A more in-depth look at Round 2's entirely new tool (yes!) 1971 Dodge Demon 340 kit....

[drodg]

On 11/17/2023 at 8:36 PM, Can-Con said:

You may be thinking of the Plymouth Duster. From everything I've seen, the '71 and '72 Demons use the same tail lights.

I believe the 71 and 72 have the same taillights.  The dash on the 340 cars are different.  They quit using the rally dash in 72 and went to the standard cluster with no factory dash tach offered.   

[Dave Darby]

On 11/18/2023 at 9:20 AM, tim boyd said:

I too would love to see a correct 1970 Swinger 340, but the 1967-76 Dart lineup (other than the Demon) used a longer wheelbase and dealing with that in a scale kit  begins to introduce either compromises in authenticity or a number of issues with adapting tooling to accurately reflect reality. Still,,,,these days, I wouldn't put anything past Round 2's capability to surprise us with new kit topics.  TB

Completely forgot about the 3 inch difference in wheelbase between the Swinger and the Duster/Demon and 2 door Valiant. That would pretty much mean a new tool. Still be a dandy kit subject though.

[Dave Darby]

On 11/18/2023 at 9:20 AM, tim boyd said:

I too would love to see a correct 1970 Swinger 340, but the 1967-76 Dart lineup (other than the Demon) used a longer wheelbase and dealing with that in a scale kit  begins to introduce either compromises in authenticity or a number of issues with adapting tooling to accurately reflect reality. Still,,,,these days, I wouldn't put anything past Round 2's capability to surprise us with new kit topics.  TB

Completely forgot about the 3 inch difference in wheelbase between the Swinger and the Duster/Demon and 2 door Valiant. That would pretty much mean a new tool. Still be a dandy kit subject though.

 

On 11/18/2023 at 2:16 AM, Robberbaron said:

Side markers are different on the '72 also.  Although honestly, that's so minor I'd give them a pass if they got the grille and scoop correct.

It would be easy enough to change for anyone that was really bothered by it.  But let's be honest, there would be lots of screeching from certain types.

71's are flush mounted, where the 72's are "tacked" on. I suppose they could just tool up a set of clear lenses that could be tinted and glued on over the molded in side marker lights. I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. Maybe someone from the aftermarket will tackle the conversion. My brother and I both had 72 Demons. I sure miss mine.

[unclescott58]

I’ve been waiting for this, ever since I missed the chance to buy one back in 1971. I’ve never understood why it’s taken this long to get a another ‘71 Demon.

[unclescott58]

On 11/14/2023 at 8:19 AM, drodg said:

Many years ago I built a 1975 Hang Ten using Keith Marks decals.  It actually came out pretty well.  This picture is quite old and has been on my desktop for at least 10 years

I did the same. I love Keith Marks decals.

[Mr mopar]

1 hour ago, unclescott58 said:

I’ve been waiting for this, ever since I missed the chance to buy one back in 1971. I’ve never understood why it’s taken this long to get a another ‘71 Demon.

the original  Demon kit was only out for a very short time !

[drodg]

2 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

I did the same. I love Keith Marks decals.

His decals are great.

[gtx6970]

Hard to tell from the photos. But how well done are the drip rail and glass surround mldgs.  

 

I have an original MPC kit I started to build several years ago. I might shelve that one and use this instead

 

 

Hopefully, the aftermkt tools up A LOT of the Pro Stock decals from the era 

[drodg]

23 hours ago, Dave Darby said:

Completely forgot about the 3 inch difference in wheelbase between the Swinger and the Duster/Demon and 2 door Valiant. That would pretty much mean a new tool. Still be a dandy kit subject though.

 

71's are flush mounted, where the 72's are "tacked" on. I suppose they could just tool up a set of clear lenses that could be tinted and glued on over the molded in side marker lights. I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. Maybe someone from the aftermarket will tackle the conversion. My brother and I both had 72 Demons. I sure miss mine.

