1973 Plymouth Duster

Sedan

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VL29C3B479173

Clear

Gasoline

You are bidding on a 1973 Plymouth Duster. Originally a slant six car, the motor and trans have been removed and are not included in the auction. I was going to convert it to a V8 but unfortunately I have too many projects right now, and the Duster keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Unlike many of the project Dusters on eBay, there are no paperwork problems with this one - the car has a pink slip, clear title and the tags are good until next year. I've already switched out the 7 1/4" axle for an 8 1/4" rear from a V8 Dart GT of the same period with 3.21 gears and the big drums, and fitted all new wheel cylinders, brake shoes, and stiffer 6 leaf springs. The 14" wheels on the back were ditched for wide 7" X 15" steel wheels with dog dish hub caps, and I have two more wheels for the front that will go with the car. At some point the battery had leaked acid on the battery tray and inner fender. I found another tray, and I had the acid damage to the inner fender cut out and a new piece welded in that just needs to be finished ready for paint. There is some other rust on the car, principally the drivers side floor (thanks to the original owner being a cheapskate and opting for the rubber floor mats), a spot at one corner of the rear window, a small patch on the passenger side C-pillar, and in the usual place at the bottom of the rear quarters. The trunk floor has survived very well with some surface rust, but it doesn't appear to have any rust holes, which is unusual. The chassis looks rust free. I'm including a new aftermarket front drivers side floor pan that unfortunately sat outside - but under cover - for a few years, and consequently has a lot of surface rust. A little work with a sander and it'll be good to go again. I paid $108 for it from Jim's Auto. I also have a brand new unpackaged A body carpet kit I bought on eBay that the new owner can have. There's a couple of dings - one on the front edge of the passenger door extending a few inches into the fender, and one on the rear fender shown in one of the pictures. The rear panel has also been repaired before, and it looks as though it had a minor fender bender to the front left corner which was repaired and painted. All the panel gaps seem even throughout the car though. The hood is a different color because a couple of years ago my jackass of a neighbor decided to park the back bumper of his F150 on top of it after a night of "celebrating". I managed to track down a rust free replacement, but unfortunately it's blue. When the six cylinder motor finally died (yep - you can kill a slant) it was taken out as I'd decided to step up to a 360 small block and 904 auto trans and bought a set of Schumacher conversion motor mounts. They cost about $60 if I remember rightly. They're brand new and included with the car and allow a V8 to be dropped in using the six cylinder K member and transmission mount. The front end is loose and has the original drums, so included in the auction are a pair of factory V8 torsion bars and an A body factory disc brake set up that cost me $200 (both not installed), and an Energy Suspensions urethane front bushing kit still in the box (another $60 if memory serves). The brake master cylinder is the original drum brake type, but any auto parts shop will have the disc brake version cheap, and I'm including a power brake booster with the car. It was originally an a/c car but I took it out as they're were just too many parts that needed replacing. The heavy duty a/c radiator with transmission cooler was kept and recored at a cost of $250, and it shouldn't have any problems keeping the V8 cool. Again, that will go with the car, as will the factory shroud and a driveshaft that I bought to fit the V8/904 with an 8 1/4 rear end. The interior is ugly, with green houndstooth upholstery, the front seat is badly torn, and the back seat has a stain on it. I always intended changing the front seat (a bench with separately reclining backs) for buckets and redoing the back seat with a kit. The dash pad is badly cracked and warped after many years of So Cal sunshine, but I have another one that will go with the car that isn't perfect but in fair shape with only a couple of small cracks at the far left side (mostly hidden by the door pillar). The car also has the factory green tinted glass all around. I took the wiring harness out of the engine bay, but it's all labeled and ready to go back in. The repaired area under the hood is still in primer so now would be a good time to get the engine bay finished up and ready for paint before a motor is dropped in. She's been badly repainted at some point, but it seems to be close to the original Sherwood Amber. Because of the color the car is now known to friends and family as "The Pickle". Someone had added an aftermarket trim along the length of the car which looked ugly, so we peeled it off and you can see where it originally sat in the pics. There you go - I think I've covered everything. She's a little rough around the edges, but nothing that can't be fixed, especially with all the aftermarket stuff available for A bodies now, and she already comes with a bunch of extra stuff that would require a lot of money and time to get together. Basically, with a motor, transmission and some wrenching over the winter, next summer you could be cruising in a Duster that'll stop on a dime and surprise a lot of drivers at the stop lights. To be honest, I'd rather not let the car go as A bodies are getting harder to find that aren't rusted out hulks, and my son and I had big plans for her, but time and money are against us at the moment. Good luck bidding.On Sep-19-10 at 09:50:25 PDT, seller added the following information: To avoid confusion and be absolutely clear, I'll say it again - THIS CAR HAS NO MOTOR OR TRANS. It was being converted to a V8 and comes with most of the major parts needed for the conversion, either installed or uninstalled. On Sep-24-10 at 20:38:22 PDT, seller added the following information: A friend pointed out that I'd made it sound as though the interior was trashed when I described it as ugly. The seats do need to be recovered, and it needs the carpet to be put in and the dash pad switched out, but for the most part it's not bad. I've included some new pictures of the interior trim panels to show their condition. When I said it was ugly I was referring to the houndstooth material - seat covers in a solid green vinyl would look much better.