Generational brand loyalty is a real thing in the automotive world. The type of car you dream of driving is easily influenced by your father or grandfather. Mark Dudley Jr. comes from an old school Mopar family, but he put a twist on that family tradition with his 1974 Plymouth Duster.

The Mopar roots run deep in the Dudley family. Mark’s grandfather worked at a Dodge dealership back in the 1960s and raced his own Dodge vehicles as well. So, it’s only natural that Mark’s father would follow the Mopar path through racing, engine building, and working on restoration projects.

Mark started racing a 1963 Plymouth before he picked up his Duster at the age of 15. It was a natural progression. The thing is, both Mark’s father and grandfather were Mopar traditionalists, so the car needed to have a typical Mopar engine under the hood.

That 340 cubic inch mill that powered the Duster served Mark well, but he was ready to try something different. A meeting with Geoff Turk, owner of Blackbird Performance, changed everything for Mark and took his Duster to a new level.

“I met Geoff at Rockingham Dragway at a Mopar event. I’d been thinking about moving to a Gen 3 HEMI in the Duster for a while. The car was down due to a transmission and rearend issue, so if I was going to do it, it was time. After Geoff and I talked for a while, we came up with a plan and he built me the engine,” Mark explains.

Now, there was some pushback and scoffing at the idea from Mark’s family. This was new technology and different from the Mopar engines they knew and loved. After all, Mark’s dad is a diehard big-block Mopar man, so he had his doubts about what this engine could do.

“Dad and his friends thought this engine would maybe run 6.40s or 6.50s in the eighth mile at best. The very first shakedown run, I let out just past half track, and the car went 6.38. They were shocked and didn’t know what to say,” Mark explains.

So, this had to be some type of radical high-compression engine package, right? Nope, the 392 cubic inch Gen 3 HEMI Race Spec NA 700+ HP engine from Blackbird Performance is a fairly basic unit.

“The engine uses an OEM block with OEM heads that have been worked over a little bit by Blackbird, nothing crazy. It only has 12:1 compression and still uses the hydraulic roller valvetrain. I haven’t had to adjust the GET’M 1000 Twin Blade alcohol carburetor much, and the Afterburner ignition that runs the engine is super simple. The car has run a best of 6.04 at 114 mph in the 1/8^th mile and 9.59 at 140 mph in the ¼ mile at 3,200 pounds,” Mark says.

What makes this package even better is how consistent it is at the track. Mark wanted to keep things simple and stick with using a carburetor and running the engine on methanol since that’s what he’s familiar with. Foot braking the Duster Mark says the car will run within .004 of its elapsed time on each run. That consistency has propelled Mark to 13 final round appearances this year and earned him a few big checks as well.

“I know my family was skeptical of the switch to a new engine to start with, but the results speak for themselves. The car has run great, and I’ve got over 270 runs on this thing and haven’t even had to pull the valve covers off yet,” Mark says.

Change can be a challenge, but Mark Dudley Jr. found a way to make it as seamless as possible. The integration of new technology has worked out well for Mark, and he might have also convinced his old-school Mopar family that these newer engines aren’t so bad after all.