(first posted 4/22/2016) In spite of the fiendish (and controversial) name, most Dodge Demons were quite benign machines, as epitomized by this “little old lady from Pasadena” survivor, likely fitted with one of the smaller engines. However, buyers seeking a sensible seventies muscle car could create a real demon of a machine, like the one evaluated by Road Test Magazine in the April 1971 issue.
For high performance on a budget, this Demon fit the bill nicely. In reality, however, few 340s were sold. The market had moved on, and buyers were placing a greater premium on economy. The cost differences were striking when you added it all up. So for those readers interested in a deep dive on 1971 Demon prices, have a look at the list below from the 1971 American Car Prices Guide.
Road Test summarized much of what was on their Demon 340 test car, but in the specs they showcased the “cost per pound” of a hypothetic car, equipped with “desirable” options—the resulting $3,396 price was artificially low, especially for the way the test car was optioned. In reality, that particular Demon would likely have priced out at retail as follows:
| Dodge Demon 340 Coupe | $2,721 |
| · Body side stripes | $25.50 |
| · Rear deck panel stripe | $12.75 |
| · Bucket seat, vinyl | $89.65 |
| · Torqueflite automatic, Demon 340 | $214.40 |
| · E70 x 14 Raised White Letter tires | $43.40 |
| · Light Group | $27.65 |
| · Interior Décor Group | $13.85 |
| · Battery, 59 amp | $13.60 |
| · Brakes, power | $42.30 |
| · Bumper guards, front and rear | $24.95 |
| · Carpets | $18.00 |
| · Cigar lighter | $4.00 |
| · Console | $52.55 |
| · Tinted glass | $33.60 |
| · Horns, dual | $5.10 |
| · Mirror, inside day/night | $7.05 |
| · Dual racing type mirrors, left remote | $25.75 |
| · Moulding Group | $7.45 |
| · Pedal dress up | $5.35 |
| · Power steering | $99.80 |
| · Radio, AM with stereo cassette | $210.95 |
| · Tuff steering wheel | $28.85 |
| · Undercoating and hood insulator pad | $20.80 |
| · Wheels, Rallye | $46.80 |
| · Windshield wipers variable speed | $10.60 |
| · High performance axle group | $61.40 |
| · Hood scoops | $44.45 |
| · Hood tie down pins | $15.20 |
| · Tachometer | $49.45 |
| Total | $3,976.20 |
Adjusted for inflation, that works out the $23,379 today. Not bad for a mini muscle car, right? But not so good for a product that was conceived as an economy 2-door.
Let’s contrast that total with the likely retail cost of the “plain Jane” Demon Ed Stembridge shared last week. I’m going to assume the car had the basic 318 V8, as that engine was technically “standard” on the Demon, while the 225 Slant Six was listed as a credit option.
| Dodge Demon Coupe | $2,467.00 |
| · Vinyl body side molding | $30.95 |
| · Deluxe cloth and vinyl bench seat | $12.75 |
| · Torqueflite automatic, V8 | $190.60 |
| · D78 x 14 WSW bias belted tires | $70.25 |
| · Light Group | $27.65 |
| · Air conditioning | $384.00 |
| · Axle ratio, 3.23 | $13.65 |
| · Brakes, power | $42.30 |
| · Carpets | $18.00 |
| · Cigar lighter | $4.00 |
| · Tinted glass | $33.60 |
| · Horns, dual | $5.10 |
| · Mirror, inside day/night | $7.05 |
| · Pedals, dress up | $5.35 |
| · Power Steering | $99.80 |
| · Seat, air foam front | $8.20 |
| · Radio, AM | $64.10 |
| · Deluxe steering wheel | $28.85 |
| · Wheels, Rallye | $46.80 |
| · Windshield wipers variable speed | $10.60 |
| Total | $3,570.60 |
Adjusted for inflation, this pretty-well-equipped Demon works out to be $20,994, even including air conditioning—a very desirable option and one that the Road Test Demon 340 lacked. So I’d imagine most compact segment buyers in the early 1970s would have gone for the A/C and saved the $406 ($2,385 adjusted) compared to the Demon 340. Or bought an even cheaper little devil with no air conditioning. After all, a little extra heat never hurt a Demon…
Cool, fun, but yes an expensive “economy” car. That said, I still think Ford should have offered the Boss 302 in the ’70-71 Maverick
Motor Trend put one in using factory parts. Can’t remember the exact issue though. Late 69, early 70.
