whats this "340 car" worth?

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shadango

shadango

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Hi all

I came across a 73 Duster descroibed as follows:

340 duster,340 motor,727 trans with stall converter,holly intake, carter carb,hooker super comp headers,lugoni cam and lifters, motor is fresh, posi rear end, with 373 gears, fresh paint, inter needs work, but not too much, sounds good and runs and drives great. 5000 obo

The car also has front disks.

After speaking with the owner, he doesn't know if it was a 340 car or not originally...the interior needs replaced...no door panels, front seats are "ok" in his words but dont look correct....headliner is shot he says. Dash is nice he says. He just painted the car not long ago and has owned the car for only 6 months. He said he bought the car from a buddy to help him out of a jam and he is a chevy man and knows nothing about Mopars and just neds to sell it.

He told me he and a buddy redid the engine...the tranny had new seals put in it (front and rear).....

Here is a link to some pictures.

http://s349.photobucket.com/albums/q391/shadango_bucket/340 orange duster/?albumview=slideshow

What do you guys think?

When I go look at this I would be looking to be sure its a 340....any tell tale signs aside from looking at the engine ID pad? The engine is painted so that me be hard to see.....

Thanks for your help and advice!
 
Car looks to have a quicky paint job. Could mean quicky body work as well.
 
I,d offer $2500,only if it,s a 340 and runs good!Like others said about the quicky paint job,underhood looks slapped together to get running.It could be a small project to straighten it out.Only if it,s a 340 car,if not $5000 is to much.My 2 cents.
 
Have been emailing back and forth a bit with the owner.

Asked about the glass......he says its good except that there is a crack in the windshield.....didnt explain how bad it was....

I figured that if it were a 340 engine with 727 tranny and the rearend it has plus a solid body it would be worth more than a couple grand.

Why do you guys feel the engine was slapped together?
It does look like the engine was painting kind of sloppily to me.....but I figured I could put some work into that aspect.

He says no body work was done......he says he painted the floors as a preventative.

If the body seems straight and doesnt show obvious bad bodywork (he claims no bodywork done) wouldnt that and the fact that its a 340 engine/727 tranny that runs great (his words) be worth more than $2500 even if its not a real 340 car?

Solid bodies seem to be a rare find....

He said he got the vin and fender tag for me but wont email it...wants me to call him.....not sure why that would be.....I dont know if HE is being cautious as far as sending that info to someone he doesnt know, or if he doesnt want a record of the number online.....Doesnt seem to really like email much , honestly....again, no idea why people sell vehicles online providing an email address when they really want you to call....

Anyways he seems like an ok person I guess so far.....

Worse comes to worse I guess I kill a day and some gas driving up there....

By the ways guys this is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for. Thanks!
 
what a wiring nightmare under the hood. that thing doesn't looke to be worth anywhere near 5k to me. he isn't sure if its a real 340 car? i would be real surprised if it was actually a 340 car.
 
Hi folks

Ok, an update

Spent some more time on the phone with the seller.

Now remember, he says he is a chevy guy and knows nothing about MOPARs.

That said:

VIn info , when run thru the decoder, says this is a 6 cylinder car

Vehicle Model: Valiant/Duster/Scamp
Vehicle Class: Low Price Class (Valiant, Duster, Satellite Coupe)
Vehicle Body Style: 2 Door Sports Hardtop
Vehicle Engine: 225 CID/105 HP 1 BBL Slant 6
Vehicle Year: 1973
Vehicle Assembly Plant: St. Louis, MO, USA
Assembly Sequence Number: 167561

So the 340 was put in after.....it has stock-looking front disks, with new calipers.

Engine: rebuilt by this guy -- new timing chain set, new oil pump, bearings, lifters, lugonis cam etc. .030 over. Holley manfold, headers, exhaust isnt new but solid....

Body: He said the engine was out of the car for the repaint...the car was jammed...all weatherstrippin getc removed....he painted engine bay, body, trunk, dash. Dupont paint base/clear.

The underhood wiring looked less than perfetc and neat but that stuff I could straighten out if it runs, right? It does look like he left the master cylinder etc in the when painting (overspray)...but again, stuff I could "fix".

