First. Not many cars get to have that title, but you're staring at one: This is the FIRST car in the FIRST 100 A12 cars ever built! It has the first vehicle order AND the lowest VIN number of ANY A12 car—take that in for a minute. There's more information to follow, so read on.

Sent out on February 21, 1969, the Vehicle Master Order detailing how to order the cars went out to dealers. The order was for vehicle order numbers 329-949001-949100. The "329" is the first of two build dates the cars would be coded with (the other is 426) as the target delivery requirement was listed as "Month of March." The second, considerably larger batch received the "426" date code. Chrysler occasionally did this for batch built specialty cars such as the A12's and Superbirds. So let's repeat: as verified by the A12 Registry, this is the FIRST A12 off of the assembly line

Is that not enough? What if we told you THIS is THE car driven by Ronnie Sox in the "professional vs. journalist" article from Super Stock Magazine? This is THE car which had its original six pack setup stolen from SSM staffer Ro McGonegal's apartment complex, and another needed procurement from Chrysler just to do the road test! Ted Struse (owner/driver of Project Six Pack and another fellow staffer) still has the receipt for the replacement parts handed to him by Chrysler's ace tech John Bauman! The car was run again for Hot Rod and other publications before its racing career started.

After its press days, it found itself in the possession of hall of fame racer Ed Miller in New York. Not only was he a factory backed racer who had such cars as a Hemi 'Cuda he managed to set sixteen national records in 10 years, and he wasn't always a full-time driver! He's been building race engines at his shop, Ed Miller Racing Enterprises, for over 30 years...obviously Chrysler picked a good one! Ted Struse credits that road test with this car as THE reason he plunked down the cash and ordered Project Six Pack, and the cars raced alongside each other more than a couple times. Ed even loaned Ted the original distributor for this car for use in PSP after the red 'runner went down in eliminations and Ted still has it! We'll be reuniting it with the car soon—think about the chances of that!

Lastly, we have absolutely verified that this is indeed the car that Ronnie Sox tested for Super Stock. How do we know? It's real simple. Al Kirschenbaum managed this car for Plymouth while it did the press tour, and serviced it out of Rockville Center Dodge. Al did this for Chrysler for a number of years on many high performance Plymouths. And Al was the sort of guy who saved everything. Guess what he saved from this car? How about a copy of the original Window Sticker? You got it. According to Cliff Gromer, a friend of Al's, Al has verified that this is indeed the car that he managed to Plymouth and it is indeed A12 #1. Even better, Al pointed out that this A12 came with both the Décor Package and the Light Group Package! We need to add a few pieces of jewelry to the car now, but she will be correct, and even more unique.

Documented by a partial Chrysler Corporation Broadcast Sheet, and verified by the ORIGINAL fender tag and VIN tag, this incredible A12 breaks down as follows:
TOP LINE 6 :
08135 = 2 DIGIT GATE # 3 DIGIT BASE #
238674 = 6 DIGIT LINE SEQUENCE #
9 = YEAR 1969
A = LYNCH RD. ASSEMBLY PLANT
239xxx = SERIAL #
LINE 5:
925 = ENGINE CODE – 440 SIX BARREL W/4 SPEED
999 = SPECIAL REAR AXLE (4.10 DANA 60)
603 = TRANSMISSION CODE – HEMI 4 SPEED
LINE 4:
26 = 26" RADIATOR
LINE 3:
7X = BLACK PAINTED DOUBLE PINSTRIPE
LINE 2:
R4 = BODY PAINT CODE (CHARGER RED)
R4 = ROOF / VINYL ROOF COLOR (SAME CODE INDICATES MONOTONE PAINT)
M2X =BENCH SEAT INTERIOR, BASE, BLACK
X9 =UPPER DOOR FRAME PAINT
(BOTTOM) LINE 1 :
RM21 = ROAD RUNNER TWO DOOR COUPE
E63 = ENGINE (CARS WERE CODED AS 383-4BBL)
D21 = 4 SPEED MANUAL
329 = SCHEDULED PRODUCTION DATE (APR 26)
949001 = VEHICLE ORDER (#1)

Notice that A12 is not on this tag, although the VIN is still RM21M—the first six cars don't have it on there!

Let's start under the hood…pull the four pins to reveal the incredibly well detailed, date code correct 440 6 Pack engine. There's a correct 054 radiator up front, hooked up to the motor by reproduction radiator and heater hoses with correct Corbin clamps, all from Frank Badalson (i.e., they're the best you can buy.) Date coded correct spark plug wires connect to the original A12-specific dual point distributor and ride in reproduction wire looms. The original air cleaner assembly hosts a correct reproduction air cleaner element and hides the rebuilt and detailed and date cose original 4 speed carburetors, complete with the proper choke and fast idle solenoid assemblies. A new ballast resistor and wiper motor take up residence on the firewall next to the new master cylinder and engine wiring harness. The battery is right, with new cables, the correct PCV valve and hose are in place, a correct date coded belt, a date coded coil…the list goes on!

New, flawless paint outside is the first thing you notice. Code R4 Charger Red looks awesome on the car—the pictures simply don't do it justice. The body is exceptionally straight, the gaps are excellent and the doors close perfectly. All sheet metal on this Roadrunner is original to the car, except the passenger side quarter, which was banged up at some point in the car's life. An NOS Chrysler quarter-panel, which cost an eye-popping $5,000.00, was used in its place.

Open the doors to reveal zinc plated latches and strikers, and excellent paint in the jambs. Up front you'll find a freshly re-chromed bumper underneath a perfect restored grille before moving up to that mammoth black hood. The riveted hood pin bezels are correct (only steel hoods got screws) as are the short lanyards. What little bright work on the car (these weren't meant to dazzle you with chrome!) is in superb shape with an excellent shine. The rear bumper is also re-chromed and sits below a perfect taillight set.

Four correct gloss black steel "H" wheels are wrapped with brand new F70x15 Goodyear redlines (Goodyear doesn't make G70's yet, but we'd rather run the right brand.) The glass is all new, with the quarter windows being NOS pieces. The driver side mirror is NOS, too—check out the cool "Made in Canada" sticker on the head! ZERO corners were cut on this car!

Since this Roadrunner received a full rotisserie restoration, the entire car was refinished in R4 red, including the undercarriage. Freshly and concours-correctly rebuilt brakes front and rear bring the car to a halt with new lines and hoses. A new Don's Custom Exhaust system complete with reproduction Hemi mufflers and correct clamps keep things as stealthy as possible for a car with a flat black hood! A new fuel tank and sender and new lines supply fuel forward. Proper inspection marks and stamps round out an extremely well detailed chassis. Open up to the trunk to find the spare, proper jack and a new trunk mat. All is fresh, all is show ready!

Inside you'll find a mix of mint original parts with high quality reproductions. Restored dash bezels and a new gauge lens add sparkle, as do the new armrest bases and inside door handles. All soft trim from the headliner to the door panels to the carpet is in perfect shape, as is the original Hurst shifter. The restored original gauges read brightly and accurately, the upper door frames were repainted and accent the new door panels, and the seats are perfect for short bursts of speed or a decent cruise—hop in!

This is one of the ultimate blue chip Mopars … the FIRST A12 ever produced, tested by Ronnie Sox for Super Stock Magazine, restored to the highest standard. How cool is that? Don't pass on this one … it is a rare, historically significant car, and a cornerstone of any significant Mopar collection.