That would be a great idea but it’d take sales from the Mustang. Ford were careful not to have a Mustang fighter, the hot Falcons didn’t stay when the Mustang took off. The A body Mopars killed the E body cars. I’d take an A body over an E any day. Nice cars
And Chevrolet was lucky then the Chevy II/Nova didn’t stoled lots of Camaro sales with the SS-396 engine under its hood. And Yenko didn’t have a problem to offer a COPO with the 427 ci engine for both the Nova and Camaro.
My brothers Maverick was a ‘302″. As you say, not a “boss version”. The seat tracks were lousy at keeping the front seat in place.Seemed the passenger side was the biggest part of the problem.
A fun read. I spent a little time in a 1973 Duster with a regular gas 318 and a 3 speed floor shift, and it was faster than anyone had any business going. I can only imagine what a premium gas 340 did to this car. Do I recall reading that Chrysler deliberately and significantly understated this engine’s power output to avoid some hefty insurance problems for buyers?
This test car was very nicely optioned. A bit expensive, but then again, it really punched above its weight class.
HaHaHa – I just noticed the lead picture where the test driver is muscling that hot Demon around a curve – while smoking a pipe. Love it!
Reminds me of a story I heard about a British schoolboy who was caught smoking by his Headmaster. The headmaster told him that the normal punishment was 5 lashes but for the gentlemanly act of smoking a cigar the boy would only receive 3 lashes!
Or the story of the lawyer who tells his client he has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for his crimes, to which the client cheerfully replies, “At least I didn’t get life!”.
My dad took up a pipe for a few years in the late ’60s, a bit shy of 40 years of age. I think he was too much of a cigarette guy by that time, and wanted more nicotine faster and more conveniently. An uncle had a huge pipe collection. I recall “Dr. Grabow” pipe and tobacco displays in the supermarket. I think pipes had a bit of trend run in those years.
A friend’s dad was a regular pipe guy. He always looked very relaxed and composed when doing activities. He was my Scout leader for a while, and smoked it during Scout activities. A very decent guy, I haven’t thought of him in a long time. He passed years ago. He even had a 318 Duster (Gold Duster, whatever year that was available). Kind of nice to think of him driving his Duster, pipe in hand.
Speaking of pipes and cigars, one of my dad’s friends used to take a perfectly good cigar and slice it up into small sections, toss them in a empty tobacco can. Whenever he felt the urge, would pick one out and put it in the pipe bowl, light it up and smoke it.
I may be wrong, but I would think buyers would NOT chose between A/C or the bigger V8. If you were “economizing” you would more like choose between this car with a moderate amount of optional equipment or a slightly bigger but stripped car.
And while the 225 may have been a “credit” option, I’ll bet a lot of Demons were sold with the 6 because corporate assumed buyers of that type of car were on a strict budget and built an overwhelming majority with the 6 and automatic.
I think you are right. My point in the post was that most buyers in the compact segment circa 1971 were looking for economy first and foremost. If they were going to splurge, Mr. or Ms. Middle America would have probably preferred adding A/C rather than going for a “hot” powertrain. Hence the low sales for the 340 (though I doubt that many Dusters or Demons got A/C either, except in really hot climates where that option was becoming much more prevalent).
I also agree that quite a lot of these would have been sold with the Slant 6. It was either an $85 credit ($500 adjusted) for the 225 or $124 credit ($729 adjusted) for the 198, so those savings would have been pretty tempting for buyers on a budget.
No, the Duster/Demon 340 V8 was a compact car with performance package. Economy car would be the Slant 6 base models.
