As much as there are cars that are clearly of the 1980s, so there are cars that were unmistakably built in the 1970s. Such is especially the case for the number 3 and 4 American automakers, Chrysler and AMC. They used paisley patterns, stripes, and other elements in new and garish ways that were no doubt considered stylish and avant-garde at the time, but now just seem dated and kitschy. While searching for a fuselage-bodied Chrysler vehicle, we stumbled upon a car with a fantastic original 1970s interior that you might call the automotive equivalent of a leisure suit, or perhaps it recalls those multi-colored garden chairs made up of vinyl strips on a metal frame. You can find this 1974 Plymouth Gold Duster with bidding at $3200 and 3 days left to go in Mount Vernon, WA, just an hour north of Seattle.
The car had one owner for its first 39 years in the dry climate of Spokane, WA. And that clearly shows in the condition of the car – the paint is somewhat dulled from its years of sun exposure, but there is very little rust in the sills, and no apparent rust under the white vinyl top. The driver’s front fender had a minor dent back in 1990, which fortunately wasn’t fixed so the original finish was maintained – perhaps a sympathetic paintless dent shop could fix this now? All the hubcaps are present and in good shape, and the interior itself is immaculate, barring a couple of small blemishes.
Just one last shot – notice the pipe going across the left side of the trunk. Clearly, someone was having a lazy day at the office – exposed pipes in a car of this age are not surprising, but crossing the trunk diagonally directly to the tank instead of following the contours recalls cars from eastern bloc countries where they didn’t have to consider what customers thought. Nonetheless, would you buy this as an emblem of the time in which it was made?
Tags: american, coupe, duster, Feature, gold duster, plymouth
Rusty But Trusty 
September 28, 2013 at 12:12 pm |
These are really good cars; mechanically bulletproof but this one is over 4K already and hasn’t met reserve. I think it’s already too expensive. I do like it though.