Anyone Familiar With This Car? 1971 Duster 340 FJ6

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Ozark

Ozark

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Hi Everyone,

Does anyone know any history on this car? I have actually looked it over in years past and it is going up for auction again. I believe the car has some red flags, but would like to talk to any previous owner(s) if they are on here. Photos are attached. Any help is appreciated.

Admin - Please let me know if I need to move this somewhere else.

1971 Plymouth Duster 340, 4 speed
#’s motor and tranny
VIN: VS29H1B160659

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I'm thinking that if you can feel the tag when you put your finger on it, it is probably actually there but yes, I'm also curious as to what is fake about it?
 
Tag is a fake for sure. But that is the least of your worries. I see more issues that I wouldn't know where to start. Run away. Or you'll be doing a complete restore in time. Shine is skin deep on that body work. Even the grille looks like an ocean and the wing is a sagging after market junk. Look close at the trunk alignment and the wheel openings behind the chrome. Damage and patches just covered bad.

Reminds me of a friends Duster purchase. A member on this site. His was undercoated and then sprayed with mud water to cover the tape over rust holes. He aged the undercoating When we put it on the lift and saw a tape edge and peeled it back we could not believe it. The rails were shot front and rear. The difference was he patched the body and painted the patina so it looked like original paint.

This car below was listed for $40k the older couple bought it. It has more covered rust holes and mechanical issues than can be imagined . The frame was bent and rusted and the interior was painted white and had a plastic dash cap. Check the web you'll see the ad. Its here right now getting the trunk seal surround being welded up due to putty over tape. 27 hose clamps on the piece together fuel lines. The seal was a refrigerator seal.

From what I see in the pictures you posted Run Away. If it looks that bad in photos I would hate to see it in person. Asked to see pictures before it was painted. LOL

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I think the exterior pictures are way to grainy to evaluate bad bodywork. One would need to actually move around it or have known horizontal objects reflecting off of it (much like paintless dent removal techs use) to declare it not straight. I do see potential issues but again one would need better pictures or be able to observe how reflections react to movement of the lens to say for sure. I'm still trying to understand why the tag is fake? Does it not match the VIN plate and how would anyone know that without seeing a picture of the VIN and its rivets? The last 3 number segments on the bottom line is the VIN and should match the VIN on the dash under the windshield. It is possible to reuse the pentagon rivet heads, so even if it matches, its not 100% proof that it is legit but it would be pretty likely. Again, how can you just look at a fender tag and 50' photos and say it is fake??
 
Okay- the tag is fake——- but how can you tell? That’s what we are asking. What should we see that you see to say “it’s a fake.”
 
Thank you everyone for the replies so far.

Here is a picture of the tag pre-repaint from what I can find. It looks decent, but some older fakes can look convincing. I haven't accused this tag of being faked, but I too have had my doubts after looking at it. The font looks good, but if you look closely, the text characters are out of alignment in multiple places (examples - "VS29", "929", "020473", "160659", etc.). However, not all tags were perfect and the typograph could make mistakes from the factory - these alignment issues look fairly consistent? You could argue that the bend isn't pronounced and there may or may not be an inspector's stamp hiding under the paint.

From what I know about the car, the radiator core support VIN body stamp is missing. I was hoping to find a previous owner or someone who had prior experience with it that might have verified if the VIN body stamp on the package tray was still intact - but there is no way of knowing at the moment. Some care about this and some don't; I personally do. The car retains its torque boxes as it should with these options and the drivetrain supposedly matches. My biggest fear is that this car has had these options added or rebodied to some degree.

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how does it look now. Can you say bondo buggy. LOL. Is the fender going up hill or is the body going down? Is that the deck lid or the tail light section bent. Click the link and look at the pictures. $55,000. The wing sags more then my wash line.

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https://www.hemmings.com/stories/20...-340-remains-numbers-matching-find-of-the-day


$55,000 ? Are you serious? I restored many Dusters and Demons and what I am telling you is this thing is a basket case done for resale. The only thing they forgot is the resale red paint. Even the gas cap and tube look to be from a newer car.
 
The way the letters and numbers are aligned it enough to know it didn't come from Chrysler. Many other clues but like all people who know how fender tags were made and hung we don't want the fakers to know more than they think they know...
 