Much better with buckets and floor shift w/ console, as opposed to the stripper model with bench and column shift. I am liking this.
Better looking, yes, but the bench/column setup was actually more comfortable (and a whole lot cheaper, too).
I disagree. I spent many many hours behind the wheel, and riding in the passenger seat in Dusters/Demons/Swingers from about 1970 until about 1980 when they began going away, and the buckets were vastly more comfortable than the bench was. The bench seat in my friend’s Duster was the main reason I didn’t want to ride in it very often. And I never understood the appeal, other than being a no cost item, of a column shifter.
The bench seat in out 73 Dart wasn’t all that comfortable or exceedingly uncomfortable. It was just a place to sit.
My aunts “72” model had a split bench ((armrest)). Made the a/c work soo much better!
I’m going to assume the car had the basic 318 V8, as that engine was technically “standard” on the Demon, while the 225 Slant Six was listed as a credit option.
Like with so many American cars, there were two “standard” versions of the Demon: the six and the V8. The six had the 198 standard. And the V8 had the 318 standard. If you wanted the 225 /6, I assume you paid a bit more than the basic six, rather than a credit delete from the V8. Or?
Update: I see the pricing list; it shows reductions for either the 225 or the 198, from the V8 price. It’s just whether one calculates up or down….but the 1971 demon brochure clearly says that the “standard” engines are either the 198 six or 318 V8.
Interestingly, at least in the 1971 Car Prices Guide I referenced, the Dodge is listed as having the 318 standard–hence the credit for the Slant Six. Going over to Plymouth, however, and the specs note that either the 198 I6 or the 318 V8 were standard–as you point out. So perhaps sloppy editing? Like so much of this period literature, the data discrepancies can be puzzling to say the least.
Here’s a shot from the brochure. All these Darts/Valiants, except for the 340, always came in a “standard six” version.
The pricing list may just be to simplify it: either add up form the six or delete down from the V8; it all adds up to the same in the end. 🙂
A great car, to be sure, but unless you wanted hood scoops really bad, I would imagine most folks chose a Duster 340; the Duster was never festooned with a hood scoop of any sort. It’s also odd they got a test car with an open 2.76 differential (standard equipment with the automatic). Even then, it was still plenty fast. Imagine how it would have ran with one of the optional ratios like, say, the 3.91.
As usual, there are mistakes in the copy. For starters, it says the 340 first appeared in 1968 in the Challenger. I think them may have meant Barracuda or Dart GTS. Likewise, in the engine illustration, number 3 says, “Triple 2V package available”. The 340 Six-Pack was a one-year-only option, and then specifically limited to the Challenger T/A or AAR ‘Cuda. It was gone by 1971 and never available in any A-body.
At least from the factory. It’s quite possible (even probable) that you could get a 340-6v in whatever you wanted from a place like Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago, arguably the foremost aftermarket Dodge dealer tuner in the country during the musclecar era. They were the guys who would stuff a 440 in a 1968 Dart (Chrysler didn’t start doing that from the factory until 1969). I think Mr. Norm labeled them ‘GSS’ (instead of GTS). In fact, at some point, Mr. Norm’s was putting a supercharger on the 340 in Demons for sale to the public.
FWIW, that 1970 340-6v in the T/A and AAR wasn’t just a different carburetor set-up. It used a different, heavier-duty block and valve train than the standard 340-4v
Most of the buff books from this period, but most especially Road Test, seem to be riddled with typos and errors, ranging from minor to major. Part of the fun is spotting the mistakes, as you’ve done here. I was waiting for someone to point out the more accurate information on the 340!
In this same April 1971 issue, there is actually a letter to the editor chastising them on a bad glitch from an earlier issue. The car in question was the Renault 10, and RT had transposed some numbers in a bad way: on the specs page RT reported their “cost per mile” metric, and for this Renault it had been listed as $4.02 when they meant 4.2¢. Too much for even the most ardent Francophile to take!
