J-MacsMopars
Shade Tree Vintage Auto on YouTube
There are two known 318 powered feather dusters. I believe one of them belongs to a member on here.
Feather duster value
- Thread starter Ashburg
- Start date
-
- Status
Blue87D100
.....
They may now have 318's in them,but they didnt come that way from the factory.
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
The Feather Duster included aluminum replacements for the inner hood, trunk bracing, bumper brackets, and intake manifold, cutting weight by 180 lb (around 5%). It had a smaller single barrel carburetor, economy distributor calibration, large exhaust, and a 2.8:1 rear axle ratio, with a choice of three-speed automatic or four-speed overdrive manual transmission.
While acceleration was compromised, the Feather Duster was now rated at 22 mpg city, 31 highway with the automatic (a stunning 24 city, 36 highway with the manual), and was larger inside than many other economy cars, though acceleration took a hit. The Feather Duster was a fine alternative to the extra-slow Japanese imports that customers were waiting to buy, at list price; or at least it would have been, had more people considered it over the quick-rusting Coronas, Civics, and Datsuns of the time.
The Feather Duster could be well optioned — Richard Benner’s (pictured) had styled Rally wheels, a vinyl top, bucket seats with a console and floor auto shifter, full carpets, and all the other options.
While acceleration was compromised, the Feather Duster was now rated at 22 mpg city, 31 highway with the automatic (a stunning 24 city, 36 highway with the manual), and was larger inside than many other economy cars, though acceleration took a hit. The Feather Duster was a fine alternative to the extra-slow Japanese imports that customers were waiting to buy, at list price; or at least it would have been, had more people considered it over the quick-rusting Coronas, Civics, and Datsuns of the time.
The Feather Duster could be well optioned — Richard Benner’s (pictured) had styled Rally wheels, a vinyl top, bucket seats with a console and floor auto shifter, full carpets, and all the other options.
J-MacsMopars
Shade Tree Vintage Auto on YouTube
The one had pictures of the vin and fender tag. It was a G code car and said E44. It was factory. I have been trying to find the pics.
Blue87D100
.....
Then the parts and tag were swapped on to the 318 car. The Feather/Lite package was for fuel economy,there are no 318 versions.Read the above info posted by Oklacarcollecto.
Blue87D100
.....
fender tag should have the A31 code not E44,and All VIN's I've seen have all been made in the 'G' plant (St.Louis),must be what you saw.
Bulldozer
free ice cream sandwiches
if there are v8 versions ,id like to see one ,i have heard of these produced,that is why i was under the assumption they were built ,but i never seen one in person to validate a vin or fender tag.
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
Here is an interesting article. "A fiberboard headliner and pop-out windows also trimmed off weight."
1976 Plymouth Feather Duster - A Feather In His Cap
Mike Roberts' '76 Feather Duster Is A Product Of Hard Work And A Source Of Pleasure
From the May, 2003 issue of Mopar Muscle
By Wade Cassels
Photography by Randy Bolig
The '76 Feather Duster is a product of Chrysler's efforts to create a high-performance, fuel-economic car during a time in America when fuel had never been scarcer. The Duster was in its seventh year of production, and in response to the gas crisis, the Feather Duster (listed as the "Feather Duster Fuel Economy Package" on the option list) was engineered to be lightweight and get great gas mileage. There are few cars that tell more about the time in which they were built than the Feather Duster. This yellow one belongs to Mike Roberts of Ashville, Ohio, and it was only after he acquired it that Mike began learning the car's history.
Darell Blevins of Elizabethton, Tennessee, discovered this car in a junkyard in nearby Bristol. When he rescued it from the crusher, it was in "Tin Man" condition-all it needed was a heart. The original engine was gone, but the car was otherwise complete, all the way down to the buildsheet, window sticker, and owner's manual taking up residence in the glove compartment.
Mike found out about it through a mutual friend, Alan King, and in July 1997 he arranged to take a look at it. "We went to Darell's garage and there was this copper-colored Duster with black [vinyl] interior on jackstands-minus a motor and K-frame," Mike says. "He was going to paint it like this Dart he showed me on a paint manufacturer's calendar and then sell it to turn a buck. We haggled [over it] and struck a deal.
"I knew nothing about the Feather Duster, other than Darell saying they were rare. Most people thought it was just a neat phrase I made up. But I found out it was an economy option package ($50.56) featuring lightweight components."
