My brother screwed up this time

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BarryC

BarryC

'74 Duster 360
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
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Location
Leitchfield, KY
How hard is it to fix a head on collision with a dirt embankment in a 72 duster. I havent looked at it yet, but my brother-in-law says it is jacked. My stupid brother got out in it after having a few and got wild pulling out. He lost control and ran up on a large dirt embankment.

From what I'm told, the bumper is bent down and both fenders are bucked out. Under the hood, the inner fenders are bent upward and busted open.

If the subframe and floor pans are bent, how hard is it to pull and straighten?

It is a tripple green, bench seat 4-speedor 340 car. Sherwood green with vinyl top and stripe delete.

I'll have to look at it myself in a few days.
 
Wow, burnouts and booze don't mix, I seen a guy total a sweet 68 Charger R/T leaving a show, he let the lot doing a huge burnout and got up to high speed, then lost it and the end of the curved frontage road and bounced off a rock the size of a VW, then a tree finally stopped him. He took off running on foot and left the car, I guess he was drinking beer all day at the show.

Hope the car can be fixed, but with that much damage its gonna cost alot and take alot of work, more than I would do. Hope he is ok, I am sure he feels like an ***. I like to drink, and I love doing burnouts, but have to keep the 2 apart, had some close calls and that was enough for me.
 
Why did you let the idiot drive it in the first place??? Especially if he had been drinking.

Sorry to hear about the loss...

You should open up a full can of whoop @ss on him.
 
Well, it just made the rest of them slightly more valuable...
 
Crazy; Who sez he let him drive drunk?

The main issue for the car is finding a place that can straighten the sub frame and anything else that is bent. All other parts (sheet metal) are available.
 
and this is why we have the classifieds for sale section......
 
Take him out to the woods and hang him upside down from a tree by his left foot for a couple of hours for punishment....
 
If the frame rails are bent in the front (and it sounds like the probably are if the inner fenders have that much damage) then it probably isn't worth fixing, but you could definitely make it happen with a front clip.

If the floorpans BEHIND the frame rails are bent, I think you're done. The likelyhood of the car ever being straight again if the body structure is damaged is about zilch. Easiest way to check for body structure damage is the doors. If the gaps are decent and the doors still line up and open and close, the body is probably ok, or close enough to it to make it work. If the doors are jammed shut or don't line up, the body is bent. Not saying you CAN'T fix it, but more than likely it won't ever be "right" again, and for the time/money/effort you'd be better off buying a new Duster.

Structurally sound Duster bodies are not that much money. Finding one may take a little patience, but I'd probably just take all the useable parts off the one you have and pick up another, that way you don't even have to pay for a car with a drivetrain.
 
72bluNblu said:
If the frame rails are bent in the front (and it sounds like the probably are if the inner fenders have that much damage) then it probably isn't worth fixing, but you could definitely make it happen with a front clip.

If the floorpans BEHIND the frame rails are bent, I think you're done. The likelyhood of the car ever being straight again if the body structure is damaged is about zilch. Easiest way to check for body structure damage is the doors. If the gaps are decent and the doors still line up and open and close, the body is probably ok, or close enough to it to make it work. If the doors are jammed shut or don't line up, the body is bent. Not saying you CAN'T fix it, but more than likely it won't ever be "right" again, and for the time/money/effort you'd be better off buying a new Duster.

Structurally sound Duster bodies are not that much money. Finding one may take a little patience, but I'd probably just take all the useable parts off the one you have and pick up another, that way you don't even have to pay for a car with a drivetrain.
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Ditto
 
ok let me be the first............... dibs on the rally mirrors, the drive train, wheels and tires......... hope you can fix it,.......... i'm just saying......
: 0 :)
 
I know this is kinda meam, but I hope he at least has a headache. If not from the wreck, from the beer. Since you have not seen the car I would think YOU did not let him drive it after a few to many.
Worst case he can always get another shell and transfer parts to it.
 
limelite70 said:
anything can be fixed.
how much ambition do you have.
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72bluNblu said:
If the frame rails are bent in the front (and it sounds like the probably are if the inner fenders have that much damage) then it probably isn't worth fixing, but you could definitely make it happen with a front clip.

If the floorpans BEHIND the frame rails are bent, I think you're done. The likelyhood of the car ever being straight again if the body structure is damaged is about zilch. Easiest way to check for body structure damage is the doors. If the gaps are decent and the doors still line up and open and close, the body is probably ok, or close enough to it to make it work. If the doors are jammed shut or don't line up, the body is bent. Not saying you CAN'T fix it, but more than likely it won't ever be "right" again, and for the time/money/effort you'd be better off buying a new Duster.

Structurally sound Duster bodies are not that much money. Finding one may take a little patience, but I'd probably just take all the useable parts off the one you have and pick up another, that way you don't even have to pay for a car with a drivetrain.
Click to expand...

Totally true true guy's!
 
If its an original 340 car and was in good shape before the accident I say find someone that knows how to run a frame machine and see if they can pull it.
 
I wouldnt give him any advice...he was drinking, he schmucked it, its his problem....anytime as teenagers if my buddies put the car in the ditch, they had to get out and push. The way I look at it, you put er in the ditch, you can push.....same applies to your brother in law
 
I wasnt there. If i was, i would have whooped his *** before he got in it. My brother is a moron. He built this car from the ground up. Real 340 stick car. Always been a local car that everyone known about. Get this, two years after he assembled it, he sold it. After regretting that for six years, he tracked it down and bought it back. He has only had it back for about 4 months.
Damn, what a dumbass. He even talked to the owners, a few months ago, that had it in the early eighties. They told him all about it and about the old "Direct Connection" tricks they done to it back in the day. I hope he fixes it. It was a beautiful car. I hope he feels like ****.

Her is a pic couple months ago with dads black 340 car. I had gone home a different route.
 

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longarm said:
:worthles:
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Yep....Years ago a buddy drove his 69 440/4 speed RR into a rock embankment. Front end was surprisingly straight.......rockers and floor pan not so. There was a gash opened up just in front of the front seats, had top be a good 8" wide. Frame shop looked at and said no can do on he fix.
 
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