in the world. We took the standard 426 Hemi drag race engine and de-stroked it. Except for crankshaft, everything else stayed the same. The Dodge also had the world’s only Clutch-flite transmission.
Instead of a torque converter, a Hemi racing clutch assembly and flywheel was used. Hydraulic pressure was supplied to the
automatic transmission via a stock power steering pump. The car was launched at 7,000 RPMs with the clutch and then shifted grears through the Torqueflite transmission.
The black and white picture below of the Roadrunner about ready to be towed to Detroit Dragway. The other picture is a color shot of the roadrunner Warner Bros cartoon character we had painted on the rear deck...before the Plymouth Roadrunner!
Does anyone know what has happened to the car? Let me know please!
Wow, great Mopar history Fred! 
Gary H.
March 17, 2006
