The 187-Pound Aluminum Diet That Made A Slant-Six Plymouth Hit 36 MPG
It’s hard not to get excited by an old-school American coupe with a naturally aspirated engine, exotic materials, and an obsessive attention to saving weight. Add to that, this model is rare and good-looking, and you have a recipe for a highly sought-after machine. But what if we said that this one-year special costs peanuts and is long forgotten in the world of ’60s and ’70s two doors? It turns out that one of the most carefully thought out engineering marvels of the ’70s is actually not all about speed, but something else entirely. And these days it appears that almost nobody wants one.
The 70s Were Crippling The American Muscle Car Industry
It was all going so well. Since the Pontiac GTO had introduced the idea of the muscle car in 1964, this type of new, rebellious sports machine had consumers rushing to dealerships in their droves. The muscle car summed up the new positivity of the ’60s, representing a new-found freedom and emancipation of the youth.
By the end of the ’60s it was all starting to come crashing down, with insurance premiums catching up with high-powered muscle cars, not to mention the oil crisis of the early ’70s and new punishing emissions regulations. In many ways, the muscle car party came to an end as quickly as it started, with manufacturers hastily detuning cars until once great names were lumbered with low-powered engines that you wouldn’t have previously put in a lawn mower.
The Malaise Era Was The Decade That No One Wanted
What followed was the so-called Malaise Era, running from 1973 to the early ’80s, when American carmakers were creating models that no one really wanted. The Japanese were filling in the gaps, bringing quality coupes like the Celica to the market that sported looks that were a nod to the best of American muscle, albeit with light weight and reliability in the mix. The Americans were forced to play catch up in a segment that they had created, and it seemed like no one really knew what to do. But in 1975, one well-known US brand had an idea to capitalize on a bad situation and bring some clever engineering problem-solving to the table. It’s a shame that the result isn’t more celebrated.
Plymouth Turned The Duster From A Mini Muscle Car To A Vision Of The Future
The Duster’s story started in 1969. With muscle cars still selling pretty well, Plymouth decided to give the everyday Valiant a bit of attitude. The engineers took the Valiant’s chassis and floorpan, along with a lot of the oily bits and added a more rakish two-door body style. With the top dog Duster 340 getting a 276 hp V8, Plymouth created a smaller, agile mini muscle car that was budget-friendly and a lot faster than anyone expected. Interestingly, this would be the first time that the Duster proved to be groundbreaking — but it wouldn’t be the last.
Just like pretty much every other high performance US machine, the Duster 340 started to have its power quickly reduced in line with the changing times, but the model had one more trick up its sleeve. In 1975, Plymouth unveiled the quirkily named Feather Duster — perhaps not a moniker you couldn’t wait to drop at a dinner party — which was in many ways the opposite of the traditional muscle car. The 1976 Feather Duster cost roughly $51 ($50.56 to be precise) more than a Duster with the 100-hp and 160 lb-ft of torque slant-six engine, but you could expect to get that money back pretty quickly at the pumps.
The Feather Duster Was Automotive Forward Thinking At Its Best
The Feather Duster used aluminum components (hood, trunk lid, intake manifold, bumper mountings, and manual transmission housing) to take off significant weight overthe standard Duster. The package removed 187 pounds from the car, meaning that it was 5% lighter than the regular Duster. The 225-cubic-inch Slant Six engine had a recalibrated single-barrel carburetor, new exhaust, and a tall 2.94:1 rear axle ratio to squeeze out as much economy as possible. Transmissions included a 3-speed automatic or an A833 4-speed manual with an overdrive fourth gear.
The result was an admirable 24 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. In many ways, the Feather Duster was years ahead of its time, with everything from the Jaguar XJ to the Audi A2 using lightweight aluminum to make them more efficient. Amazingly, Plymouth’s most advanced lightweighting exercise of the decade was tucked away in a cheap, slightly dorky coupe.
The Feather Was Slept On By Buyers
The problem was that fuel economy has never been exactly sexy, especially at a time when most people were listening to punk and debauched glam rock. While the muscle car was sold on its rebel spirit, saving a few bucks at the gas pump probably wasn’t something that a lot of people wanted to admit to being into. Add to that a name that was a nod to the meekest of household cleaning tools, and it’s not surprising that they didn’t really fly out the showrooms. It is estimated that Plymouth shifted just 5,800 units of the Feather Duster (of 1.3 million Dusters in total) before the model was scrapped after 1976.
Ironically, the Feather Duster had the last laugh in a way. The use of aluminum did mean better economy, but it also meant more speed — with the right engine, of course. Drag racers noticed the potential and started swapping out the Slant Six for a high-performance 360 ci small block V8. The result was a high-performance muscle car in the same vein as the 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt and 1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11. Unsurprisingly, not many Feather Dusters survived with their stock engine. But if you can find one, they are surprisingly cheap.
The Feather Duster Is A Malaise Era Car Worth Buying
The Feather Duster has pleasingly squared-off looks, and a proper muscle car profile, not to mention that clever pioneering thinking built in. It’s pretty rare too. But none of this equates to huge prices at auctions. Hagerty’s Valuation Tools put the price of a good condition
1976 Plymouth Valiant Feather Duster at just $10,700. That’s not a lot of money for any classic car, let alone something this special and unique. The problem is, even if you want one, finding a Feather Duster is incredibly hard, with these cars rarely coming up for auction. The other problem, if you ever found one, would be to resist the temptation to rip out the six and shoehorn in a V8 and go drag racing.
Sources: Hagerty.com
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments