Clean and tidy survivors from the first half of the 1970s are really starting to come into their own in the classics market. Baby-boomers, in particular, are beginning to see these cars as a relatively affordable way to recapture their lost, or possibly misspent, youth. That is one of the factors that has seen cars like this 1974 Plymouth Duster begin to grow in both popularity and value in the past few years. I have to say thank you to Barn Finder Pat L for referring a Duster to us that appears to be in better than average condition. Located in El Paso, Texas, you can find the Plymouth listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set an asking price of $17,500 for this great vehicle.
The Rallye Red Duster certainly stands out. The paint is in great condition, while the same would appear to be true of the vinyl top. The owner states that a lot of time and effort has gone into detailing the vehicle so that it presents at its best. This process has included attacking virtually every painted surface, including the engine bay and door jambs, with rubbing compound and polish. The result of this effort is paint that really shines. When the paint has a shine like this, it makes it very easy to spot flaws or dings, but here the news is pretty good. The panels look straight and true, with no signs of any appreciable dings or ripples. The owner provides a number of photos of the Duster’s underside, and it is as clean and solid as you are ever likely to find. There is also a photo of the inside of the trunk, and the trunk pan looks to be solid and rust-free. The original Rally wheels have been refurbished, and the finishing touch for these was the fitment of new trim rings. The trim and chrome present well, and there are no signs of any problems with the glass.
If the Duster’s exterior looked good, then the interior would probably rate as even better. There is a radio/cassette player fitted to the dash, but otherwise, it is essentially unmodified. Having said that, the Plymouth has recently been treated to new covers on the seats and a new dash pad, and this helps to really make the interior shine. The rest of the trim looks like it is in good condition, and the only thing that I can be critical of is the fit of the rubber mat on the front floor. This detracts from the overall appearance of the interior and is something that I would be inclined to address in some way.
The Duster might not have a V8 under the hood, but the reality is that there really isn’t a lot wrong with the mighty 225ci slant-six engine. This one is backed by a 3-speed manual transmission, and in a car that weighs a mere 3,047lbs, the performance could be considered to be quite acceptable. The Duster is said to be in great mechanical health, and the Holley carburetor has just received a rebuild. Add in fresh oil, new filters, new plugs, and new tires, and this classic is ready to see some serious long-distance cruising.
For someone who is searching for a clean and practical classic from the 1970s, this ’74 Duster is a vehicle that would seem to be well worth a look. It appears to be a rust-free survivor that is ready to be driven and enjoyed immediately. I will admit that the asking price is right at the very top end of what you would expect to pay for a Duster equipped with a slant-six, so it would take a personal inspection to confirm whether the condition justifies the asking price. Still, a personal inspection isn’t going to cost potential buyers anything but their time, and you never know, that time might be an investment that is well worthwhile.
Hmmm, 17.5 for this car, or 18 for the ’39 Packard.
I’m leaning more towards the ’39 Packard for $18.5K. That seems to be a deal for the Packard. The ’74 Duster seems to be on the high end with no a/c although this could be a daily driver in this condition.
My sister had one of these with an automatic. It stalled when she turned left.
I had one that you couldn’t keep running in the rain. Early electronic ignition. Dumped it after 32 days.
Can i assume this happened when parked outside overnite in rain?
Are you sure carb was getting hot air when cold? If so,
maybe a switch to an older pts & condenser distributor was the solution? Certainly converting an old one to pertronix(came out in ’72) which uses magnets would be impervious to dirt & water to work.
Nice well kept car. Way too much money.
Better start beefing up you arms. Manual steering!
$12,500 seems to be high retail.
I’m 40+ years in the Mopar hobby, and have not heard of Beach Cruiser.
The fold down rear seat became optional in `73 and was standard on Space Dusters in `76.
Looks like some red over spray on the frame and under body, possibly from an older repair.
I’d say $10K-12K is more realistic for a stick shift, /6 Duster in that condition.
198 /6 was standard, 225 /6 optional.
That 3 speed floor manual was optional too.
Column mounted 3 speed was standard with the automatic optional.
The optional canopy vinyl roof then were the opposite that landau style pictured.
The factory vinyl covered the front passenger compartment only.
So my guess is that that was dealer added, and “Beach Cruiser” was an in-house marketing pitch.
Twister package had different stripes.
Rallye Red is that color.
Completely agree with you David Zornig! At $10-$12k, this would be a very fun car (and I’d be sorely tempted, if not for the coronavirus preventing me from driving 1500 miles to get it). It’s no muscle car, but how often do you come across a nice, low mileage (IF the mileage is real), 3 speed on the floor Duster? Perfect for Cars & Coffee and just cruising around for fun. But at $17.5K, there are more interesting things to be had. Maybe the seller hasn’t woken up to recessionary pricing yet (or is looking for the “right buyer”, = someone with more money than common sense).
Yeah, “instrument cluster serviced” seems like a red flag too.
It’s nice, but overpriced even before the economy tanked. It’s too new, pre-73 cars with the small bumpers had much cleaner lines and a bigger following.
Steve R
Small bumpers rule!
3 exceptions – the challenger, barracuda & javelin for ’74 retained their earlier slender bumpers with just black rubber “bump stops” added because they were to be & were discontinued after ’74 – amc paid fines for this & probably so did chrysler.
Got torpedoed in one of these. Spent the next 6 months in the hospital. As nice as it looks. No side protection at all
Duster Decals on both rear quarter panels not factory equipment for this year. Radio in dash is not factory piece. Should have been automatic transmission!!!!!
