Duster VS Dart

-
Thanks for the wealth of info 72bluNblu,you did a great job on your Demon tribute. The thing I will never understand is why in the hell would Chrysler look at the 73 Designs for the Duster,Dart,Demon/DartSport and say,"Yep,that's an improvement,lets go with that". The 72 and prior designs were sooooo much better.
 
Al Bundy said:
Thanks for the wealth of info 72bluNblu,you did a great job on your Demon tribute. The thing I will never understand is why in the hell would Chrysler look at the 73 Designs for the Duster,Dart,Demon/DartSport and say,"Yep,that's an improvement,lets go with that". The 72 and prior designs were sooooo much better.
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't really know what they were thinking. The 73/74 Duster's aren't too bad, but the grille changes on the 75/76 Dusters were even worse IMO. And I'm not a fan at all of the "beak" on the Darts and Dart Sports 73+. I'm also not a fan of the plastic "stick on" looking sidemarkers '72+ either, which is why my '74 is getting '68 sidemarkers.

I love Demon's, but here's the problem.

1971 Demon
Fastback Coupe: 69,861
340 Fastback Coupe: 10,098
Total production for 1971 Demons: 79,959

1972 Demon
Fastback Coupe: 39,880
U.S 340 Fastback Coupe: 8,750
Total 1972 Demons: 48,630

So, total Demon production came to 128,589 cars. That's it. And that's ALL of them, /6 cars up to 340's.

So then, look at 1974 Duster's-

Fastback Coupe: 277,409
360 Fastback Coupe: 3,969
Total 1974 Dusters: 281,378

Aaaaaaand now you see the problem. There are literally twice as many 1974 Duster's as there are Demons. All of them, ever, 1971 and 1972. And they made 264,974 1973 Duster's, so now if you just look at '73 and '74 Dusters you're looking at 4.25x as many 73/74 Dusters as Demon's. And that doesn't even include Dart Sports, or the 75 or 76 cars. 1974 was the highest year of production for the Duster.

Which is why I turned my '74 Duster into a '71 Demon tribute. It was cheaper to do that than find a real '71 Demon, and considering I have a rust free car it was probably easier than fixing a '71 Demon too, as all of the Demon's that were anywhere near my price range were in MUCH worse shape than my '74. It's pretty amazing how different the car looks with the Demon front end too, a couple inches of bodywork really changes the lines of the car.
 
I have to agree with you about the "beak" era design,I can't stand that front end and hood. I don't understand why the sidemarkers changed in 72 either,they were nice when they were flush with the body,was there a reason for the change?
 
Al Bundy said:
I have to agree with you about the "beak" era design,I can't stand that front end and hood. I don't understand why the sidemarkers changed in 72 either,they were nice when they were flush with the body,was there a reason for the change?
Click to expand...

It may have been a budget move because many different models began using the same style and they were all plastic.

Don't know if it was a factor, but the newer style may be more visible than the flush mounted ones - safety reasons.
 
Years back I put a Demon front end on a Duster after a little mishap. Just bolted on. As for the pop out rear quarter windows, I love them . Just open front vents and rear windows and you have wonderful fresh air ventilation on the road.
Yote
 
Theres a guy down the street from me who must be 80+ years old. He drives a pristine 71 Duster. It still has the hub caps on the wheels and not a dent on it... I would buy it in a heart beat if I could....
Funny thing is I bet everyone bedside me and him think its just a old POS...
 
not sure of production numbers, but demons are by far harder to find than dusters. until you get into an orig. 340 car, or a really nice BB conversion, or hopped up SB, just pretty affordable cars in general. a car that makes our A body hobby affordable and enjoyable!!?

personally, the only thing that I hate about the 73 up dusters, darts is that plastic interior that crumbles after 50 years of daylight!!! the beak hood is fine with me!
 
I'll tell you the biggest difference.
HEADROOM!
Al Bundy would have been uncomfortable in a Dart.
I know from experience if you are six foot or more it matters.
The curved door glass and "postage stamp" roof were a breakthrough.
Look that up.
(But rain will come in more in a Duster/Dart Sport because of the roof.)
What's wrong with the beak?
Beaks rule.
Embrace the beak. It's Sexy.
And that later Dart hood is the same one that's on a second gen Barracuda.
So there.
[ame]https://youtu.be/WkzTcUVTP0Q[/ame]
 

Attachments

  • Rosemarie_DeWitt.jpg
    58.7 KB · Views: 268
I maintain that "23" bodies structural dimensions (read uni-body) are the same Dodge and Plymouth, as are "29" bodies and "21" bodies.

If you are comparing a Plymouth "29" body to a Dodge "23", body, that is apples to different apples.
 
Al Bundy said:
I have to agree with you about the "beak" era design,I can't stand that front end and hood. I don't understand why the sidemarkers changed in 72 either,they were nice when they were flush with the body,was there a reason for the change?
Click to expand...

