1972 Duster 340 Questions.

[autologus]

I have bought a 72 Duster 340 and am having it shipped probably this week. But im having some questions about it. Ive read some things about the 72 stripes having the twister trail in the stripe but mine don't also the engine is supposed to be blue in 72s but mine is orange. Is it possible that it is an early 72 and got some 71 left overs? Ill post a pic of the Engine compartment and the side of the car. The VIN decodes out as a 1972 car. here it is you can see for your self VS29H2B253492

 

[shg340]

if it was built after April 71, then the engine would have been Blue from the factory. have you cdhecked to see if its numbers matching and the buld date on the block? if you have the build sheet or the fender tag, you should be able to determine the Build date. The 72's did have the twister duster in the rear panel stripes, the 71's did not. Per Galen, many late build 71's had 72 parts, but normally later year models usually didn't have prior year stuff unless they were built around the time the model year change production was run. Hope this helps. Nice looking Duster...

 

[autologus]

It is supposed to be a numbers matching engine. The seller said the last 6 vin digits are stamped on the passenger side of the block. He wasnt sure about the trans because he didnt know where to look on it. I will varify when I get the car. I suppose it is possible the engine was rebuilt and painted orange instead of blue. I will inspect closer when I get it.

 

[Hotwheelsjr]

Here's a shot of the side stripe, tail panel, and numbers matching motor in an unmolested '72...the manufactuer date on the driver's door is Oct '71.

 

[autologus]

Well after recieving and inspecting the car my doubts have been layed to rest. The car does indeed have the duster swirl stripes the swirls and little duster have faded away. As far as the engine color it has been repainted hemi orange over its original blue. I must say I am very pleased with the condition the car is in. It does have its share of dings and minor dents and needs repainting but what 33 year old car dosn't. The body is arrow straight except for the above mentioned dings and the only rust I can find is minor surface rust at some of the body panel seams. The only dissapointment I have it that the car has bucket seats and a console. Why is that a dissapointment you ask? The car was originaly a bench seat with column shift AT. I will go back to the original bench when I restore it. The engine runs strong but I will get it rebuilt anyway.