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Valiant Duster 340. From the System that brought you America's first
Iow - Price Supercar-America's first Super. low. price Supercar.
You'll recall from the preceding spread that we
were expounding on the chicken-in-every-pot philosophy as it relates to high performance, and how Plymouth's Rapid
Transit System is dedicated to that end.
We think Supercars should be affordable. Heck, what's the sense of liking anything if you have to wait till you're
pushing 30 and your second million to enjoy it?
With that in mind, we set out to do an encore to Road Runner and create the industry's lowest-priced high-performance
car.
Better yet, we decided to make it a sleeper that would blow the doors off hulking, pretentious behemoths twice
its size. A karate expert with spectacles.
For a start, we needed a body shell that was strong, simple and inexpensive to produce. It also had to be lightweight
and compact, so that it could achieve a Supercar power-to-weight ratio with a relatively small displacement engine.
We figured that with a good driver and 3.91 gearing, it should be able to just touch the 13-second bracket. (In
fact, it would have to; because any car that can't cut a 14-second quarter, doesn't qualify for R.T.S. membership.)
Our logical choice was the body of the new Valiant Duster, because in addition to being a strikingly good-looking
shell, it had all the necessary prerequisites. For an engine, we dropped in the obvious: our light, high-winding
340 cubic-incher. (The same basic mill that took Top Stock Eliminator at the '69 NHRA Winternationals.)
From there, we gave it our usual rash of heavy-duty underpinnings: high rate torsion bars, rear springs, shock
absorbers and front anti-sway bar. Then came fat E70 x 14 fiberglass-belted tires, 5 ½" road wheels,
front disc brakes, a special dash and 3-speed floor shift, all standard. Finally, for identification, a flat-black
grille in front, dual side stripes and two black stripes interrupted by an angry cloud of dust, in back.
The price? Let's just say there isn't an easier way to join the System.
See pages l5 &16 for technical detairs.