Makes me feel a bit better about the mistakes and typos that I make. 🙂
And these folks had a copy editor, and weren’t cranking out 5-6 articles per day!
To be fair, while a lot of it was just sloppy editing, there’s also misinformation spread by the manufacturer reps, too. Car and Driver was generally the best on catching inaccuracies (regardless of where they came from). But a shill like Motor Trend would pretty much print whatever they were told to print. The game was if a manufacturer didn’t like the way a review came out, they would quickly exert pressure on the editors in the form of withholding ad revenue (or simply stop providing press cars in a timely manner, if at all). C&D learned this the hard way a couple of times. It’s tough to sell magazines about new cars when you can’t get the latest cars to review until after all the other magazines has already gotten articles out about them. Newspapers, too, i.e., Robert Farago (the creator of The Truth About Cars) saying the grille of the then-new 2006 Subaru Tribeca looked like a woman’s vagina in The San Francisco Chronicle. As one might imagine, that didn’t go over too well and Farago was quickly cashiered.
So, although the error on the 1968 Challenger was just slop, it wouldn’t be surprising if Chrysler did, indeed, at least make allusions to a 340-6v being available, if only due to a magazine ad which had a photo of a never-built 1971 Challenger T/A (which, in reality, was just a retouched picture of a 1970 model with a 1971 grille).
When I was working at a drive in restaurant one of the carhops(think American Graffiti)bought a new lime green Duster 340 6pack. She was wild and half crazy. She took some of her fellow employees(I was one)for a ride in it, 3 in the back and one in the front and her driving. The first thing she did was stomp on the gas and the car turned sideways, tires smoking. I was in the back seat and was looking for way out, the combination of high headrests in front and the big C pillar made it very claustrophobic especially with all black interior.
Actually, you could get the scoops on a Duster. The “Twister” package was a cosmetic upgrade to a standard Duster. You got tape stripes and the Demon scoops along with the 340 grille. Twisters had the “look”, but a 318 was as hot as it got.
The ’71 340 was the best of the breed. Best cam, and finally enough carb. The earlier models used a Carter AVS which wasn’t really enough for a deep breather like the 340. The ’71 used the much maligned ThermoQuad which worked pretty well. The later models had low compression and no more forged crank and pistons and the magic was gone.
With a 3.54 you’d see 14.20s, and the 3.91 might get you just into the 13s if you could hook it up. I’ve never even heard of one with 2.76 gears though, most seemed to have 3.23. 340 Demons were rare, but there were lots of 340 Dusters around. I’m usually a Chevy guy, but I always liked these and worked on quite a few.
I’d forgotten about the Twister’s optional scoops. Were they available with any engine? A typical Chrysler faux pas in that you could get hood scoops with any Duster engine except the one that most warranted it. But, then, I don’t think the scoops were available on the Demon ‘Sizzler’, either.
As to the 2.76 axle ratio, I would guess that, too, is another Road Test error. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that, indeed, the 3.23 ratio was standard with the 340. I think ordering the Sure-Grip in the 8 3/4″ axle got your choice of either the 3.55 or 3.91 (3.54 was reserved for the big-block Dana 60 rear axle in the B- or E-body). Maybe you got the 2.76 when A/C was ordered with, say, the 340 and Torqueflite. More likely, though, is it was the standard ratio on all other A-body cars except the 340.
And, yeah, the new plastic Thermoquad (which kept the fuel cooler than the previous Carter AVS) on the ’71 was a welcome change. A 1971 340 with certain transmission and gears (like, say, a 4-speed and 3.91 Sure-Grip) would, indeed, be the hottest A-body to have. With tires to hook-up (slicks) and a driver who really knew how to shift, as stated, it might even be able to drop into the high 13s, which has to make it one of the best factory stock musclecar bargains, ever.
One of my buddies back in the day owned a 1970 340 Duster, Torqueflite, red/orange w/black interior. That car had to be the absolute fastest car out of the box I had ever ridden in!
Like most Chrysler products at the time, the body seemed made of papier mache, but man, did it fly!
