Advice on ‘74 Duster

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72bluNblu said:
That’s a heat shield on the overflow, not duct tape (check the lower picture). The radiator looks like a 22”, and it has the right outlet for a V8 radiator. It’s not a 19” /6 rad. It’s not a 26” like you’d find on the later AC cars but plenty of the V8 cars did fine with 22”. Lack of a battery hold down is an issue, but it may have just been an oversight. Maybe the battery needed a charge or was recently replaced, hard to say it’s always been like that from a couple pictures.

The car isn’t perfect by any means, I think those giant MSD boxes are completely unnecessary nowadays, way better and cleaner options available. But I don’t think “cobbled together” is a fair statement either based on the pictures.
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I thought the same thing at first that it was duct tape and upon looking closer I realized the same that it was a heat shield to protect it from the radiator.
As far as a MSD box I have absolutely 0 experience with those and only know it is ignition related.
I also thought maybe the radiator was a little to small but wasn’t too concerned about it he says it runs 180 all the time.
I’ll definitely be climbing all over in and out and under this car before I lay out my hard earned cash. From the pics and videos it looks like a solid car but again you just never know.
I appreciate everyone’s insight, advice and tips, thank you.
 
72bluNblu said:
This clearly isn’t some rusty Michigan POS.

And it sure isn’t the same market. Maybe if all you rust belt guys shopped at home the prices would be better here. I don’t think you’ve got a clue what that car would actually bring here.
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are these the same market?

74 Plymouth Duster

1972 Plymouth Duster Sports Coupe* dart charger demon Cuda Challenger

now, i understand the paints not as nice but they are somewhat comparable


my point is, you can spend as much as you want buying a car, or you can wait for a deal to come along
 
Keep in mind it's easy for all of us to pick a part a car from the cheap seats. But I have to agree with most the posts that $15k is on the high end of value for a 360 auto 74. (Although A-bodied seem to be on the rise. I believe because B-bodies have plateaued and E-bodies have gone nuts on cost) Which leaves A (and to some extent C-bodies) viable options.

I have a 74 Duster. A 451 with a reverse valvebody 727 to a 4.56:1 Mosier axled/geared/spooled 8 3/4" rear with SS springs. The car has a 6 point cage setup for bracket drag race. (Low 10 sec.) Motor has B1/BS heads. MSD 6AL ignition with 2 step launch and rev control. As you can see from pictures it has a very nicely done steel tilt front end.

The car is worth $15k. (If I can get it to nip 9.99 sec? I would ask $18k lol.)

I know it's not comparing apples to apples because what's holding my 74 back is that it's not street ready. Thus would need work to get back for street duties. (Lights, horn, heater ect..) I would not recommend. I have drove on street. And it's a bit hairy.

I thought I would share to give a different prospective.

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diymirage said:
are these the same market?

74 Plymouth Duster

1972 Plymouth Duster Sports Coupe* dart charger demon Cuda Challenger

now, i understand the paints not as nice but they are somewhat comparable


my point is, you can spend as much as you want buying a car, or you can wait for a deal to come along
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The ‘74 is the same market, it’s within a couple hours. The ‘72 isn’t really, that’s in my area and it’s at least 6-7 hours away. California is big.

Neither of those cars are comparable though. That ‘74 needs paint and an interior. What does that cost? Well in SoCal it’ll cost $10k. Seriously. You won’t be able to put a cheap paint job on that car for less than $5k. So now your ratty paint, trashed interior $5,500 had $15k into it to get it anywhere near comparable. And it’s a 318 car, and it’s obviously not been taken care of as well as the car the OP is looking at. So that’s not a better deal. It’s just cheaper to start with for a lower quality car.

At $13.5k the car the OP is considering isn’t a terrible deal. It would cost more than that to build that car. Yeah price wise it’s still on the high end of the market for what it is. But it’s a better deal than either of those cars you listed to compare to for what you’re actually getting. That ‘72 is all hacked up. Says “not road worthy” right in the ad. It’s a mess. That’s not a better deal, it’s just a lot more work the OP has to do before he can drive it.
 
That 72 looks like a core. The body looks solid but everything else is ****. Wrong seats, ugly interior, black engine bay and everything about it looks weathered, tired and ugly.
 
is the hood cut to make the scoop functional, even though it has the wrong air cleaner for that?
 
I wouldn't do it. The guy did most everything right on it but it's the lower quarter bubbling that would have me walking away at 15k. People always use lines like "It's just got the usual rust on the lower quarters and around the rear window" as if it just takes a Saturday afternoon to fix all that.

If it's bubbling on the rear quarters then it's 99% more than likely rust. You just can't see it because it hasn't broke through the paint yet. If you went in for an Earl Schieb scuff and paint, it'll be back to bubbling in less than a year. If you go get a nice paint job on it, you'll be paying for patch panels to be put on.

For me, that drops the value of the car down tremendously. Also the dash pad change would be a pain in the ***. I'd also hate to pull those well done seat covers off but I'd have to because the 2 tone look is an eye sore to me.
 
kursplat said:
is the hood cut to make the scoop functional, even though it has the wrong air cleaner for that?
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No the hood is not cut for the hood scoop, would that be a difficult thing to do and would it really be worth it? I know colder air is the best for the best performance.
 
ESP47 said:
I wouldn't do it. The guy did most everything right on it but it's the lower quarter bubbling that would have me walking away at 15k. People always use lines like "It's just got the usual rust on the lower quarters and around the rear window" as if it just takes a Saturday afternoon to fix all that.

