The Plymouth Duster was an affordable road rocket in 340 small block form when it debuted in 1970.
It was a speedy fastback variation of the humble Valiant and it won the hearts of many young car guys over the years.
Jim Sutherland
Dave Boucher purchased a tired 1970 Duster back with plenty of body issues back in 1984. Dave is a journeyman auto body mechanic, so he was able to tackle the Duster’s massive restoration challenges.
The old Duster had major rust issues that required replacement or repair on most of its body components. Dave told MyStarCollectorCar that he changed both rear quarter panels, doors, and front fenders, along with the original hood on the car.
The car was in very rough shape, it even had roof dents that required repair because replacement was not a viable option, so Dave included that process in his long repair list. The entire process took place from 1983 until 1991 when Dave was able to display his car in a series of major shows, including World of Wheels and Powerama.
Even better, Dave’s ’70 Duster won first place awards against stiff competition in some of these events because he left no stone unturned during the long restoration. Dave added, “I surprised some European car owners because I won first place for overall quality competing against their high-end vehicles”.
The difference was Dave elevated his Duster’s build quality to a much higher level than factory and the judges recognized his talent with the first-place award.
Eventually, Dave received a “Godfather offer” for his Duster. In other words, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse because he sold it for 8000 dollars, a price his car guy buddies believed was about 3000 dollars above its value at the time.
However, the big problem for Dave was he regretted selling the car and quickly developed a severe case of seller’s remorse. Dave was able to keep track of the Duster’s whereabouts but was unable to convince a series of owners to sell the car back to him for many years.
Fortunately, Dave’s luck took a turn for the better in 2013 when he was able to purchase the car back from its then-current owner. He was also able to determine his ’70 Duster had only been driven 3500 miles since Dave was its owner in the early 1990s and even had the same tires he put on the car, although he replaced them because of age and safety reasons when Dave repurchased the car in 2013.
Dave’s goal from the beginning was to restore the car back to its factory condition, including retention of its original 340 small block and 3-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission, along with its 3:55 Sure-Grip differential.
Mission accomplished in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar because Dave was the car guy talent behind one of the nicest 1970 Plymouth Dusters in the hobby. His future plans include a new paint job because Dave is now able to buy replacement adhesive side panel stripes that were on the car when it left the factory-and the current ones are painted on the car.
It is very clear Dave will never sell his 1970 Plymouth Duster again, mainly because it was so tough to get it back and he strongly regrets selling it in the first place.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
- CLICK HERE to Sign Up for the Newsletter
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest
