1974 Plymouth Duster

Plymouth announced a new semi-fastback roof design on its Valiant platform in 1970 and called it the Duster. This sporty new vehicle could be purchased with either small-block of 6-cylinder power during its seven seasons of production. Only the first model year Dusters wore Valiant badges in reference to the Valiant platform on which it was based, and both shared the same front end sheet metal, but had a different design from the cowl rearward. During its production lifespan, lasting through 1976, numerous option packages and trim levels were offered, including the Duster 340 and Duster 360, Duster Twister, Gold Duster and Silver Duster, Space Duster, and the Feather Duster.

The 1974 Plymouth Duster came standard with an inline-6 cylinder engine with a 198 cubic-inch displacement, overhead valves, a one-barrel carburetor, four main bearings, and 95 (SAE) horsepower at 4,400 RPM. It had an 8.4:1 compression ratio, a bore of 3.40-inches, and a stroke of 3.65-inches. The previous 340 CID V8 was replaced with a 360 CID version of the Chrysler LA-series V8. It had a cast-iron block, overhead valves, hydraulic valve lifters, a two-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, and delivered 170 (SAE) horsepower. Other engines in the Plymouth arsenal included a 225 CID inline-6 with 105 (SAE) horsepower and a 318 CID two-barrel V8 with 150 (SAE) hp. The majority of Dusters were equipped with six-cylinder and 318 V8 engines.

Changes for the 1974 Duster were minimal, now able to be equipped with optional bumper guards. There were minor changes to the decals and stripes used on each of the cosmetic packages (i.e. the Twister, Space Duster, and Gold Duster). The Gold Duster had been introduced mid-year 1970 and came with gold stripes on the sides and rear, gold badging, carpeting, all-vinyl seats, Deluxe wheel covers and whitewall 6.95x14 tires, a canopy vinyl roof, and the deluxe insulation package. This option was offered through 1975. For 1974, it added $187.25 to the base price.

The Duster and Gold package could be combined for $234.60 and included all items found on the 'Gold Duster' plus wheel lip moldings, dual racing mirrors, front sway bar, Rally road wheels and wheel trim rims.

The new Duster 360 came with the 360 CID four-barrel V8 with 245hp, the same stripes as the previous '340', but devoid of the rear fender engine call-out decals.

Within the Valiant Group, which included the base Valiant, Valian Brougham, the Duster, and Scamp, the Duster was the most popular. It had a base price of $2830 which was less than the base Valiant priced at $2,940. A total of 277,409 examples of the Duster were built compared to 127,430 of the Valiant (the 2nd most popular within the Valiant family). The Duster 360 was considered a separate model, priced at $3,290, and a total of 3,969 examples were built. Combined with the Duster, the total was 281,378 units which accounted for 38% of Plymouth's total 1974 production.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2021