Dusty Desert Find: 1972 Plymouth Duster

The listing for this 1972 Plymouth Duster opens with, “Up for bid is this special 1972 Plymouth Duster. It’s kind of a time warp…” On first blush, I don’t see the time warp, and can’t really determine what’s “special” about it. It looks pretty much like any one of the other 212K Dusters assembled in ’72. Desert preserved, perhaps, but I don’t want to be judgmental, so let’s look it over and see if we can find that special warp. Saint Johns, Arizona, is this Plymouth’s home base, and it’s listed here on eBay for a current bid of $3,038 with the reserve not yet met.

Plymouth experienced fantastic success with its Duster compact in its eight-year (’70-’76) model run. It was a no-brainer way to add some pizazz to the stodgy but venerable Valiant – the new roof line and rear end styling made all the difference! So much so that Dodge did a “me-too” and snagged the design for their Valiant-similar Dart and named their new creation the “Demon”. The Duster 340 was the hot, inexpensive ticket in the early seventies. It ran like a scalded dog and upset the muscle car apple cart time and time again. Of course, most Dusters weren’t that variety; they were more staid compacts such as our subject. The seller states that this car has been sitting for fifteen years, and it’s probably wearing its original paint. Maybe so, but it hardly matters, as the finish has been reduced to chalk, likely as a result of all its years in the blast-furnace Arizona climate. Yeah, the body looks straight, and most of the visible rust is surface in nature, but the bumpers have lost their chrome finish, and some of the molding is missing. It does have a fair-looking set of Cragar wheels, however. The underside shows scale and surface rust, but nothing that would affect this car’s integrity.

The interior is mostly blown up. The dash pad is probably the most trashed I’ve ever witnessed. The instrument panel is delaminated, the seating upholstery is torn in places, and the door panels are falling apart. The seller adds, “The interior has some of the ducting removed, and there is no radio in the dash, but after opening the trunk (with the proper keys), I found the radio (appears to be original) and at least some of the a/c ducting. The interior is very weathered from the Arizona sun here. dash pad cracked badly. Headliner is surprisingly decent considering. Everything is pretty dirty due to it sitting.” This is an A/C-equipped car, and it appears that all of the components are still in place, but operational capability is another matter.

No slant-six here; this Duster is powered by a 150 net HP, 318 CI V8 engine mated to a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. This one runs; the seller got it started by connecting up a gallon jug of gasoline, and stated, “I took it for a very brief drive on the highway I live on just to check the trans and brakes.” So yes, it runs and drives, but…

Well, there you have it, it’s a 54-year-old (not 44 as stated in the listing) compact Plymouth that’s been sitting out in the desert southwest for a long time. Special? Not that I can see. A time capsule? Not by my definition. Potential? Sure, the lack of rust, such a common malady for these A-body Mopars, puts it in a fixable category, and the V8 engine is a good start, too. There are eight bids among five bidders, so there is interest. I do wonder about that reserve, however. The seller suggests, “This is a nice, fairly easy project for someone who loves Mopars and/or wants to get into the car hobby without spending an arm and a leg.” Would you agree?