1973 Duster 340 Clone, Whats it Worth

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The "-3" is the casting core box number. It has nothing to do with quality - the factory didn't care that much. The fact that it's a lower numbe tells me it might be an earlier block/engine - bbut you have to look at the stampings to know for sure. Check the casting date on the pass side of the block too.
I agree with Joe - it's a bastard, and looking at the pics it's a quickie paint job. They didn't spray the engine aby, and the panels are not aligned very well at all, there's filler in the driver's rocker too. Personally at best that's a $6-7K car to me.
 
Just to be sure what is the 6th digit in the VIN? It seems more and more that this is a 1970 Duster that may have an issue on the title. I may be total wrong.
 
michformulaS said:
Just to be sure what is the 6th digit in the VIN? It seems more and more that this is a 1970 Duster that may have an issue on the title. I may be total wrong.
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the 6th digit is a 3 and the VIN seq # matched the number on the rad support. I was worried about that too so I made sure to verify. What is funny is that this is the second 73 duster in as many weeks that I've seen with a 71 front clip and tail light panel.
 
It has been messed with alittle , but still could be a good enough car .First i would say no to a 73 for sure , heater controls are wrong cannot see anybody changing those , E body console , but i seen those in a bodies before .But what really puzzles me is no marker lights in the fender or quarters , anybody that would go to alot of paint and nice decal work plus bumpers , wheels and tires , i would have to finish with markers .I would definitely not go buy a shinny paint job.
 
kt340sport said:
It has been messed with alittle , but still could be a good enough car .First i would say no to a 73 for sure , heater controls are wrong cannot see anybody changing those , E body console , but i seen those in a bodies before .But what really puzzles me is no marker lights in the fender or quarters , anybody that would go to alot of paint and nice decal work plus bumpers , wheels and tires , i would have to finish with markers .I would definitely not go buy a shinny paint job.
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It sounded like you thought they put alot of time an effort into some of the work (i.e. decal, wheels) but left out the side markers. Do you feel the side markers would be a problem, hense you would not buy the other work? (just trying to clarify) Do you share the same opinion as some of the others that this is a deal to walk away from?
 
Seems like they woulda changed out those 73 doors if they were trying to make a 71 clone
 
..probably worth more than 13K here...i would have probably bought it except for the retail red colour..and it is a bit*h to truly change colours...it would truly depend on how much bondo is in it..

I seen worse around her for far more...
 
So we have a 73 Duster with a 71 front and rear end.
73 Deluxe interior with B body buckets and console.
The front door panels cant be original as it does not have the deluxe dash or the dash was changed out of the 71 he parted out to make this concoction.
The heater controls are easily switchable with the non-deluxe dash to have the 72 down controls in a 73 up but dash looks to be from another car because the door panels point to the fact its supposed to have a deluxe woodgrain dash.
Has an el cheapo paint job and that fact is re enforced with the red overspray all over the underside of the car on the under coating.
The overspray looks fresh so no way it was painted 9 yrs ago.
You may have problems with inspection as sidemarkers have been standard equipment since 68.
So basically it is a basterdized 73 fold down backseat car and a waste at that.
With all that said I wouldn't pay more than 5K for this car.
 
abodyjoe said:
man i don't know. 10K is a lot of money for that car in my opinion. its a bastard car. who knows who did the work and if it was properly done. you see filler, from the pic of the rocker panel there is a ton of orange peel. looks like a cheap paint job.. and in the end its still a sant 6 car..


i'd say $5000-$6000 max.
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That'd be my thought. Way too many unknowns there.


I do like the console though. One of those may make its way into my car.
 
...would help is you saw the car in person...when I was looking to buy we went to look at a "perfect" car that wasn't really when you got up close...you don't want to be buying some one else's fu*k up..
 
Duster_71 said:
It sounded like you thought they put alot of time an effort into some of the work (i.e. decal, wheels) but left out the side markers. Do you feel the side markers would be a problem, hense you would not buy the other work? (just trying to clarify) Do you share the same opinion as some of the others that this is a deal to walk away from?
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Someone put some time and energy in to this car , along with the most important thing money. With the economy the way it is , both US and in Canada .And to answer your question, no i would not buy this car being knowing the markers were patched up ,
 
kt340sport said:
Someone put some time and energy in to this car , along with the most important thing money.
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It looks like they had good intentions but I would be worried a few to many corners were cut. The O.P. said he sees filler in the rockers and the lower 1/4s need work. I would be afraid that there is more bad body work hiding under that shiny red. You can hide a lot of bad work under red.

For 10K I would either find a car with good documentation of the work done, Or get something rust free shipped from the west coast unless yo dont mind having to dump another 10K into the body or can do the work yourself.
 
Walk away fast, there are plenty of dusters out there nicer for the money, and like my buddy who does body work say's," good work aint cheap and cheap work aint good"!
 
Definitely a '73 car. Had the earlier front clip and tail put on it, and probably an earlier dash. Everything else in the interior is '73, and the fold down seat looks factory so that definitely makes in a '73+ car. Marker lights were probably shaved because the front and backs wouldn't match, the fronts would have been the recessed markers from the earlier car, the rears would have been the later plastic versions that stuck out, so they probably just filled them all to keep from having to match them.

Not really a clone, more of a "tribute" car since they didn't make everything correct for '71. Not a big deal to me, it was a /6 '73 so its not worth a ton. Not worth spending the extra money to make it a full clone because it will always just be a '73 /6, no matter what it looks like.

