Archive for the 'Mopar Muscle Cars' Category

Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Charger Daytona

Only one word comes to mind when I think of these cars. WOW!
I mean really with that long low look they just screamed speed. Originally over 200 mph on the Daytona and over 150 with the later Superbird off the showroom floor could anyone argue that these were true muscle cars?  They were designed for low air drag and the designed worked. On the NASCAR track they were winners.

I only saw a couple of these, built for speed, cars on the street in my life. One just in passing the other belonged to the son of a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer where I went to college. He had the yellow Superbird and everybody stared at that beast as he cruised through the small town. Some of the spectators just shook their heads as he drove by, the rest of them couldn’t keep their chins off the ground. The extended front end and the high tail spoiler made it quite noticeable. Now he did have the HEMI in that baby and even though I never saw it, I heard he often opened it up on the highway outside of town. I was then and still am now sorry I missed it.

The life of these special muscle cars was short lived. Insurance, pollution emissions then later fuel shortages and (haha) higher gasoline prices shut these performers down, as they did all the great muscle cars.

Plymouth Duster

The Plymouth Duster was a revamp of the Valiant, bigger than a Barracuda but smaller than the Road Runner and GTX a nice idea. Of course they weren’t the first with this concept when you think about the Chevy Nova. 1970 was the official year for the introduction of the Duster with a hot 340 c.i. engine.  You could if you wanted to but for the life of me I don’t know why you would want to, get a slant six or the 318 c.i. engine.
A sporty approach with the slanted fast back style along with a very important factor, it was cheap, made the Duster a very popular model. I liked the design of the 70’s Duster and the decals they used.

The basic design of the Duster did not change much through its life however Plymouth did offer different models. One was the Twister, a model made for looks than for performance, a basic 318 c.i. was the most engine you could buy but the scoops, seats and the paint and trim were unique to the car. You can’t forget the tornado decal for the something special.  If performance was what you were looking for the Duster 340 was the order you wanted to place. The HiPo 340 along with a beefed up suspension and braking made this a mighty car great competition for the other muscle cars cruising the streets.

I had several friends that owned Plymouth Dusters in the good old days. Most of these cars were modified versions of the regular Plymouth Duster. The Twister and the Duster 340 were not that popular back then, the guys just wanted a fast, cool looking car that was a bit of a sleeper on the street. They were very sharp cars, with the wide tires on the back and smaller one up front and the natural looking rake. If I wasn’t so drawn to the Rod Runner I might have gone for the Duster myself.

Then the Duster went the way of all the Great Muscle cars of the time with lower powerful engines and the 5 mile per hour crash bumpers. Plymouth made more minor design changes both inside and out in the next few years. With the engine changed to a 360 c.i. but a lower power level Plymouth decided to go back to an economy car both in cost and operating economy. The real Duster and all its versions lasted through 1976 when it was molded into other named cars and disappeared into history.