One of the smaller cars from the muscle car era, the Duster 340 is a neat car that is fun to drive. This 1971 Duster 340 is a very reasonable shape find that has been stored the last 13 years. After a carb rebuild and a fresh battery, this Duster is a runner, maybe even a driveway driver. Drawing a lot of interest, 56 bids have been placed, and the auction price has risen to $8,099.00 Check out this not so common muscle machine here on eBay out of Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Equipped with a 340 the Duster was no slouch, and the 340 is a solid platform to build off of. Needless to say I have fantasized about building a 340 6 pack Duster before. The mileage is listed at 74,000 miles, but there are a few things I have noticed about this car. The engine bay is exceptionally clean and shiny, but looking closer there is evidence showing that the engine compartment has been repainted. The engine is a runner, but not much information is given about the drive-train or its past. It is unclear if this is the original engine.
With a quick glance the interior seems to be in fair condition until you see the land slide of a dash pad. Dry rotted and crumbled up, the dash pad almost looks like it wants to slide off and hit the floor. The rest of the dash is in fair shape, and the console and steering column are nice as well. I would guess that the seats have been reupholstered, and the brown or heavily faded out black carpet could use a hand as well.
At first glance the exterior is rather exciting as the car appears to be in original condition. I agree with the seller and think that this Duster has been re-sprayed in its lifetime. While the seller claims that the undercarriage is rock solid, there is some rot to contend with on this Mopar. There is rot to be found on the rockers, quarters, on the lower portion of the front fenders, and the tail light panel. While there is rot in each of these places, it seems confined to small patch areas. Despite the rust, this Duster is still a very nice example that would be great to see restored. With so much interest in this uncommon muscle car, what do you think this Duster will sell for?
Heartbeat City
That’s the first thing I thought too!
If it still has a 340 and there isn’t any structural rust, buy it, replace the dash pad and fix the mechanicals so that it’s a good driver. Then cruise it around until you either get bored with it, find your next car, or someone offers you more than it’s worth.
Steve R
If my memory serves me. I had a friend who had a red 340 duster. It was a stick 3 speed. Factory sunroof too.
For 71 the sunroof was an awkward, clothlike,folding thing that sat on top of the roof panel. Things were a lot better for 73. Can’t remember what 72 had.
I’d say it’s pretty obvious what kind of motor it had,,,
I like it, except that color was not one of my favorites. And to cruise it in Pa, the rust needs fixed, Steve.
Not here. Since rust isn’t an issue the only inspections are the biannual smog checks.
Through the mid-80’s, if a muscle car had rust anywhere other than the lower corners of the front fenders they were instantly parted out. I was talking to a friend of mine recently that parted out several 1st generation SS 396 Camaros for that reason. He regrets doing so now, but at the time, they were plentiful and worth considerably more in parts.
Steve R
Mopar burnt orange was popular back then ugly as hell now !
I had a ’71 Demon 340 with a 727 when I was in high school (1980). A buddy of mine had a ’70 Duster 340. The Duster was a popular car then, but no one had ever heard of a Dodge Demon. I later discovered Chrysler manufactured about a million Dusters, but only about 100,000 Demons (10,000 of which were 340 cars). Apparently religious busybodies had a problem with the name, so they changed it to Dart Sport. In 1999 I bought a Hemi Orange ’71 Demon with a 360 crate engine. I loved it, but I had to sell it to pay the closing costs on my house.
Always thought the Demon was a much better looking car IMHO. Loved the front end on them!
The 71 Demon got the changes that were scheduled for the 71 Duster. The only change on the Duster were the loss of the Plymouth emblem on the grille and they moved the Plymouth script from the right rear edge of the deck lid the tail light panel about a three inch move. The 71 Duster could be had with this 340 Wedge hood decal too.
I can’t imagine why anyone would be interested in a Rusty Dodge.
It needs everything redone, and when I your finished, it’s still a Dodge.
It’s actually a Plymouth.
Steve R
Same thing.
Nothing worth reading here, moving on.
Ask around and see if anyone cares about your pointless opinion…
Right on Graeme, I’m with you.
The problem also is if the car is that rusty visibly I wouldn’t mind betting the firewall area under the vents is very rusty, why do I know we have a Dodge and the firewall has been replaced now, they rust in some strange places you don’t see on other makes for some reason.
