Daily Slideshow: Is it Still a Corvette if it's Wearing Mopar Skin?
Read how this Plymouth Duster invaded LS Fest with the help of a Corvette C6 chassis.
1. Fish out of Water
You expect to see a fair amount of Nissans sporting LS power, and even the occasional Mazda or Ford, but Mopars are another story. We've heard of 2000s-era Chargers with blown-up six-cylinders getting the LS treatment, and then there's Karl Dunn’s autocross missile 1970 Dodge Challenger that makes the rounds LS Fests, but that's about it. Mopar owners are a special and stubborn breed; like they say about members of another dedicated Corps: “You can always tell a Mopar fan, but you can't tell 'em much,” so when this part-Plymouth-part-Vette surfaced at LS Fest 2017 it caused a bit of a stir.
2. Days of Future Passed
Gordy Rutkowski got this 1973 Plymouth Duster from his sister when she was through driving it. At the time it had Chrysler's reliable Slant Six under the hood, and Gordy used it as a daily driver, but he's a car guy so the six's days were numbered. A 318 c.i. V8 with the usual bolt-ons came first, but as we all know a little power just makes you want more, and next came a Chrysler big block, nitrous, and wheel well tubs, getting the Duster into the ten-second range at Gordy's local dragstrip.
3. Time and a Word
Next up for the Duster was a re-spray, so circa 1987 Gordy had the car prepped for paint. While the Duster was waiting for paint, Gordy's priorities changed and the car ended up sitting around unfinished for over a decade. The GM part of this story starts (finally!) in 2011, when Gordy's buddy Nick suggested switching gears and grafting the Duster onto a Corvette chassis. The idea was the subject of numerous planning sessions, but Nick passed away and the Duster took a back seat again for a while. In 2016 Gordy decided enough was enough and he was going to go through with the plans he and Nick had laid.
4. Roll the Bones
Gordy contacted Cleveland Power and Performance in Columbia Station, Ohio, and a deal was made to purchase a C6 Corvette “rolling skeleton” chassis with an LS2 and a T56 six-speed transmission. With the Vette's rear wheels centered in the back wheel arches of the Mopar, it was determined that the easiest way to make up the 2.4-inch wheelbase difference between the two platforms was to move the engine rearwards and the front cradle forwards. Most of the work involved adapting the platforms, and most of the Vette's mechanicals were left the way they were when the C6 left Bowling Green. Gordy did add RideTech coilovers all the way around, and fit steamroller 335 tires under, well... under and poking substantially out of, all four corners, on Weld S-71 wheels.
5. Tin Machine
The fenders, with those tires poking out, are directly attributable to days spent at oval tracks in Gordy's youth. The interior, on the other hand, is a product of his years spent as a metalworker for the aviation industry, sporting smooth bends and precision rivet work. The finished car isn't quite racecar-loud but it's racecar low, the air between the wheel wells and the tires giving the impression of more ground clearance underneath the car than actually exists. So back to LS Fest—did this combo get booed off the grounds? Did scores of Vette owners start scouring Craigslist for Mopar A-bodies? None of the above, but Gordy's designated pilot Aaron Oberle clocked a 12.7 at 110mph at the strip and didn't embarrass himself or Gordy in the autocross or 3S Challenge competitions—afterall it's an LS-powered Corvette where it counts.
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