When most people think of Plymouth Dusters, they automatically think about the little 'compact' car Chrysler made from 1970-1976. The Duster was created to compete with the Ford Maverick and Chevrolet Nova. Not m.jpg)
any people consider the Duster a true muscle car, it all depends on the person's point of view. Believe it or not, I've even heard someone refer to the Duster as 'a black person car'. I'll admit myself, I didn't pay much attention to the Duster. Being the owner of a '69 Charger, I was mainly interested in B-body Mopars which include the Superbee, Roadrunner and GTX. Like I said, I didn't pay much attention to them. That is until I became the owner of one myself. Owning one changed my whole outlook on them. The thing with Dusters is they are very versatile. They make great street cars, awesome drag cars and if you are into Autocross, they are even great for that! Dusters have always been a fairly light car in the Mopar world. The last time I ran my Duster across the scales, it weighed in at 3000lbs with me and my dad in it and a trunk load of tools and luggage. My Charger dosen't even come close to that without people! From 1970-1972 the Dusters remained sporty but in 1973, they had a down fall. New safety regulations called for 5mph front bumper inpact protection. With those regulations being put in place, Plymouth ended up making the Duster's bumpers bigger and bulkier. They also put bigger bumper guards on it. It wasn't so bad in 1973-1974 but from 1975-1976 it got worse. Plymouth also decided to put a bumper filler panel between the bumper and the body which in turn make the bumpers stick out farther. That being said though, once you get rid of the bumper guards (I chose to keep the rears on my '73) and adjust the bumper filler panels, the 1973-1976 Dusters look much sportier. I also have to say, in my personal opinion, the Dusters came with the ugliest hubcaps I've ever seen. My Duster had them on when I bought it. Once I got the money, they were thrown in the garage and replaced with 15X7 Rallye wheels. It made such a difference.
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any people consider the Duster a true muscle car, it all depends on the person's point of view. Believe it or not, I've even heard someone refer to the Duster as 'a black person car'. I'll admit myself, I didn't pay much attention to the Duster. Being the owner of a '69 Charger, I was mainly interested in B-body Mopars which include the Superbee, Roadrunner and GTX. Like I said, I didn't pay much attention to them. That is until I became the owner of one myself. Owning one changed my whole outlook on them. The thing with Dusters is they are very versatile. They make great street cars, awesome drag cars and if you are into Autocross, they are even great for that! Dusters have always been a fairly light car in the Mopar world. The last time I ran my Duster across the scales, it weighed in at 3000lbs with me and my dad in it and a trunk load of tools and luggage. My Charger dosen't even come close to that without people! From 1970-1972 the Dusters remained sporty but in 1973, they had a down fall. New safety regulations called for 5mph front bumper inpact protection. With those regulations being put in place, Plymouth ended up making the Duster's bumpers bigger and bulkier. They also put bigger bumper guards on it. It wasn't so bad in 1973-1974 but from 1975-1976 it got worse. Plymouth also decided to put a bumper filler panel between the bumper and the body which in turn make the bumpers stick out farther. That being said though, once you get rid of the bumper guards (I chose to keep the rears on my '73) and adjust the bumper filler panels, the 1973-1976 Dusters look much sportier. I also have to say, in my personal opinion, the Dusters came with the ugliest hubcaps I've ever seen. My Duster had them on when I bought it. Once I got the money, they were thrown in the garage and replaced with 15X7 Rallye wheels. It made such a difference. .JPG)
For people wanting to get into the Mopar world, A-body Mopars (Dusters, Darts, Valiants etc) can still be reasonable purchased. That's where people don't think about it. See, when you think of a Mopar muscle car you probally think of a Charger or Roadrunner. Not many people automatically think of a Duster. Like I said, they are cheap to buy and with some upgrades, they make awesome cars. So next time you see a Duster at a show, don't simply walk by.....check it out, because they are cooler than you think!
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