# The Muscle Behind



## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Have muscle cars or classic cars helped a great deal in your forum posting? If so, let's see the cars that were the inspiration.

I started on forums in 2007 as dusterfury. During that time, I owned this '70 Plymouth Duster 360 for 5 years and for 10 years a '73 Plymouth Fury 425 that looked exactly like the one below my Duster. I don't think I could have kept going without them.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

The Duster was a 340, not 360, and Plymouth didn't make a 425, they made a 426 but as I recall, the Fury only came with a 318 or a 383.


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## Skull Pilot (Jan 2, 2016)

I'm still in love with the Chevy Nova 396 I had in high school

I wish I never got rid of it

It was exactly like this car Orange paint and all


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## CremeBrulee (Jan 2, 2016)

I don't know that I'm "inspired" but there are some cars I never tire of looking at.
My absolute favorite muscle car.  I was in love since I saw it in the movie Better Off Dead.





The old lady behind the office has on of these in her barn.  It's been there since I was a kid all covered in dust. It belonged to her son.  I don't think she knows what she has.  I want to offer her some money for it.  She turned down an obscene amount of money to lease her land for a new clinic so I doubt it will ever happen.  





My first car. Mine was gray though.  While I would not define this as a muscle car; the engine (Rocket 455) was freaking enormous.


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## Kosh (Jan 2, 2016)

S.J. said:


> The Duster was a 340, not 360, and Plymouth didn't make a 425, they made a 426 but as I recall, the Fury only came with a 318 or a 383.



Yes I owned a 69 'cuda with a 426..


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

My ride in high school...


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

S.J. said:


> The Duster was a 340, not 360, and Plymouth didn't make a 425, they made a 426 but as I recall, the Fury only came with a 318 or a 383.



I have a very good friend who was a mechanic for many years at a car dealership in Santa Cruz, CA, and he was the one who told me the Duster is a 360 and the Fury a 425. Both my Duster and my Fury easily went 140 MPH, and IMHO the Duster couldn't have done that if it was a 340. I have never been mechanically inclined in the least and can only rely on what I have been told and heard on the forums and from people I met while driving the Duster.

The Fury was modified by the owner who probably was a policeman since it had a pass sticker on the window from around 1973. For a long time, I thought the pass sticker was from the CHP, but someone set me straight on that.


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## gipper (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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Driving those cars at that speed, was extremely dangerous and stupid.  I tried and am lucky to be alive.


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## gipper (Jan 2, 2016)

Kosh said:


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That car today would worth huge dollars in excellent condition...imagine it as a convertible.


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## Kosh (Jan 2, 2016)

gipper said:


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Yes I know! Wish I still had it and I wish it was a convertible!

Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible Hits $3.5 Million At Mecum Auction


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## gipper (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


> S.J. said:
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The 425 reference is likely horse power from 426 motor.  But unlikely a fury had the hemi. Likely a 440.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

CremeBrulee said:


> My first car. Mine was gray though.  While I would not define this as a muscle car; the engine (Rocket 455) was freaking enormous.



My first muscle car I got in the early 90's for only $950 getting really lucky since it had only 58,000 miles on it. It was a '77 Olds Cutlass Salon Colonnade and also had a rocket engine but a 350 small block yet could spring off the line every time. I finally had to give it to my friend from the car dealership about a year ago, and he still has it, as a work in progress. The Olds got vandalized and an important smog device stolen. When my friend finally fabricated a different part to get it smogged, it was vandalized again and the engine torn apart. It hasn't run since but we have hopes of it returning someday. It still has the original engine and has around 200,000 miles.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

gipper said:


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My friend knows I don't understand the horse power side.


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## CremeBrulee (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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I got the Olds 98 in the mid 90s with 42k miles.  It belonged to an old man that had his legs removed  due to complications from diabetes. He kept in the the garage for 20 some years and his kids traded it to my dad for some vet work they needed done after he passed away.  Unfortunately, my brother borrowed it go to South Padre on spring break and totaled it.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

CremeBrulee said:


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LOL I also got my Olds from an elderly man in Cupertino, CA. The inside looked brand spanking new because he said his wife only drove it on Sundays and always kept it in the garage. She had recently died.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

gipper said:


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The Duster hell yes but not the Fury unless you are irresponsible.


