Jalopnik: duster

Billy Jack's Revenge: Judge, Jury, And Executioner In Portland

Murilee Martin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:40:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today's find is a '72 Plymouth Duster (or maybe it's a '71) with an innovative customization job. Dorsai3d shot the Billy Jack's Revenge on the damp streets of Portland, Oregon, and we can't help but admire the homemade hood tach, Electra 225 emblems used to indicate Slant Six engine displacement, and cryptic graphics. Make the jump to see all the photos and read Dorsai3d's description.

Here are some pictures of an interesting Duster (it just begged for jalop when I saw it...) I found parked on the street while visiting Pacific U just outside Portland. While I've been here, I've seen a surprising number of interesting cars on the streets as daily drivers (and a nigh-limitless supply of Subaru!). I hope to also get pictures of a first gen accord that I've seen around, if I can figure out where it parks.

DOTS FAQ

Ethel Lusts For Slant Six Duster, Mom Worried

Murilee Martin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

A woman who feels great passion for a Chrysler A-body with Slant Six power and takes one on a test drive through a corn field? While we're pleased that Ethel has such an excellent sense of priorities, her mother seems hell-bent on getting her to stick a big icepick through her Mopar-loving frontal lobes, find a husband, and settle down for some serious breeding. But then why does Mom take A-body-addicted Ethel to the Duster pusherman?

The Duster Name Lies On The Ash Heap Of History

Murilee Martin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:20:00 EST

After seeing the sheer 80s awesomeness that was the '85 Plymouth Duster yesterday, you might have thought that every drop of branding goodness had been squeezed from the corpse of the once-glorious Duster name. You'd be wrong! After the Omni-based Duster limped off into oblivion in '87, Chrysler slapped some stickers and wings on the '92 Sundance (which itself was also a recycled name) and called it a Duster. You won't find many on the street, but I was fortunate enough to run across an example in a junkyard located mere blocks from MC Hammer's former practice studio. As you can see, the 80s lingered on well into the 90s. [Allpar]

It Don't Get More 80s Than This: 1985 Plymouth Duster

Murilee Martin — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST

I was a senior in high school in 1984, and I recall hearing Baby Boomers going on and on about the goddamn 1960s at the time and thinking "There's no possible way anyone will ever be nostalgic for the 80s- no way!" How wrong I was- 80s nostalgia is like herpes, with sudden painful flareups and a miasma of shame surrounding its participants. And that brings us to what I believe may well be The Most Eighties Car Ad In All Of History: a 1985 Plymouth Duster ad that was apparently shown during the 1st Annual MTV Music Awards. And you know what that means- it's poll time!

We had a Most 80s Car Ad Ever poll last month, and the Pioneer ad above blew the other contenders out of the water. It's got the hair product, the jarring colors, the implied cocaine abuse... but does it have what it takes to keep its crown in the face of the Duster ad's Ollie North-grade onslaught?

And, just to make things more interesting, let's include an extremely 80s Renault 5 ad from the other side of the Atlantic. May the most 80s ad triumph like Reagan crushing Mondale!

Dieter Lets Us Peek Behind the Barn Door

bwojdyla — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:00:00 EST

A man like Dieter is never content with just one barn full of cars and tools and gadgets. Less than a kilometer away from his shop, Dieter has his treasure barn. From the road it's so unassuming that you'd never know it could contain an 850Ci and a 440 Duster. In addition to those, there's at least an ancient Tatra, a pumped up BMW 2002, the skeletal (and really cool) remains of an Opel Speedster and a rack of about 50 various hoods for some reason. This is also where Dieter keeps the molds for a BMW M1 that's he's recreating. Oh yeah, that wooden frame upside down on the red car, that's the body frame for the BMW 328 we told you about earlier. This level of chaos in our own garage would drive us bonkers, but damn, this place is awesome.

Jalopnik Poll: Which Dodge Dart Should Nardelli Build?

Mike Bumbeck — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:30:00 EDT

Of all the facts in a New York Times article focusing on incoming Chrysler fearless leader Robert Nardelli, there was one that caught our eye. Mr. Nardelli's first car out of high school was a 1966 Dodge Dart. As Mr. Nardelli's love for the company dates back to this car, it seems only fitting that he spearhead the campaign to resurrect the mighty Dodge Dart. Whether the new Dodge Dart will feature a hybrid fusion slant six drive that runs on orange peels and coffee grinds will only be told by the future. Vote on which Dart Dodge should build after the jump.