Could have been a great driver if the work was actually quality. But it looks like a lot of short cuts were taken, so that points to the quality of the work. If all the work to make it look like a '71 had been done well, it could be a good buy at the right price. Still not what the owner wants. But if you can SEE that it has bondo, it has A LOT. And with a tail panel conversion, shaved markers, etc, it could easily mean all that work was done cheap and fast. And with that much work done, it could have a lot of hidden problems.

I'd have to take a really good look at it if I were considering it, and you can still get nicer '73+ cars for under $5-6K. I'd rather buy a car that still has original paint, even if it needs a repaint, because you know what you're getting. Some bondo and a quick respray are the things nightmares are made of.
 
I'm with the rest of these guys, I would pass. It seems like a lot of cash for a ukn car, so many model/yr parts, nothing about it looks clean except the fresh paint. I'd pay 6k max, Id be worried you'll need the rest for problems... Buy a project car, then all the variables are known...

JOE
 
72bluNblu said:
DefinitelyMarker lights were probably shaved because the front and backs wouldn't match, the fronts would have been the recessed markers from the earlier car, the rears would have been the later plastic versions that stuck out, so they probably just filled them all to keep from having to match them.
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The owner (possibly the modifier) could have used 1972 Only fenders, and had matching front & rear side markers.

'72 Only Fenders have the 72+ style Side Marker Lights, and the necessary brackets/tabs to use a 70-72 Grille, Latch Support, etc.
 
74Dusted said:
The owner (possibly the modifier) could have used 1972 Only fenders, and had matching front & rear side markers.

'72 Only Fenders have the 72+ style Side Marker Lights, and the necessary brackets/tabs to use a 70-72 Grille, Latch Support, etc.
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Sure, but then why bother deleting the marker lights? '72 fenders are harder to find since they're one year only, and the OP said it was a '71 donor car anyway.

Regardless, I'd be worried about how they did it. If they did it right, ie, welded in a small patch and worked it smooth, its no big deal and won't come back to haunt you later. But if they did it wrong, say, chicken wire and bondo :shock: , well, its gonna hurt later. :violent1:

That's the biggest issue with this car. If the work was done well, the fenders patched and smoothed, the tail panel stitched in like factory, etc, then it will be a great driver. I for one think that's great, it doesn't matter if its a '73 /6 car if it looks the way you want it to, drives good, and you're not worried about what the snooty purists think- just drive it and have fun. But since there's visible bondo issues, all of that work was probably done quick and dirty. And that's just trouble. My Challenger is exactly like that, bondo and a cheap paint job. It looked great for a while, now the clear coat is falling off and the paints cracking. I still drive it daily, but when I decide to fix it up it won't be cheap, there's a lot of work to re-do that was hidden under all that shiny new paint.
 
Wow, I want to thank everybody for their input so far and you all bring up very good points that have actually got me thinking very hard (losing sleep actually). I’m not a purist and I was drawn to this car because it had the 71 look I was shooting for and it is relatively close to my location. Unfortunately, there are too many unknowns and for that kinda money you guys might be right, it may be better to walk away. I’ve given some thought to offering 7-8k.

As I ponder this agonizing decision, how do I determine if the wiring was changed properly for the V8 swap (doesn’t the V8 use a different wiring harness)? How difficult would it be to reinstall the side marker lights (I’m concerned it would not pass PA inspection without)? Please share your thoughts.
 
This car is a "bits a"... A bit of this car, a bit of that. So don't pay too much for it. It could be a nice car to have for a few years. I can see why you like it. But he's asking way too much for what it is so don't pay twice what it's worth.

You need to check on getting an inspection and license.

What I would do is go chevk it out one last time. It's probably worth half that, maybe a touch more. If you think it would be fun car to have, plus you could have it right now, then all I would do is be honest. I would tell himI really like the car and think its nice but have major concerns. What I have done is tell people thatI didn't want to offend them with an offer as I think they are way off market price. Give him your number and say that if he can't get his price you will probably make him his best offer. It's almost September and interest in buying is way down.
 
Chances are the patches for the side markers are welded... but you could remove the fenders carefully and cut them out. There's no stamped recesss for the later sidemarkers that i'm aware of so you can do it. Assuming the wiring is still there for them (the connector on the harness under the fender. I know in CT they would want them in place if the car had it - otherwise you have to register it as a street rod/custom and you get an assigned ID number - the VIN is no longer valid.
 
Dave is correct, If those are the 73 fenders the marker lights sit on top of the fender. They are not recessed in. My guess is they tacked a panel on the back of the fender and just filled over it.
 
The next time I buy a MOPAR, I'm taking your guys along with me...I missed tons of stuff...
 
73SwingerBuild said:
That "340-3" number denotes a 340 ci motor with a "3" casting quality. The casting quality is the last digit and is rated between "1" and "8", with "1" being the best casting quality with low porosity. It very well could be out of a 1971. You would need to check the rest of the numbers.
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Duster_71 said:
I'm learning every day; always thought the last number represented the year of the cast, thanks. So, here is the cast # 2780930-340-3, can you help with that? (thanks)
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The fact that this could be a 71 340 seems to make it more desirable to me, should I add that into the equation? I feel bad that I made the error in judgment and told the guy that it was not a 71 motor. I called him and apologized for what might be a mistake.
 
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