Evil Patina: 1971 Dodge Demon
Evil Patina sounds like a stage name for someone who has a few years behind them and they still jump motorcycles over things. And, it would be a good band name, now that I think of it. It also describes the surface rust on this 1971 Dodge Demon, which looks solid otherwise. This patina-heavy Plymouth cousin can be found here on eBay in Ruidoso, New Mexico with a current bid price of $3,461, and the reserve isn’t met yet.
The Dodge Demon was a brother/sister/cousin car to Plymouth’s new Duster and most folks think of a big, bruising engine being in a car named a Demon. This one has a 3-speed manual with a floor shifter but that’s about as bruising as it gets here, unless you bruise your knuckles trying to polish and wax the surface rust.
Other than the scrape/dent on the passenger side as seen in the above photo, this car looks pretty good. There is a bit of rust starting to show, as far as rust-through, but it really looks solid. The underside shows an even heavier amount of surface rust and you can see some holes in the spare tire well in the trunk from underneath. The seller does mention that there is some rust on the passenger floor and it’s starting to show on the rear quarters and the trunk floor.
The dash is pretty much totally fried, unfortunately, but other than the seats needing new fabric the rest of the interior looks good to me. This is a factory AC car which is nice and maybe not surprising given the Texas plates and New Mexico location. The seller mentions having a clear title but I’m not sure what state it’s titled in or why it has Texas plates and is in the middle of New Mexico. I know, they’re neighboring states, but Ruidoso is almost dead-center in the state of New Mexico, not even remotely near a Texas border. They have owned it for four years.
This isn’t the 340 V8 that most of us hoped to see under the patina-heavy hood, but it is a top-five engine for me: Chrysler’s 225 cubic-inch slant-six, the indomitable Slanted Tower of Power. By 1971, it has 110 hp and with the AC running it’ll feel like 90 hp, but the floor-shifted three-speed manual will make it fun to drive nonetheless. Would any of you restore this car back to original spec with the slant-six or would you have to add a V8 to make it worthy of the Demon name? I’d keep the slant-six.
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Comments
I met an elderly lady in Gresham, Oregon, in the early 90s who had a ‘72 Demon with the six and three on the tree. I used to have a ‘71 Demon 340, so naturally I was interested. She was checking her oil, and I noticed how clean the engine compartment was (she obviously had it serviced regularly). Everything about the car was in great condition. I complimented her on it, and asked how she liked it.
“It’s great,” she said. “I drive it every day.”
you would need to look underneath for rot but this looks pretty clean, and you have plenty of options, leaving the Leaning tower or power, warm it up a bit, 4 speed/ v8, and I think that you can buy adapter brackets for the v8 where you don’t have to change out the k-frame. Go west young man, and that’s rust not patina. Good luck, great start for a project, check carefully the torsion bar crossmember under the drivers’ seat, Stay safe..
Cheers
GPC
why go thru the problem of a 340 (440 maybe or even 413 whichever you can find) the lazy 6 was good and reliable just put a turbo on it, good gas mileage and plenty of power
I am not sure if they are still around or not but there was once a company called Clifford that specialized in hot rod parts for 6 cylinder motors. As I recall the had everything needed to make a 6 GO FASTER.
This car is certainly not a cream puff, but its not hiding anything either, what you see is ,what you get. I know its not Friday the 13th, maybe its a full moon, but I would roll the dice on this Mopar, instead of the 59 El Camino, lots strange vibes today, maybe its the Virous!
A FYI on this car a YouTube guy got scammed on Facebook marketplace with photos of this cars for $1,500 by an out of state seller. The buyer was lucky PayPal reimbursed most of his money
I wonder what’s under the hood of the Duster in the Liberty Mutual commercials…?
I emugine it’s a Slant 6 too.
Most were, and a fine engine with a three speed too. Too bad Chrysler didn’t offer a four speed with the six, would have been even better. Of course, they would have made it too expensive, not that it should have. All marketing BS, fours don’t cost much more to make than a three speed. Seems to me that in a Challenger, you could get a four speed with a 318, could you on a Duster/Demon? I learned to drive stick on a Demon six with a three on the floor and a bench seat. Brings back nice memories.
I borrowed a friends 1974 Dart (rebadged Demon) with a factory slant 6, original four speed on the floor with bench seat. It was factory ordered.
Round gauges, speedometer, must be in the 1970? Like them better.
Those were the 340 cars ; its the same as the 67-69 Barracuda . The 318 and six cylinder cars got the stock cluster like this one.