No car should have ‘been automatic transmission’… I am NO fan of trash 6, but I think this would be a fun ride with the manual.
Clean car but….
1.Way down on hp 74 model
2. Not even a 318.
Its a $10,000 car at best imop.
Like most I am not understanding the price tag. I have some history with this era of mo-pars and they bring back fond memories. We called our friends “The Dustpan” and it served us well ,on many road trips. Like this car allot, but not the price .
“OK BOOMER” is such a considered, intelligent, substantive comment that shows someone put a lot of thought into crafting a courteous and meaningful reply.
No, actually, it’s just lazy, silly, disrespectful, and counter-productive.
We don’t say pointless things like ‘don’t melt snowflake’, or ‘go to your room’, or your mother is a ‘boomer’. Or point out that most Generation Z-ers or Millennials could never imagine living without their i-technologies which are some of the most polluting items ever created.
Arbitrarily and prejudicially discriminating and dividing ourselves along generational lines only serves to distract us from the real enemy, and from working together for the common good to find solutions to the many problems facing the world.
Why not try to find common grounds to work together? Or at least live and let live? Even if it’s something as light-hearted as cars, and acknowledging that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, different things float every person’s boat, and let everyone enjoy whatever automotive pleasures they like?
Wow. Please accept my most sincere apologies.
thanks Barn Finds for showing us what is still out there
in someones barn, garage, field, or storage. images that
evoke memories of a quieter more innocent time. when
words like trust, honor, respect, responsibility meant
something. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and the cars and trucks
we see here were what I grew up around. I was fortunate
enough have owned some of the muscle cars and speciality
cars( from VW’s to luxury boats). when someone in my neighborhood
was building or working on a project machine or even their own
family ride, we all got together and helped out. high performance
cars would go to Detroit dragway to see what they would do. it
was truly amazing. Thanks again.
At 8-10k, a great starting point to drop in a hot 340/4-speed powertrain. At 17k, too much for too little.
These were cheap dependable transportation. I was a parts manager in Chrysler Plymouth and Dodge dealerships 1969-2013. The slant six was bullet proof. The only weak link was the terrible Holley one barrel carb that was used on them. The problems mostly went away when they offered the Super Six with a carter two barrel carb.
.
Well lets go back in time around 1978 Chrysler had HOLLEY CARBURETOR as a supplier of the one barrel carburetor for the 225 six cylinder engine. For a period of time the Holley people had a Burr on the tool that machined the accelerator pump bore this caused the accelerator pump plunger to fail . A lot of vehicle were built with this condition.. Once it was discovered it was a lot of HARD FOLLOW UP by the Production Control people to get good carburetors to all the car assembly plants and truck plants as well .Note to:SKORZENY what do you mean trash six? This was well engineered engine and ran like clock work with little maintenance. I had one in a 1967 Plymouth barracuda coupe that I purchased used with 29500 miles and drove it until it turned 70,000 miles and sold it.
George is right…the Chrysler 225 “slant six” was one of the most dependable engines ever built!
I remember when I was growing up in Detroit, my uncle had a 70 or 71 Blue Dart Swinger that he couldn’t kill.had over 200,000 miles on it when he sold it and it was still running good and not burning oil.
This car looks like a amateur restoration – you know one of those cars you see at a cruise night that looks really nice and the closer you get to it you see all sorts of wrong things on it . Like Dave Z said , theres quite a few oddities about this car . I’ve owned Dusters for over 40 years as well , my guess would be that this was a base model and has been “upgraded” over the years , but who knows ,a lot can happen to a car in 46 years ! .
No politics here. It’s one of the rules of commenting.
I was responding to Rex Kahrs political comment but my bad…I missed the rule on no politics.
The vehicles we are on here are a reflection of the time it was designed and built. Politics are embedded into them.
My mother collected Girl Scout stuff, and there is a big difference in how the program presented itself during the Kennedy era versus the Eisenhower era.
That said, this car is a part of Nixon-era politics, as America moved away from the Sixties and early Seventies and into the era when the Feds began exerting a heavy hand into consumer goods and services.
Boomer was portrayed by Grace Park on the Battlestar Galactica reboot in 2003. She might say “Ok what?”
The 1973 Plymouth Barracuda and 1973 Dodge Challenger bumpers front and rear were up dated to the new for 1973 Bumper standard of 5.0 MPH frontal damage and 2.5 MPH rear standard. I can not speak about Javelin standards. The addition of the big rubber biscuits and the supporting chrome metal supports allowed Chrysler to pass the standard at the time. George m. Louis Group Production Control 1972 to 1980 calendar years.
I believe this website is all about the vintage cars, which goes along with memories and trying to recapture ones youth.
I am not a boomer, but I still miss my younger days. I think that people who don’t understand that concept need to consider finding a different site.
The “guys” should have edited out the whole paragraph to be fair. Readers don’t visit this site for political rants about the president, congress or the media. No disrespect intended Rex, please save that type of commentary for a political blog site. Lets stick with cars here !
Comment to AL-Bundy: AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got a ’76 Valiant sedan with a 318, 88k & change on the odometer, solid…popped in a battery and changed the title, got tags. Out $250 from my pocket. It is jokingly called “Project Ultra Beige,” and it’s perfect for hauling my blue heeler around in. Best part? Just going to throw a bunch of my left over Mopar parts stash at it and have fun with it.
$17k? Mighty proud of that