Hard pass,$18k tops, numerous red flags. Typical flipper stuff, doors don't line up, uneven gaps in both doors and back bumper.
Painted over rust, can't fix a vacuum leak to repair the brakes for $25k?.
That bubbling probably means rust holes all of the way through the quarter panels and door skins have been filled/covered with filler and painted over.
If you look close at that rear Quarter post #1 picture #3, I can see a 6-8 inch hole that's been filled. Follow the bubbles down to the filler line across the bottom (which is extremely visible) then to a small bubble, up and to the left, ignore the orange peel and look how the middle of the hole is flatter, less contoured and smoother than the rest. The contour isn't right on that quarter panel at all, it's too flat.
Whoever did it is pretty good but raises serious red flags because most who can do that good of a coverup wouldn't. We all know there is only one way to repair rust...
The mechanical bond between the filler and substrate has broken down in those places because either rust wasn't removed or contaminated prep work. It'll be cracking and/or peeling within a year or two.
The quarter most probably needs cut out, new welded, re painted.
I'd definitely be checking the block to actually be a 340.
LOL!!!
There's absolutely no way you can see some of the things you're claiming to see in those pictures. A 6-8" hole that's been filled? Yeah right. You're looking at the reflection of the ground next to the car in the paint and making things up. It's got a a single bubble that's within 1" of the edge of the quarter. The really good news that section of the quarter is still in the wheel well. Meaning, if you're looking at the car in person, you can just feel around the flange. If there's a hole "clear through the quarter" you could literally put your hand on it from the wheel well side.
Uneven gaps in BOTH doors? Better look at the pictures again, all the door gaps in those pictures are the drivers door. The uneven gap on the rear bumper is an illusion, the rubber block at the corner of the tail panel that goes between the tail panel and bumper has been painted body color. The trunk panel gap is pretty standard for a Demon or Duster, that was a larger gap on a lot of cars (mine included, wearing original paint when I bought it).
The door gap that has been pointed out a few time is pretty common for just a sagging door, it's tight at the bottom and loose at the top. And it's the drivers door so that tracks too. So it's a clone, it's definitely got a repaint or two under its belt, and it probably wasn't taken fully apart for any of it based on the level of work that appears to be going on. So if I were a betting man I'd bet those are factory hinges that have never been off the car and saw a ton of miles back in the day when it was a slant 6 car. In person it would be easy to tell, you'd be able to feel the slop in the door pins. I don't see any pictures of the passenger door gap to compare, but they usually get less wear and tear so you can compare them.
And that's not a fresh paint job. Everything on that car was done years ago. Heck maybe decades ago, you can see the wear and tear on the stripes, minor chips in the paint, and oh yeah, those super dated wheels that are also wearing quite a bit of age.
It ain't perfect, but the market on that car is $20k to $25k all day long. You want anything close to a perfect '71 Demon, even a clone, and you can add another $20k to the price. And you still might get screwed.
Yes the car does look solid and most of the bubbling under the car you pictured is factory undercoating.
1. The plus are Its a Demon and a 71 none the less
2. Someone put a lot of money in that car to build what they wanted.
3. Body wise the car looks solid other then some miner bubbling.
4. It has all the nicknacks you don't need to locate. Spoiler, scoops , buckets, air cleaner is a high dollar item, and already transformed to a V8.
For a daily driver the body and paint look great.
The negatives are
1. The brakes ? How does the car have Big bolt 73 brakes and small bolt wheels? Most likely Adapters Not good ,and probably the reason for the 4 inch wide wheels on the front So the tires stay under the car. This I see as the major issue and why weren't the brakes fixed .
2 color was changed and the black paint was done under the car and rockers to hide that.
3. After the color change at least some of the the car was then repainted with the stripes taped off.
4. The stripes were taped off for the repaint or painted on and not a decal after the color change and the issue there is the stripes were installed too low. To fix that it will need a complete repaint again
5. The body ? Door Bubbles are the major issue I see
6. torsion bar clip has under coating on it. So either they were never out and the suspension was not rebuilt. Or they did some cover up under the car.
7. resale red Tour red/ Hemi orange, What was the factory color?
8. What is under that thick doubled / triple layers of paint???
Now is the car worth the asking price ? Yes, for a driver. But you will be sticking another 10k easily in the car to correct just the items pictured to make it nice. Unless you do it all yourself.
Its like biting into a piece of that Christmas chocolate. " you never know what your getting until you take a bite. Be careful and good luck. If it was me I would pass. But I have seen it all over the years .
keep looking and the most important is look for an original color car. The beauty on that one is only skin deep. There is a reason That it wasn't sucked up by a car lot for auction. I have seen that car somewhere before. And without getting into details it wasn't a good vibe.
Actually agree with almost all of this. That Demon appears to be an "older" restoration that was done decently (not perfectly!) awhile back, has had a few things freshened up somewhat recently, and is just showing some age and less than perfect paint prep.
As for the brakes, I'm not aware of any adaptors that go from 5x4.5" back to 5x4", they all go the other direction. The brake kits have been out for a few years now, Pirate Jack and a few other companies, as well as DoctorDiff, sell a 73+ brake conversion with the rotors drilled for 5x4" and a little meat taken off the rotor snout. The brand new brake line with the "shadow" of the old line on the floor board would indicate some recent brake work that probably still needs sorting out.
The exhaust work looks to be newer from the headers back, but definitely still not new. But the headers and flanges are pretty old.
Bottom line is the market on these cars is not what it used to be, it's MUCH higher. And $25k will not get you a perfect car, no where near. I think any classic car that isn't wearing its original paint or drivetrain is a bit of a crap shoot. You're dealing with a lot of decades and a lot of previous owners work. And even at much higher price points I think with a classic car you have to be prepared to spend more money beyond the price of the purchase to get things to where you want them to be. Yeah, if you want a perfect paint job then you might as well get something that really needs one, because if you're gonna repaint this one to make it nicer you're just gonna throw another $10k or more at it for paint. If you want to have something "decent" to have fun with then sort the mechanicals and drive the wheels off!
Please take a look at the 71 Duster that
I listed and sold on here August 21, 2023.
In the end after several months and many ads,
I did not get much more than what the price
on this car is listed.
Please compare the quality.
Ya know, there are over a dozen cars in my collection
and nearly as many in my sons. We buy/sell/trade at
least one or more each year and I have been doing so for
over 60 years that I have been in the Mopar Hobby (A lot
more before i got so darn old).
I stand by my opinion that I posted above.
Your car definitely had nicer paint!
[SOLD] - AMAZING 71' Duster Restomod Street/Strip/Show Winner!!
But the cheap race seats (don't take it wrong, I've run the same ones!), smoothed firewall, and some of the other modifications are definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and I'm sure had some effect on the sale price. And yeah, a few years ago too.
It can be hard to compare one classic car against another, especially if they're somewhat close in price. They ALL have issues of one kind of another. Which is why it's hard to compare sale prices. Someone that wants a more original looking car might spend $25k on this Demon and not on your Duster because reversing some of the modifications done would be time consuming and possibly expensive. Like for me, no wiper motor on your car? That's a royal pain in the *** for someone that wants to drive the car all the time. But someone that was looking for a rest-mod might happily pay more for your car if they modifications line up with what they want.
Part of the whole deal is the buyer finding the right car for what they plan on doing with it, and since we all tend to make these cars our own that can be quite an ordeal. I'd be willing to pay more for the "right" car for me, and that might mean passing on nicer cars even at a decent price point.
