1975 & 1976 360-Powered Models !

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LH23H2R

LH23H2R

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In online discussions with our fellow forum member A38 , my interest in these anomalies has been piqued ; it's been revitillised !

So , I'm starting a thread that's dedicated to the 1975 and 1976 Dart Sport , Duster , Valiant Police , and other rarities .

1975 was the second year for the 360 motor . It was the first year that the TorqueFlite was the only transmission available .
According to an article in a 1975 issue of Hot Rod , Tom "Father of the Hemi" Hoover writes about how to modify a 1975 Duster 360 for I/SA or J/SA . There's mention that one could order an A.I.R. Pump in place of the dual catalytic converters ; certainly this wasn't the case in good ol' California :angry7: .

1976 was the final year for our beloved "A"s , and there were a few changes ; some obvious , some not-so-obvious :
- Parking Lamp lenses were now ambre-coloured
- Interior rear-view mirror was windshield-mounted
- Parking Brake went to a foot-operated setup
- No more separate 360 models , as the 360 was legated to option status , available with any trim level
- A38 Valiant Police models.

While this thread is open to any 1975 - 1976 model , I wish for it to concentrate on the performance models ; however , cars with lesser-known / lesser-seen trim levels ( A62 Interior Dusters , Silver Dusters , Spirit of '76 and Feather Duster / Dart Lite ) are more than welcome as well .

Even if you don't own one of these anomalies , please share your input , info and stories about these final 2 years of our beloved "A"s .

Above all , let's have fun with this thread :happy10:
 
One of the cars I owned was a 1976 Spirit of 76 Dodge Dart Lite(I think it has the longest name of all of the cars I have owned.) It was really cool,I have since only seen 1 other Spirit car with the Lite option.

225 Slant Six with aluminum intake
833 od with aluminum case
7 1/4 with sure grip 2.94 gears(had to slip the clutch like a mother!)
Aluminum hood supports/bumper brakets/and deck lid supports.
What looked like hang 10 interior minus the fold down rear seat.
Awesome american flag style stripe running down the legnth of the car.

Cool little cruiser,wish I still had it.
 
I know of a Feather Duster sitting in a junk yard. /6 overdrive 4 speed. rear was pulled and thats about all thats missing other that the clutch pedals, rods/z-bar, and steering column. Its original rally red with 2.94 gears.
 
the front clip was lighter on the feather and lite models werent they??
 
Thanks for sharing , guys !

Other 1976 stuff I forgot to add initially :

- Disc Brakes standard as of 01/01/1976 production
- Aluminum-case 833 OD trans
- Radial-Ply tyres optional ( mandatory with rear sway bar )

Our Fellow member "A38" mentioned in a message to me that he needs to 'recreate' his twin '76 Valiant A38's , due to structural rust . I'm going to comb Craigslist , etc. , and see what I can find ...
Any '74 & later Dart (LL41) or Valiant (VL41) would suffice , as that was the 1st year that Dodge and Plymouth shared the same wheelbase ( Valiant 4 doors were shorter until 1974 ) .

Keep those stories and info coming !
 
mopardrt said:
the front clip was lighter on the feather and lite models werent they??
Click to expand...

Dart Lite [sic] and Feather Duster exclusive parts ( please add / correct my info as necessary ) :

- Aluminum hood and trunk bracing
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- 833 four speed OD
- 2.76 gear with TorqueFlite
- 2.94 gear with 4 speed

Those cars were capable of up to 35-40 MPG !! Take THAT Prius !! "Synergy" , indeed !! Oh , and the light-weight "A" bodies actually look appealing , unlike your ugly "Cosmic Debris" hybrid **** box !!:-D
 
LH23H2R said:
Dart Lite [sic] and Feather Duster exclusive parts ( please add / correct my info as necessary ) :

- Aluminum hood and trunk bracing
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- 833 four speed OD
- 2.76 gear with TorqueFlite
- 2.94 gear with 4 speed

Those cars were capable of up to 35-40 MPG !! Take THAT Prius !! "Synergy" , indeed !! Oh , and the light-weight "A" bodies actually look appealing , unlike your ugly "Cosmic Debris" hybrid **** box !!:-D
Click to expand...

That is correct. It was not uncommon for the feather/lite cars to not have the aluminum trunk bracing.I have seen a few like this. I guess Mopar considered it optional:-D
 
Grinder said:
That is correct. It was not uncommon for the feather/lite cars to not have the aluminum trunk bracing.I have seen a few like this. I guess Mopar considered it optional:-D
Click to expand...
I can absolutely see that :toothy10: . I'm sure that these cars weren't built in batches , but rather were built with other "29" body style cars ; and , I can see this being a particular problem at the Hamtramck facility :happy10: .

btw , I wonder if all of these ( Dart Lite / Feather Duster ) were built in one plant only ? Were the exclusive to Hamtramck , or did St. Louis ( "G" ) and Newerk ("F" ) build them as well ?
 
