Trading for another 74 Duster

[falston1]

I drive an 01 volvo c70 as a daily driver, but I'm tired of the high cost of driving a newer foreign car with maintainance, repairs and whatnot. I found another 74 Duster on craiglist the other day and it looks like the guy is excited about my trade offer. All of the exterier body work is done on the car and it's in primer. The only thing that's kinda bothering me is that the slant is missing the carb and the transmission is out. I have a great running slant and tranny under my shed, but I don't want to get wrapped up in too big of a project because I'm in college 3 hours from home. The guy said all of the wiring and interior is there, so I'm thinking that it'll be a good winter project to get a decent slant 6 driver fairly cheaply. He's sending me more pictures Sunday. What do y'all think?

 

[Ken_B]

Sounds like it needs quite a bit of work and there are too many potential unknowns. As a professional body guy a word of warning about cars that are "in primer and ready to paint" they never ever are, primer hides sooo much, from poor quality body work, improper prep, small dings, untreated rust, etc... Looks like the car was primed right there in the woods, definatly as far from doing it right aas possible. Id pass and find a more sorted car.

 

[kittypancake]

I guess it depends on what you are trading him, but be prepared to work

 

[BillGrissom]

If your goal is an inexpensive daily driver that is easy to fix, there are better options than the classic Duster or a European car. Avoid 80's cars (vacuum controls nightmares). Mid-90's domestic sedans have few rust issues (galvanized metal) and MPFI that has proven robust and easy to maintain, and parts are cheap. Many in the junkyards now for those rarer parts. I currently daily drive a 96 Voyager 4 cyl w/ 180k miles and very simple and reliable. You can buy for $1K. Perfect for a college kid who needs to haul stuff. Many men won't drive a minivan because of stupid TV ads, but I am a big guy and don't need a monster truck to fake masculinity, that is for wimps.

 

[2kids]

my new personal rule is to not buy a car that is not running, its just cost me so much.

i have two college age sons one of them has a 93 honda the other has a 93 nissan. not saying they dont cost $ to repair but when they are running well they really do the job.

that being said i know how hard it is to pass on a car you dig!

good luck

 

[Bulldozer]

Sounds like it needs quite a bit of work and there are too many potential unknowns. As a professional body guy a word of warning about cars that are "in primer and ready to paint" they never ever are, primer hides sooo much, from poor quality body work, improper prep, small dings, untreated rust, etc... Looks like the car was primed right there in the woods, definatly as far from doing it right aas possible. Id pass and find a more sorted car.

agreed...

 

[falston1]

I'm not too worried about appearance, bad bodywork, and the work involved in making it run. It's a 1000 dollar car, I'm not expecting a perfect driver. I've swapped and rebuilt engines before and that's no big deal. I'm fairly mechanically inclined and know how to fix everything on the car if I had to. That's why I'm considering it. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to go look it over before I agree to anything. I won't consider it if I feel it'll sit in my yard for a few years for all the work it needs. Thanks for the input everyone. I guess the way I phrased everything made it look like I'm looking for a DD ready vehicle. I'm not, just a small project to have a no worries car.