He again said he did NO bodywork..blocked the whole car, used some icing for minior dents....no holes or anything......

Drivetrain: He said he isnt positive the rearend is a 8 3/4 but it has a posi unit in it and 3.73 gears. The diff has a cover on the back (is that a 8 1/4?) Asked him to send a pic of the diff.

From the sound of it, the windshield and the interior (seats, headliner, carpet) are the "BAD".....he describes the car pretty well...doesnt sound like a BS artist, but then no seller does till you get there and see the car ...LOL

He did say that the price was negotiable, make him an offer...so it sounds like he just wants to move it....needs space for his other projects.

Ok, so I know its not a "real" 340 car...but I am not looking for that,....woulda been nice but.....

If the car looks great, body is straight and such, and runs/drives good, what would you pay, assuming all of this is true?
 
Sounds a little scary, $5,000.00 way to much. All the information given by other posters is right on. I would keep looking should be able to find something fairly nice for that money. May be a deal at $2,000.00 but a pretty big project none the less.
 
What do you consider about this car a really big project?

The interior needs redone (carpet/headliner/door panels -- rear seat needs recovered to be perfect....front seats not sure if they just need recovered or replaced) and a windshield.....

But if the paint is fresh and the body is straight, that is done.....if the engine was just redone and it runs good/strong, that is done......All that is left would be to detail out the engine bay.. .shouldnt it be worth more?

I have been watching cars for sale here carefully.....some folks felt that $2900 for a 73 roller, that needed paint/body work, and needed some interior work was a good deal.....others felt that a stock 73 6 cylinder, stock paint that needed redone but solid body and completely trashed interior at a $2000 (?) price was a good deal....paint is worth at least $2k,,,drivetrain swap would be worth additional $$......that is why I am wondering why a couple folks feel this car is worth so little...trying to get some input on the perspective I guess....

Seems like a strong redone 340 with 727 installed in the car should bump up the value just a little????

*IF* this car turns out to have had no bodywork , it would be the first car I have seen in the $5k range to have that PLUS a 340 engine......

Remember: I am in the northeast......perfect-bodied a bodies are not easy to find.....wouldnt this also bump the price up a bit?

I saw another car on theforum that was painted and decked out like a 340 (scoop and spoiler and stripes) but was a 6 cylinder car with 6 cylinder running gear and drums.....the price was listed at $5k and one person exclaimed that was a "bargain basement" price....

Convince me with specifics as to why the car isnt worth more than (apparantly) $2500.

I guess I am just struggling to figure out how to value these cars.........


Thanks y'all.
 
mopar guys are a timid bunch trust me im one:-D

when we see overspray and crappy wiring and all the little stuff we dont see "easy stuff" we see a previous owner who obviously didnt care to do work correctly so any work that has been done(paint,rebuild,swaps.....) dont really mean squat cause in our mind it may have been done porley and have to be redone therefore removing any value of the work.... i know it doesnt seem fair or is it always correct but unfortunatly it usually is right....

remember this is a mopar it is a labor of love not need so if we see stuff half assed it tells us the P/O didnt love or care about the car
 
I'd say if you are really interested go look at it. YOu never know it could possibly be worth it. I paid $4200 for my 74 duster unrestored with a barely running 318 But mine was all original so I could see what was going to have to be done to get it to where I wanted it.
This is waht it looked like right after I bought it.
New74Plymouthduster002.jpg
 
0lddart said:
mopar guys are a timid bunch trust me im one:-D

when we see overspray and crappy wiring and all the little stuff we dont see "easy stuff" we see a previous owner who obviously didnt care to do work correctly so any work that has been done(paint,rebuild,swaps.....) dont really mean squat cause in our mind it may have been done porley and have to be redone therefore removing any value of the work.... i know it doesnt seem fair or is it always correct but unfortunatly it usually is right....

remember this is a mopar it is a labor of love not need so if we see stuff half assed it tells us the P/O didnt love or care about the car
Click to expand...

