Looking to attract younger buyers to the rather plain Valiant, Plymouth added the Duster 2-door fastback in 1970. It accomplished its missile as Chrysler would produce nearly 1.3 million of the cars in seven years, plus a solid number of the Dodge version, Demon/Dart Sport. This 1972 Duster has the Twister trim package along with the venerable 318 engine, but it has been largely off the road for five years. Located in Los Angeles, California, this car is available here on craigslist for $7,500. Kudos to local_sheriff for finding this one for us!
Duster sales would pick up year after year, in part due to the movement to more fuel-efficient cars in 1973. The ’72 Duster saw 228,000 copies go out the back door, of which 212,000 were the non-340 Duster. There were a variety of trim packages offered on the car, the two most well known are perhaps the Gold Duster and the Twister. The latter was intended to give the car a tougher look like the 340, but with less horsepower, including the 225 Slant Six. But quite a few were equipped with the entry V8, the 318, which can be found in the seller’s car.
The cowl tag on this car has been removed, but it contains several codes that should match with the build sheet which also comes with the deal. A51 Twister option, check. J54 sport hood, check. V6X black side stripes, check. V8X rear taillight panel stripe, also check. Besides these items, this Duster also has bucket seats with a console, TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and power steering and front disc brakes. The yellow/gold paint looks to be in fair condition, but we’re told there is some rust present, but we’re not sure where it is.
While the car has not been driven much in recent years, the seller says it does run and stop. He describes the car as a project but considering that the interior is also in good condition (except for some cracks in the dash pad), a thorough cleaning might suffice before undertaking a restoration later. The car originated in California and still has front and rear “blue” license plates. The headline says the seller is looking to get $7,500 out of the car, while the body of the listing says $7,900. Hagerty estimates that one of these cars in Fair shape is an $8,400 proposition but it’s doubtful the Twister option does much for its resale value.
Great cars in this engine/trans combo. Had a three speed 318 Duster, could lay rubber pretty easy, and easy on gas, and my insurance agent still shook my hand when I came into the room. Got 158K miles out of her until the left torsion bar rest rusted and the car sagged. Sold it to a kid for a hundred bucks I think. Rust was a killer back in those days. Can’t believe what these are going for these days. Actually, in todays goofy high priced market, this actually seems reasonable.
An optimistic estimation of what a bucket of plastic filler, a gallon of school-bus-yellow equipment enamel, and some cut-rate non-reproduction stripes might do for a car’s value.
This is really rough for a CA car. Virtually every piece of the exterior body except the hood and roof needs replacement. There’s wavy filler along with vague, mismatched, and missing (!) body lines. Both bumpers are bent. The missing Twister/340 grille alone is a four-digit proposition to replace. There’s rot in the both door frames and the LH upper quarter… even the license plate is rusty.
At half of asking, you’d be upside-down on this car halfway through the restoration.
Shouldn’t the engine compartment be the same color as the body paint?
Yes, along with the trunk. The original Y1 is visible on the RH inner wheelhouse in the trunk shot. It’s a far cry from the cheap bus paint.
“Accomplished it’s missile ” ???
I am sure the author meant to say Mission.