71 340 4 speed . Can i prove it to be 4 speed?

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340plot

340plot

the bushy bush
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Ok, so, there was a 71 duster on egag a few days ago. I talked to the guy on the phone. Winds up knowing each other, and that i did business with him buying a car from me 7 years ago.
Back to the point.lol it is a 340 car. No fender tag or build sheet. Is a rolling hulk of a car, but in great shape. Missing everything from ground up!. So i thought.lol

i just asked him to send me pics of everything that goes with the car.
He has restored a few 70-72 dusters, and had at least 6 parts cars. I get all the parts with this deal. He is getting out of the restoration of them. There is at least two truck loads of stuff there to get. And alot of good items. 8.75 rears, chunks, trim, rally dash frames with harnessses. He sold the ralley bezels and gusges to another member on here 8 years ago,
so. He swears it was a 4 speed car. But i do not think that can be proven, can it.

It has the torque boxes. I have never seen a 3 speed, nor a automatic with them.

Any other way without the b.s or fender tag, to prove or i should say, to know if it was a 4 speed car?
 
I'm no expert on this kind of stuff but can't you just look at the floorpan?
 
Well, yes, it has the hump, pedals, rally dash that someone butchered up, has the hole for the reverse light, but that just shows it to be a manual shift car
 
MtNemoMopar said:
Whats that thing sticking out of the floor?:toothy7:
Actually, the vin tells the story.....I think
Click to expand...

VIN doesn't say what transmission it has. I would say the torque boxes are a strong indicator.
 
the vin shows it to be a treue 71 340 car, and the vin on the ralley dash frame does match the front rad support. so, i know it is a real 340 car. but, someone cut the entire hump, and part of the floor with it. even if the hump was in the car, they did as good putting them humps in, about as good as a 6 year old.lol
 
i have the vin number, and i remeber reading somewhere that i can put the number in, and it would say if they had the build sheet for the car.
 
No way that I know of, without the fender tag or broadcast sheet. Even the 3 speed cars had the torque boxes. It's a stick car.
 
all the cars i have had/have, not one of them being 7-72 manual 3 speed or auto had them. but any other true 4 speed i have had, all had them
 
Can you tell by looking at the pedal assembly? Might be a clue to whether it was added, or factory? Oops, that only tells if it was maual...sorry
 
There's still some debate about the torque boxes, some had them and some didn't 3 speeds and/or auto. Maybe it's the ***'y plant, maybe the ***'y date ??

Torque boxes are not a a for sure, positive, guaranteed way to say it's a 4 speed car.
 
here is a few pics of the new project to be done, after i epoxy prime the dart and the scamp
 

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plot i dont know how you find this stuff but you are my hero lol. if you need help unloading some of this stuff i might be interested in some of it to put on that dart i got off of you.
 
Well at least if you gotta take a dump on the job, you don't have to go far.
 
all 340 a bodies ive ever had from 69 swingers to 73 duster 340s if it had a manual trans either 3 or 4 speed they had torque boxes,the only way to tell if its factory 4 speed is a build sheet or fender tag d 21 and d 13 for a 3...
 
yea, now all the ones i have had, never had them............................ to be continued.lol
 
Just a question here. OK, it's a 340 car and with the torque boxes it's also very likely a manual car, but since you have neither the build sheet or fender tags what does it matter if it's a 3 or 4speed since it can't be confirmed?

We all would like the history of our cars, but in some cases build it and have lots of fun!!! It's still a factory 340 car, save the beast.
 
well, i do save them, build them, THEN SELL THEM you are right. to me, it is still a manual car, either way, but when i restore it and go to sell it, most of the time when i sell it, the person would like the COMFORT of knowing it was a 4-speed over a 3 speed.lool just the way people are.

to me, there is no difference.

i would like to have this one on the aution bloct by end of june.lol
 
340plot said:
well, i do save them, build them, THEN SELL THEM you are right. to me, it is still a manual car, either way, but when i restore it and go to sell it, most of the time when i sell it, the person would like the COMFORT of knowing it was a 4-speed over a 3 speed.lool just the way people are.

to me, there is no difference.

i would like to have this one on the aution bloct by end of june.lol
Click to expand...
Joe, If it quacks like a duck,and looks like a duck, Then most likely....It's a duck!! lol.. who cares if it was 3 or 4 speed! If you want to do it right and clean,and all the signs of a factory stick car are there,make it what you want!!! Just my 2 cents!!\\:D/
 
from what I understand , only 4 speed cars got the "reverse" light on the dash , whereas 3 speed manuals didn't get this feature .
 
"from what I understand , only 4 speed cars got the "reverse" light on the dash , whereas 3 speed manuals didn't get this feature . "

correct 3 speeds did not have the reverse light. my 70 duster 340 came with a 3 speed -code D13 and does not have the hole for the light on the dash frame. It does however have the torque boxes.
Howard
 
OK,
My 2 cents worth:
My only 1970 Swinger 340 3 speed had the Torque Boxes and Dash Reverse Light.
It was a Windsor Plant built car.
Bench Seat, Vinyl Floor Covering (no Carpet), Sub Lime, Hood Blackout Treatment.

Later,
Bruce B.
 
Without a Broadcast Sheet or a Fender tag there is no way to PROVE which transmission it came with from the factory. This only really becomes important after it's been restored and you are attempting to sell it, no proof = a value hit, and in the case of a 71 340 Duster, a BIG value hit.

Aside from proving it's originallity you can use any remaining clues still on the car to figure out what it PROBABLY had and restore it accordingly.

All 1971 manual transmission 340 A-body cars should have had factory torque boxes, but as with most things Mopar, there were factory mistakes/exceptions. Not by design, but rather by mistake or oversight, etc. I own 2 1971 340 3 speed Dusters (both with the original fender tag, etc.) that have them. I've also seen 2 different original 71 340 automatic cars that had them as well (flukes, but they were factory!).

As mentioned, 4 speed cars had the reverse light on the dash, 3 speeds did not. I can't recall ever seeing an unrestored original 3 speed car that had one but again, with Chrysler, exceptions DID happen, especially on smaller optional detail items.

The clutch Z-bar pivot would be there, a trained eye can usually spot a factory installation.

I saw that car on ebay, too bad it's so rough, sounds like it would have been a cool car to get before it was basically parted out.
 
LH23H2R said:
from what I understand , only 4 speed cars got the "reverse" light on the dash , whereas 3 speed manuals didn't get this feature .
Click to expand...


CORRECT !!

Bottom right corner
71_Valiant_Duster_161.jpg
 
Any way of possibly tracking down previous owners??? Maybe they could confirm it.. BTW. I thought all 340 Dusters had front disk ?? Am I just plain wrong on this??
 
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