HELP0... which direction is better?

-
7

73snakeskin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
46
Reaction score
1
Location
rapid city south dakota
HI i have a 73 gold duster with a snake skin top and a manual sunroof. The thing is that the body is really really rusty, i mean both full quarters, all trunk floors, full floors inside , some frame fixes, does it ruin the value if i were to cut the top off of mine and put it on a different body, or is it better to just bite the bullet and replace all the body parts? I dont want to ruin the value of the car at all.:banghead:
 
Ok I guess I will tackle this first,

First off, there is no HUGE value to the 73 and up dusters, aside from the last 340s anyways for all the work you are going to do to this car it is totally not worth it. I know first hand experience. View my thread here, http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=118103&highlight=Dads+duster Only reason we did all this work on my dads duster is we had a solid parts car. Even now I don't think it was worth all the work. You will never be able to sell this car for the time and money you will put in it, that's just how these 73-76 cars go. Strip your car out save all the good trinkets and keep searching for a more solid duster. I wish I had people telling me this back 8 years ago... I would have saved so much time money and effort.
 
Personally, i wouldn't fix up a rust bucket unless it was a very rare car.
You will pay way more than the value of the car after it's finished in rust repair alone.
Are you doing it for resale or as an investment, or are you doing it to have something cool to drive and don't care about what it costs? Can you do the work yourself? Do you have the time and the facility to restore it properly? Are you sure that the roof isn't rusty under the vinyl anyway?
I would start pricing out all of the sheet metal it needs and then price out a rust free car shell and go from there.
I doubt that it's worth it, but that's me.
Pictures would go a long way here.......
 
y3 dusters with the snake skin roof were all /6 cars from what I was told and /6 cars will never be desireable I know this because I have one. it is now a 340 clone with no rust of any kind anywhere on the car but I really like this car I had it now since 89
 

Attachments

  • carpic.jpg
    115.9 KB · Views: 179
  • carpic3.jpg
    113.3 KB · Views: 205
I bought my '74 Duster for $2k. It has zero rust. None. And it was even sort of running/drivable when I bought it. From the sounds of it, you have more than $2k worth of sheetmetal to buy, not even including the cost of labor.

The '73-'76 Dusters don't have much for value if they aren't 340 or 360 cars, and even then those are worth quite a bit less than a pre '73 340 car. I would part the one you've got and look for another.

One question, why do you want to cut the top off? Are you talking about just putting a snakeskin top on another car? Or cutting off the entire roof? Either way, I don't think I'd do it that way. It's unlikely you'll be able to get the vinyl off in one piece, and if its for the sunroof it would be far easier just to swap the sunroof itself.
 
Where did you get the "all Y3/snakeskin were /6" info.

That sounds a bit fishy to me.

All "old cars" will eventually be worth something.

4 door 50's cars are now even bringing respectable money because no one can afford the 2 doors.

Logic says the "next in line" cars will be high or rare/desirable optioned cars.

Right now I'm in the market for a v8 manual trans, fold down seat a/c Duster, in an appealing color.

That being said, cars with rusted frames are probably not a cost effctive proposition unless they're REALLY valuable.
 
inkjunkie said:
Y?
Click to expand...

mopardrt said:
Here I can help Y is the 25th letter in the ISO basic Latin alphabet and it represents either a vowel or constant in English.

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

I am not the one asking for help.....nor was my simple question directed at you....y?....it was/is/always be a pretty much worthless ride...speaking in regards to the OP's issues....Even if the OP possesses the tools/skill set to do the required work he/she will be drastically upside down. The funds required, in my OPINION, could be spent in a much more wise fashion by simply locating a cleaner starting point. Yes, this means shipping may be part of the deal but based upon his description there is a truck load of metal work needed...if he/she DOES possess the tools/skill set required there will be a lot of time spent fixing his project. If he/she DOES not possess the tools/skill set then the funds required to pay someone who does will no doubt be far higher than the funds required to locate.ship a much cleaner starting point.

Again, the above is solely MY OPINION which no doubt YOU will disagree with......

And for what it is worth, and this is directed at the OP, :worthles:

Hope this helps.....
 
inkjunkie said:
I am not the one asking for help.....nor was my simple question directed at you....y?....it was/is/always be a pretty much worthless ride...speaking in regards to the OP's issues....Even if the OP possesses the tools/skill set to do the required work he/she will be drastically upside down. The funds required, in my OPINION, could be spent in a much more wise fashion by simply locating a cleaner starting point. Yes, this means shipping may be part of the deal but based upon his description there is a truck load of metal work needed...if he/she DOES possess the tools/skill set required there will be a lot of time spent fixing his project. If he/she DOES not possess the tools/skill set then the funds required to pay someone who does will no doubt be far higher than the funds required to locate.ship a much cleaner starting point.

Again, the above is solely MY OPINION which no doubt YOU will disagree with......

And for what it is worth, and this is directed at the OP, :worthles:

Hope this helps.....
Click to expand...


Take a joke much pal?
 
I think it is the sunroof and to a lesser degree the snake skin is what he finds value in. So all the advise given though accurate needs to be focused on that.
Is this correct?
 
YY1 said:
Where did you get the "all Y3/snakeskin were /6" info.

That sounds a bit fishy to me.

All "old cars" will eventually be worth something.

4 door 50's cars are now even bringing respectable money because no one can afford the 2 doors.