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## gipper (Jan 2, 2016)

CremeBrulee said:


> I don't know that I'm "inspired" but there are some cars I never tire of looking at.
> My absolute favorite muscle car.  I was in love since I saw it in the movie Better Off Dead.
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QuickHitCurepon said:


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If I had to chose which car to drive at that speed, it would not be the Duster with it's rickety front end.

I had several muscle cars ( BTW I do not consider any car built after 1973, a muscle car and certainly not a 98).  Had a 73 340 4 speed pistol grip Challenger with modified motor.  Got it to 125mph on a straight road at 2am in northern Michigan (deer country) and the whole front end was shaking...now that was dumb...but by the grace of God, I survived.


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


> I have a very good friend who was a mechanic for many years at a car dealership in Santa Cruz, CA, and he was the one who told me the Duster is a 360..



70 Dusters did not come with a 360. That engine wasn't introduced until 1971 and wasn't available in the Duster until 72 (very rare). It replaced the 340 in 74 but the Duster was larger and all the emission control crap was killing the engine performance. Most drag racers preferred the 340 because it had a better bore and stroke and produced more net horsepower than the 360.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

gipper said:


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The Hemi was a 426 cu. in. with 425 h.p. and it was not available in the Fury, although it would fit if you put it in yourself.  Same with the 440 cu. in. with 375 h.p.  And the Duster was definitely a 340 cu. in. with 275 h.p., not a 360.  It even says 340 on the side of the car.
The 340 was actually a bored out 318 and the 440 was a bored out 383.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Boss said:


> QuickHitCurepon said:
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It was a coincidence the lady who owned the Duster at first and before I bought it from a guy at Mountain View Auto Interiors also had lived only a few blocks away in my hometown of Palo Alto, CA, and he had won 1st place with it at Cherry's Jubilee in Monterey, CA. It had been totally rebuilt from bottom to top, and the only thing I needed to do was put in an overdrive, because it was really loud on the freeway in 4th gear. I did have to have the engine rebuilt, but that is another story.

They had to put low profile tires and rims on it to keep it on the road, but the Duster was perfectly dependable to drive.


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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I guarantee you, if it was a 70 it had the 340 and not a 360. AND.. it was a rare gem of a car with the 340. Only about 20k were produced. Most had the slant 6 or 318 engine. At first I thought, it's possible someone could have thrown a 360 in it but if you say it won 1st and Cherry's, it's definitely a 340.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Boss said:


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I didn't win it. The guy did.

The competition he was in I don't think was mechanically related so they for sure didn't check.

They had a lot of trouble squeezing the new engine in, and it was probably a modern upgrade.

Yea, it was a 6 cylinder originally and they made it an 8 with roller lifters.


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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Well you said the guy won 1st place with it at Cherry's and I am familiar with Cherry's Jubilee in Monterrey. They didn't give it 1st place with a replacement 360. And yes, they DO check. 

I'm not calling you a liar, I just think someone is confused. The 360s were mostly seen in Dodge trucks and the Polaris before 1972. It is a bigger engine than the 340 and the 340 would barely fit in the small 70 Duster.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

S.J. said:


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Maybe, that is what he wanted people to think.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Boss said:


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Do you know every last competition there?


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Boss said:


> I'm not calling you a liar, I just think someone is confused. The 360s were mostly seen in Dodge trucks and the Polaris before 1972. It is a bigger engine than the 340 and the 340 would barely fit in the small 70 Duster.



They had a trick to make it clear the radiator. They needed an extra six to eight inches as I recall but don't quote me on it.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

It wouldn't make sense to put a 360 in it.  The 340 was a better engine.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

S.J. said:


> It wouldn't make sense to put a 360 in it.  The 340 was a better engine.