Mike's car features the aluminum inner hood and trunk-lid panels and aluminum front and rear bumper mounts designed to make the Duster as light as a . . . well, you know. The crash-resistant bumper mounts and the transmission casing are also aluminum. A fiberboard headliner and pop-out windows also trimmed off weight. The shipping weight for these cars was around 2,700 pounds. As a result, they were getting as much as 20 mpg in town and 36 mpg on the highway, numbers comparable to today's economy cars.
Blevins and King set to work installing an engine. They decided to go with a 318 from a '72 Dodge van because, as Mike says, "That was what Darell had lying on the floor of his garage." In it went, along with a Performer intake and an Edelbrock carb. Those three components, along with the disc brakes, are the only non-stock parts. It maintains the original 711/44, 2.76 axle rearend, although Mike says there is an 831/44, 3.23 waiting in the wings should anything happen to the original.
The car was ordered from the factory with the automatic transmission option ($250), so Blevins put in a 904 three-speed. "It was a rare option," Mike says. "It was ordered with a 904 on the buildsheet, and I wanted to keep the automatic because most all were ordered with stick shifts." Other factory-ordered options included tinted-glass ($34.85) and a remote-controlled driver-side mirror. There are 14x6 Rallye wheels on the front and 15x7s in the back.
With the engine, paint, and seat covers complete, Blevins and King handed it off to Mike, who began restoring the rest of the car, part by part, with some advice from friend Bobby Rogers in Kentucky. "Anything that could be unbolted was cleaned, painted, rechromed, or all of the above," Mike says. "The dashpad, door panels-anything-you name it, I did it. [Car collecting] is getting to be a rich man's hobby. But this car was not done by a renowned restoration shop or an owner with deep pockets, just three guys and a woman who love Mopars and love to drive them. It has exceeded all [my] expectations."
Mike and his wife, Vicki, log about 5,000 miles a year in weekend cruises and trips to car shows. "Vicki is a Mopar woman," Mike says. "It's really her car. After 100 miles in 95-degree heat, she jumps right in and makes it shine. We drive the car everywhere it goes. It has never been on a trailer. It's true that Mopar owners drive their cars more than any other collectors."
They have been active on the local show circuit, but Mike says his most treasured prize is a First Place finish in A-Body Modified at the '01 All-Chrysler Nationals. At the Mopar Nationals, Mike had to show in the Modified class because of the motor, but he says he lost points there due to originality. "It has rubbed shoulders with the upper crust on the show field, but they're in the trailer while we're having our fun," Mike says. "I redid the car my way, and a thumbs-up on the road is better than any trophy . . . except for Carlisle."
Read more: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...uth_feather_duster/viewall.html#ixzz1gChTVWq8
1976 Plymouth Feather Duster - A Feather In His Cap
Mike Roberts' '76 Feather Duster Is A Product Of Hard Work And A Source Of Pleasure
From the May, 2003 issue of Mopar Muscle
By Wade Cassels
Photography by Randy Bolig
The '76 Feather Duster is a product of Chrysler's efforts to create a high-performance, fuel-economic car during a time in America when fuel had never been scarcer. The Duster was in its seventh year of production, and in response to the gas crisis, the Feather Duster (listed as the "Feather Duster Fuel Economy Package" on the option list) was engineered to be lightweight and get great gas mileage. There are few cars that tell more about the time in which they were built than the Feather Duster. This yellow one belongs to Mike Roberts of Ashville, Ohio, and it was only after he acquired it that Mike began learning the car's history.
Darell Blevins of Elizabethton, Tennessee, discovered this car in a junkyard in nearby Bristol. When he rescued it from the crusher, it was in "Tin Man" condition-all it needed was a heart. The original engine was gone, but the car was otherwise complete, all the way down to the buildsheet, window sticker, and owner's manual taking up residence in the glove compartment.
Mike found out about it through a mutual friend, Alan King, and in July 1997 he arranged to take a look at it. "We went to Darell's garage and there was this copper-colored Duster with black [vinyl] interior on jackstands-minus a motor and K-frame," Mike says. "He was going to paint it like this Dart he showed me on a paint manufacturer's calendar and then sell it to turn a buck. We haggled [over it] and struck a deal.
"I knew nothing about the Feather Duster, other than Darell saying they were rare. Most people thought it was just a neat phrase I made up. But I found out it was an economy option package ($50.56) featuring lightweight components."