Friend of mine had a 340 Demon with a few aftermarket parts under the hood back in ’74,car was a ’72 and that thang would tote the mail.
He totaled it out in a curve doin access of a 100mph. Out into some pine trees.
He and a couple others had skipped school that day n everybody walked away.
Funny part was it was old timer day at school n some was dressed like in the 1940’s
Woo,hoo…never seen a dash look
Like that one!
Awesome duster like that blacked
Out hood with the 340
And?
My dad’s 71 Impala had a 350, had to chain in on both sides to avoid breaking the engine mounts. Funny, I never confessed to him why. It was all ways my fault because of racing that thing in high school in the 70s.
I hate to say it because it is a cool car I do work in restoration shop IMHO this car at $8000 is overpriced considering what it would cost to pay a professional to repair it unless you have the experience to restore it yourself along with the equipment, from what I can see in the pictures and I assure you after 38 years in the industry looking at the pictures versus looking at it personally it will only get worse it is sad because it is a cool car but at least from the pictures definitely restorable although that dash is something I have to laugh at I’ve never seen something so bad and I am including vehicles that have been sitting in the Florida sun in a field for 50 years but I do hope it finds a home as all cool cars deserve one
They don’t call them Rusters for nothing!
First car in high school was a 70 plum crazy 340 duster, great car
It has definitely been repainted …its a V68 code (V =stripe code 6 =side stripe 8=delete) which is side stripe delete car…it would be V6X (X=tuxedo black) it also didnt come with the 340 on the hood that would be V21 code the V8X stands for black hood stripes!
Just as an fyi…lots of time on my hand allowed me to memorize ALL the mopar fender tag codes!!
Great info Fast Eddie! One dumb question though. If the car was tuxedo black, then how could it have had black stripes? I mean I guess it could but that would seem kind of pointless.
Eddie is correct about the V68 side stripe delete code on the fender tag; the side stripes on this car were added at some point. But V8X is the code for tail light panel stripes, not hood stripes, in black.
As for the hood paint, code V21 is for the performance hood paint while V24 is for performance hood paint with 340 lettering.
Interesting footnote: Twin scoops (J54) were available only on cars equipped with the A51 Twister package so if you see them on a 340 car they were added later.
But your comment about black stripes on a black car is valid and it WAS done. I guess some buyers decided to go with a stealth appearance. (I’ve also seen 340 cars that had tail panel striping but vinyl side rub moldings (V5X).)
I’ve been keeping a database of A body fender tag info and Broadcast Sheet info since the mid-80s when these cars were still common on the roadways and littering junkyards. I pulled over many, many times to talk with an a-body owner, asking them to pop the hood so I could copy the fender tag info and compare it to the car I was looking at. Did the same thing at many car shows in the late 80s/early 90s. Then came marriage and kids…
I have records of some really weird stuff. How about a 72 Duster 340, dark green metallic (GF7) with black side stripes (V6X) but white tail panel stripes (V8W). I saw it in person. Even seen a factory two-tone paint Duster? I’ve seen only one: a 72 that had a honeydew (GY4) body and black (TX9) roof. How about 3-on-the tree (D14) Dusters? Seen em.
Duster with an “I” code on the tag for Chrysler internal order? Seen one.
I bought a 72 Twister in 1987 and began gathering parts for a restoration/upgrade to 340 status soon thereafter. I have everything I need but time to do it. I’m watching this auction to see the selling price — if it’s high enough I may have to put the works on ebay and let that dream go.
Pete is right i stand corrected! Im more of the 71-74 road runner version of pete so the a bodies are similar but alot of little differences in the codes they used…even different production plants used or didnt use certain codes.
@Pete in Pa
My first car when I turned 16 was a B5 Blue Twister with the two Scoops, white buckets the Rallye Road wheels with the trim rings and RWL, 318 3 speed with a floor shifter. It was a good looking car. If you do put your Twister up for sale, I would be interested. if you do decide to sell it. My email is gtx440cnv@hotmail.com.
I witnessed a built 340 Duster blow the doors off of a stock ’68 Hemi Charger in a quarter mile street race with both cars running automatic transmissions. It was never a fair race and the Charger driver got an ego adjustment.
My all-time bucket list car is a stock ’71 340 Duster with D21 4-speed, Sure Grip rear axle and N85 tachometer. A car guy can dream, right?
