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Part of the mindset behind the Musclecar movement was "Bang for the Buck". After all, what good was a fast car if noone can afford it? Now, that's not to say that some of the cars from the era weren't a bit pricey but for many cost was an option.   Enter the Plymouth Duster 340. For a $2547 base price, Mother Mopar could give you a 3100 pound street fighter that could hold it's own with the big boys. It starts with a uni-body constructed 2-door sedan that is beautifully sculpted with standard front disc brakes, a heavy-duty 3-speed manual transmission and 3.23:1 rearend gears. Not a bad start, but the heart and soul of the package is a small block V-8 with a 4.04 inch bore and a 3.31 inch stroke which works out to 340 cubic inches.It has a fairly stiff cam, a Carter Thermo-Quad four barrel and 10.3:1 compression. The output is a fairly understated 275 horsepower at 5000 RPM with 340 ft/lbs. of torque at 3200.   This base package is plenty respectable, you could expect numbers in the mid to high 14 second range at 94 to 97 miles an hour. That's not bad but you could do better. There was also a heavy-duty 4-speed and a TorqueFlite automatic with high upshifts available. There were also optional 3.55:1 and 3.91:1 Sure Grip gears to quicken things up. The automatic cars were a bit slower but the best numbers were achieved with a 3-speed manual and 3.91 gears. The car pulled 13.50's @ 107 miles an hour! A good 3.55 geared 4-speed car could run 13.9's at around 100 miles an hour.   With the stiffer suspension and the Goodyear Polyglas E70-14's on 5 1/2" Rally wheels, this car could hold the road. Add power steering and brakes and you have a total package worthy of the Rapid Transit System with honors. Many a Big-inch Musclecar has gotton a really good look at the back end of a 340 Duster. There was no deception, it had bold stripes and 340 right on the rear quarter panel. The fact of the matter is simple, the Duster 340 was an exceptional package that was designed to slay giants and it did. You could get faster cars but it was a hard car to beat for the money and in a world where "Bang for the Buck" is king, the Duster 340 is pure royalty.   - Dan Davis.