1972 PLYMOUTH DUSTER TWISTER

My name is Charles Lucy, and this is my Mopar story. I was raised in a family dominated by Mopars. The first Mopar in my life was a 1965 Fury I Wagon, it was totalled with me in the back seat @ 3 years old. That was replaced by a 1967 Fury III Wagon, big block car, in which I learned to drive. I received a reckless driving citation in that car, the summer before my Senior year of high school. I lost my license to drive for six months. That was a good thing, because it caused me to reflect on my direction in life, and straightened me up...some.

My first car that I ever owned was a 1970 Dodge Challenger 383 2bbl car, Rallye Red, w/black buckets, a/t and a/c. I owned that car for one year, but at that age, it seemed like ten years. That car was sold to acquire a new car to drive back and forth to college, a 1983 Plymouth Turismo 2.2 . Not quite a big block Challenger, but fun for the time. That car was totalled by me; no fault. That car was replaced by a 1985 Plymouth Turismo 2.2 . Anybody notice a pattern?

That car was sold shortly after my first wedding and I entered the veritable wilderness period. (No Mopars in my life). I almost acquired a ‘70 Superbird for $5,000, but I forgot to take money to look at the car. I agreed upon a deal with the owner, and came back with a cashier’s check that afternoon, but he had taken a deposit from another buyer and refused to sell it to me.

Many years passed, I acquired lots of additional education. My first wife left me, in part due to excess school and work time, but I think that was meant to be. A year later I met my current wife, and that is meant to be forever. More time passed and I started earning better money.

My first collector Mopar of my adult life was a 1970 Superbird, B5, Bench seat, a/t with six-pack added. That car was bought w/#2 child on the way. Anyway, after two years of worrying about the kids scratching it in the garage, or not being able to park anywhere and not worry about it, I decided to sell it to someone w/out those concerns. In the meanwhile, I acquired a new 99 Dodge Durango 5.9 Patriot Blue for my wife to drive.

The ’Bird was replaced by a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T 383, Plum Crazy, w/black bucket seat and black vinyl top. That car lasted about 18 months, until I decided I would try and quit my Mopar habit in order to focus on family. That was last November. I have regretted it since, not the focus on family which is a blessing, but the absence of an old Mopar in my life and in my garage.

I decided to search for an A-Body to quench my old Mopar desires. I considered many, and looked at some but could not find any to my liking. I attended the Autofair at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte NC the first weekend in April. I found a 1971 Duster Twister 340 Clone that was fantastic, unfortunately it was not for sale. However, that cemented in my mind that a ‘71 or ’72 Twister or clone was the car for me.


The car you see in the attached pictures I found on EBAY the Sunday prior to leaving Charlotte. This is a 1972 Duster Twister 318, Tor-Red with black bench, armrest, a/t on the column, hardtop car. The numbers all match, and appears to be all original body panels; with 96000 original documented miles.

The auction ended this past Saturday 4/13 @ 1:30pm eastern. I was the successful high bidder. By 4:30 that day I was headed north with a U-Haul car transporter behind the Durango. (One reason for selecting the Durango 3 years ago was the ability to tow old Mopars, and I finally was going to do it.)

The car was in Montrose PA, about 470 miles north. After driving by myself for 7 hours, (2 hours of pouring rain in PA) I had to stop for the night. I knew I was only an hour away from my destination, but considering it was 12:00 am, I did not think the seller wanted to see me at that hour anyway. I pulled of the highway and saw a cheap Knight’s Inn, but after one look at the parking lot I knew I would not be able to maneuver the Durango and trailer through there. So I pulled into a Super8 across the highway and checked in and received my room key.

I pulled the rig around the side and attempted to park. Unfortunately, I dragged the trailer across the bumper of a Chevy Malibu from Quebec. There were no witnesses. I pulled around to the other side of the hotel and parked (successfully). I was tempted to ignore the damage done to the strangers car. However, I once heard that the true measure of a man’s character is what he does when no one is looking. My struggle lasted 10-15 minutes. I then phoned my insurance company and reported the incident. I then left the insurance info at the front desk of the hotel. It was raining too hard to leave the info on the Malibu and the front desk clerk did not obtain the stranger’s car info prior to checking them in, so he did not know which room they were in.

I had a little trouble sleeping, after driving for 7 hours, but eventually drifted off w/a clear conscience. I left the hotel parking lot at 6:30 am the next morning and pulled up to the seller’s house by approx. 8am. The car was outside and looked great from 40 feet away. I started to carefully inspect the car, but realized my first priority was to get home prior to my boys bedtime, so by 10am, the Twister was on the trailer, behind the Durango and headed back to Yorktown, Virginia. 26 hours and 940 miles after leaving home, I returned with the Twister in tow.

I have spent a couple of hours with the car since then, and repaired a sticking throttle, topped off the a/t fluid and replaced the air filter. The Twister already seems to run better. I plan on replacing the cheapo glass pack exhaust with a quality dual setup. I have not made any other firm plans except to ensure the safety of the vehicle and enjoy driving it.


I will submit another report at a later date.

Happy Motoring and God Bless You!