By 1970, Chrysler was riding high in the muscle car market. They had the Road Runner,  GTX,  R/T, Super Bee,  the Six Pack,  Street Hemi, and muscle cars in virtually every size. The only thing left was to exploit the compact size Valiant line. The newly introduced Duster (and comparable Dodge model) was perfect for the wild little 340 V8. They threw a few components together, added some stripes, and voila, the 340 Duster was born. Its run as a legitimate muscle car ran two years, 1970 and 1971. After that the market tanked and so did horsepower. You could still get a 340 Duster in later years, but it was no match for the earlier version. Pix are of a perfectly restored 1970 Panther Pink Duster 340.

The Plymouth Duster debuted in late 1969 as a 1970 model, and was a sporty version of the Plymouth Valiant. The Duster featured curvy coke bottle exterior styling stolen from the 1966 GM cars and a rounded fastback look for the rear. The front end was the same as the Valiant. The interior was pure Valiant. The Duster was available with a variety of engines, ranging from two slant six cylinder engines to either a 318 V8 or a high performance 340 V8 rated at an underrated 275 bhp. Dyno tests put it around 350 real bhp.

It was the 340 V8, coupled with the Duster's extremely low price, that made it a hit. The base price was  $2,172 (only a little more than the 1960 Valiant) and included the 198 Slant Six, a column mounted three speed manual transmission, and manual brakes and steering. However, any performance buyer would go straight to the 340 V8 option. For  $400, this option added the 340 V8 with four barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, floor mounted three speed manual transmission,  3.23:1 rear axle,  heavy duty suspension with larger diameter torsion bars, extra leaf springs, front stabilizer bar, front disc brakes, and a unique instrument panel that included a tachometer and 150 mph speedometer. At a total price of just $2,547, the Plymouth Duster 340 was much cheaper than either a Plymouth Road Runner ($2,900) or Mustang Mach I ($3,300).

Non believers on the street soon found out that the 340 was even better than Chrysler claimed. Right off the showroom floor, the 340 Duster turned consistent 14.4 quarter mile times at around 97 mph. With some decent tires and a good competition tune up, mid 13 second quarter mile times at over 100 mph were common. Madras shirt wearing  GTO driving  "collegiates" 

cried in their cokes while their mini skirted girlfriends watched in dismay as  hundreds of dollars of daddy's hard earned money were  paid out to Duster owners who had crapped all over the legendary tri power supercars.

The Twister, a new trim level between the Duster and the Duster 340, debuted for 1971. Basically a Duster with more standard features, the Twister featured Rallye wheels, racing mirrors, side and lower deck stripes, a flat black hood with hood scoops, bucket seats, and a unique grille as standard equipment. The biggest engine available was the 318, and the appearance package was topped off by a little cartoon tornado with eyes logo on the back panel near the taillights. The Duster 340 (but not the base Duster or Twister) also received a new "sharktooth" grille. The 340 continued in its prior form. 

A friend of mine had a 340 Duster, and it hung with my 454 Chevelle all the way. I turned consistent 13.9s at 105 mph. He smiled at me right to the end of the quarter mile. Hey, the car weighed about as much as your sister, what do you expect. Nice car, I may go look for one some day. I bought a Dart Sport (same body) in 1976 but opted for the slant six because of the gas crisis. I should've ordered the 360, it probably would have equaled the 6's 16 mpg and I could have gotten some bang for my buck. Then again, I had a 300K too. Who's better than me? Don't ask my crazy Brazilian wife that. She's below. Not bad, huh?