Found my dads original 1971 duster!

-
CFD244 said:
I'm not really a bumperette guy either.....But I think I would leave them on if they were original to the car, and are in good shape.
Click to expand...
Ya. I hear you there. I’m assuming they were original to the car. Not sure how to know that for sure. But they likely are
 
Hey guys. Does anyone know how to tell if this brake booster or whatever this is, is original to the car? Would it be on the fender tag? Or is it even possible to tell? It was on the car when I got it, so assuming it came on the car originally
Click to expand...

8B3C1E64-C3F2-4E54-A9A7-3DF44D268E0C.jpeg
 
Yeah I just looked as well and didn't see it either. Just looked at my 69 swinger which has power assisted disc brakes. On the fender tag it reads B41 B51. From memory I believe B41 is power assist and B51 is disc brakes.
 
Bennoel 10 said:
Yeah I just looked as well and didn't see it either. Just looked at my 69 swinger which has power assisted disc brakes. On the fender tag it reads B41 B51. From memory I believe B41 is power assist and B51 is disc brakes.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Ya, I don’t see either of them on my tag
 
dads71 said:
Hello. Thanks for following! No, there was only a piece left maybe the size of a toonie. The mice got it :(
Click to expand...
Dam mice. Some people have found more than one copy, under the carpet, back of the heater box and the common place in the rear seat springs. I'm sure you looked. Cool car and cooler story. Keep up the good work.
 
On my '74 Duster 360, power disk brakes were standard. Looks like that isn't the case with a '71 Duster 340 though. But based on your earlier pictures, the booster was there and I highly doubt someone went to the effort to add it. Also, if it has disk brakes (can't tell from your pictures), makes sense they would be power.

Might be of interest to look at some of this info, it's where I go look for things like standard options and such.

The 1970 Hamtramck Registry Library Page (1970 - 1974)

In regards to options and such, the info is under Dealership Data Books and then Valine/Duster

The 1970 Hamtramck Registry - 1971 Plymouth Dealership Data Book - Valiant/Duster
 
Bennoel 10 said:
Dam mice. Some people have found more than one copy, under the carpet, back of the heater box and the common place in the rear seat springs. I'm sure you looked. Cool car and cooler story. Keep up the good work.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Ya, we looked everywhere as the the car was being torn down
 
DionR said:
On my '74 Duster 360, power disk brakes were standard. Looks like that isn't the case with a '71 Duster 340 though. But based on your earlier pictures, the booster was there and I highly doubt someone went to the effort to add it. Also, if it has disk brakes (can't tell from your pictures), makes sense they would be power.

Might be of interest to look at some of this info, it's where I go look for things like standard options and such.

The 1970 Hamtramck Registry Library Page (1970 - 1974)

In regards to options and such, the info is under Dealership Data Books and then Valine/Duster

The 1970 Hamtramck Registry - 1971 Plymouth Dealership Data Book - Valiant/Duster
Click to expand...
Cool! Thanks! My car does not have disc brakes. I agree….I can’t see someone adding it either
 
I absolutely can see someone adding a power booster. It’s not uncommon at all. It’s amazing all the little things you’ll find that people have added to a 50 year old car, and if they added it 30 years ago it will look original.
 
TT5.9mag said:
I absolutely can see someone adding a power booster. It’s not uncommon at all. It’s amazing all the little things you’ll find that people have added to a 50 year old car, and if they added it 30 years ago it will look original.
Click to expand...
Ahhh. Good to know! Maybe I should have left it off the build, to keep it original then. If that’s the case. Looks like if might be, since the code for brake booster isn’t on the fender tag
 
dads71 said:
Ahhh. Good to know! Maybe I should have left it off the build, to keep it original then. If that’s the case. Looks like if might be, since the code for brake booster isn’t on the fender tag
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t try too terribly hard to make it a perfect completely original car, you won’t want to drive it. A few selective upgrades (like power disk brakes) won’t hurt value at all and you will enjoy driving the car much more.
 
Last edited:
TT5.9mag said:
I absolutely can see someone adding a power booster. It’s not uncommon at all. It’s amazing all the little things you’ll find that people have added to a 50 year old car, and if they added it 30 years ago it will look original.
Click to expand...

If anything, 50 years ago or so I would expect someone would have been removing the booster, not adding it. The OP's Dad doesn't strike me as someone that did more than drive it, so it would have had to have been prior to that.

At the same time, no idea why it wouldn't have been on the fender tag. Being 10+ years old when the OP's dad first got it (best guess), anything could have happened. Maybe PB was missed when the car was ordered and dealer added it?

In the end, there is photo documentation and a reasonable assumption that it was on the car when the OP's dad owned it. So I would leave it on and enjoy the car the way it is.
 
The codes on a fender tag I don’t think are consistent from plant to plant or year to year. My tag doesn’t have an alternator code (F code) yet I’ve seen many tags that do have a F code. And my Scamp did come with an alternator!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top