Oldmanmopar said:
how does it look now. Can you say bondo buggy. LOL. Is the fender going up hill or is the body going down? Is that the deck lid or the tail light section bent. Click the link and look at the pictures. $55,000. The wing sags more then my wash line.

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https://www.hemmings.com/stories/20...-340-remains-numbers-matching-find-of-the-day


$55,000 ? Are you serious? I restored many Dusters and Demons and what I am telling you is this thing is a basket case done for resale. The only thing they forgot is the resale red paint. Even the gas cap and tube look to be from a newer car.
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Yes. From what I can remember, the car appeared to have questionable body work done. It looked like both, full quarters were replaced, as well as the taillight panel. Where the quarters meet the roof skin, it also looked like the body seam was too high/in the wrong spot (you can faintly see it in the photo on the Hemmings article). This all began to make me re-think its authenticity.
 
Funny how this car is shown for sale in Ohio and Florida :rolleyes:. Plus you are correct, in that last picture the quarter panel has no body lines at all. It has to be full of mud. Hell the price is insane too!
 
Bump.
Anybody else familiar with this car or know someone who has past experience with it?
 
Nope and the last time I chimed in on a condition question for a car like this I was supposedly jealous of such a fine automobile....

It's a beauty and they are not asking nearly enough! If I hadn't just knocked up 3 women on my street you and I would be in a race to buy it.....

JW
 
Go see it in person, and take someone familiar with body work
 
Ozark said:
Bump.
Anybody else familiar with this car or know someone who has past experience with it?
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You're being told over and over it's a bondo buck and POS that you'll have to re-restore if you buy it. What are you looking for? Yes men? Then hell yeah, go buy it! That's what you want to hear anyway. These guys are trying to help you.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You're being told over and over it's a bondo buck and POS that you'll have to re-restore if you buy it. What are you looking for? Yes men? Then hell yeah, go buy it! That's what you want to hear anyway. These guys are trying to help you.
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No need to be like that. It is understood that the car most likely has issues with prior body work. But if you reference my previous comments, one of my main concerns is the car's authenticity (fender tag, body stamps, etc.). I'm simply inquiring if anyone on here had prior experience with the car to see it hasn't been re-bodied or re-imagined into something that its not. Appreciate the reply though.
 
Ozark said:
No need to be like that. It is understood that the car most likely has issues with prior body work. But if you reference my previous comments, one of my main concerns is the car's authenticity (fender tag, body stamps, etc.). I'm simply inquiring if anyone on here had prior experience with the car to see it hasn't been re-bodied or re-imagined into something that its not. Appreciate the reply though.
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I'm not being any way at all. You've been told the fender tag is fake. Not by one person, but by several who are very seasoned Mopar guys. You ASKED for help. You've been given help and you continue to ask the same questions over again. So there's no need for YOU to be "like that", however "that" is. I would stay as far away from that car as I could. You've been given good advice. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
 
I’m still curious what is telling sign that the fender tag is fake! Is it the misalignment of the letters and numbers or are there more clues?
 
pauly said:
I’m still curious what is telling sign that the fender tag is fake! Is it the misalignment of the letters and numbers or are there more clues?
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I kinda am too, but if those two guys say it's fake, that beeotch is fake. They might not wanna give away their trade secrets. Can't blame um for that, but I'd trust um. You've seen how many Mopars @Oldmanmopar has torn apart and put back together on here......and that's just the ones he's shared on here. Yeah, he knows what's goin on.
 
There's another tag guru on the B body side that won't tell his secrets either, but from his other posts you can tell he knows 99.99% what went on, so I trust him that 99.99% plus the .01 to spot a fake tag.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I'm not being any way at all. You've been told the fender tag is fake. Not by one person, but by several who are very seasoned Mopar guys. You ASKED for help. You've been given help and you continue to ask the same questions over again. So there's no need for YOU to be "like that", however "that" is. I would stay as far away from that car as I could. You've been given good advice. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
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Well, I apologize that this bothered you so much and that you felt the need to be condescending to someone that literally bumped their original post ONCE to see if anyone else had experience with the car, other than the few that responded which I respectfully thanked. You act like I’m suppose to just know that the members who responded are seasoned Mopar folks and the case should be closed. Regardless, I’m not going to argue with you. Appreciate the feedback, try and relax.
 
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