Plymouth breathed new life into the functional but boring Valiant line in 1970 by rolling out the Duster fastback. The front clip was all Valiant, but from the windshield back it was a new car. Sales jumped because it appealed to younger buyers, especially in Duster 340 trim. The Duster (and Valiant) would last seven more years, being replaced in 1977 by the Volare (they ran in unison int 1976). This ’73 edition has the popular Gold Duster option, which helped give the car a little more pizzazz in the looks department. Most everything on this Duster is said to be original right down to the paint. Located in Detroit, Michigan, it’s available here on craigslist for $10,000. Thanks, Pat L., for the heads up on this one!
By the time 1973 rolled around, the Duster was riding high. Then in its fourth model year, the car would have its second-best sales calendar, only bested by 1974 as people continued to flock to more efficient automobiles after the OPEC Oil Embargo wake-up call. Chrysler’s marketing guys were always coming up with ways to create special editions of their existing cars. The Gold Duster was one of those, an option package that came with unique badging, gold stripes on the sides and rear, wall-to-wall carpeting, pleated all-vinyl seats, whitewall tires, full wheel covers, a deluxe insulation package, and – most notable – a canopy vinyl roof. The snakeskin version of the latter turned up a lot.
This ’73 Gold Duster looks to be an original car from what we can tell, right down to its miserly 225 Slant-Six engine. The body looks good, but the seller provides few photos at minimal angles, so all we can see are a few scratches and no rust. The seller doesn’t say that the car actually runs, but at the price point offered, it should. Apparently, he bought it in Georgia more than 10 years ago and drove it home to Michigan, where it has been kept covered in a garage. We don’t know how often it was used, but we’re told it has seldom seen a rainy day. The odometer reading is said to be 88,000 which means it has made plenty of outings.
Besides air conditioning, this car has a fold-down back seat that gives more storage space. That was one of the characteristics of the Space Duster, another special edition. Maybe this car is a Gold Space Duster, if there was such a thing, or the back seat thing was added as another option. Without the hoopla that would come with being a Duster 340, a regular Duster in Good- to-Excellent condition (our guess on this one) would be worth about $11,000, according to Hagerty, so the seller seems to be in the right neighborhood. But if you wanted to turn this car into a V8 Duster, the seller has a spare drivetrain that he would pass along for extra dollars.
First thought was, is this the Dodge in Al Bundy’s garage?
Great car ,but a 6 cylinder, had one could not get out of its own way , great mileage & a cruiser
For 10 grand I hope that they are throughing in that little red car parked to the left.
Had on just like it. Replaced a 71 Scamp. While the Scamp was reliable, the Duster was not. Electronic ignition was new then and mine required a lengthy warm up time every time it rained. Kept it for 32 days and dumped it.
I really like these cars. Mostly the pre-1973 versions but still… My family had several of them in service at a time through the mid-1980s and they were simple to work on, economical, and reliable. But the asking prices for these cars today continues to astonish me. Millions were made and they were nothing spectacular. I bought lots of them back in the early 80s for $100-$300 and parted them out and scrapped the hulks. Now they’re $10k cars? Unbelievable.
This is only an asking price for a car that is far from removed from the $100-300 cars you were parting out nearly 40 years ago. I doubt they will get their asking price, these aren’t exactly desirable. However, if it’s as clean as they suggest, it will appeal to someone that wants a nice old car, that doesn’t need work and will draw attention at local car shows, not many cars for significantly less money.
Steve R