The 1970 Plymouth Duster is a great looking classic car which was produced from only 1970 through 1976. The all new model was derived from the Plymouth Valiant but was offered in two models. One was the standard Duster and the other the performance Duster 340 which could do 0-60 in six seconds.
The Plymouth Duster Design
Chrysler Corporation invested a lot of money into the Duster design. Milt Antonick and Neil Walling were credited with the 1970 Duster design. The front of the new Plymouth Duster was essentially taken from the Valiant. Add to that the Coke bottle styling with a semi fastback rear end. Basically everything from the cowl to the very rear end of the car was entirely new. A sleek muscle car design. The f Plymouth Duster was a big hit in late 1969 when it debuted for the 1970 model year,
Performance Cars of the 1960’s to Early 1970’s
The last half of the 1960’s into 1970 was the era of ever increasing horsepower. That’s what many new car buyers were looking for. It was also a time when buyers could obtain these performance vehicles at reasonable prices. As an example, when the Plymouth Duster 340 came out in 1970 the new car price was about $2,550. The Road Runner was priced at about $2,900 and Ford’s Mustang at about $3,250.
When Plymouth introduced the Duster, in particular the Duster 340, it was the same time automakers were beginning to feel the effects of the new federal emission controls along with extremely high insurance rates to cover muscle cars.
The first act that negatively effected American muscle cars came with the Clean Air Act of 1970. The thinking was who doesn’t really want to breathe clean air, so it seemed to many a positive move by the government. Whether people agreed with the federal government stepping in with heavy regulations. These new restrictions on vehicle emissions began to negatively affect American muscle cars.
In addition to the new emission standards, insurance companies now stepped in. They lobbied congress heavily and this resulted in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) adopting new regulations requiring all vehicles from the 1973 model year forward to have front and rear bumpers capable of withstanding a 5 mph collision without damaging any key components in the vehicle. The new regulation itself was considered to be a good move, but what it did to automobile design some would say was quite negative. Some might even say it made cars ugly.
1970 Plymouth Duster Specifications
The 1970 Duster was available in two models. The standard Duster and the muscle car Duster 340. Several engines were available to choose from. The standard Duster offered a 198 cubic inch and a 225 cubic inch versions of Chrysler’s Slant Six and the muscle car version the 318 cubic inch and 340 cubic inch V8’s.
Transmissions available were a three speed manual and a three speed TorqueFlite automatic.
Brakes are four wheel hydraulic drums.
Dimensions include a 108.0 inch wheelbase, 188.4 inch outside length, 71.6 inch width, 52.6 inch height. Curb weight 2,900 lbs.
Base new car price for the 1970 Plymouth Duster was about $2,200.
Total 1970 Plymouth Duster production came in at 217,190 vehicles. Total production of the Duster 340 was 24,800 vehicles. The 1971 second year production numbers were a bit lower with 186,500 total Duster’s built and 12,800 of them having the 340 V-8 engine. Total Plymouth Duster’s produced during the models total production run came in at 1.3 million. This made the Duster a success for the Chrysler Corporation.
Related articles include..
Reference material includes..The Complete Book of Dodge and Plymouth Muscle by Mike Mueller…Dodge and Plymouth Muscle Car 1964-2000 by Peter Sessler…musclecarclub.com.
Current auction sales for the performance 1970 Plymouth Duster 340 has been in a range from about $29,000 to $60,000 for good to excellent condition examples. Standard 70 Duster models would be in a range from about $18,000 to $25,000 depending on condition and degree of restoration if any.
