snake skin roof

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b5demon

b5demon

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i just picked up a 72 duster and it has a snake skin roof does anybody know how many of these were produced? or where to get a replacement top?
 
My '73 Duster had the snakeskin pattern on it when I first got it. From what I read in "Dodge Dart and Plymouth Duster" by Steve Statham the snakeskin vynil was special to the Gold Duster Package in 1972 and 1973. My car had it as the 3/4 or Canpoy roof style. I replaced it with the standard boar grain when it went to shreds and have never seen a replacement or any other car with that style vynil for that matter.
Here's the exerpt from the book:
"The Gold Duster option included such posh features as deluxe wheel covers with whitewalls and an exclusive gold color, plus Gold Duster identification and a reptile-grain vynil top. The option could be teamed with either the 225-ci Slant Six or the 318 V-8, but not the base 198 Six or 340 V-8."
(Statham, P78 )
 
yeah this one is a 225 auto p/s car with black stripe and rocker moldings just not sure what to do with it yet it needs more work than i bargined for
 
i seem to remember gatorskin too. i liekt he snakeskin, its cool. i only remember seeing it in brown.
 
73duster47 said:
From what I read in "Dodge Dart and Plymouth Duster" by Steve Statham the snakeskin vynil was special to the Gold Duster Package in 1972 and 1973.
Click to expand...

a guy from my hometown has a 74 gold duster, 50k origional miles untouched. It has the original snake skin vinyl top. He got it from his grandma who bought it brand new, so he knows its never been touched. must of been 72-74, either way they never made a whole lot of them.
 
My 1974 Plymouth 'Gold' Duster slant six car originally had the snake skin half vinyl roof.

It was already removed when I bought the car, however there is sections of it along the drip rails still visable.
I was gonna leav it there until the car got restored. You don't see it unless you're looking for it anyways so no harm, no foul. Besides with how my car looks the roof is the last place people will be inspecting.

dsc02028c.jpg


dsc02025h.jpg
 
I talked to a guy that bought some olds stock. He found with someone using it for crafts for the girlscouts. NO!!
 
This is a really old thread but...

I guess the 72 Duster I am working on getting out of the barn would possibly be a Gold Duster. It is that tan like color with the tan interior. It does have a nice original snake skin vinyl top.
 
mine was a 74 and it had the snakeskin roof. it was a 318 auto car with 63000 orig mi. daily drove it in college and sold it so i could move to AZ.

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is snake skin different from gator grain? I had a 1974 gold duster with a gator grain top
 
Hmm, I don't know which it is for sure. It is a 1972 duster still sitting in the barn. We bought it from my best friends family probably some 25+ years ago. It was his grandmothers. 48,800 miles on it, top I think is perfect and rest of car is very nice.

It is a tan color and the top is a reptile pattern of some sort, real nice shape. It is a greenish tan color. May be gator, may be snake but it is some sort of critter skin.

Once I get it out and cleaned up, I'll take some pictures of her.
 
This is what the roof on our 72 duster looks like. Can't wait to get it out of the barn and clean her up. Real close to the color paint too.

I need to get the vin and build sheet as well to see what colors and all we have.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f47J6KDROc"]www.ybsautobrokers.com 1973 Plymouth Gold Duster review - YouTube[/ame]
 
Nice, thanks for posting these.

Did they offer the snake skin in different shades, different colors depending on paint? Or, is it age and fading or discoloration with age?

Ours is somewhere in between these it seems. Not as dark and brown as yours BP27 but seems darker than jimjimjimmy's. Seems like a see some sort of greenish tint to ours. It is in a barn with bad lighting and is very dirty.

Still, these are great examples and I appreciate the photos. Both look great.

Redmon
 
Sorry to bring up this old thread. Im looking for a replacement for my vinyl top for my 74 Plymouth Gold Duster. Anyone out there know where you can get that top?
 
73duster47 said:
My '73 Duster had the snakeskin pattern on it when I first got it. From what I read in "Dodge Dart and Plymouth Duster" by Steve Statham the snakeskin vynil was special to the Gold Duster Package in 1972 and 1973. My car had it as the 3/4 or Canpoy roof style. I replaced it with the standard boar grain when it went to shreds and have never seen a replacement or any other car with that style vynil for that matter.
Here's the exerpt from the book:
"The Gold Duster option included such posh features as deluxe wheel covers with whitewalls and an exclusive gold color, plus Gold Duster identification and a reptile-grain vynil top. The option could be teamed with either the 225-ci Slant Six or the 318 V-8, but not the base 198 Six or 340 V-8."
(Statham, P78 )
Click to expand...
I have an original '74 Gold Duster with 63k and it has the "snake skin" roof. I believe ma mopar called it Gatorgrain. As far as I know there is no replacement vinyl. I remember a group pricing out making some and the factory tooling/dies was gonna be like $75k-$100k. Not enough people have cars with this roof for that to be viable. Maybe as newer manufacturing processes come out it will get cheaper. I treat mine like the unobtanium it is. It gets better care than me.
 
Got a snakeskin top on my 74 Gold Duster, but may have to replace it due to some small cracks along the pillars. Although it is slightly faded, it is in good shape, except the cracks. Anyone knows where i can get a replacement top? Even if it is not snakeskin. Black will do.
 
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