If it's bubbling on the rear quarters then it's 99% more than likely rust. You just can't see it because it hasn't broke through the paint yet. If you went in for an Earl Schieb scuff and paint, it'll be back to bubbling in less than a year. If you go get a nice paint job on it, you'll be paying for patch panels to be put on.

For me, that drops the value of the car down tremendously. Also the dash pad change would be a pain in the ***. I'd also hate to pull those well done seat covers off but I'd have to because the 2 tone look is an eye sore to me.
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I don’t mind the seats actually I always have liked a red/black combo I just wish the dash of was black along with the steering wheel.

Bubbling I know is rust forming and I’m personally not going to be concerned about it unless if the bottom of the car and frame are rusty then I’ll walk away but if it really is a California car it’s going to be relatively rust free. I’ve had a few cars in the past with the same issues and it never was anything serious.

I know a good body and paint guy in California I’ve had 2 cars painted with and both together cost me less than 5k and he guarantees his work for 5 years. They are not a top notch expensive paint job but a super nice driver quality paint job that I would always get compliments on both cars paint, and he did a complete color change on the ‘75 firebird door jambs, inside the trunk and engine bay and the 85 trans am was black but he did the same he painted the jambs and inside the hatch area too.
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ledman said:
I don’t mind the seats actually I always have liked a red/black combo I just wish the dash of was black along with the steering wheel.

Bubbling I know is rust forming and I’m personally not going to be concerned about it unless if the bottom of the car and frame are rusty then I’ll walk away but if it really is a California car it’s going to be relatively rust free. I’ve had a few cars in the past with the same issues and it never was anything serious.

I know a good body and paint guy in California I’ve had 2 cars painted with and both together cost me less than 5k and he guarantees his work for 5 years. They are not a top notch expensive paint job but a super nice driver quality paint job that I would always get compliments on both cars paint, and he did a complete color change on the ‘75 firebird door jambs, inside the trunk and engine bay and the 85 trans am was black but he did the same he painted the jambs and inside the hatch area too.View attachment 1715351840View attachment 1715351841View attachment 1715351842View attachment 1715351843View attachment 1715351844
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Think you could maybe paint the dash pad in the car? SEM Color Coat works perfect on painting things like that if you do a ton of really light coats. I just don't know if you'd be able to get coverage everywhere. Plus the masking would be extensive.

Man everyone other than me seems to "know a guy". He wouldn't be located in Northern CA would he?
 
The dash can be pulled, painted and re-installed in a few hours. I have pulled several from wrecking yards in a half hour.
 
Kern Dog said:
The dash can be pulled, painted and re-installed in a few hours. I have pulled several from wrecking yards in a half hour.
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Let me know if you ever pass through Michigan, I'll order some wiper pivot seals for you to replace
 
ESP47 said:
Think you could maybe paint the dash pad in the car? SEM Color Coat works perfect on painting things like that if you do a ton of really light coats. I just don't know if you'd be able to get coverage everywhere. Plus the masking would be extensive.

Man everyone other than me seems to "know a guy". He wouldn't be located in Northern CA would he?
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Actually no he is orange California,

And just a few examples of dusters...$9500 for a /6 car in California

1973 Plymouth Duster 4-SPEED | eBay




And $12,500 for a east coast matching numbers 318 car

1974 Plymouth Duster | eBay
 
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I got the guy to snap a few pics of the rear diff, looks like a 8 3/4 rear end, correct me if I’m wrong. What gears ratio would/should be in there?
 
The front bumper is not from a 73 it's a 74. There were two options in 74. The back one has been moved inward and my be a 73, or it was modified. A lot of guys do that to tuck it in-very common.
 
Radiator my be incorrect. Looks to short- should be bigger
 
The axle could have just about any ratio. The most common were 2.76. 2.94. 3.23, 3.55 and 3.91.
 
ledman said:
No the hood is not cut for the hood scoop, would that be a difficult thing to do and would it really be worth it? I know colder air is the best for the best performance.
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not hard to do, just not worth it unless you go with an open air cleaner that seals to the hood. i did that on one of my 69 340 swingers years ago. modded a fiberglass 6pak air cleaner base to take a 4bl and raise it about 2" to seal to the hood. worked great, but cutting a 69 dart power bulge hood with a jigsaw while it's still on the car, isn't for the faint of heart :rolleyes: if the early rust doesn't scare you, your happy with the price, and you really like it, go for it
 
I’ve decided to buy this car pending inspection.

We haggled a bit, he sent me some more videos, and we agreed on $13.5 PENDING MY INSPECTION on a virtual handshake.

I feel what what has been done to the car I couldn’t build it myself for that price. Is it a perfect show car? No way!
It’s not “matching numbers” and the interior isn’t “correct”, And that’s not what I want Nor do I care about all that really.
I want a nice looking driver to take to cruise ins and cars and coffee and to tinker with in my free time and this one checks off all the boxes for me. Hood scoops, hood tach, nice 360 v8 and a 8 3/4 rear end, electric cutouts, dash not all hacked up, mopar rally wheels(my favorite wheel of all time).

So, now I am just waiting on the guy to get the California title in his name he said he submitted for it this past Monday so it's going to be a few weeks before I could buy the car because I won’t hand over cash until I can get a properly signed off title and he agrees to hold the car for me until the title comes in.
 
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