Am I crazy or is this project Duster way overpriced?

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timk225

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I've been out of the 1970s RWD Mopar hobby for 20 years. I did a lot with them from '89-2004, but I got tired of the whole thing and sold it all off.

Now I've been thinking of putting together a Slant 6 Duster or Valiant, the types of cars that I drove all through the financial hard years, the cars that got me by for a long long time when everything else was going wrong. Something to just ride around in now and then.

I found this one that might make a nice car to rebuild stock style, but I think the seller is flat out dreaming on the price. He wants $15K, no offer has been over $8K and it's been for sale for months.

https://www.hemmings.com/listing/1971-plymouth-duster-606020

I don't care about VIN codes, numbers matching, or survivor status. With a survivor Duster and 2 dollars, I can go to Taco Bell.

Sure the metal is pretty good, but it still needs a full going through and clean up.

What do you think?
 
The whole “survivor” label is misleading. If it hasn’t been started in 20+ years it’s not a survivor. It died over 20 years ago. That’s a 1 owner project car that needs everything rebuilt.

It’s a cool car, but on a non-running car the low mileage isn’t as significant. It’s like selling a NOS part that’s covered in surface rust. You can’t bolt it on and run it, so maybe it never got used but that doesn’t mean it’s still good. So 21k original miles, before you had to rebuild literally everything in it.

Over 11k views, 79 watchers and only 5 offers sums it up pretty well. Someone saw that /6 clone with a 340 sell for big bucks at Kissimmee. This ain’t that.
 
prices have gone up since the earl aughts, but not that much.

6-ish is a little more in line with with what that should probably go for-- location dependent. the interior is passable, the body looks rock solid and the undercarriage looks workable. that's all plusses.

also, expand your search off hemmings or whatever collector car sites and/or dealers. craig's list, offer up and farkbook marketplace are where the real deals are. and the classifieds here!
 
RustyRatRod said:
That's gotta be a joke ad.
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man, you'd be surprised. there's some real crack pipe pricing going around of late.

also, as 72blu eluded to, people see these cars sell for 60K and think: hell, mine's gotta be worth half that! because "reasons" that only make sense in their head.
 
junkyardhero said:
man, you'd be surprised. there's some real crack pipe pricing going around of late.

also, as 72blu eluded to, people see these cars sell for 60K and think: hell, mine's gotta be worth half that! because "reasons" that only make sense in their head.
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Well A bodies ARE appreciating greatly, but not THAT great. lol
 
RustyRatRod said:
Well A bodies ARE appreciating greatly, but not THAT great. lol
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i recently saw a beater 64~66 4dr val with a slant up for sub 2K and i almost bought it just because i ain't seen a one like that in ages. like man, that's legit what that thing is worth not the 5K plus every ding-dong is asking.
 
The car may seem over priced, but somewhere out there it is a project that someone will tackle. The prices of our A bodies have risen a lot over the last ten years. This is partly due to the B and E body are are taken up and the prices from them are out of sight. In my opinion, people are now jumping on the A body band wagon because they "were" so affordable. Unfortunately, the law of supply and demand comes into play. When I bought my roller bracket car just over ten years ago, it was $8,000 with a title. My former race car partner and I sat down and figured what it would have cost if I'd had to build to the point that I bought it, we came up with a figure close to $20,000. I was recently given an offer that was way less than I "currently" have in it. I have two spare engines and two spare transmissions, not to mention all of the other miscellaneous parts and pieces that go with the car. I politely declined the offer and will continue enjoying taking the car out every once in a while, just to get my drag racing fix.
 
I'd jerk that slant 6 out so quick and drop a 340 4 speed In leave the paint just like it is....but not for 15gs. it is very cool tho and the color makes it worth more than that tan,brown or green duster.
 
If the pans, frame rails, & critical lower seams(rockers etc.), check out clean...it's easily worth the $8K that's been offered.
I haven't started My '72 Slanty Duster since I backed it into the spot it's in since '97, it needs a tank, & probably a carb rebuild, but it'll start & run fine otherwise.
The body, structure, & interior condition are the big costs/time consumers, the rest is chicken ****. That car is rough, looks like the frt bumper saw some action,, maybe more than once. W/out seeing it in person, I'd say the top offer is it. If it really checks out as great in the critical areas, it might be worth $12K, but that's all given the damage present.
I love how Our cars aren't worth sh*t when We see them for sale, then can't figure out why nice ones won't sell after We put a bunch of time & $$$$$ into them, lol.....:rolleyes:
 
The interior may not have any tears, BUT I can smell the mildew from here. No way you're not replacing the whole interior. And, yes, it is overpriced by double.
 
