There was quite a controversy on the A-Body Forum when a couple of Mr. Norm’s 1973 Plymouth Duster GSS supercharged Mopars emerged recently in the collector car market. Some Mopar guys didn’t believe that Mr. Norm would put his GSS Paxton Supercharger kit on a Plymouth. But the records show that Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago built and installed the kit on Dusters as well as Darts and Demons.
The Mr. Norm’s 1973 Plymouth Duster you see featued here has the GSS Paxton Supercharger. It is offered from Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois. They suggest that this GSS package was not only purchased from Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago, but also that it was probably installed there considering the number of special mods done to the car. It has a the original fender tag and a partial build sheet, as well as the original Paxton warranty card showing that it was sold at Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge. Volo tells us it also has a Mr. Norm service tag.
Mopar Magazine did a feature on this car in 1991 showing the mileage to be 37,000. Volo says the odometer currently reads 37,880 actual, documented miles. It is B-5 blue with a 340/350 hp motor and a 4-speed manual transmission. They noted that it was owned by the same owner for over 32 years, so it was a well kept secret untill recently.
In 1973 the Arab Oil Embargo against the U.S. precipitated the end of the Muscle Car Era. It was the straw that broke the Muscle Cars back with insurance company pressure and emissions controls already making it tough for auto manufacturers to continue producing the big block engines that powered Muscle Car mania. So this Mr. Norm’s 1973 Plymouth Duster represents one of the final dealer produced muscle cars of the day. For a Mopar collector this is a dream come true. They don’t get much more rare than this 1973 Plymouth Duster from Mr. Norm’s.
That is indeed an original 1973 Mr Norms GSS Paxton Supercharger kit. Purchased from Grand Spaulding Dodge. But was NOT installed at the dealer. My grandfather personally installed it. He had swapped the kit from a 1973 Dodge Challenger and he then had a bearing spun and blew the first supercharger. He then purchased another kit from Mr Norms which is the one that is on the car today. An original 73 kit yes. But not installed by Norms dealer, sorry. I currently have the other 1973 original GSS supercharger.
-Bob-
aka Mr. Mopar III
This ’73 looks just like the one I had back in the late ’70’s. Mine was blue with black vinyl top. It had an inline 225-6 cylinder with 3-speed transmission. i would so much like to have that one back. Any idea where to look?
I know this is old, but by chance, would you still have any spare Mr Norm’s supercharger parts? Thanks in advance.