My current frame of mind is that if I could go back and pick something light and fun to drive, I’d build (if possible) a 340 Duster / Demon based on the plainer base trim, with the best interior available, AC, and, sorry, automatic. The perfect sleeper – a gentleman of a car when required, and fun when its time to cut loose a little.
I spent a week driving one of these cars – but in Volare trim with smog, automatic, air – but at least it had the 318. Even if rapidly becoming dated by 1977, there was a basic goodness to this car.
Mopar’s Accord before the Accord.
Based on the performance that was available from my 1969 Valiant Signet coupe with the 318 engine and 4-speed, I have no doubt that the 340-powered cars were great performers.
This engine was part of the troika of supercars the media launched huge scares about in Australia had the bothered to do any research they would have noticed the performance six already available was more powerfull and considerably faster than the proposed 340 Charger which when we finally did get it all the performance had been strangled out of it, Never mind I’d take a 340 Demon today anytime a few mods would make it handle better and theres plenty of aftermarket out there for the engine chuck in a 5 speed manual and its good to go.
i wrenched and drove a 1970 Dart 340 4 speed back in my numbskull years. it was basically stock except for a few bolt ons from Direct Connection and would easily smoke any stock or slightly warmed 383 E body and also keep pace with most any stock 440. would have been a true Q ship if not for the bumble bee tail stripe and dual scoops as the magazine car but on the Dart they were functional, sealed to two air horns branching off the air cleaner. 275HP wink. wink. definitely some wool being pulled over some eyes.
Your not called 5 festivas because you’ve owned 5 Festivas have ya? Just wondering since I saw one today in OKC.
The Dodge front clip just does not seem to jibe with the Duster body….The Plymouth front clips seemed to work better with the Dart bodies…such as the Scamp…..The ‘smiley’ front wheelwell openings of the Valiant worked with the more serious Dart rear wheel well openings…
The Demon ‘serious ‘ front wheel well openings don’t seem to go together with the Valiant/Duster rear wheel well openings.
One thing I don’t miss about the ’70s is the number of options to lower the price point as much a possible. To get something decent, you needed to use up all the ink in your pen checking boxes to get a desirable car.
The above Demon is a fine car, but sans disc brakes, radial tires, and A/C; I’ll pass on this baby.
I seem to recall some controversy about the name Demon when the car came out. I assume from somewhere in the US bible belt.
Although not as popular as the Duster where I was growing up, they were just as popular because of their affordability. Like the Duster and Dart they were fast with the right engine under the hood. I believe the main reason so many disappeared quickly from the streets is because they were crashed in one way or another. The drivers had little driving skill and the cars had poor handling. Up where, very few will be seen at car shows.
My first Mopar was a 71 Demon and it was a real 340/4 speed car. It was January, 1991 and I picked it up for $2000. It was originally bright yellow with a black interior but someone had put a cheap metallic blue paint job on it. The 340 had a Holley carb, DP4B intake, headers and it might have had a cam but I think the short block was still original. It was pretty well-beat by the time I got it and it was more than my gas pumping 17-year-old budget could manage to try and keep it on the road so I sold it when I joined the military a few months later, but when it ran, it ran hard and had no problem outrunning late model 5.0s. I hope its been given a proper restoration and is living a happy life somewhere now.
There were still a lot of Mopar A-Bodys on the road in 1991 and of course, everyone called my Demon a Duster, and occasionally someone would say “nice Nova!”
There was one other alternative open to drivers looking for hot compacts in 1971: the AMC Hornet 360 SC
In a 1971 test by I think Motor Trend the SC 360 Hornet aquitted itself well against a 350 SS Nova and a 360 Duster. They also threw in a Comet GT, but of course with a 302 2bbl it was outclassed.
Anyone else notice they tested the car with a driver and passenger weighing a combined 340 lbs? One modern twerp Car and Driver editor would have reduced the test weight be nearly 200 lbs, making this a very quick car. Suddenly the low ET and decent trap speed make sense with the slow 0-45 time.
