Big price, rare duster
- Thread starter b-body-bob
- Start date
thrashingcows
Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...so I'm
Factory FM3 340/4spd car....and looks like a top notch resto as well, Worth the money IMHO!!
b-body-bob
Well-known member
No.
I'm not convinced it's a dent but it sure does look like one, and there's only one photo of the bottom of the well.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I know this car fairly well. I'm not sure where it was sold new, but it spent much of its early life in Bark River, MI not far from here. It was a weekend bracket car and never saw weather. It ended up for sale in the local advertiser for a couple of years starting around '90. The ad said it had a "Dana 600" rear axle with 4.56 gears (yes, it had a Dana 60; no, the ad was never corrected). It had a 'glass Six Pack hood on it, Center Line Auto/Drag wheels, and some manner of bucket seats. I believe asking on it originally was $1,600... I had the ad in my wallet for a long time.
A fella in Merriman or Randville MI bought the car sorta for his wife, but she couldn't drive a 4-speed. A now-defunct local transmission shop swapped out the A833 for a full-manual automatic, with the shop owner keeping all the 4-speed parts except the pedals as part of the deal. He later sold the parts, but to whom I don't know. I highly doubt the numbers trans is with the car now; if numbers match it's been restamped.
The wife still didn't like it. It had an untuned Holley double-pumper on an LD340 intake and ran eye-wateringly rich all the time. After a couple of years, the wife hadn't come around so he put it up for sale. He started high, around $3K, but nobody bit. My then-friend Dan--featured in several Jass Hole stories--and I went to look at and test-drive it. It still had the 4.56-screwed Dana and was pretty quick, but the overwhelming stank of that rich Holley was unbearable. I dubbed it "Pink 'n' Stinky", which Dan wanted to put on the decklid "when" he bought it. I don't know how many times he went and test-drove or looked at it, but I was there two more times. The price kept dropping but Dan couldn't swing it. The car was down to $1,800 and he still couldn't scrape up the coin. The car was rust-free, the interior was largely unmolested, and no modifications had been made like cage, tubs, etc. The clutch pedal was still present and the QuickSilver shifter sat on the 4-speed hump. The car never had a tach.
Eventually the car sold and I lost track of it. In 1997, while working at Year One, someone mailed information about the car in to Mopar Collector's Guide asking about its rarity and value. I immediately knew it was Pink 'n' Stinky. The then-owner was advised it was as rare as rare gets in terms of documentability. See, what the BaT ad hints at but doesn't fully explain is the rarity of the color combination--it's not just a black top, but a black painted top. No vinyl. This is the only Moulin Rouge/Panther Pink car--not just Dusters or A-bodies, but across all lines--ever built with a black-painted roof. Painted-roof cars were rare other than fleet-order cars (cop cars often had a white-painted roof on a black car).
I would wager that all the sheetmetal except the hood on the car is original to this day. The only "problem" with the car's appearance in '92-'93 was chalky paint that probably would've buffed out. I'm certain the build sheet was not only still above the glove box or in the back seat, but probably in excellent shape. The car reallywas in gorgeous overall condition, it was just a hot rod.
A fella in Merriman or Randville MI bought the car sorta for his wife, but she couldn't drive a 4-speed. A now-defunct local transmission shop swapped out the A833 for a full-manual automatic, with the shop owner keeping all the 4-speed parts except the pedals as part of the deal. He later sold the parts, but to whom I don't know. I highly doubt the numbers trans is with the car now; if numbers match it's been restamped.
The wife still didn't like it. It had an untuned Holley double-pumper on an LD340 intake and ran eye-wateringly rich all the time. After a couple of years, the wife hadn't come around so he put it up for sale. He started high, around $3K, but nobody bit. My then-friend Dan--featured in several Jass Hole stories--and I went to look at and test-drive it. It still had the 4.56-screwed Dana and was pretty quick, but the overwhelming stank of that rich Holley was unbearable. I dubbed it "Pink 'n' Stinky", which Dan wanted to put on the decklid "when" he bought it. I don't know how many times he went and test-drove or looked at it, but I was there two more times. The price kept dropping but Dan couldn't swing it. The car was down to $1,800 and he still couldn't scrape up the coin. The car was rust-free, the interior was largely unmolested, and no modifications had been made like cage, tubs, etc. The clutch pedal was still present and the QuickSilver shifter sat on the 4-speed hump. The car never had a tach.
Eventually the car sold and I lost track of it. In 1997, while working at Year One, someone mailed information about the car in to Mopar Collector's Guide asking about its rarity and value. I immediately knew it was Pink 'n' Stinky. The then-owner was advised it was as rare as rare gets in terms of documentability. See, what the BaT ad hints at but doesn't fully explain is the rarity of the color combination--it's not just a black top, but a black painted top. No vinyl. This is the only Moulin Rouge/Panther Pink car--not just Dusters or A-bodies, but across all lines--ever built with a black-painted roof. Painted-roof cars were rare other than fleet-order cars (cop cars often had a white-painted roof on a black car).
I would wager that all the sheetmetal except the hood on the car is original to this day. The only "problem" with the car's appearance in '92-'93 was chalky paint that probably would've buffed out. I'm certain the build sheet was not only still above the glove box or in the back seat, but probably in excellent shape. The car reallywas in gorgeous overall condition, it was just a hot rod.
The Rallye cluster was standard with the Duster 340. The tach was optional. A-body tachs were actually fairly rare because A-bodies were inexpensive cars. Many owners, if they could afford to add fancy options simply opted for a more-upscale model. I'm not sure how you found a tach in a six-cylinder car, but it was either swapped in or the car's original V8 had been replaced with a Slant. The tach was V8 only; it would not read correctly on a six-banger.
The only major glitch I saw was that the hood latch and its support were not painted black, which they should be. Sooooo close....
b-body-bob
Well-known member
FWIW does anyone remember movie star muscle cars?
FM3 1970 340 Duster on BAT
FM3 1970 340 Duster on BAT
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Never heard of 'em prior to just now, even when I was at YearOne.
I'm sure it's the Bark River car with which I'm familiar. As far as the one dude's "there were a few 1970 Duster 340s in FM3 with black painted tops" claim, it's weird that Galen can't document any except this one the last I heard. It's the only fender-tag/build-sheet M3 car with the black roof of which he was aware.
Regardless of who has owned or worked on the car in the interim, I saw the car 30 years ago when two consecutive sellers couldn't pull two grand out of it. It's legit.
b-body-bob
Well-known member
I remember them but don't remember exactly what if any scam they were running.
thrashingcows
Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...so I'm
My old 70 Sport fury was a factory V02 car, with the rare FP6 Frosted Teal metallic paint with a white painted top. I spoke with the original owner and he was a traveling vacuum sales man and ordered the car with the matching FP6 bench interior, radio delete, 318/2bbl and a 904...because he said it was slightly lighter then the 727, and the 8.25" rear with 3.21 gears I think?
b-body-bob
Well-known member
A vacuum cleaner salesman who can afford a new car has to be putting a ton of miles on his car so the weight might have saved some gas money.
Also for the transmission, it's the other way around, 904 guts in a 727, Lighter internals, still fits a big block.
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