I had one in high school and then got married and kept it.  It was a great car.  

[catpack68]

Would love to see somebody 3d print or cast a 72 Demon grille for this

[tim boyd]

6 hours ago, drodg said:

I had one in high school and then got married and kept it.  It was a great car.  

People would be surprised about the number of executive level luminaries in the auto industry who owned and drove (primarily) Dusters and Demons at previous points in their life.  I know of three Design Execs who had Duster 340s specifically at my employer alone!   TB

[AmericanMuscleFan]

9 hours ago, catpack68 said:

Would love to see somebody 3d print or cast a 72 Demon grille for this

You can find one at Competition Resin (1972 Demon Pro Stock/Super Stock Resin body kit) but I don't know the quality and details, I don't work much with this type of material.  I decided to take the "Demon" by the horns and make one myself out of styrene but it was a lot of work!

[1972coronet]

10 hours ago, catpack68 said:

Would love to see somebody 3d print or cast a 72 Demon grille for this

I'm with you,  and I wish to add : 1972 interior (markedly different vs. 1971) , including the dashboard. bench seat would be great, too.

[drodg]

17 hours ago, tim boyd said:

People would be surprised about the number of executive level luminaries in the auto industry who owned and drove (primarily) Dusters and Demons at previous points in their life.  I know of three Design Execs who had Duster 340s specifically at my employer alone!   TB

I have owned in later life a 71 Demon 340 and a 72 Duster 340.  I sold the Duster a few years ago and that is one of the cars I regret selling.  It was a high mile car but had been well sorted.  Auto A/c and the deluxe interior with a bench seat with a fold down armrest.  A well set up Thermoquad ( a rare thing)  that was a blast to floor it at like 20 miles per hour!  I think the carbs on those 340's were 800 cfm?   Thanks Tim for the info!
 

[1972coronet]

10 hours ago, drodg said:

I think [ Thermoquad ] the carbs on those 340's were 800 cfm? 

Correct menudo. 800 cfm ; 1971 was recalled and replaced with an updated version, making the date coded '71 T-Quad a hard find. 

1972 saw the intro of the 850 cfm 'Quad for the then-new 400 , followed in 1973 by the 440.

[tim boyd]

10 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Correct menudo. 800 cfm ; 1971 was recalled and replaced with an updated version, making the date coded '71 T-Quad a hard find. 

1972 saw the intro of the 850 cfm 'Quad for the then-new 400 , followed in 1973 by the 440.

Not to mention the 850 on my factory ordered 1974 Road Runner E58 360....TB 

[CapSat 6]

We need a nice Thermoquad in scale.

The only one I know of comes in the ex-Monogram ‘71 Satellite/ GTX kit. As the 4bbl manifold made it back into the Fast and Furious ‘71 GTX, so did the TQ for the first time in about 25 years. That one looks slightly like a TQ. 

It would be really, really nice if Fireball Modelworks hit us with a TQ done their way.

Here’s why I need a TQ in scale - from the Youthful Ignorance files: 

Back around 1989, at the Mopars and Englishtown (NJ) show, a friend of mine and I bought a literal bucket of used TQ’s (I think there were 3 in there) for $25. We joked the whole way home that it looked like a bucket of crabs, so we referred to them as “crabs”. I bought a used ‘72-ish 340 intake manifold for another $25. I was going to stick this combo on a ‘71 318 Satellite Sebring Plus that was my daily driver. I never got around to it.

My friend asked me about the manifold one day, so I sold it to him, this was after I had repainted it. 

In one of his famous insomniac repair sessions, he pulled the old 2bbl from his 318 ‘71 Satellite (a factory Rallye Red, black bench seat car, which was purchased at a prior Mopars at E Town for $500 the year before). I heard that he had a friend of his break the seal the old 2bbl manifold had with the engine by jamming a crowbar down the plenum and giving it a push. I am not making any of this up. 