 
Boss said a 340 would be better for a drag race, but for overall speed, which do you believe would be faster?


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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Unless he won 1st for most atrociously dumb ass conversion, I am saying it was a 340. 

The 340 Dusters were works of art... why would you drop a truck engine in one? Doesn't make any sense to me. I had a friend who owned a 70 Duster with a 318 and that was a huge engine for such a little car... he had trouble getting the spark plugs in and out. The 340 was the same engine bored out. I can't imagine the larger 360 even fitting a 70 Duster without major modification... and again, why would you put a lower torque truck engine in a Duster? The 340s were lighter and had more horsepower and were much faster in the quarter.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 2, 2016)

Boss said:


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Would the 340 or the 360 be more likely to get it up to 140 MPH?


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## Boss (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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Either one could probably do 140 with the right mods and cam, the faster in the quarter would be the 340 because more horsepower and lighter. If you were running them both against each other at Daytona in a 500 mile race, the 360 would probably win.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

The 340 was built for performance.  I guess you could make the 360 a high performance engine if you modified it enough but why do that when there were few cars that could beat a 340 Duster or Swinger.  Even the 383 Roadrunner with 335 horsepower would be hard pressed to beat the 340.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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340.


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## S.J. (Jan 2, 2016)

S.J. said:


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A side note, if you want better top speed, put a smaller rear end in it.


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## DGS49 (Jan 2, 2016)

It's really getting deep around here...


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## Jarlaxle (Jan 3, 2016)

QuickHitCurepon said:


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Dude, look at the stripes: the car is a Duster 340.  The first 360 Duster was 1974...the first 360 was made in 1971.  The engine pic makes me think it might have been built with a 318 or a six.



> The Fury was modified by the owner who probably was a policeman since it had a pass sticker on the window from around 1973. For a long time, I thought the pass sticker was from the CHP, but someone set me straight on that.



Chrysler never had a 425ci engine.  They had 170, 198, 225, 273, 318, 340, 350, 360, 361, 383, 400, 426, and 440...no 425.  A police fury would probably have a 440...otherwise, it could have a 225, a 318, a 360, or a 400.


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## Jarlaxle (Jan 3, 2016)

S.J. said:


> It wouldn't make sense to put a 360 in it.  The 340 was a better engine.



All else being equal, a 360 will make more power.  Not to mention: 340s were never common engines...while MILLIONS of 360s were built from 1971 to 2003!


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## Jarlaxle (Jan 3, 2016)

Boss said:


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The 340 and 360 are externally identical except for the harmonic balancer, oil pan, and flywheel.  One is a 100% bolt-in for the other.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 3, 2016)

Jarlaxle said:


> Dude, look at the stripes: the car is a Duster 340. The first 360 Duster was 1974...the first 360 was made in 1971. The engine pic makes me think it might have been built with a 318 or a six.



Obviously. We already covered that it was 6 cylinders when new.


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## QuickHitCurepon (Jan 3, 2016)

Jarlaxle said:


> Chrysler never had a 425ci engine. They had 170, 198, 225, 273, 318, 340, 350, 360, 361, 383, 400, 426, and 440...no 425. A police fury would probably have a 440...otherwise, it could have a 225, a 318, a 360, or a 400.



You can't make a 400 into 425? Impossible?

Except for what my friend said, I still believe the Fury is a 400, but I have a lot of faith in him.


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## Boss (Jan 3, 2016)

Jarlaxle said:


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I was pretty sure the 360 had a larger block. The 340 was just a bored out 318, they would have been essentially the same. You're saying a 318 and 360 are the same too?


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## S.J. (Jan 3, 2016)

The 318 and the 340 are the same, with the distributor in the back.  383 and 440 are the same.  Pretty sure the 360 is not the same block as either.


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## Jarlaxle (Jan 3, 2016)

Boss said:


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360 has a different crankshaft with larger bearings...otherwise, yes, the same.


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