I understand - but not locking the doors will keep it from happening again. The battery is just over 3 years old. Winter is long and cold here, it just sat too long this time. Every prior year, I have been able to run it for a few minutes every 2-3 weeks, I just didn’t manage to do it last winter. Thanks for the suggestion!
I feel ya - I keep telling hubby I’m buying a Caddy next time!
You are missing my point - that there is an “econobox grocery getter” from six years ago that can match the performance spec’s from 20 years earlier is irrelevant. Most SUV’s and mid-size now don’t have but up to about 200 hp. The Duster wasn’t considered a performance car back in the day. And it beat the hell out of the station wagons and sedans that most of my friends drove (IF they had a car). It was fun to drive.
NICE!!! Thanks - it stared today and I’m not inclined to replace the battery either. It wasn’t really the problem, the door lock was the problem. If it stops working, then I will buy one. This is my fun car, if it was my every day car, I might feel differently.
Love the Canary Yellow! My sister had a 1971 in lime green and black. Funny how we never thought they were outrageously loud colors back then, it just seemed normal.
The door lock is apparently broken - it still does not open with the key. I was able to open the door with the remote once the starter has a little juice. I’m just not going to lock the door until I get it fixed. Thanks!
?? Most midsize SUVs have around 280-300 hp. 301 hp in a V6 Camry. And these are ‘net’ hp values, not the 25% or so higher ‘gross’ values used in the muscle car era. So a ‘300 hp’ muscle car would have around 240 hp under current ratings.
Had a bud with a 6cyl Duster, I sas a Chevy guy at the time. He was really happy one day he blew off a 440, we laughed and said Plymouth the only company that could build a 440 that can get blown off by a 6 cylinder (whatever size it was) 
Does this mean that you plan to run the battery dead again? If so, keep in mind that deep-discharging a car battery is bad for it. As I mentioned already, I suggest using a battery tender or disconnecting the battery instead.
only the driver door on my car has a keylock. the rear hatch does not.
could you always leave the hood unlatched? than you can jump it whenever you feel
or wire in a small receptacle that you can reach under the front end that you can plug in a power source. like a cig lighter socket.
I picked up a 62 Caddy 4 door hardtop a few months ago. Driving it is like a trip back in time. Unfortunately when I wake up the next day I’m still a 68 year old guy with all the aches and pains that come with being 68.
I’m not going to argue with you, but as far as I can tell most pickup trucks are barely 280-300 hp these days and many SUV’s aren’t even 200. Are there more powerful ones, sure - but in the sea of average cars on an average day, there are a lot more Equinoxes at 137 than the top end 250, a lot more Escapes at 168 than the top end of 265, a lot of Rav4’s at 203hp., CR-V’s at 184-190 hp and Nissan Rogue at 170 hp. Those are the top five in the US.
The point was that it was a fun car and they don’t make them like that much anymore - not a spec by spec comparison, or a discussion of carb vs. fuel injection, stroke and bore ratios…
I don’t plan to but it could happen. I do plan to disconnect and/or use a battery tender when I park it for the winter.
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Well, you’re comparing top of the line muscle cars to run of the mill day to day modern cars. It is easy to buy a car today that puts most every muscle car to shame, hp, speed, acceleration, and handling, all the while getting better mpgs. No contest.
A modern Mustang GT would be a great example.
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I feel ya - but it’s nice to have a trip back in time, even for just a little while - back before the aches and pains. That’s why I bought the Tbird instead of a Corvette - too old to get in and out of it these days. As for the husband, he is an older model too - I’ve done to much maintenance to even think of trading him in - pretty customized for me at this point (and vice versa), but he hates to let me drive his Caddy.
No - I’m comparing the average Joe 1974 Plymouth Duster that I had in high school. It was not a muscle car by 1974 standards (or 1982-85 standards for that matter). It was a coupe, it was tight and fast, and it was fun! I don’t see a lot of cars even close to that kind of fun anymore. Different kinds of fun - certainly a lot safer and more luxury, but kid cars now seem utilitarian and plain. Dusters came in bright colors and I can still hear the howl of my best friend every time I hit the brakes and a little stream of water came out of the corner of that God-awful leaky sunroof and peed on her leg. I still remember peeling myself off those vinyl seats on a hot day, but thankful I had AC as a lot of cars didn’t back then.
If your Duster had a 318 V8 with a 2 bbl, any of the modern SUVs you mentioned would dust it in a drag race. It was fast for its time, not now. Don’t get me wrong, cars back then had a lot more character. But they weren’t better in any objective way.
For example the Challenger R/T or the Hemi 'Cuda? I didn’t see a reference to that.
The Dart/Duster were considered compacts at that time, 245 net horsepower/320 lb/ft torque was significant at that time for a compact car.
As for the common 300 HP sedan, my local dealer has 140 Camrys on the lot but only 8 are V6 Camrys, starting at $39,000. That is equivalent to the price of a Hemi Superbird in 1970.
Modern cars are better in every way? No, they are not better in room, style or ease of repair. I fit in most cars back then, not today. As far as performance, cars have to be compared against their contemporaries.
Back in the day, I preferred the Dodge Charger compared to the Camaro, Mustang, or even Barracuda pr Challenger.
Driving a Camaro always felt to me like driving a cave. It is totally claustrophobic
The smaller car can always boast superior performance numbers but it means nothing to me if I am so uncomfortable driving it.
But that’s with a 340/4 bbl, right? That’s the top of the line optional engine, compared to the slant 6 most Dusters and Darts came with. The 318/2 bbl was more common than the 340, made about 155 hp net. If we’re looking at optional engines, I’d then point to the Accord, with the optional 2.0 turbo it’ll do 0-60 in 5.7 seconds while getting great mpgs.
Not to mention polluting a few hundred times less.