Mike's car features the aluminum inner hood and trunk-lid panels and aluminum front and rear bumper mounts designed to make the Duster as light as a . . . well, you know. The crash-resistant bumper mounts and the transmission casing are also aluminum. A fiberboard headliner and pop-out windows also trimmed off weight. The shipping weight for these cars was around 2,700 pounds. As a result, they were getting as much as 20 mpg in town and 36 mpg on the highway, numbers comparable to today's economy cars.
Blevins and King set to work installing an engine. They decided to go with a 318 from a '72 Dodge van because, as Mike says, "That was what Darell had lying on the floor of his garage." In it went, along with a Performer intake and an Edelbrock carb. Those three components, along with the disc brakes, are the only non-stock parts. It maintains the original 711/44, 2.76 axle rearend, although Mike says there is an 831/44, 3.23 waiting in the wings should anything happen to the original.
The car was ordered from the factory with the automatic transmission option ($250), so Blevins put in a 904 three-speed. "It was a rare option," Mike says. "It was ordered with a 904 on the buildsheet, and I wanted to keep the automatic because most all were ordered with stick shifts." Other factory-ordered options included tinted-glass ($34.85) and a remote-controlled driver-side mirror. There are 14x6 Rallye wheels on the front and 15x7s in the back.
With the engine, paint, and seat covers complete, Blevins and King handed it off to Mike, who began restoring the rest of the car, part by part, with some advice from friend Bobby Rogers in Kentucky. "Anything that could be unbolted was cleaned, painted, rechromed, or all of the above," Mike says. "The dashpad, door panels-anything-you name it, I did it. [Car collecting] is getting to be a rich man's hobby. But this car was not done by a renowned restoration shop or an owner with deep pockets, just three guys and a woman who love Mopars and love to drive them. It has exceeded all [my] expectations."
Mike and his wife, Vicki, log about 5,000 miles a year in weekend cruises and trips to car shows. "Vicki is a Mopar woman," Mike says. "It's really her car. After 100 miles in 95-degree heat, she jumps right in and makes it shine. We drive the car everywhere it goes. It has never been on a trailer. It's true that Mopar owners drive their cars more than any other collectors."
They have been active on the local show circuit, but Mike says his most treasured prize is a First Place finish in A-Body Modified at the '01 All-Chrysler Nationals. At the Mopar Nationals, Mike had to show in the Modified class because of the motor, but he says he lost points there due to originality. "It has rubbed shoulders with the upper crust on the show field, but they're in the trailer while we're having our fun," Mike says. "I redid the car my way, and a thumbs-up on the road is better than any trophy . . . except for Carlisle."
Read more: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...uth_feather_duster/viewall.html#ixzz1gChTVWq8
J-MacsMopars
Shade Tree Vintage Auto on YouTube
Just like there are no HEMI four door cars, rite?
I read that. But as most know, never say never with Chrysler. The fender tag had the code for feather duster and it said E44. But I am not going to argue about it.
How many 8 3/4's have been found behind slant sixes, and that wasn't an option.
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
Proof is in the pudding or is it?
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVApHh5Rax4"]The Proof Is In The Pudding, Please Why? (7:40am) - YouTube[/ame]
Blue87D100
.....
I never said anything about HEMI 4 door cars,or 8 3/4 behind slants. I have seen plenty of both.
Their is nothing to argue,E44 is not the feather duster code it is the code for a 318 2bbl,and the FD/DL cars were never made with a 318 period.End of story. You can hope,think,and dream all you want but it does not make it so.
Ashburg
Member
lol i like how people are arguing about hemi 4 doors and axles on a thread about a feather duster
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
run away as fast as you can.. need paint, needs a fuel system, needs int. all that and god knows what else it needs the car sounds like a POS. the floors were fixed??? how were they fixed? did they pop rivit a stop sign in there or replace it with a new or used floor sections?? the floor was coated with something?? under coat??? sounds like he is hiding something. but we can't help ya because you don't think pictures can tell you anything. so without actually seeing pictures of all the flaws you have described i say unless you can get it for a few hundred dollars run as fast as you can from it.. buy hell you already have all the answers (and only waiting for someone to tell you what you want to hear) so do what ever the hell you want.
In 1990 I had a chance to buy for $500 a 1967 "Hemi" Satellite (minus the engine).
At the time, the official word from Chrysler was "All 1967 Hemi B body Plymouths were GTXs".
A couple months later the car sold again for $3500.
...and a couple of years later, Chrysler admitted "...there were approximately five built..."
I think that number has climed to a dozen since then.