I gotcha....and actually, when I first saw the overspray in the engoine bay I kind of thought the same thing.....But then, I looked at the trunk.....he went thru the trouble of removing the black plugs, gas tank filler tube seal, etc.....the way the guy describes how he removed all weatherstripping to repaint also made me think again.....the car was jammed, which is more than I can say about a couple others.....he says he painted the floots black for two reasons -- a) preventative and b) when he shot the car and the dash there was some overspray and he wanted to cover that up and make it look better before the carpets went in...."thats just how I am" he said.....

I dont see any issues with the body work from the pics, but of course I have learned that pictures lie.

I guess I do have to go look at it.

I dont want some overspray on some wiring in the engine bay to disuade me from an otherwise decent car.....it DOES have a built 340 (if the guy did a good job there) and the tranny and all that in place....which (I think) has to add some value to it over it being a stock /6.

The wiring, I dont know......while it does look old and not necessarily great, seems like I could tidy that up.....again, pictures make it hard to really tell I guess.....the front shot of the engine bay looks better than the side shot, wiring wise...

Keep the input coming guys. This really helps.

How tough is it to find windhsields and interior panels and seats for these cars?
 
You Can Chk The Side Of The Block[drivers Side I Believe Above The Starter To See Numbers[the Last 3 --should Be 340 If Its A 340 Or 318 Or 360 If Its Them--since He Rebuilt The Motor He Should Know For Certain What It Is, If Its A Running 340 And Fresh Paint It Should Be Worth 2500-3000, But Heres The Deal, If You Feel That Its Worth It And You Like It And You Want It Then Buy It, As You Said Solid Body Cars Are Hard To Find And They Are Getting Harder To Find Everywhere, As Far As Parts Go You Can Find Anything You Want For That Car On Here And Many Other Sites No Problem, Just Chk It Out Really Good And Make Your Own Judgement, Its Your Money, I Have Done This In Past And Missed Out At The Last Min By Procastinating And Was Pissed At Myself For Being So Undecided And Not Wanting To Give Too Much......everything Has Somewhat Of A Risk No Matter What, So I Say If You Want It/like It/can Afford It Then Do It, You Can Make It Whatever You Want It---my Bblk Dart Is Sweet But It Was A Fact /6 Car, But To Look At It Now You Would Never Guess It---after 3 1/2 Yrs And 15k Its Finally Getting There.....just My 99 Cents Worth.....ken In Joplin Mo
 
rbdart said:
You Can Chk The Side Of The Block[drivers Side I Believe Above The Starter To See Numbers[the Last 3 --should Be 340 If Its A 340 Or 318 Or 360 If Its Them--since He Rebuilt The Motor He Should Know For Certain What It Is, If Its A Running 340 And Fresh Paint It Should Be Worth 2500-3000, But Heres The Deal, If You Feel That Its Worth It And You Like It And You Want It Then Buy It, As You Said Solid Body Cars Are Hard To Find And They Are Getting Harder To Find Everywhere, As Far As Parts Go You Can Find Anything You Want For That Car On Here And Many Other Sites No Problem, Just Chk It Out Really Good And Make Your Own Judgement, Its Your Money, I Have Done This In Past And Missed Out At The Last Min By Procastinating And Was Pissed At Myself For Being So Undecided And Not Wanting To Give Too Much......everything Has Somewhat Of A Risk No Matter What, So I Say If You Want It/like It/can Afford It Then Do It, You Can Make It Whatever You Want It---my Bblk Dart Is Sweet But It Was A Fact /6 Car, But To Look At It Now You Would Never Guess It---after 3 1/2 Yrs And 15k Its Finally Getting There.....just My 99 Cents Worth.....ken In Joplin Mo
Click to expand...

Yeah, he says its a 340.....just figured I should check though for myself.

How about as far as making sure its a 727 vs 904? Again, he says its a 727 and he had new seals put in...but I want to check......he is supposed to send me a pic of the rearend so I can see what it is....
 
