As the muscle car entered its second decade, the 1970s looked less promising than the 1960s. The original purchasers of sixties muscle cars were maturing, and the Road Runner or Coronet did not fit well into their expanding domestic lifestyle. To make matters worse, the Federal government was pushing for ever-tightening emissions compliance, and insurance companies were hitting high-performance vehicles with higher insurance premiums.

In 1970, the Plymouth Division found a way to continue to attract the muscle car enthusiast, meet the emissions laws, and skirt the high insurance rates. Plymouth continued the A-body Barracuda with a reskinned A-body called the Valiant Duster. The top-of-the-line Duster was called the Duster 340. The all-new A-body was popular, with 217,192 units sold in 1970. Of those, 24,817 were Duster 340s.

The Dodge Division executives noticed the sales numbers, which had propelled Plymouth to third in vehicle sales, and developed the 1971 Dodge Demon. The Demon sold well, with 79,959 units rolling off the showroom floor. Of the nearly 80,000 Demons sold, 10,098 were the potent Demon 340s. The Demon copied the successful sales recipe of the 1968 Road Runner with a powerful engine, light vehicle, and affordable price ($2,721 base model).

Dream Giveaway has one of the 10,098 1971 Demon 340s you can win by donating. The Demon’s history starts at Spartan Dodge, the “Right on the Corner, Right on the Price” dealership in San Jose, California. The first owner plunked down the initial payment and peeled out of Spartan Dodge at 4590 Stevens Creek onto the unsuspecting public in the Citron Yella Demon 340.

The Demon has twenty factory options that increased the price $1000.05 to $3,721.50 plus $142.00 for the destination charge. Some more expensive options include the black-and-gray vinyl hi-back bucket-seat interior, a Torqueflite transmission, and a Sure-Grip differential. Additional options include an AM radio with stereo tape – cassette, power steering, and Rallye Road wheels.

The Demon features a unique factory appearance package. It includes a blackout hood with dual functional scoops and hood pins, an aerodynamic rear spoiler, black side and rear panel performance stripes, and a trident-wielding Demon with 340 callout decals on the car.

The Los Angeles-built Demon spent its first 26 years in San Jose, accumulating over 100,000 miles. Then, in 1997, it was sold to a gentleman who shipped it to Illinois, where the Demon was expected to be a daily driver. The sun-faded Demon looked like an old daily driver, with its weathered interior, dry rotted parts, and a quicky paint job. But it was complete, and better yet, it was rust-free.

Because of its potential, the Demon was saved from a life of daily driving, especially winter driving. So instead, it was given a complete restoration. After the owner collected the necessary parts, the Demon was disassembled, and the body was shipped to Midwest Auto Body in Virden, Illinois. The body crew took the Demon down to bare steel, making only a few minor repairs before epoxy priming and block sanding the entire body. Once perfect, the body was shot in DuPont™ ChromaOne® Acrylic Urethane Single Stage in the original Y3 Citron Yella hue.

The matching numbers 340, conservatively rated at 275 horsepower, was disassembled and evaluated, and the parts that required machining were shipped to McKay Auto Parts (NAPA) of Carlinville, Illinois. After hot tanking the pieces, the block was magnafluxed and bored 0.030 inches over. Next, the ports of the heads were lightly massaged, and a three-angle valve job was performed. Finally, the crankshaft was cleaned up by turning it 0.010 inches on the main and rod journals.

The factory connecting rods were resized. Federal-Mogul OEM-style 10.25:1 hypereutectic pistons were hung on the rods. A Mopar Performance similarly rated to stock hydraulic camshaft was fitted into the block. A list of Federal-Mogul and Mopar Performance hard parts was used to finish the build. Fel-Pro gaskets sealed all the pieces. Once together, the engine was painted Hemi Orange, a color on all the 1971s before April ’71, when the color of the 340 changed to Corporate Blue.

The Carter 800 cfm ThermoQuad spread-bore carburetor was rebuilt with New Old Stock (NOS) parts. Then, the Torqueflite and the 8 ¾-inch rear end were overhauled to factory specs. Next, the entire brake system, including the front rotors and rear drums, was gone through, and any part that did not measure up was replaced with a NOS part. Finally, the front and rear suspension were equipped with new components, although the torsion bars were reused.

The interior was redone as well. The original seat covers were replaced with new black and gray seat covers. Other new parts included the black door panels, dash pad, and carpet. In addition, the Tuff Wheel was restored. Lastly, all the stainless trim (interior and exterior) was polished or replaced if damaged.

Regarding the rolling stock, the Demon was fitted with the correct Rallye wheels wearing E70x14 Goodyear Polyglas raised white letter reproduction tires. The Dynomax, Hemi-style mufflers, which fit into the factory replacement exhaust, are the only noticeable (by sound) deviation from stock.

If you want to win this 1971 Dodge Demon 340, it is as simple as donating to charity. Dream Giveaway has been helping charities like New Beginning Children’s Homes, Victory Junction, Smile Network International, and many more for years. With your help, you will support charities like these while also being entered into a drawing to win this 1971 Dodge Demon 340.

The gorgeous restoration of the Demon garnered plenty of attention. Darrel Arment penned a nice piece about the Demon in the July 1999 edition of High Performance Mopar Magazine. The timing was perfect as diecast manufacturer Johnny Lightning had recently introduced its “The Best of Cover Cars” series. The diecasts were replicas of cover cars from magazines that included Car Craft, Rod and Custom, Mopar Muscle, Super Chevy, and High Performance Mopar.

The High Performance Mopar Demon was immortalized in 1:64 diecast. Johnny Lightning made a limited run of 10,000 copies. The winner of the 1971 Demon will receive an original unopened Johnny Lightning diecast as part of the award-winning Dream Giveaway package.

The Dodge Demon Dream Giveaway started on February 1, 2023, but there is still time to enter because it ends on October 4, 2023. To complement the Demon, the winner will get all the paperwork, trophies, a 1:64 version of the car, and $5,500 to pay for the IRS taxes.

The drawing date will be October 14, 2023. Dream Giveaway will award the winner with the Demon at the 36th annual Mopars with Big Daddy show and swap meet at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida, on the weekend of November 4-5, 2023. Enter the giveaway today with a small or large donation to get this Demon in your garage.

As a valued reader of Mopar Connection Magazine, Dream Giveaway offers double tickets for every $25 spent (or more). Please use the promotion code “MOPARCONNECTION” when entering. Win or lose (hopefully win), know you will be helping children and veterans in need. Good luck!

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