He actually got this combo running pretty decently, even though there would have been a port mismatch between the stock 318 heads and 340 manifold, and that carb that was in suspect, unrebuilt condition. The net effect was that there was probably no real performance upgrade realized, although he claimed that the car was noticeably more responsive after this. This was mad science, we simply got lucky. He daily drove that car for several months after that.

That same car is currently apart in his garage, benefitting from having been shielded from the elements, and getting a slow resto. 

Being young (19), dumb and lucky was so much fun. 

Edited November 23, 2023 by CapSat 6
Autocorrect skulduggery

[drodg]

On 11/23/2023 at 6:07 AM, tim boyd said:

Not to mention the 850 on my factory ordered 1974 Road Runner E58 360....TB 

That 74 360 was one of the more powerful engines in the mid 70's.  That first year 360HP was so strong !

[drodg]

Are there no Thermoquads made in 1/25 scale?  I guess I never realized that.  

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, drodg said:

That 74 360 was one of the more powerful engines in the mid 70's.  That first year 360HP was so strong !

Correctamundo.  The 245 hp was a net rating.  For comparison purposes, under the old (prior to 1972) gross rating system, the engine hp was actually somewhere in the 310-320hp range.  It had all the internal goodies from the 340 and (when compared to my '73 Duster 340) didn't quite wind on the top end, but had low-mid range torque the 340 could only dream about.   Mine lasted 16 years and 140,000+ miles with only one repair (the heat crossover passageway in the intake manifold needed to have accumulated carbon chipped out when the coldweather starting became a big iffy).  Would have probably gone alot further but the Mopar rust-loving body disentragrated to the point of no return....TB 

Edited November 24, 2023 by tim boyd

[drodg]

1 minute ago, tim boyd said:

Correctamundo.  The 245 hp was a net rating.  For comparison purposes, under the old (prior to 1972) gross rating system, the engine hp was actually somewhere in the 310-320hp range.  It had all the internal goodies from the 340 and (when compared to my '73 Duster 340) didn't quite wind on the top end, but had low-mid range torque the 340 could only dream about.   Mine lasted 16 years and 140,000+ miles with only one repair (the heat crossover passageway in the intake manifold needed to have accumulated carbon chipped out when the coldweather starting became a big iffy.  Would have probably gone alot further but the Mopar rust-loving body disentragrated to the point of no return....TB 

Tim your black and red 1974 was such a great looking car.  The 1975 360 though with lower horsepower was still a dual exhaust non catalyst car in the Duster and the Dart. As you know  most cars in 1975 had done away with duals and had catalyst on them.   I think if you ordered a 360 4bbl in the Roadrunner (Fury body) in 1975 you could get it as a dual exhaust car also.  Good info.   

[Dave Darby]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:29 AM, tim boyd said:

Mine lasted 16 years and 140,000+ miles with only one repair (the heat crossover passageway in the intake manifold needed to have accumulated carbon chipped out when the coldweather starting became a big iffy).

That was a very common problem with that era Mopar. The car (or truck) always acted like it was running cold. Fixing it entailed pulling the intake manifold, then removing the stamped steel plate on the underside of it so you could get rid of all the accumulated carbon buildup. Great engine otherwise. BTW,  x2 on your Roadrunner. Very sharp.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Dave Darby

[1972coronet]

One-year-only , March 1971 introduction, A59 Demon Sizzler (the Demon version of the Duster Twister) .

Here's a couple of ads from 1971 for the Sizzler :

[ChrisBcritter]

Mopar version of the Rally Nova/Heavy Chevy concept: Sizzle without the steak .

[AmericanMuscleFan]

20 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

One-year-only , March 1971 introduction, A59 Demon Sizzler (the Demon version of the Duster Twister) .

Here's a couple of ads from 1971 for the Sizzler :

You are a real encyclopedia on the subject John, I am always amazed by your knowledge on the subject!

I really love that version, especially the hood stripe and body color grille frame. 😍

They were less greedy than today on the bill as we can see... 😁