This was during the Hemi 4 door Coronet craze, and noted Mopar historians were digging through the oddball hemi production figures.
...weren't we discussing a Duster?
At the time, the official word from Chrysler was "All 1967 Hemi B body Plymouths were GTXs".
A couple months later the car sold again for $3500.
...and a couple of years later, Chrysler admitted "...there were approximately five built..."
I think that number has climed to a dozen since then.
This was during the Hemi 4 door Coronet craze, and noted Mopar historians were digging through the oddball hemi production figures.
...weren't we discussing a Duster?
Ashburg
Member
Man please stop going on about pictures.. its over..
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
every time you post you bring up something that is needed to be seen in order to help ya out. like i said you already have your mind made up and are only waiting for someone to tell ya what you want to hear. so stop wasting everyones time and go buy the pile of crap and then post here on how you paid too much and got in over your head... see it too many times to even give a crap about it any more.
Why can't you take pictures? Are the picture police standin around?
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
because he really doesn't want an honest opinion on what any of us think its really worth. he is looking for someone to tell him what he wants to hear. he will ignore everything else..
J-MacsMopars
Shade Tree Vintage Auto on YouTube
Remember when you asked me if I had read the above statement? Well I am aware that E44 is 318, that is why I said it had the code for being the feather duster AND E44. The car was either on here or on moparts. I don't have any dreams about the car as I don't care to own one. I only like to find oddities.
I mentioned the 8 3/4, slant cars and the HEMI 4 doors ONLY because they were not supposed to be built, yet they where. Had nothing to do with you saying anything about them. However, you said that you have seen plenty of the HEMI four doors. Well I would love to know where as there were a speculated FIVE built total and Two to Three still exist. So where have you seen "plenty"? Another car that was not supposed to be built, yet there are I believe five Chargers and seven Road Runners that are 1972 V code 440 six pack cars. All I am saying is, is that Chrylser did some funny things. They did what the customer wanted back then, hands down. You could go order a car and take a gallon of what ever color of paint you wanted, and they would paint it for you, Then you could have a 1970 dart painted Ford yellow from the factory. Have you seen the fender tag and vin of EVERY feather duster out there? I haven't, but I did see the pictures of this one. The car was B7 Blue iirc. I am 90% sure it was on this site and I spent about two hours looking for it last night. I have said my piece and if you don't care to broaden your thoughts and your going to go ONLY by Galens books, thats your problem, not mine. All I am saying is Chrysler did what they needed to to make a sell. I have dealt with hundreds of mopars since I started playing the game at age 16 in 1999. I have brokered high dollar cars and am currently selling the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner ad car. And yes, it is the real deal. I am not going to waist my time trying to find the picture of that tag anymore, but if I run by it, I will post it here for you to see.
Sorry to the OP for the thread hi-jack. I am done now.
Ashburg
Member
abodyjoe, take some midol.. ya'll are some picture nazis
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
just calling it as i see it there skippy.
OneOfMany
Well-Known Member
With the scarcity of both the Feather Dusters and the Dart Lite packages these days, and the fact that the Duster is the most desirable of the two, it is the one to look for. It is only a matter of time that these limited production econo-cars get the attention they deserve, and possibly dethrone the over-hyped performance variants. I for one would love to pull up to a Prius or another of this ilk, and boast how I am near to approaching their greeness without earth destroying batteries.
I would think, albeit a guesstimate, from all of the work done, and the probably insignificant issues causing it to run poorly, that this vehicle would easliy approach the 4-5k value as it sits. With another 15k invested to restore her to original, the sky is the limit.
Grant
I would think, albeit a guesstimate, from all of the work done, and the probably insignificant issues causing it to run poorly, that this vehicle would easliy approach the 4-5k value as it sits. With another 15k invested to restore her to original, the sky is the limit.
Grant
demon seed
The Original Demon Seed
I think Ashburg has heard all he wants to hear here and in lite of all the BS hyjacking going on from people with nothing better to do it's time to shut er down.
rotest:
Maybe some of you guys should start your own "Feather Duster" thread so this information can all be brought to light and discussed in a gentlemanly or ladylike (for the ladies and like minded out there) manner. Ya right, I'd pay to see that.[-razz:
rotest:Maybe some of you guys should start your own "Feather Duster" thread so this information can all be brought to light and discussed in a gentlemanly or ladylike (for the ladies and like minded out there) manner. Ya right, I'd pay to see that.[-
razz:- Status
-
