The Duster was the fastback version of Plymouth’s Valiant compact, introduced in 1970 to attract more youthful buyers to the nameplate. The car would prove to be a big hit, giving competitors like the Chevy Nova a run for their money. During its run, the company would offer several special trim packages, including the Gold Duster. This one from 1973 is sitting on a dealer’s showroom floor looking as nice as it probably did when it was resting in one nearly 50 years ago. Located in Rittman, Ohio, this beauty is available here on craigslist for $23,000. Thanks, T.J., for this nice Mopar find.
From 1970-75, the Gold Duster package was available on an undetermined number of the 248,000 Dusters that were built that first year. The package came with gold badging, gold stripes on the sides and rear, wall-to-wall carpeting, pleated or all-vinyl seats, whitewall tires, wheel covers, a deluxe insulation package, and a canopy vinyl roof. In the case of the seller’s car, it’s the snakeskin edition.
The seller’s Gold Duster looks as though it just emerged from a time capsule. We’re not provided much in the way of history on this car, so it would be nice to know how it has managed to stay so nice rather than being driven until it was worn out. The seller does say there is no rust or has there ever been any and the purplish paint is in excellent condition. It would have been cool if the seller had included a photo of the cowl tag so we could figure out exactly what shade of paint the car is wearing.
Under the hood resides the Duster’s original 318 cubic inch V8, which was the only 8-cylinder offered unless you opted for the 340, a performance model. A TorqueFlite automatic transmission is along for the ride here with factory air conditioning. The interior is original as is the vinyl roof which looks to have survived nicely. It might be hard to find a Duster any better than this one but it’s priced in the same territory as the beefier Duster 340.
Looks nice,but if I were going to spend money on one,
I’d get one with the small bumpers,& less smog equipment.
Cool color combo! Never seen that before.
Being the freak I am, I would prefer the slant 6.
This is the nicest package of the model I’ve ever seen. It has beautiful colors and finish and the rest is done to a perfect driver standards. The owner found the perfect price for it to drive you crazy.
23K for a car with 100K miles? Beautiful car but that is an awful high asking price. Does anyone else here get tired of seeing this unabashed greed that has taken over, especially when it comes to the cars we love?
The car is 49 years old. What do you expect the mileage to be? Good luck finding one that looks this clean.
Actually, many readers tire of the seeming endless negative comments about practically every vehicle listed.
…and none of those that comment even own a collectible car, let alone a nice one. Armchair appraisers that always have an excuse as to why they won’t be buying it. Newsflash…no one cares!
atleast im not the only one
You can’t be serious. It’s not 1975 any more. This is the silliest thing I have read in a long time.
Nice Dustpan. Wonder if it’s got the “torsion barbers for the superspension”?
I checked my chip books from 72-74 and couldn’t find anything close. If this was a color change, they did a heluva job. More likely special order.
definitely a repaint ,Its not a 1973 color ,and I dont think any Mopar came in this color except the Prowler. Gold Dusters were usually a sedate colors , white , bronze , tan or cream , and unless you specially ordered it deleted , they all had the snakeskin top , it was part of the Gold Duster package.
Gold ✨️
Add $15K or so for the 340.
Dang, this could have been the car I bought when I was 19. Dark brown, but same side stripe, same interior color, same front bench.
Only mine had that the ever popular but not so quick Slant 6. Ran great. Won exactly zero races.
23k, eh? Pretty sure I paid 600 and painted it (badly, in a garage with no ventilation) and sold it for 800.
Ah, the good ol’ days when a 19 yr old broke college kid could afford a half decent car.
Mopars do not have cowl tags, they have fender tags.
This is the first Duster I’ve seen come across BF where my first thought was not to rip out the 318/904 and swap in a juicy 340 or a Magnum crate motor. I can look past the 100k miles and non-factory paint color.
You’d have to go to Carlyle to see another Gold Duster this nice. Somebody will buy this and love it.
I have a ’71 I ordered thru a dealer who was a customer of the bank where I worked. After 2 mo’s waiting, it never came thru, they sold it to somebody else. I reordered it thru another dealer and sure enough, iIreceived it 2 months later. (Somewhere there s an exact twin of my car)
I ordered it to pull my ski boat with the 318, a 3 speed stick (should have ordered the 4 sp), A/C, mag wheels, HD suspension , bench seat with fold down center arm rest, ( had to seat 3 couples for skiing at the Sacramento Delta). Still have it . Motor overhauled once. Still runs great.
Al Bundy would drive it
100K You can bet this is not ORIGINAL but if it is show me the paper work.
Repaint…pretty obvious
Beautiful Duster! Obviously restored and nicely done. I’ve heard of the snakeskin top but have never seen one before, nice touch. Fair asking price for the condition it’s in IMO. And responding to M.B., Barn Finds is like a 24/7 car show but with interesting stories and informative comments, so why are you knocking us? Go elsewhere, please.