Sox & Martin was one of the most dominant teams in Funny Car and Super Stock racing in the 1960s and 1970s. Their association with Chrysler Corp. dated back to 1965. They found a lot of success with the Plymouth Duster and Dodge Demon in 1970-72 and tributes of these cars will turn up from time to time. This is one of them, based on a 1972 Duster 340 (with a 360 now). This car has come out of an estate sale and the dealer handling the vehicle has little history about the Plymouth. Located in Troy, Michigan, this potentially unfinished project is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $3,550 but the reserve is still looming.
Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin became legends in the NHRA world. Much of their success was tied to Chrysler’s 426 Hemi, which produced a lot more horsepower in racing trim than the massive 425 hp in their street versions. This 1972 Duster doesn’t have a Hemi, but instead a 360 cubic inch V8 sitting where a 340 was there from the factory. There is evidence the car started life with a 4-speed manual (the clutch is still in place), but an automatic transmission is there now.
This project was brought to the dealer to sell by the law firm handling the liquidation of the owner’s estate. Unfortunately, little information is known about the car, so the buyer will have to assess what’s right and wrong and then what to do about it. No data is available on the mechanical specs of the engine and transmission, but the car does start and run, but will not idle satisfactorily. The seller has no idea what mechanical shortfalls will present themselves.
The undercarriage has been modified with frame connectors and the battery has been relocated to the rusty trunk, so it appears the builder was trying to make the tribute as real as possible. The goal was to turn this Duster into a qualified quarter-mile race car that could bring home the bacon. This transformation was likely started some time ago as the custom paint applied at that time is scratched and chipping in several places. The interior is largely okay except for the seat covers and dash pad. If the drivetrain doesn’t need to be opened up, perhaps this won’t be a difficult restoration if you wanted to continue down the Sox & Martin path. Or would you scrap the earlier work and turn this back into a Duster 340/360?
This thing wouldn’t make a PIMPLE on a Sox & Martin car A$$.
I knew Ronnie Sox. He passed from Cancer in 2006. His family and friends REALLY miss him. If he knew this contraption had his name on it, he would spin in his grave !……..You are 100% correct. Not a pimple on the butt ! !
This is what happens when we don’t take care of our business before we leave. Our attorneys will.
A hippy that lived up the street when I was a kid. What people called guys with long hair. He was cool nonetheless. Charlie had a Duster like this with the same RWB paint scheme. Only it didn’t say Sox and Martin on the door. Had the typical racing decals and the big Plymouth on the quarters. Which most Plymouths on the street had those big quarter decals. On the trunk of his car it said Duster Do! It had a window rattler cam and was a manual shift.
I remember seeing a display of car name decals at the JCPennys Speed Shop. In white and black. Had to get school clothes so looked forward to looking in the shop at speed parts while Mom went to the womens department. Couldn’t plan too early on what I needed for my future car. Then it was off to Sears.
If I was the Lawyer I would have bought it myself, those guys have heaps of money don’t they?.
Who cares if it’s a big block or not, hotted 360 would produce ample power.
Stunning vehicle, awesome paint scheme.
This one isn’t a real Sox and Martin car, but back in the 1972/73 time frame NHRA was going to a “Weight per cubic inch” displacement for Pro Stock. Grumpy Jenkins was running a 331 CI Vega and Gapp and Rousch had a 351 CI four door Maverick called the “Taxi.” Sox and Martin may have had a car like this with a 340, but this one isn’t it.
There were still Hemi Dusters and big block Camaros out there in those days, but they generally weren’t competitive depending on which day NHRA changed the rules.
This car was project most likely started in the 1980’s and continued in the 1990’s from the tires and decals although some look newer.
The original jewelry the 340 and four speed is gone. My thought is for a real tribute to Ronnie Sox would leave the manual transmission. He liked to do things himself. Maybe it is laying in the formers owners garage and other parts pertaining to the car. I can’t imagine all the work done and hubcaps on the front. Who knows those Super Tricks might be there too.
What is bad besides NO build history is it is located in the heart of the rust belt. The seller says the trunk is gone and under shots of the chassis we see serious rust where it shouldn’t be. There is black spray undercoat. Not a good sign. I mean it needs a total restoration.
You said it, bruddah.
Ronnie Sox said in an interview that every time the team got competitive again, and started winning, Jenkins would whine to the NHRA and they’d ladle some more weight on. He said at the end (when Sox and Martin left drag racing) that he was having to carry 800 more pounds than Whiney (suits him better than ‘Grumpy’).
I never understood why Whiney didn’t just put an old Stovebolt in his stupid Vega, and make Ronnie strap a Volkswagen to the roof.
Jim Hall, one of the greatest drivers / constructors ever to race, said that every time he began blowing the doors off the competition, Bruce McLaren would whine to the various sanctioning bodies and they would then ban his innovations. He had to tell the Canadian American Challenge Race to go pound sand because of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hall_(racing_driver)
Dennis Connor, the great American yachtsman, and three-time winner of the America’s Cup was embroiled in a very contentious legal challenge (over nuances in the ‘Deed of Gift’ under which the competition was held) by New Zealand banker Michael Fay.[3] Fay. That legal battle nearly destroyed the America’s Cup, and only made a mess of the competition.
“Lia” Thomas – Swimming for the women’s team
Cece (formerly Craig) Telfer and June (formerly Jonathan) Eastwood – Runners
New Zealander Laurel Hubbard, formerly known as Gavin – Weight lifting
Fallon Fox – trans MMA fighter twice broke an opponent’s skull to win matches
They all have one thing in common: They can’t win in fair competition, so they go to the courts for their unfair advantages – all in the name of fairness.
This was (and is) the fashion then and now, if you are a loser sue or penalize the winners out of the competition.
It has 1970 only instrument panel layout of gages.
Is the early Duster front bumper that heavy that it was removed?
I bet a replacement grill ain’t cheap.
$6k now, reserve still not met, has 22 other vehicles listed.
Where were Sox & Martin based?