Plymouth Rapid Transit System Brochure

Mike Bumbeck — Fri, 04 May 2007 13:00:00 EDT

While modern automakers try to infuse us with computer generated images of brush strokes morphing into luxury cars or show us smarmy future executives happily tossing their light blues and khakis out of the window on their way out of town, they seem to have long and truly forgotten something. Driving is supposed to be wicked fun - and budget performance counts. To think that Plymouth had an entire system of budget minded performance machines in 1970, yet went out with a mere breeze thirty years down the road makes for a sad ending to the once mighty name. Glorious text excerpt from the 1970 Rapid Transit Brochure after the jump. – Mike Bumbeck

1970

Those of us at Plymouth who design and build high-performance cars have been inspired to go beyond just offering cars with big engines, good suspensions, great brakes and fat tires.

We now have a System. An integrated program. It's Mathematics rather than numbers. Oceanography rather than salt water. It's a total concept in high-performance transportation which combines the lessons learned in competition, an information network, people who understand high-performance, trick parts, and great products.

The Rapid Transit System is years of racing experience at Daytona, Indianapolis, Riverside, Irwindale, Cecil County. It's the race cars themselves drag racing cars, Grand National stackers, rally and Championship cars. And it's the input (and output) gained from all this racing.

The Rapid Transit System is information — the straight scoop from us to you — on how to tune and modify your car, which equipment to use, and how to set the whole thing up for racing. (The subject matter covers everything from this high-performance car catalog, to Supercar Clinics, to Road Runner decals, to tips on full-race Hemis.) See your dealer or write the Rapid Transit System, P.O. Box 7749, Detroit, Michigan 48207.

The System is people. People like yourself who Like cars.

The System is high-performance parts — special cams, manifolds, pistons, bearings, etc. — which are now more readily available through parts centers strategically located across the country.

The System is even a piece of the action for beginners. Let's say you're still a few years away from a driver's license, but that hasn't dampened your enthusiasm for cars. Your favorite cartoon is Road Runner, your favorite car is Road Runner, and you only wish your driveway were a couple of miles long. Well, maybe you're not old enough to drive, but you sure can wear a Plymouth racing jacket. And you can also pick up or send for a handful of our decals, stickers, catalogs and brochures. And go to free Sox & Martin or Don Grotheer Super Car Clinics.

Above all, the RTS is the product, Everything from a "sleeper" Duster with a 340 cu. in. V-8, to a giant 440 cu. in. Sport Fury GT, all the way up to a Hemi-'Cuda with a Quivering Exposed Cold Air Grabber.

And, in between, there are Road Runners and GTXs available with 6-barrel carburetion, and vacuum-controlled induction systems. And 'Cudas with light-weight, high-winding 340 V8s. Each one is a complete high-performance car. With suspension, brakes, driveline and tires to match, (The system doesn't allow for a car that won't corner or stop or stand up under the strain when you stand on it.)

Finally, the Rapid Transit System is common sense on your part. You know when you want to really turn it on, turn it on at a sanctioned strip.

This year, give the Rapid Transit System careful consideration.

Compare it with mere cars. And, if you come to the conclusion you can't beat it—join it.

Related:
En Fuego! The Plymouth Fire Arrow [Internal]

Classic Ad Watch: 1970 Plymouth Rapid Transit System

Mike Bumbeck — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:00:00 EDT

From the something slightly less ballistic to wrap up the day department comes the very old news that Plymouth is out to win you over this year - with the 1970 lineup. Who says speed, luxury, and low price don't mix? Dig this. – Mike Bumbeck

Celestial Arrows and Feather Dusters

Mike Bumbeck — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:30:00 EDT

While 1976 had America churning out Dodge Dart Lites and Plymouth Feather Dusters complete with bicentenial red-white-and-blue vinyl interiors, Mitsubishi unleashed a Lancer variant known as the Celeste. We mention the Dart and Duster because the compact rear-drive Celeste was also sold here in the States as a Plymouth Arrow, and if you wanted to get sporty - the Fire Arrow. Out of the hundreds of thousands of videos of kittens playing Yahtzee, parrots serving pizza, and old Charlie the Tuna commercials on YouTube, there are precisely two that have anything to do with a Mitsubishi Celeste. Here is the clearer one. – Mike Bumbeck

Related:
Spy Photos: More on the 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X [Internal]