1972 duster to "feather trim" 1976 model
You'll have to swap the entire front clip and include the lighter hood hinge springs because of the lighter hood (12-15 lbs lighter). The standard hood springs are too stiff and will try to bend the hood when trying to close it. You'll also have to modify the front frame to mount the "shock absorber" style bumper brackets. The original early rear bumpers are contoured similarly to the '76, but are tucked closer into the body. If you go with the '76 bumpers - more mounting modifications. You'll also have to cut out the taillight panel and replace it with a later version. The trunk is a simple bolt-on swap, but you'll need to reduce the tension on the springs because of the lighter weight (around 5-7lbs lighter).
* The hood and trunk are the only unique sheetmetal parts with the underside structures being aluminum.
* The bumpers save a lot of weight over standard "shock absorber" style bumpers because the reinforcement on the inside is aluminum instead of steel. But the mounting configuration is different than the earlier versions with standard bumpers. The standard front bumpers & brackets (1973 & 1974 rear) probably weigh the same or less than the Feather" versions.
Parts can be hard to find and may cost more if you don't find a whole car in decent shape to get them from. But if you don't have a magnet handy, an easy way to spot a Feather Duster hood is that the top steel sheetmetal and aluminum underside is crimped together around the perimeter as oppose to spot welded. You can see the little crimps about3/4" long & 3/16" wide on this Dart Lite hood.
Do a search on Plymouth Feather Duster. Most references have correct info.
You can probably get more details from the Slant 6 section of the forum.
Slant 6 Engines
I converted a '74 Duster into a 1975 Dart Sport using Dart Lite hood & trunk. But the front bumper remained the standard bracket version ('73-'74) while the rear bumper remained a steel "shock absorber" bracket version ('74-'76) with steel reinforcement for weight/traction.
You'll have to swap the entire front clip and include the lighter hood hinge springs because of the lighter hood (12-15 lbs lighter). The standard hood springs are too stiff and will try to bend the hood when trying to close it. You'll also have to modify the front frame to mount the "shock absorber" style bumper brackets. The original early rear bumpers are contoured similarly to the '76, but are tucked closer into the body. If you go with the '76 bumpers - more mounting modifications. You'll also have to cut out the taillight panel and replace it with a later version. The trunk is a simple bolt-on swap, but you'll need to reduce the tension on the springs because of the lighter weight (around 5-7lbs lighter).
* The hood and trunk are the only unique sheetmetal parts with the underside structures being aluminum.
* The bumpers save a lot of weight over standard "shock absorber" style bumpers because the reinforcement on the inside is aluminum instead of steel. But the mounting configuration is different than the earlier versions with standard bumpers. The standard front bumpers & brackets (1973 & 1974 rear) probably weigh the same or less than the Feather" versions.
Parts can be hard to find and may cost more if you don't find a whole car in decent shape to get them from. But if you don't have a magnet handy, an easy way to spot a Feather Duster hood is that the top steel sheetmetal and aluminum underside is crimped together around the perimeter as oppose to spot welded. You can see the little crimps about3/4" long & 3/16" wide on this Dart Lite hood.
Do a search on Plymouth Feather Duster. Most references have correct info.
You can probably get more details from the Slant 6 section of the forum.
Slant 6 Engines
I converted a '74 Duster into a 1975 Dart Sport using Dart Lite hood & trunk. But the front bumper remained the standard bracket version ('73-'74) while the rear bumper remained a steel "shock absorber" bracket version ('74-'76) with steel reinforcement for weight/traction.