From what I see in the pictures, the car has it's issues rust wise.
The tail panel needs to be replaced or repaired, the car has surface rust in the engine compartment, especially the seams in the cowl/firewall area.
The trunk gutter on the passenger side looks bad.
The quarters have rust in the rear of them.
And that's a start from all I can see in the pictures.
The car looks like it's been stored outside maybe under a tarp for years.
It hasn't been started in 20+ years?
That's a red flag right there.
Also, being a 198 three in the tree car doesn't help it as for value.
And the front bumper is really bad even the car looks like it hasn't been in a major collision.
I say that because the grille and hood etc. line up pretty good.
The interior is pretty good especially if it is an actual Arizona car.
However, the seats and carpet show signs of mold or mildew, and that's why I came up with the car being stored with a tarp on it.
I'll bet my bottom dollar that it stinks inside and all of the interior would need to be replaced to get rid of the smell...

It's easy to pick apart someone else's car, but the price that they are asking is more than double what the car is worth IMHO.
The guy should take the high offer of 8 grand and run!
 
That's a lot cleaner then most of the rot boxes out there...what's it worth is how bad someone wants it..
 
anyone else notice the jack slots in the bumpers?
it is a late 71 car and I guess they could be factory. radiator looks like a replacement tho.
 
From what others have said:

It is a June 1971 build date car, I see a 625 on the fender tag. And the bumper jack slots, they only started those in 1971, a 1970 bumper would not have them?

Down the passenger side chrome trim of the windshield, it looks like clear RTV silicone, I guess it had a water leak along the windshield.

What's wrong with the taillight panel, I don't see anything.

And that rubber floor mat. Heavy and great at trapping moisture, I'd pull it and put in black carpeting no matter what.

I left a message on Hemmings for the seller, no response yet. The ad claims he is a "life long mopar collector", so he's probably one of those guys who says "I want "X" ridiculous price and I won't take a penny less!!!".

I hope he writes back to me and we can communicate, although I'll definitely look elsewhere also.

I know where there's a VS29L4B '74 Duster 360, was a factory 3 speed manual car also, it is a rolling body and needs some metal work, but it is very rebuildable. I've known the jackasses who have it for many many years, and they are hard headed enough to let it sit forever rather than take a fair offer for it. Don't you just hate those "I'm gonna restore it someday" people? These guys couldn't afford a decent paint job, much less everything else it needs.
 
timk225 said:
From what others have said:

It is a June 1971 build date car, I see a 625 on the fender tag. And the bumper jack slots, they only started those in 1971, a 1970 bumper would not have them?

Down the passenger side chrome trim of the windshield, it looks like clear RTV silicone, I guess it had a water leak along the windshield.

What's wrong with the taillight panel, I don't see anything.

And that rubber floor mat. Heavy and great at trapping moisture, I'd pull it and put in black carpeting no matter what.

I left a message on Hemmings for the seller, no response yet. The ad claims he is a "life long mopar collector", so he's probably one of those guys who says "I want "X" ridiculous price and I won't take a penny less!!!".

I hope he writes back to me and we can communicate, although I'll definitely look elsewhere also.

I know where there's a VS29L4B '74 Duster 360, was a factory 3 speed manual car also, it is a rolling body and needs some metal work, but it is very rebuildable. I've known the jackasses who have it for many many years, and they are hard headed enough to let it sit forever rather than take a fair offer for it. Don't you just hate those "I'm gonna restore it someday" people? These guys couldn't afford a decent paint job, much less everything else it needs.
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There’s a 68 Roadrunner around here that is rusting away sitting outside in the sun and weather. The woman I talked to said her son is going to restore it when he gets out of prison.

It sits by a single wide mobile home that looks like it needs to be torn down.
I had to resist the urge to laugh.
 
TrailBeast said:
There’s a 68 Roadrunner around here that is rusting away sitting outside in the sun and weather. The woman I talked to said her son is going to restore it when he gets out of prison.

It sits by a single wide mobile home that looks like it needs to be torn down.
I had to resist the urge to laugh.
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1. Her son is learning body/paint work in prison.
2. If a tornado takes out the mobile home, the whole family can live in the RoadRunner.
3. Back in the 80s, 90s especially I have seen this situation many times. Sometimes even an old hemi car missing the hemi and vin and trim tags. Ok.... so the dude in prison stole it.
4. Don't laugh. :thumbsup:
 
I have a amazing 74 Slant Duster, but the price is a lot higher than the one your looking at.
20220820_155103.jpg
 
If its a Mopar Yup its worth 10 times the weight in gold what they are asking...especially if its a 318 under the hood . Dont try and talk them down, they know what they got... me, Im waiting for Dodge Omni prices to go through the roof...:)
 
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