............I have a rallye red 75 duster with white side stripes, white/black bucket seat interior, consol, 40,000 original miles.........360 4 bbl hp, dual exhaust.......727auto, 3.21 suregrip 8.25 rear.......road wheels....discs......factory 8 track....+ a few more options......very nice car......kim........
 
LH23H2R said:
I can absolutely see that :toothy10: . I'm sure that these cars weren't built in batches , but rather were built with other "29" body style cars ; and , I can see this being a particular problem at the Hamtramck facility :happy10: .

btw , I wonder if all of these ( Dart Lite / Feather Duster ) were built in one plant only ? Were the exclusive to Hamtramck , or did St. Louis ( "G" ) and Newerk ("F" ) build them as well ?
Click to expand...

Mine was built in St.Louis if I remember correctly!
 
LH23H2R said:
Dart Lite [sic] and Feather Duster exclusive parts ( please add / correct my info as necessary ) :

- Aluminum hood and trunk bracing
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- 833 four speed OD
- 2.76 gear with TorqueFlite
- 2.94 gear with 4 speed

Those cars were capable of up to 35-40 MPG !! Take THAT Prius !! "Synergy" , indeed !! Oh , and the light-weight "A" bodies actually look appealing , unlike your ugly "Cosmic Debris" hybrid **** box !!:-D
Click to expand...

They had specially tuned one barrel carbs sitting on an aluminum intake manifold. They also had larger v-8 size exhaust pipe. They could also have been ordered with a 3 speed manuel or auto alta that kinda defeated the purpose of these cars.
 
A31 is the fender tag code for a Feather Duster/Dart Lite. Also I think the came with 14in. wheels but don't hold me accountable to that.
 
Holley 1945 carb with small jet,and a special curve in the distributor. 2 1/4 head pipe and a 2 in tail pipe
 
67Dart273 said:
I would really REALLY like to see that. I don't just mean on paper, either
Click to expand...
For what it's worth , I've seen it in person . One of my former neighbours had one , a 4 speed model .

He bought it new ( ordered it , actually ) in March 1976 from the local Chrysler-Plymouth-Imperial dealer ; it was nicely equipped .

Back in 1990 , he and I went to Spring Fling IV ; he drove us there in his Feather Duster .
Filled it up with 92 , and just cruised .
Stock-replacement tyres ( 195/75-14 , iirc ... ) , Red Line 10W-40 , Red Line trans and diff fluid .

At an average speed of 60 MPG , the car's mileage was 36 (!!) .

Granted , that's heresy ; I cannot supply any supporting evidence . You'll just have to take my cyber-word on it :-D .

As the old saying goes : "Your Mileage May Vary" .
 
Grinder said:
That is correct. It was not uncommon for the feather/lite cars to not have the aluminum trunk bracing.I have seen a few like this. I guess Mopar considered it optional:-D
Click to expand...

Bumper brackets (the shock mounts, or energy absorbing units in Mother Mopar parlance) were the same as others, it was the bumper reinforcement bars that were aluminum.

I have read several places that the aluminum intake manifold, transmission case, inner hood and decklid bracing, and bumper reinforcement bars added up to a 183 pound saving over the regular production cars, and even with the lightweight components that these cars were heavier than similarly equipped 70-71 cars.
 
Thats what I meant by bumper brackets. Not sure where you heard 183 lbs. Yep still a couple of hundred pounds heavier than a 70-72.
 
I also manage to get the compete build sheet intack out of the car and stamped below all the codes it says FEATHER DUSTER (in red or black, I don't remember). Also A31 is listed under special group package.
 
LH23H2R said:
Dart Lite [sic] and Feather Duster exclusive parts ( please add / correct my info as necessary ) :

- Aluminum hood and trunk bracing
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- 833 four speed OD
- 2.76 gear with TorqueFlite
- 2.94 gear with 4 speed

Those cars were capable of up to 35-40 MPG !! Take THAT Prius !! "Synergy" , indeed !! Oh , and the light-weight "A" bodies actually look appealing , unlike your ugly "Cosmic Debris" hybrid **** box !!:-D
Click to expand...
:toothy10::toothy10::toothy10::toothy10::toothy10::toothy10:
lets be realistic here,If those cars got that kind of gas mileage,we would all own one or two. and .................. they's still be makin them :snakeman:
 
You dont have to believe it if you dont want to. But I also have first hand experience with the mileage that they get. Mine would get 21 mpg with in town driving,and 33 mpg on the highway at 65 mph. I had a buddy with an automatic feather duster,consistantly got 25 in town 29 mpg on the highway.The reason for me only getting 21 in the city I think was due to the 2.94 gear and having to slip the clutch so much to get it going. Plus I have heard numerous stories just like it. Hell im my 1970 Dart 225/auto I would gett 26-28 on the highway at 70! If you know how to tune,the slant can get very good mileage for the size of the motor. AgressiveTed on slantsix.org would get 28 mpg in a Volare wagon with a super six(2 bbl. carb, better curve on the distributor,slightly larger exhaust).He also gets a consistant 25 mpg in a automatic 74 dart, mixed driving with a motor built for torque(read not stock).
 
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