By Jim Brennan
Welcome to another Hooniverse Weekend Edition, and I am going to start with a car that created quite a discussion within the Hooniverse Staff… This 1973 Plymouth Duster. You see, our Chief of Staff (Tim) called this car Very, very curious… And the discussions went on from there, primarily centering around a piece of kit found under the hood. You will have to make the jump to find out what it is… 
So, what do you think this is? According to the listing, this is a 1-Kilowatt Electric Supercharger that is producing 3lbs of boost mounted on a blow-through two barrel carburator of a Chrysler 225 CID Slant Six. The discussions within the mindset of the staff here centered around whether or not an electric supercharger actually added any usable horsepower boost, and how this technology could usefully be implemented in modern cars… but I digress. 
According to the listing:
SUPERCHARGED 1973 PLYMOUTH DUSTER LOW RESERVE AUCTION. SOLID CALIFORNIA 1973 PLYMOUTH DUSTER FASTBACK POWERED BY A SLANT-SIX ENGINE WITH 1-KILOWATT ELECTRIC SUPERCHARGER PRODUCING 3LBS OF BOOST ON A BLOW-THROUGH TWO BARREL CARBURETOR. VEHICLE WAS BUILT FOR ACTION FILM AT A MAJOR STUDIO, BUT PRODUCTION WAS CEASED DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS.
ENGINE WAS FRESHENED UP WITH NEW SEALS AND GASKETS, NEW WATER PUMP, NEW ALTERNATOR, NEW REGULATOR, NEW FUEL PUMP, NEW PLUGS, NEW IGNITION WIRES, NEW VOLTAGE REGULATOR, NEW POWER STEERING GEARBOX, NEW RADIATOR, CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC COOLING WITH NEW 2,000CFM PUSHER FAN AND THERMOSTATIC CONTROL MODULE, REBUILT CARBURETOR, NEW CARB INTAKE RISER, NEW FRONT TIRES, NEW FLAT BLACK PAINT, NEW CARPET, NEW FULLY ADJUSTABLE RACING BUCKET SEATS, NEW REAR SEAT UPHOLSTERY, NEW REAR DECK CARPETING, BEAUTIFUL CLASSIC MOPAR RALLYE WHEELS WITH CENTER CAPS. TOO MUCH TO LIST.
(Update: Duster emblems have been installed on front fenders and rear panel since photos were taken)
With a little over three days to go until the auction closes, the top bid so far is $2,225, and the reserve hasn’t been met. So, what do you think about an Electric Supercharger… Good idea, convoluted tech, not worth the bother, or something else… In the meantime, take a look at the listing here: [sc:ebay itemid=”331238825051″ linktext=”1973 Supercharged Plymouth Duster ” ] 
Jeff Glucker