Rick Trunkett, co owner of Big 3 Racing in Brunswick, Ohio, picked up his 1972 Plymouth Duster for $1,500 when he was only 15 years old. After seven different engine combos and 12 different transmissions, it’s easy to understand why Rick calls the Duster his R&D car. His current combo is running 9-second ET’s and makes over 900 horsepower at the rear wheels! And it’s not some delicate flower; it sees over 2500 real world street miles each year in between track times.

The 435 ci Mopar R3 has Eagle crank and rods, Wiseco pistons, custom roller cam, aluminum Indy 360-1 heads and an Indy intake. In order to get the power and reliability Rick was craving, EFI was a must. He chose a Holley Dominator EFI system that uses two billet 1000 cfm Holley throttle bodies, a set of Holley Dominator™ in–line fuel pumps, and Holley 120lb injectors with a custom dash set up that is used to house the Holley LCD touch screen. Holley’s Dominator EFI system allows Rick to do all of his own tuning for the track, dyno and street. “Holley EFI and Rick Anderson have the best EFI and tech support in the industry and really helped us out with the whole set up.” says Trunkett.

A custom Big 3 Racing turbo system fabricated by Trunkett includes a Borg Warner 88mm Turbo, 18 psi of boost, and a Turbonetics 35 mm waste gate. Shifting is done with a FTI built Powerglide, 3800 stall converter, B&M tranny cooler and Hurst quarter stick shifter. Suspension includes Lakewood adjustable shocks, and a full Caltracks system. The Mopar rear end is stuffed with Moser axles, spool and 3.55 gears. SSBC front brakes up front and Wilwood rear brakes do the stopping while MT PRO drag radials on Centerline Telestar rims put the power to the pavement. 

On low boost tune and pump gas, the Duster ran 9.91 @147mph. Rick says, “This car drives like a 72 duster, until you hit the go pedal, then it is smooth and scary.” And at 18 psi with 905hp and 816 ft lbs of torque at the rear wheels, we certainly don’t doubt it! 

By Taylor Vlahos, DS Media