I dunno, I think 23k for a 14 second streetable new car with RWD and V8 is pretty good…especially considering that with that era car significantly higher power was easily attained, along with much better traction…for not that much more you could be in the low 13s at least….
I bought a 71 Demon in 1978 for $500. It had a 340 4barrel. I modified it with a bigger cam, Eldr torker intake with a Holly 750 double pumper. I was only 18 years old. Man, it was the fastest thing out there! I remember I won $100 racing a 69 427 Chevelle. And won a lot of Street races. I think I sold it cause all the cops knew it (and me)! Wish I still had it. I guess I didn’t really know what I had. Fun reading other stories about this. It really brings back memories..
NO TRACTION !!!
COLD WEATHER,NO TRACK PREP IN THE DAY,NO COMPOUND SON THE DRAG STRIP LIKE TODAY..
THESE WERE 13 SECOND 1/4 MILE CARS AND LOW 5 SECOND 0-60.
RE-JET THE CARB AND RUN LOW 13’S AND HIGH 12’S IF 3.91 AXLE !
IN 1977 MY BUDDY HAD A 340 DUSTER SAME AS A DEMON,HE RAN 13.36@106 MPH WITH A STOCK DUSTER 3.23 GEARS ,AUTOMATIC…HE JUST REBUILT THE CARB AND ADDED TURBO STLYE MUFFLERS AND WIDER 225 TIRES..
STOCK TIRES ARE 205 AND 215 WIDE TREAD LOL,NOT WIDE AT ALL..
PLUS THEY TESTED CARS BACK THEN WITH 2 PEOPLE ON BOARD,THEY SAID IT ! PLUS TEST EQUIPMENT !
TESTS WERE NOT DONE THE SAME AS TODAY..TRACKS HAD ZERO PREP,CARS SPUN DOWN THE TRACK OR AT TAKE OFF BIG TIME BECAUS EOF SKINNY TIRES,PEOPLE COMPLAIN OF 3245 AND 275 TIRES BEING SKINNY TODAY,THOSE WERE WIDER THAN DRAG SLICKS TIRES OF THE DAY !!
THE SLOWER 72-74 DEMON(DART SPORT) RAN HIGH 13’S LOW 14’S ! AS LOWER COMPRESSION/POWER DROP..THOSE STILL SPUN,I HAD A 73 DUSTER 340 AND 13.90’S IT RAN WITH 3.23 GEARING AND AUTO !
NO TRACTION !!!
COLD WEATHER,NO TRACK PREP IN THE DAY,NO COMPOUND SON THE DRAG STRIP LIKE TODAY..
THESE WERE 13 SECOND 1/4 MILE CARS AND LOW 5 SECOND 0-60.
RE-JET THE CARB AND RUN LOW 13’S AND HIGH 12’S IF 3.91 AXLE !
IN 1977 MY BUDDY HAD A 340 DUSTER SAME AS A DEMON,HE RAN 13.36@106 MPH WITH A STOCK DUSTER 3.23 GEARS ,AUTOMATIC…HE JUST REBUILT THE CARB AND ADDED TURBO STLYE MUFFLERS AND WIDER 225 TIRES..
STOCK TIRES ARE 205 AND 215 WIDE TREAD LOL,NOT WIDE AT ALL..
NOTE 2 PEOPLE ON BOARD,350 POUNDS AND TEST EQUIPMENT ALSO WAS 250 POUNDS THAT WAS IN THE TRUNK ON THESE TESTS USUALLY…PLUS ZERO TRACK PREP..
THIS CAR WITH BIAS PLY TIRES RUN HIGH 13’S….BETTER PREP,BETTER DRIVERS LOW-MID 13’S BONE STOCK..