I agree 100% mopar ruined the a-body after '71 with those "beak-noses" and universal side-markers:violent1::violent1::violent1:
 
I like them both but own a 71 Dart. It takes more work to get big tires under the back of the Dart but IMO the Darts look amazing with some big rubber tucked under them. As far as head room is concerned, I'm 6'2 and fit in my Dart just fine. Stock bench seat.
 
72bluNblu said:
Yeah I don't really know what they were thinking. The 73/74 Duster's aren't too bad, but the grille changes on the 75/76 Dusters were even worse IMO. And I'm not a fan at all of the "beak" on the Darts and Dart Sports 73+. I'm also not a fan of the plastic "stick on" looking sidemarkers '72+ either, which is why my '74 is getting '68 sidemarkers.

I love Demon's, but here's the problem.

1971 Demon
Fastback Coupe: 69,861
340 Fastback Coupe: 10,098
Total production for 1971 Demons: 79,959

1972 Demon
Fastback Coupe: 39,880
U.S 340 Fastback Coupe: 8,750
Total 1972 Demons: 48,630

So, total Demon production came to 128,589 cars. That's it. And that's ALL of them, /6 cars up to 340's.

So then, look at 1974 Duster's-

Fastback Coupe: 277,409
360 Fastback Coupe: 3,969
Total 1974 Dusters: 281,378

Aaaaaaand now you see the problem. There are literally twice as many 1974 Duster's as there are Demons. All of them, ever, 1971 and 1972. And they made 264,974 1973 Duster's, so now if you just look at '73 and '74 Dusters you're looking at 4.25x as many 73/74 Dusters as Demon's. And that doesn't even include Dart Sports, or the 75 or 76 cars. 1974 was the highest year of production for the Duster.

Which is why I turned my '74 Duster into a '71 Demon tribute. It was cheaper to do that than find a real '71 Demon, and considering I have a rust free car it was probably easier than fixing a '71 Demon too, as all of the Demon's that were anywhere near my price range were in MUCH worse shape than my '74. It's pretty amazing how different the car looks with the Demon front end too, a couple inches of bodywork really changes the lines of the car.
Click to expand...


I wonder why the Demon was such a poor seller compared to the Duster? the Dart front end was far more aggressive looking that the Dusters and the Demon taillights are cool too.
 
Locomotion said:
It may have been a budget move because many different models began using the same style and they were all plastic.

Don't know if it was a factor, but the newer style may be more visible than the flush mounted ones - safety reasons.
Click to expand...


I think you are likely right that cost played a part in it rather than safety because lots of later model cars used the old flush mounted side markers,even into the 1980's,like the third generation firebirds and Camaros,so it couldn't have been a safety thing.
 
Al Bundy said:
I wonder why the Demon was such a poor seller compared to the Duster? the Dart front end was far more aggressive looking that the Dusters and the Demon taillights are cool too.
Click to expand...

I've heard several times that some people had issues with the name "Demon", despite the cute cartoon character, and that's why the changed the name to Dart Sport in '73. Didn't sales go up afterwards?
 
Locomotion said:
I've heard several times that some people had issues with the name "Demon", despite the cute cartoon character, and that's why the changed the name to Dart Sport in '73. Didn't sales go up afterwards?
Click to expand...


I wonder if those same people would boycott devils food cake too. Seems pretty silly to me. Funny though,that an ugly car with a terrible name like "Gremlin" sold well.
 
lol It seems that Gremlin came out in 1970. (Earlier than I thought.) I wonder if that influenced the choice for "Demon" in 1971!
 
Gremlins sold OK, not great. I had a V8 gremlin with a Levi interior. Wish I still had it. 4 speed trans.
 
I have a question about the 1975 Dusters,I was reading about them online and saw that the 225 slant six dropped to only 95hp that year,that was also the first year I believe they switched to unleaded fuel and had catalytic convertors installed. was this the reason or did they change the engine somewhat? if you removed the cat and smog pump would it be as powerful as the earlier 225?
 
Al Bundy said:
I have a question about the 1975 Dusters,I was reading about them online and saw that the 225 slant six dropped to only 95hp that year,that was also the first year I believe they switched to unleaded fuel and had catalytic convertors installed. was this the reason or did they change the engine somewhat? if you removed the cat and smog pump would it be as powerful as the earlier 225?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, 75 was the first year for catalytic converters, new head and hydraulic lifters. All would not be good for power production.
 
So these would be the worst of the Dusters then. I know where there is an immaculate one,paint and interior are like new for $3,600 even has working air conditioning and never had a vinyl roof. The original paint even shines. And older woman has owned it since new.
It seems very hard to find a decent duster for that price.
 
Is the top of the rear panel slightly rounded with the lower part being flat?

Thanks
 
Kinda refreshing to see a thread that could be called "late a-body 101."

All 70s cars had QC issues but A-Bodies were amongst the very best sorted and came with absolutely the best engines and driveline components of the era.

Just find the nicest one you can afford, enjoy it and for God's sake, take care of it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top