Just Looked At Pics Again And Id Say Buy It,not 5k , But Make Him A Decent Offer, Id Say Its Worth Up To Maybe 35-3800---but Start Low On Your Offer Say 2800 And Go From There--looks Fairly Decent To Me, A Solid Body Is Worth Alot[ If You Have Ever Had To Cut -weld-fabricate-patch-repair And Finish Out A Rust Bucket You Would Know What I Mean] The Other Stuff Is Easy To Find And Do.....looks Like A Solid Base To Me But I Havent Seen The Car In Person, So Chk It Out Real Good And If The Body Is What It Looks Like And It Runs And Drives Good And You Like It Then Go For It ...if You Dont Then Down The Road You Will Be Kickin Your Own *** For Not Doing It And It Will Be The One That Got Away And Will Haunt You In Your Mind [been There -done That Too...lol]
 
rbdart said:
Just Looked At Pics Again And Id Say Buy It,not 5k , But Make Him A Decent Offer, Id Say Its Worth Up To Maybe 35-3800---but Start Low On Your Offer Say 2800 And Go From There--looks Fairly Decent To Me, A Solid Body Is Worth Alot[ If You Have Ever Had To Cut -weld-fabricate-patch-repair And Finish Out A Rust Bucket You Would Know What I Mean] The Other Stuff Is Easy To Find And Do.....looks Like A Solid Base To Me But I Havent Seen The Car In Person, So Chk It Out Real Good And If The Body Is What It Looks Like And It Runs And Drives Good And You Like It Then Go For It ...if You Dont Then Down The Road You Will Be Kickin Your Own *** For Not Doing It And It Will Be The One That Got Away And Will Haunt You In Your Mind [been There -done That Too...lol]
Click to expand...
Yeah that is kind of how I am feeling right now...

I mean, I AM looking for a car that can be a bit of a project for me and my sons...didnt want to do major body work or paint right off and would prefer to have the drivetrain in place.....this car kind of fits that at least.

I am goin to go see it.....worse case I spend some gas money and learn a little more...LOL
 
BigStrok3 said:
I'd say if you are really interested go look at it. YOu never know it could possibly be worth it. I paid $4200 for my 74 duster unrestored with a barely running 318 But mine was all original so I could see what was going to have to be done to get it to where I wanted it.
This is waht it looked like right after I bought it.
New74Plymouthduster002.jpg
Click to expand...



difference is yours is all original. to me that makes a huge difference.
 
when i see easy stuff like cleaning up wiring done half assed like on this car i have to wonder what else they half assed. and i'm not talking about a little overspray. i'm talking about the birds nest of wires under that hood. i don't think is a mopar guy only thing. anyone with half a brain should ask that question also. i'm suposed to believe that someone that couldn't do really easy stuff correctly actually did everything else correctly? hell no.


the stripe work done on the car is hideous. the hood in the pics looks like it was sprayed with a can. i would bet that the paint is a quicky and if the car is bought would not hold up well. the car is a 6 cyl car with half assed wiring under the hood and god knows where else, the paint is huge question mark until seen in person. int needs to be done. in this economy i say its a $2500 car and that may be a stretch.
 
abodyjoe said:
when i see easy stuff like cleaning up wiring done half assed like on this car i have to wonder what else they half assed. and i'm not talking about a little overspray. i'm talking about the birds nest of wires under that hood. i don't think is a mopar guy only thing. anyone with half a brain should ask that question also. i'm suposed to believe that someone that couldn't do really easy stuff correctly actually did everything else correctly? hell no.

the stripe work done on the car is hideous. the hood in the pics looks like it was sprayed with a can. i would bet that the paint is a quicky and if the car is bought would not hold up well. the car is a 6 cyl car with half assed wiring under the hood and god knows where else, the paint is huge question mark until seen in person. int needs to be done. in this economy i say its a $2500 car and that may be a stretch.
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Thanks

I am asking for opinions and I am certainly getting them...LOL

I have seen similar wiring done in the other cars I have looked at. I do see some stock-looking plugs there, and other stuff that doesnt look stock....

I dunno, from the one angle it does look messy...from the other, not.

As far as paint -- wouldnt ya say that the trunk looks exceptionally well done? IE no overspray on wiring there, etc?

Its pretty hard to find original body, rust free, good paint, good interior v8 cars running good for $4-5k....at least in my neck of the woods.

Maybe I am looking in the wrong places....but just cant seem to find them.

