1972 Plymouth Duster - Street Machine

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 06-28-2008, 01:51 AM

1972 Plymouth Duster - Street Machine

Here's the thing about the HOT ROD Pump Gas Drags(tm): The cars invited to race range from mild to wild, from barely streetable to completely driveable. That's part of the plan when the HOT ROD staff chooses the cars to compete. We want a wide variety of hot rods to not only make it a good event, but to also show the readers what kind of hot street cars are out there. When we opened the envelope containing the entry for Gilles Couture's '72 Duster, the car was a unanimous staff choice.
You could call the car a sleeper and you'd be right, but there are many ways to build a sleeper. Witness Kurt Urban's Nova ("Sucker's Bet," Nov. '06). That car looked stock and rough, but it had a ton of technology throughout and a 1,000hp bullet under the hood. We dig this Duster because it's an example of a very simple, basic way to go fast without over-the-top anything. It's all about the combination, and in this case that combo consists of a mostly stock car with bolt-on suspension and a well-built stroker smallblock, a good automatic trans, and a set of gears. Nothing trick-just parts that work together and push the car into the 10s.
I mean, really, look at this car and tell me you think it has a 10-second quarter-mile e.t. in it. The only exterior clues that this is anything but a nice, stock Duster are the Anson Sprint wheels. In fact, in the photos that Gilles sent with his entry, the car was rolling on stock wheels, but he showed up to the '07 Pump Gas Drags(tm) in Memphis on the mags. We were a bit disappointed that he didn't stay with the stock wheels, but at least when he did go aftermarket, he chose the right style for the car. Perhaps part of the reason for the wheel swap was a brand-new set of Wilwood brakes, purchased a month before the Pump Gas Drags(tm).
Gilles lives in Canada, about an hour south of Montreal, and had a 22-hour tow (each way) to Memphis Motorsports Park for the Pump Gas Drags(tm). Like many of the other competitors, he got there in time for the test and tune on Thursday night and ran a best of 10.89 at 122 mph. (The car's bestever pass is a 10.73 at 126.) He said he only runs pump gas on the 415ci stroker and claims that dumping race gas in the tank was only worth 3 hp. Part of what made the Duster so cool, however, is also what kept it from being a contender-it has a six-point rollbar but no safety harness. Gilles opted to stay with the stock seatbelts, which are not NHRA legal for the performance the car was capable of. His quickest allowed e.t., therefore, was limited to an 11.50, and it was obvious that the car would not be in the hunt with that limitation.
We photographed the car on Friday, after the test and tune but before the Pump Gas Drags(tm) event on Saturday, and tried to persuade Gilles to go buy a harness, but he was having none of it. He was here to have fun and brought along his young son and girlfriend to join the party. They even took a tour of Graceland. When Saturday rolled around, the Duster made the drive from Comp Cams' facility to the track without issue, and on his qualifying pass Gilles lifted to an 11.36 at a coasting 93 mph.
But this car is not about competition. It's about enjoying the cruise with a 10-second timeslip in your wallet. It's a testament to how far we've come that 20 years ago, a 10-second street car was a really big deal, yet Gilles' Duster runs easy 10s but probably wouldn't get credit for it at a cruise night or test and tune. It's a street machine through and through, and we love it.
Quick Inspection: '72 Plymouth DusterGilles Couture * Granby, Quebec, Canada
Powertrain
Engine: A 340 block (the car originally had a 318 two-barrel) carries a 4-inch-stroke crank with Eagle rods and CP pistons that, with the Richard Poudrier-ported W2 heads, make 11:1 compression -right on the limit for pump gas. The cam is a Crower solid roller with 252 degrees of duration (at 0.050 lift) and 0.627-inch lift, which actuates the valves via Comp Cams lifters and pushrods and T&D rockers. An out-of-the-box Holley 830HP carb and TTI headers get the air in and out.Power: With 34 degrees of ignition advance (all in by 1,500 rpm), the 415ci engine makes 622 hp at 6,800 rpm and 570 lb-ft of torque at around 6,000.
Transmission: The original 904 automatic was rebuilt with good parts and carries a Dynamic 9-inch, 4,000-stall converter.
Rearend: The stock 83/4 rearend had spool and 4.10 gears at PGD, but Gilles said it's quicker with its usual 3.91 gears and a DetroitLocker. The axles are from Moser.
Chassis
Frame: The underpinnings are surprisingly stock.Suspension: At the business end of the car is a set of CalTracs bars with monoleaf springs. Up front, Gilles himself fabbed up a rackand- pinion steering setup so he could use a rear-sump oil pan. The shocks are drag-specific 90/10s from Competition Engineering.
Brakes: A set of Wilwood brakes on the front complement the stock drums in back.
Wheels: The perfect street machine wheels, 15-inch Anson Sprints are on every corner.
Tires: Traction comes from 28x10.5 Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks, while up front is a set of parts-store skinnies.
Style
Body: It's all stock. Gilles thinks the car may have been repainted, but this is how he bought it.
Paint: Again, it's stock, but repainted a few years ago after Gilles hit a deer.
Interior: Other than a six-point bar and a tachometer, the interior is granny-fresh.

Photo Gallery: 1972 Plymouth Duster - Street Machine - Hot Rod Magazine

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