RE JETT THE CARB 13.30’S AND ADD HEADERS TO THE CARB JETTING YOURE IN THE 12’S…ADD A CAM MID 12’S THESE WERE VERY QUICK CARS WHEN NEW..LIKE A 383 ROAD RUNNER,CHARGER,SUPER BEE..THEY ALL RAN THE SAME AS A 70-71 DUSTER/DART 340 ALL SOLID 13 SECOND CARS..REMEMBER 440 6BBL AND HEMI RAN 11’S WITH BETTER TIRES BACK THEN..440 4BBL WERE LOW-HIGH 12 SECOND CARS ,E BODIES WERE LOW,B BODIES MID 12’S..WIITH 3.23 OR 3.54 GEAR…WAS RARE TO HAVE 3.91 OR 4.10 THEN..
Stop repeating your shouting! Couldn’t read it…
I love the option sheets on American cars from this time. So many choices! Yet so many items I’d expect to be standard equipment, and so many things still missing (seven tire choices, but none of them radials). My favorite is the microphone for the optional cassette stereo. This was a widely available Mopar option at this time but I’ve never seen a car so equipped, or maybe didn’t know what to look for.
Radio cassette, not 8 track?, same price as the auto trans $190!. Och .
In that frontal view, zoom in in the hood stripe and the grille center bar … it feels very 442-like.
The 0-60 time and quarter mile are inconsistent with one another. I have a car that M/T tested while producing a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds and a quarter mile of 14.9 seconds at 95 miles per hour. Anyone who understands the relationship between time, speed, and distance; also understands that a 0-60 time of 7.8 seconds doesn’t correlate with a 14.56 second quarter at 96 miles per hour. Lack of traction doesn’t explain the discrepancy, especially when the other car is front wheel drive.
I’ve mused about that as well. Most notably, I’ve always wondered why R&T always seemed to get not only slower elapsed times, but slower trap speeds as well compared to C&D, MT, and other pubs when testing high US V8 performance cars. An anecdote for sure, but I pictured them counting to 3 between shifts.
Dart, Duster, Demon, all the badge engineered cars run together to me. I know Dodge and Plymouth had their own, perceived identities, but to me there were all the same. Small Chrysler and I was into VWs.
But, while not my proverbial cup of tea, I did ride/drive in a couple of the 340 cars and they were impressive. Maybe just the ones I drove, but several engines stood out to me in that era. Chevy 327, I never drove a slow one and I never drove even a mildly quick 350. Ford 302, 4 barrel. Not like the 327, but a good runner. Emphatically not a 2 Bbl 289. Chrysler 340 and 383. All I drove were very quick, or at least felt that way.
Slugs. Ford base 289s, 390s, even worse 360s in trucks. Chevy 350s, Chrysler 273s, 360s and 400s. Rambler/AMC 327. Jeez, the Mopar 273 and AMC 327 didn’t even run like good 6 cylinder cars, more like a big 4 banger.
I bought one of these and I was 17 for $700. The neighborhood was never the same.
I had a 73 challenger ralley 4 speed after high school 1981 bought it from a farmer i put hay up for. They had snow tires on the back and hauled hay to there dairy cows i bought it for 900.00 my dad signed a lone for me at steakhouse wages lol it spun way to much at take off couldent drive in the winter to dangerous but i raced a 351 clevland 73 red white blue car auto from 2nd vear in the mapped out 1/4 mile i beat him by a car length my 340 and t qaud burnt valve and only 7 cyls.his was newly rebuilt race ready never got to 4 gear and 1.88 intake. Verses his 2.20 or whateever in. 340s are bad aasssssss…..!!!!. My buddy gave me his smaller. Foam steering wheel from his demon 340 4 blk stripes 2 hood scoops that car was quick and my buddys amx dnahue i think 401 not sure but that car when he gunned it you dam near swallow your tigue and the wheels came up woww! Built cheap though i could go on forever dusters are ugly but fast at one time i had a 69 charger 318 73 chall 74 chall 74 was rare 360 4 bbl 4 speed ordered 3.55 rear. Loaded 3 tag car. A 47 ford a 72 maveric 66 mustang 289 3 speed a 66 charger 383 piss yellow blk int i called the smoke machine 71 mg midgit to many memories loved um all