Logic says the "next in line" cars will be high or rare/desirable optioned cars.

Right now I'm in the market for a v8 manual trans, fold down seat a/c Duster, in an appealing color.

That being said, cars with rusted frames are probably not a cost effctive proposition unless they're REALLY valuable.
Click to expand...
if you don't believe me prove me wrong I would like to see what you find out. of the 4 or 5 I have seen they were all / 6 mine had ac ps pb split bench
 
thanks, and sorry for having no pics. Ill put some on here. I figured i had about 2500-3000 dollars in body panels alone, not including me doing most all of the work. I though the combo was pretty rare especially with the sunroof option.
 

Attachments

  • 104_0838.jpg
    58.3 KB · Views: 144
the vinyl top is in awesome shape for being from 1973, the sunroof works now that i took it apart cleaned it and put it together right. the interior is in great shape, just the body im unsure about. Thanks for all your guys help
 

Attachments

  • 0000000000000000.JPG
    80.5 KB · Views: 154
  • 0000000.JPG
    78.8 KB · Views: 147
  • 000.JPG
    81.5 KB · Views: 141
It's not a super rare car. Yes, the snake skin top and sunroof do make it more desirable, but they don't raise the value all that much. Believe me I know, my '71 GT's are 1 of ~1255, making them far more rare than that gold duster, but they don't typically sell for much more than a similarly equipped Swinger.

The body rot isn't horrible, although you certainly wouldn't get your money back fixing even that. The concern I have is the frame repair that you say it needs. Even though it's not that much more difficult to fix, if you ever want to be able to sell it AT ALL you'll need to replace those rails entirely. Structurally, you can patch a frame rail and have it be just as strong as the original if you do it correctly. I know this and it sounds like you know that as well. But if you say "frame patched" in a for sale ad you can cut your asking price is half, because everyone will assume that it was done poorly and is a sign that the rest of the car is toast.

If you're attached to the car and can do the work, go for it. But you're going to lose time and money compared to buying a cleaner car. Otherwise, I'd be inclined to try and find a roller to purchase on the cheap. Switch over your interior and running gear and hit the road. If you're really inclined, pull the sunroof and swap it over too. The $2,500 to $3k in panels that it will take to fix that car would go a long way to finding a really clean Duster shell, and then you can put your time into something else. I paid less than that for my Duster.
 
jimjimjimmy said:
if you don't believe me prove me wrong I would like to see what you find out. of the 4 or 5 I have seen they were all / 6 mine had ac ps pb split bench
Click to expand...

I was just asking where you got that info.


Warning- humor ahead!

All the 66 Coronet 440's with blue interior, a/c and power windows I've ever seen have had a poly 318. Does that mean all of them did?

I've also "been told" by more than one person I might add, that 1969 Challengers came with 383 six packs.
 
YY1 said:
I was just asking where you got that info.


Warning- humor ahead!

All the 66 Coronet 440's with blue interior, a/c and power windows I've ever seen have had a poly 318. Does that mean all of them did?

I've also "been told" by more than one person I might add, that 1969 Challengers came with 383 six packs.
Click to expand...
when I got this car I somewhat thought this car might be a rarer version. I seen a mopar mag one time not sure which one now there was a guy there who would tell you about your car by the fender tag and bc sheet he told me with the y3 and snakeskin roof was a package offered with only a 6 cyl engine option. so it maybe right and he could very well be wrong I was hoping you knew of a 8 cyl version. of the 4 or 5 I know of they were all /6
 
73snakeskin said:
the vinyl top is in awesome shape for being from 1973, the sunroof works now that i took it apart cleaned it and put it together right. the interior is in great shape, just the body im unsure about. Thanks for all your guys help
Click to expand...
I would be interested in buying interior parts if you deide to part it out
 
I have seen a jy3, snakeskin Duster with a 318, but no sunroof.

It was at Don Garlits about 5 years ago.

Really clean car. $2800.

I almost bought it.
 
73snakeskin said:
Thanks 72 bluNblu
Click to expand...

No problem!

The other option, especially if you're capable of doing the frame patches yourself, is to just patch it and drive it. Resale value means a whole lot of nothing if you aren't planning on selling.

Just keep in mind that if you ever get in a jam and need to sell it, well, it won't be worth anything near what you have into it. Although that's probably true for most of us, I don't think I could get what I have dollar-wise into any of my cars back if I sold them. You'd just be a bit further upside down than the rest of us. ;-)
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. Ill keep ya posted as im leaning on the side of biting the bullet and fixing her up, (knowing that Ill be upside down in it.) I know its not the most sought after duster in the world but its still a mopar and i always hate taking one off of the road.
 
jimjimjimmy said:
when I got this car I somewhat thought this car might be a rarer version. I seen a mopar mag one time not sure which one now there was a guy there who would tell you about your car by the fender tag and bc sheet he told me with the y3 and snakeskin roof was a package offered with only a 6 cyl engine option. so it maybe right and he could very well be wrong I was hoping you knew of a 8 cyl version. of the 4 or 5 I know of they were all /6
Click to expand...

Both the top and the color were standard options. Neither were exclusive or limited to a slant six.

249,243 were produced in 1973 so your "4 or 5" examples carry zero weight.

Prove you wrong? Why when I can simply disregard your statement.


Just tossing info out like that doesn't help and often confuses people looking for answers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top