I bet alot of guy think thats bs BUT hemi cars were Impossible to tune right and depending on the weather you might have to get out the tools every morning to get it to idle correctly!
The mopar 340 is the BEST small block made! Mopar underated or used lower rpm HP ratings for insurance purposes. The 340 TA block was like a hemi block and almost indestructable.
Because a duster weighed like 2800 pounds and a charger weighed 4200 pounds. A 340 duster or 68/69 dart with 4.10 gears 727 with 3 grand stall, im 100% sure it beats a hemi B body all day long!!
Hell, i had a 340 73 challenger with a custom flip up front end 4speed 4.10 gears that beat most people around in 1989, except for my neighbors blown hemi cuda that ran 10s…i sold the challenger for 500.00 and he sold the cuda for 6500.00 both we running bad azz too but 1991 was a bad year to sell a mopar
Grauguated from h/s in 1980. My ride was a 71 340 4sp duster. Black out hood (correct) w/ 340 on hood. And red . Had the tach dash (rally). I loved it when, parked in a lot ,people would walk by and look sideways at that big sticker on the hood to check it out.
I now have a 71 twister that is a real fc7 purple v-8,stick car. I will keep it as close to original, but the 318 will be a little pumped, and i will have to do the black out hood deal. JUST me.
Judging by the wheels it looks like an early eighties street cruiser, could make a fun driver but no more than that, and without looking at it as investment material, after all we used to put money in these only to put a big smile on our face, not financial gain.
The big hood decal gives people plenty of warning that this is no ordinary 318 commuter, including thieves.
Those wheels look like the early A-body 5×4 bolt pattern, so those Centerline wheels are vintage. True vintage street machines, even if tacky, are cool. Often times they are better representation of car culture than restored cars since they were the epitome of what the car scene really was. When I reached driving age in the early-80’s nobody I knew wanted a bone stock muscle car. I’m sure it was that way in the 60’s and 70’s.
Steve R
My first mopar was an army green w/white painted roof 71 340 duster w/sharktooth grill. People would come to my parents house at 10 oclock at night and want to race! It was fast would do 14 second quarter miles all day long running brackets at capital drag raceway.. When I graduated-the big ceremony- I walked straight out to the car and drove it right to Daytona beach!!!! Wish it was1975 again.
Skimming the fender codes a little more i noticed 2 more cool details as this car was definitely optioned to go fast and stop on a dime!
The A31 code is for the 8 3/4 with 3.91 gears ..you couldnt get a dana rear end in a 70-74 a body. Also, the seats were redone to the better seats the interior code is L6X9 which stood for L=lowest level pattern 6=bucket seats (so does the C55 code) X9 is for tuxedo black…to have been ordered black and silver which wasnt possible with that exterior color the code would have read H =high Level seat pattern so H6XA again the X for black as the primary color and A=silver seat insert.
One of the coolest interior codes mopar did was for the 1971model year…they advertised Halloween color schemes…hemi orange car with black stripes black interior with orange seat inserts interior code H6XV…you could get that on any A or B body car but most of those halloween cars seemed to be road runners!
Last thing, only about 10% of the dusters came from the factory with a console so except for the exterior color being an ugly burnt orange…a factory 340 duster stripe delete car with console bucket seats power disc front brakes and 8 3/4 with 3.91 gears is about the best optioned way to get one if street racing. Seems they ditched the csrter thermo quad though for a holley double pumper. If this engine isnt roached forget the body problems drive as is and enjoy a fast as hell mopar …i bet auction tops out at 14 grand but these will be the next 40 grand mopars and this one has all the best options for sure!
Had one if these back in the day. 340 4spd, deluxe bench seat, same grill but in a medium blue with two tone blue interior. Pretty car and it went like stink. First to second power shifts would always head it into the left lane. My understanding is that the 71 340 is the one to have as the crank is forged steel. But hell, they all could be forged steel. 73’s are cast, that I know. But anyway, it was fun car and it handled pretty well for the day.
Had a Duster with a 340 in high school and changed out the tunnel ram I bought it with for a six-pack. Much more drivable and loved the sound.
I swear that I could watch the gas gauge move when I floored it.
If this rusted worn out car is worth north of 8 grand, I wonder what a nice Mexican Super Bee would be worth in the American market.
Miguel, you should have bought a few of them before you posted that.