Photo: Cool Hand Customs
You might have this idea in your head that American muscle cars died after the 1973 oil crisis. The common belief is that once the oil-producing nations put their foot down and ended the good times, Americans wouldn't see a decent new domestic sports coupe until the late 1990s at best. This 1974 Plymouth Duster proves this isn't a hard and fast rule. There's still some fun to be had with muscle coupes made after 1973, all the more fun with a modern muscle car engine under the hood.
That's exactly what EJ and Amy Fitzgerald of Cool Hand Customs in Middleton, Wisconsin, did with their 1974 Duster. Safe to say, it blows the doors off anything stock that was built around the same time. In its day, the 1974 Duster did indeed feel the effects of new emissions regulations. Most notably, the 340-cubic-inch LA V8 offering from the previous model year was ditched for an admittedly larger 360-cubic-inch offering. But with an emissions-conscious tune with less horsepower than the outgoing model, it was clear things would only go downhill from there.
But overall, much of the muscle car styling people came to expect from the Plymouth Duster was still on display in 1974, albeit with a revised front grille compared to older models. It's the perfect mounting point for the 6.1-liter Hemi V8 out of a 2007 Chrysler 300 SRT8 that EJ and Amy chose to replace the old engine in this Duster. Of course, to get to this point, a full body-off-frame restoration job was needed. Both the chassis and the body were removed, sandblasted, and then painted to ensure no further rusting took place before the engine was ceremoniously mounted to the frame using custom motor mounts.
With added goodies like 1.75-inch long tube headers, a larger Milodon A/B-body oil pan, and a Holley Terminator X Max ECU, this modern HEMI V8 is now jetting 425 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque in its current configuration. Paired to the engine is a NAG1 five-speed automatic transmission from back in the days of Daimler Chrysler. It's met at the rear end by a Moser 8.75-inch axle with an aggressive 3.73 ratio that helps plant more power down to the pavement. Besides, how cares about fuel economy when you're driving a mid-70s muscle car? Any other choice of gearing would be ludicrous.
Add in the Stocker Star coilover suspension at all four corners, and a Trutrac limited-slip differential, and this is the kind of restomod muscle car that carves corners just as well as it blitzes drag strips. The custom orange-on-black paint job and interior are just the icing on the muscle cake. Congrats to EJ and Amy on one of the coolest mid-70s restomods we've seen in ages.
But overall, much of the muscle car styling people came to expect from the Plymouth Duster was still on display in 1974, albeit with a revised front grille compared to older models. It's the perfect mounting point for the 6.1-liter Hemi V8 out of a 2007 Chrysler 300 SRT8 that EJ and Amy chose to replace the old engine in this Duster. Of course, to get to this point, a full body-off-frame restoration job was needed. Both the chassis and the body were removed, sandblasted, and then painted to ensure no further rusting took place before the engine was ceremoniously mounted to the frame using custom motor mounts.
With added goodies like 1.75-inch long tube headers, a larger Milodon A/B-body oil pan, and a Holley Terminator X Max ECU, this modern HEMI V8 is now jetting 425 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque in its current configuration. Paired to the engine is a NAG1 five-speed automatic transmission from back in the days of Daimler Chrysler. It's met at the rear end by a Moser 8.75-inch axle with an aggressive 3.73 ratio that helps plant more power down to the pavement. Besides, how cares about fuel economy when you're driving a mid-70s muscle car? Any other choice of gearing would be ludicrous.
Add in the Stocker Star coilover suspension at all four corners, and a Trutrac limited-slip differential, and this is the kind of restomod muscle car that carves corners just as well as it blitzes drag strips. The custom orange-on-black paint job and interior are just the icing on the muscle cake. Congrats to EJ and Amy on one of the coolest mid-70s restomods we've seen in ages.
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