Local 72 duster…what’s it worth?

[TexasRoadRunner68]

First off, I know this is an A body. I’m not really in the a body forums, so I figured it’s worth a shot here. Apologies if that’s against a rule being non b body.

I found this car on marketplace locally. It looks to be an original Texas car. Factory 318 three speed car. Floors are shot and it has no seats. Looks like the grill and hood will need to be replaced as well. Windshield needs replacing, and the passenger window needs to be replaced but one is included. It also does not have a title. There are a couple ways to go about that, but it’s effort.

It does have some sweet patina. It would be cooler if it was a 70-71…but it could be a cool ratty driver.

I could probably get it for $1000-1100. Is that a good price for what it is? I know mostly complete 70-71s are going for more…but the title issue might affect that.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Not sure. But I remember seeing ones in that condition put thru the crusher when I worked a yard in the late 80’s. I guess that would be a good price in 2023.

 

[PlymCrazy]

It's worth that or more in parts alone. But man you got a lot of work ahead of you with that one. Looks like a grill off of a '70.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

It's worth that or more in parts alone. But man you got a lot of work ahead of you with that one. Looks like a grill off of a '70.

Yeah, the entire drivetrain is basically junk. I’m sure it’s got the 7.25 rear and all.

 

[PlymCrazy]

Yeah, the entire drivetrain is basically junk. I’m sure it’s got the 7.25 rear and all.

But on the bright side we've seen guys around here make dream machines out of far worse. There's always hope. How much $ and ambition ya got? LOL

 

[R413]

You are FAR better off to buy a nicer car to start with. The money spent will put you in a better place. What do you want the end product to be? A rat rod demo car or a shiny nice car?

You live in Texas, not the rust belt. Don’t buy a rotted out car. If the car was free it wouldn‘t matter.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

You are FAR better off to buy a nicer car to start with. The money spent will put you in a better place. What do you want the end product to be? A rat rod demo car or a shiny nice car?

You live in Texas, not the rust belt. Don’t buy a rotted out car. If the car was free it wouldn‘t matter.

I get that part for sure. However, the notion that mopars in Texas don’t rust is false. They may be more solid than from other areas, but they’ll often still need floors, trunk, lower quarters etc if they have been outside.

 

[Lefty71]

When you are building a race car, you cut out a whole lot of potential rust. I suspect thats why so many people save cars like this in the first place. Of course, if you aren't building a race car, you'd really, really have your hands full with this one. And besides, even a racer could likely find a much better candidate to start him off than this bucket-o-rust.

 

[Lefty71]

Yeah, the entire drivetrain is basically junk. I’m sure it’s got the 7.25 rear and all.

A lot of guys have a builder, and a parts car.
Question here is; what is your parts car gonna look like lol?

 

[Gus chiggins]

You are FAR better off to buy a nicer car to start with. The money spent will put you in a better place. What do you want the end product to be? A rat rod demo car or a shiny nice car?

You live in Texas, not the rust belt. Don’t buy a rotted out car. If the car was free it wouldn‘t matter.

Agree, at least if the floors were solid, which, of course they are not, the frame rails, and other critical area's might be shot, parts car at best.

 

[R413]

@TexasRoadRunner68
Please answer the question, what are you building, what is your end result going to be?

this will answer weather you buy this car or not.

 

[toolmanmike]

It''s basically a parts car but a shell with a title now days are rebuilt into some nice cars. $1000 is a fair price.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

@TexasRoadRunner68
Please answer the question, what are you building, what is your end result going to be?

this will answer weather you buy this car or not.

If I did get it, I’d be doing a ratty driver car something like what CAM racing did with his. Probably minimal/aftermarket interior and an ls 5.3. Something you can have fun with and don’t care as much about originality.

 

[Kern Dog]

I know that this isn't the 80s or 90s anymore but that used to be a $300 car.
They used to be commonly found in junkyards then. You could resurrect that car almost entirely from junkyard parts back in those days.
The upside is that there were so many of those built, parts will be easier to find than it is for a Coronet or Satellite.
The condition that car is in....I'd say $1000 is top money.
One common fact is that with most A body cars, you have to replace every single driveline part to make it a V8 performance model. They mostly came with small drum brakes, a tiny rear axle, thin torsion bars and soft leaf springs. They were Chrysler's low priced economy car with a few performance models thrown in. The majority of original Darts, Dusters and Valiants that I've seen were slant six, 4 wheel drum brake, 7 1/4" axle cheap cars that got used up and parked for years.
I love those cars but they do require some commitment to bring them back from the dead.

 

[Jim Ward]

The grill is a 72 standard grill. The floors are a simple fix to an average person with average ability and tools. If the frame rails themselves aren’t rusty it’s a pretty simple resto. If it was a 318 car originally it likely has a 8.25” rear and drum brakes all the way around with small bolt pattern. Parts are relatively easy to find which is a plus. It’s worth $1000 all day long and I’d even say $1500 or possibly a little more in todays market. This is my 72 from what I started with ($2200) to how it looks today and I did all the work except install the windshield.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

The grill is a 72 standard grill. The floors are a simple fix to an average person with average ability and tools. If the frame rails themselves aren’t rusty it’s a pretty simple resto. If it was a 318 car originally it likely has a 8.25” rear and drum brakes all the way around with small bolt pattern. Parts are relatively easy to find which is a plus. It’s worth $1000 all day long and I’d even say $1500 or possibly a little more in todays market. This is my 72 from what I started with ($2200) to how it looks today and I did all the work except install the windshield.

View attachment 1533775

View attachment 1533776

View attachment 1533777

View attachment 1533778

I can do floors and the rust repair myself. Supposedly, there’s a half dollar sized hole in one of the rear fenders and the floor is rough. Supposedly that’s it.

I’d probably go with aftermarket buckets and a spartan type interior. Either a gen 3 hemi or 5.3 ls and a 6 speed trans.

My charger is still going through my car funds…the last thing I “need” is another project. I have seen some cool duster builds though, and they are still somewhat affordable lol.

 

[Kern Dog]

The grill is a 72 standard grill. The floors are a simple fix to an average person with average ability and tools. If the frame rails themselves aren’t rusty it’s a pretty simple resto. If it was a 318 car originally it likely has a 8.25” rear and drum brakes all the way around with small bolt pattern. Parts are relatively easy to find which is a plus. It’s worth $1000 all day long and I’d even say $1500 or possibly a little more in todays market. This is my 72 from what I started with ($2200) to how it looks today and I did all the work except install the windshield.

The 8 1/4" axle arrived for the 1973 model year, not 1972. ALL 8 1/4" axles were the larger bolt pattern too.

 

[Jim Ward]

You lost me at LS. Good luck

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

The 8 1/4" axle arrived for the 1973 model year, not 1972. ALL 8 1/4" axles were the larger bolt pattern too.

He has a shortened Dana 60 housing with strange axles he will include for free. No center section unfortunately.

 

[TexasRoadRunner68]

You lost me at LS. Good luck

I’m all about mopar. But dollar per hp, it’s hard to top the LS motors for a budget build. The gen 4 bottom ends can handle 1000 hp pretty safely. Even the gen 3s have gone 1300 with a good tune and ideal conditions. With just gapping rings and adding a turbo it’s not hard to hit 600 rwhp. Combining that with parts availability, cheap core prices and the fact that they can run upwards of 400k miles with the right maintenance…I see why they are everywhere.

I don’t have an ecu for the hellcat. I had planned on eventually getting another 68-72 b body to do a resto mod build on. But I’m sure it would be fun in a light a body…assuming it fits and the entire car was gone through to take the abuse.