Rust and Dusters

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Mopar92

Mopar92

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I've owned many Mopars pretty much all of my life. You know how you learn what cars typically rust where. I'm looking forward to buying a Duster and doing a Magnum Efi swap this year. I've got a couple of Darts and an E body. I know about where to look for the "typical" spots and what it usually means. I looked at a car locally today that was a Cali car. It was very rust free. The thing that concerned me was a couple of pinholes in the spare tire well and the lower quarter panel. I just find it strange the car is as rust free as I've seen but the trunk being hurt scares me that more is hiding. Not typical for a socal car. Is this common on dusters? 99% solid and a trunk rotting through?
 
Yes...the spare tire well is bad on pretty much all of them I see anymore where it hasn't been replaced. I just fixed mine finally this year. You can get several different types of trunk floor pieces.

The bottom of the 1/4's is usually blown out too. My car was from Jacksonville, FL originally and mine is bubbled at the bottom of the 1/4.

The other thing to look closely at is the bottom corners of the rear window as mine is slightly rotten there. Usually that's where the water gets in to rot the 1/4's and trunk floor.
 
The tire well is usally the trunk seal leaking in my experience.
 
hard for any 50 year old metal not to have a t least a few pinholes some where even left coast car!?? yes the spare tire well is the worst spot on many. easy fix.
 
Its well the money to buy a rust free car..my last 2 duster both came out of Cali. the present one has 1 rust spot pass.rear quarter behind the tire,amazing how clean this car is..
 
stroked340 said:
Its well the money to buy a rust free car..my last 2 duster both came out of Cali. the present one has 1 rust spot pass.rear quarter behind the tire,amazing how clean this car is..
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oh I totally agree with that. find the most rust free car you can find and afford.

I see pictures of "back East" cars. and the majority of them have such bad surface rust, NOT to mention sheetmetal and bad frames SO many times...shipping for a left coast car would be such a good investment for them.
 
Around here 'rust free' means there are no holes big enough to deliver the mail through.
 
I have a 68 fastback Barracuda from Florida with original paint, minimal rust, and the wheel well in the trunk is rusted out bad. I have a new AMD trunk floor to put in. The salt water settles in the well and it rusts... It doesn't mean that the rest of the car is junk, just replace the trunk and you'll be good if the rest of the body is solid. Make sure to put a good trunk seal in afterwards...
 
Condensation under the rubber trunk mats for 40-50 years is the main culprit in trunk floor rust. Unless you drag a car out of the southwest desert where the humidity is near zero, about anything will have some degree of rust under the trunk mat. The spare tire well is the low point, and water runs downhill, so.......there ya go!
 
halifaxhops said:
The tire well is usally the trunk seal leaking in my experience.
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The trim mounting points where the little bolts go through the body also.
I seal those by taking the nut off and putting a dab of silicone over them and putting the nuts back on.
 
If it's a 70-71 Duster look for signs of leaks around the taillights. The seals were a closed cell foam type of deal that got brittle and disintegrated over the decades.
I also think that the 72 and later trunk lid with the centre ridge hold their shape/fit better/seal better. But, that's just my theory.
 
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