How many miles.

[omahamoparguy]

hey guys and gals. I got a crazy question. What is the best way to tell if your odometer has gone over 100,000 miles. Here's the story. My latest acquisition, a 1975 Duster, says 19659 on the odometer. The car is in really good shape with not much rust. Is it possible that a Duster from 1975 could only have 19xxx miiles on it. [even the dash pad is not cracked and the paint on the instrument cluster looks fresh] some.one attempted a new paint /body work with negative affects though.

 

[70DartMike]

What's the engine bay look like? Does the engine still have original hoses, clamps, paint, etc. Is the paint still fresh looking or for the engine have oil runs and missing paint? How does the interior look?

I doubt it's 19xxx original miles though, it should be REALLY clean unless parked in a bad area all its life.

 

[Mopar Tim]

IMO people did not drive the miles we do today in the united states. seeing a old car with over 100 thousand on the clock was, at least IMO, rare. They, the cars, just did not last that long! MT

 

[lil red]

that's not a lot of miles for 40 years use...look at the gas/brake pedals for any signs of wear along the edges etc., or the carpet or the uphostery in general ,along the seams or the edges along the drivers side

 

[MOPARMITCH]

The 68 GTS I'm restoring came from Southwest Indiana. Shows 95K on the clock. I'm sure its original because when I took the car apart, I could tell everything was original. Even the drive train

 

[magnumdart]

People can mess with numbers so they don't mean much. Look at all the normal wear items, like tires, door handles, strikers, and make your own best judgement. My Dart has over 100,000 and shows it.

 

[Alaskan_TA]

Odometers have a a 'wiper' on them, look at it with a black light to see if the 0 has scratches left from the brush at rollover.

 

[omahamoparguy]

thanks for the replies guys, I guess I'll have to take a closer look at things. the black light idea sounds good. BTW, the car came without engine or trans. the guy that bought it tried to paint the original dark green [what else] with white paint which is dull and peeling off. he did all the edges and under the hood and back side of the trunk, the out side was in primer [for the most part] Also the front seat is gone. There is NO rust in the trunk except for a small area in the drop area by the wheel opening. has the original wheel opening mouldings. He told me when I bought it that it had the 7 1/4 rear but after I got it home I looked under there and low and behold it has the 8 1/4. the floor also has no rust that I can tell. has the original carpet that looks not too bad. I popped the rear wheel off and here is the real kicker, I think it has the original drum. Why do I think this, it has the factory sheet metal nut [ the one that holds the drum on temporarily while going down the line] AND, it even has a little white dot on the drum [a factory mark I assume] That is the part that baffles me, that little white dot on the drum, how would that last for 40 years. I believe it has factory under coat. Im gonna try to get some pics up. thanks guys!

 

[Alaskan_TA]

I took this photo of a spare speedometer I have. It shows the arm holding the 'wipe' material & you can see that it has damaged the finish on the first wheel, so it has rolled over at least once. This was done to help prevent mileage fraud when dishonest folks would roll back their odometers.

 

[krazykuda]

Cut it in half and count the rings....

 

[krazykuda]

IMO people did not drive the miles we do today in the united states. seeing a old car with over 100 thousand on the clock was, at least IMO, rare. They, the cars, just did not last that long! MT

I had a 68 Barracuda that I bought with 180 k on it and drove it to 500,000 k.... :cheers:

Two engine rebuilds, two suspension rebuilds, and daily driver for over 7 years....

It can be done.... :glasses7:

 

[Louie70Dart]

IMO people did not drive the miles we do today in the united states. seeing a old car with over 100 thousand on the clock was, at least IMO, rare. They, the cars, just did not last that long! MT

My '71 had over a 100,000 on it.

 

[d55dave]

Also look at the wear on the steering wheel. At that low mileage you should still see most of the original texture. Ad 100000 and it will be worn smooth.