Evil Patina….sounds like a name people give their kids these days. True story, there is a girl at my local auto parts store whose name is Nemesis. If that girl should ever pick up a dictionary, she is gonna be pissed at her mother!
The parents of that woman and so many others have some real problems. All she needed to do was hyphenate it with a Ja- or Te- and she’d be right in the ballpark with a couple of generations of people with made up names.
How long before some nitwit names their kid ‘Patina”.
Ought to require a test and license to bear children:)
Mountain Woodie LMAO. I have maintained for a long time that some people should not be allowed to drive or reproduce. Bad names abound, and the kid is stuck with it. Especially those named after a foreign luxury car. Stay safe.
Cheers
GPC
GPC, my son is dating a chick named Mercedes lol. She is anything but….
I also knew a guy who named his daughter Alexis because he wanted a Lexus and couldn’t afford one. I still shake my head at that one.
I have a Son named Magnum. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. Just didn’t want a name like Bob John Joe…. Anything that 5 million other People are called. Some People do name Their offspring with stupid names though. Just saying.
Great future for that car I would put a V8 in it , but the slant 6 would be fun to drive with a manual transmissionc
I learned the hard way about the K member swap
I came across a nice shape 71 dart with the slant six when I was driving a 74 Satellite w/318.
So when I put it in the Dart it sat 3″ high and a little to the left. When I found out what had to be done I gave up and bought my 74 GTO that got towed for unreg/unins. and I traded the Dart to tow yard to cover costs
Interesting and thanks for the post, Bmac. I’m thinking maybe the k frame you installed was bent? This job is involved, as you have to support the mill and remove the lower control arms when u change it. I replaced the one on my fathers’ 74 valiant, hit a guy wire and bent it to $hit. Luckily I had a lift and support stands, and the car was relatively new and not NY rusty, $50 buck part from junkyard. I like the bracket and adapter solutions you have available. I’m a Ford guy, but I like ’em all!!! Worked on all of em.
Stay safe
Cheers
GPC
It’s more than just changing the “K” member to swap a motor. You also need to change the torsion bars, to adjust for the different weight of the new motor, unless you are a drag racer and you could go down a size on them for better traction to the rear. My understanding is the 6cyl “K” member is almost, if not the same as for the “HEMI”, except you need to reinforce one of the motor mount brackets, guesting the driver side. I believe you can buy aftermarket motor mounts to swap out different motors to other “K” members now. I would change the rear end and upgrade the rear springs to accommodate a larger implanted power plant. This could be a fun car to own, as is.
They don’t say how many miles the engine has on it, but a few additions and the slanty can be fun. Go to junkyard and look for an Aspen or Volare and you’ll probably find a super six setup. Pull it out, remember the transmission linkage, put it on the Demon, a 2″ exhaust and electronic ignition and it should zip you around even with the AC going.
Brought one New and believe me it was a major mistake, V8 only problem was it was auto and it was junk from the get go, first rain storm we had one of the whippers flew off, less than 1000 miles trans went out (OH IT WAS A PROBLEM THEY KNEW ABOUT BUT WERE KEEPING TO THEM SELFS )per a mechanic it was a mistake I never made again only bought Pontiac up until GM got stupid and dropped the Pontiac line
Great starter project for anyone!! Not going to brake the bank buying this car and it could still be driven while the work is getting done!! V-8 or the leaning tower of power you can’t go wrong with a fun ride as long as you leave the standard transmission in there!! A newer hemi with a five speed Tremec would definitely give a new meaning to Demon!!!
3.73 posi/twin grip, walk down Clifford isles (yes they are still around) and a 4 speed overdrive from a Volare/Aspen and you have the basis for a cheap enjoyable (after some proper wheels, tires, shocks and sway bars) vehicle. While stripping the 4 speed at the junk yard, snag the front brake set-up along with the booster.
These cars are quite light in weight. So a healthy slat six with some gear ( most slat six cars came with 2.92 rear gears) will result in a very enjoyable driver.
If you love rust. You will love this bucket.
If you think this one is bad, you should check out the 71 Duster from a week or so ago. This one is really solid for a 50 year old car !
El Paso baby…..saved the money for that A/C ……..luv it…..and that factory shift tunnel – was never a column car….
Did any discuss the new for 1972 Mopar K-Frame ?
To Rex Kahrs: Don’t just blame the mother, the Father had a hand in it also!!!! As far as names goes you have Patrick , Patricia, Patrice, Patina ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
This car was just used to scam Dylan McCool.
He said he did a reverse search on these same pictures but nothing came back.
He just put out a video today about it.
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