Advice on a 72 Duster

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Snake

Snake

Mopar Nut
Joined
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Belleville Canada
Thinking about a 72 Duster 340 car.the seller says the undercarriage is solid,but the front floor pans are soft,my concerns does it mean the cross member and rails could also be soft.Its a 3 hour drive to check out that car but some advice is need.Thanks.
 
Soft floors MAY mean soft frame. Its only 3 hours take the drive.
I drove to Wisconsin to look at a car and leave it there
3 hrs is nothing
 
My experience is that the frame segments under the floor pan are nearly always solid, regardless of how bad the floors themselves are. No drainage issues there.
Where framerails rot, is typically between the K Frame and the torsion bar X member.
 
The floors in my valiant were rotted right out when I bought it. Frame rails and torsion bar cross members were MINT. Definitely worth going to take a look at.
 
Find out as much detail on the car as possible and otherwise if it is still of interest after the intel you get go take a trip...... When I buy something like this I typically have a limit as to the time spent driving and also having the trailer with me. 3 hours is on the bubble for me...

Something else you can consider is looking on Clist in that area if you have been looking for something that has not shown up in your area. You might get lucky and find something while you are in that area that helps justify the time spent driving....

JW
 
whitepunkonnitro said:
My experience is that the frame segments under the floor pan are nearly always solid, regardless of how bad the floors themselves are. No drainage issues there.
Where framerails rot, is typically between the K Frame and the torsion bar X member.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. First, the floors are much thinner than the rails and supports. Second, I believe I can safely say that a lot of floor rust starts from the inside. Leaking door seals, leaking front and rear windshield seals, leaking wiper arm seals, etcetera, can all allow water in and under the carpet/ Once there, it will be there for while, and it isn't doing the floorboards any good. Anyway, I don't think rusty floorboards will necessarily mean rusty rails. Well worth a 3 hour drive.
 
three hours is nothing.. go see it in person. its the only way to know for sure..

went 3 hours to md to get my mustang.. once to look at it, a second time to buy it and a third time to pick up some parts the previous owner found..

also went 3 hours to bloomsburg pa to look at and buy my 65 D100. if i didn't like what i saw i would have come home empty handed..
 
Great advice for sure guys.I have a buddy thats into mopars as well,that lives very close to the car,he is going to have a look,and report back.There is a nice 68 Dart that has my interest.
 
The 340 Duster is off my list now,they went to have a look,the guy who bought my Duster and another mopar guy,too much rust repairs for me.I know to some rust is no biggie but I hate rust.Thanks .
 
I got lucky, my Swinger had minimal rust. Not a panel on it was straight, but minimal rust. ;)
 
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