Like you said , paint is hard to judge by pictures....A couple I went and looked at looked perfect or very nice in the pictures and then you see it in person.
 
tell ya the truth the trunk pics don't show too much of it. the wires are easy to move out of the way from being sprayed. i see the tunk latch is painted. thats only got two bolts holding it on. guess that took too much time to take off?


the wiring is a mess in both pictures you have there. i would be affraid to look under the dash and see what was butchered under there.


you have plenty of opinions saying that its not worth the money and to offer less. but you keep rationalizing the price.


go look at the car in person. personally the pictures are horrible to really judge what kind of shape everything is in.


i always have a hard time buying the i bought the car to help a buddy story. i would be very leary of who built the motor, who installed it ,and all of the body and paint work. does the guy have any pics of it before he painted it?


not trying to bash the car but you wanted opinions and i'm being as honest as i can. pointing out things that would throw up red flags if i was looking to buy myself.
 
abodyjoe said:
tell ya the truth the trunk pics don't show too much of it. the wires are easy to move out of the way from being sprayed. i see the tunk latch is painted. thats only got two bolts holding it on. guess that took too much time to take off?


the wiring is a mess in both pictures you have there. i would be affraid to look under the dash and see what was butchered under there.


you have plenty of opinions saying that its not worth the money and to offer less. but you keep rationalizing the price.


go look at the car in person. personally the pictures are horrible to really judge what kind of shape everything is in.


i always have a hard time buying the i bought the car to help a buddy story. i would be very leary of who built the motor, who installed it ,and all of the body and paint work. does the guy have any pics of it before he painted it?


not trying to bash the car but you wanted opinions and i'm being as honest as i can. pointing out things that would throw up red flags if i was looking to buy myself.
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Thanks...again, great points.

I am not debating the points you guys have made....the red flags you mention are exactly what I am looking for.

Understand that so far the only thing I have found in the $2500 range are rsuted pieces of junk....so suggesting 2500 for THIS car is a shocker since it would appear much better even if the pictures are bad....

But like you said, only way to know with pics like this is to go in person and see.

If nothing else, I will learn more of what to look for.

Y'all's feedback is very much appreciated...please understand I am not arguing....just talking through the stuff in my head, online. LOL
 
Well, just thought I would followup on this, since youfolks were kind enough to give me advice and your thoughts...

After telling the guy I would be coming up to see it numerous times, I got no replies back to my email and phone calls that I left confirming he would be there when I got there (3 hrs away)

SO, either he sold the car to someone else, or he caught wind of this thread of posts and realized it was his car and feels that I am asking too many questions.

Funny -- I last talked to him late on the evening of the 11th...where I told him I would be coming up the next day or saturday and would call email/call him to tell him which one late on the 12th due to work commitments.....and he said he was fine with that......then I found a new Craigslist ad for the car, posted just an hour or so after that phone call....this time changing the wording a bit....now saying "needs some work" and taking out the "obo".

I suppose he could be one of the folk still without power in his state, so no email....but no cell phone?

My guess is he sold it or has another potential buyer coming up who isnt asking as many questions.

Oh well...guess it wasn't meant to be.

I guess this is all part of the search, eh?

Thanks again for all the help, and advice....hope I can count on the same for any future possible finds....
 
Shandango,you say you want a project for you and your sons?Try looking for a original body car,even one that,s not running.you could pick up cheaper and do work with your sons,they,ll learn better making something work that didn,t.I purchased my car over the comp. just by pics. and conv. with owner in Alabama(I,m in Toronto,Canada)now that,s scary!This is the car I wanted and had plans for working on it as project(lay-offs)Here,s pics. of ad and how it sits now after 2 months and have enjoyed time working on it.Good Luck with your search!

DSC_0435.jpg


trim 064.jpg
 
The 340 numbers on the hood and rear panel really bother me. Its not that expensive to buy the right stripes and numbers and put them on instead of stenciling on cheesy numbers that just look.....cheesy. That being said if its all metal and runs good its a good project car at 4000 or less. id want it to have the 8 3/4 rear, disc brakes in the front, power steering and a decent dash.

the interior door panel are re popped by year one as is the carpet and headliner. Dash cluster not repopped by anyone i know of for a 73 and is a lil pricy to have redone the right way.
 
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