Mopar Sat., getting my buddy's '72 340 Duster.

[hemi68charger]

Wanted to share my trip today with Bjorn, Alan and Scott. I have a longtime friend that moved to Canada 10 years ago when he got married. He wasn't able then to take the Duster with him, so his brother helped out with storing the Duster for him. He was storing it on the RV storage lot at Brooks AFB in San Antonio for the past 10 years. Well, the time has come thanks to BRAC, it needs to leave because the city of S.A. is taking over the installation. If it wasn't going bye-bye soon, it would be towed to the junkyard.... Couldn't let that happened. I went and got it and am storing it in my garage, out of the weather, until he figures something out. So, Alan graciously volunteered his SUV and trailer. The four of us met at my house at 7am, I bought all kolaches and off we went.. Took about 3 hours to get to S.A. from Houston.. The weather was nice, even with the storm bands from KARL. We really didn't know what to expect since Reed hasn't seen it in 10 years. Would the tires hold air? Would it even be worth taking? I mean, 10 years in the elements, storms, possible hail damage, rust, etc.....
Well, when we got there, we were pleasantly pleased to see S.A. did right by the car. Luckily the low humidity of the area keep the rust to a minimum. Pretty much only around the bottom rear window to quarter area and the taillamp panel. Getting to the base was fairly easy. It's amazing, even google shows the car from a satellite view. It's been there that long. Zoomed in, it's in the black circle. We assessed the situation, aired the tires ( they held ) and then pushed it on the trailer. Amazing how much lighter A-bodies are compared to B-bodies. Luckily, the emergency brake worked fine and the car shifted into and out of gear easily. We snitched her down and off we went for lunch and the return trip home. We were back here in Houston by 3pm... Then I started cleaning 10 years worth of grud off her.. Still looks pretty darn good..
The car is an original 340 3-speed manual with 3.23, tips and A/C. Reed's the second owner. The original owner had any 340 markings deleted if possible to run the street then... Granted, the motor's probably going to have to be gone through as well as the brakes, but all and all, the car is in great shape. Now, it's his turn to try and figure out how to get it to Canada...

[hemi68charger]

Some more of the car....

1. the car with and without 10 years of dirt...
2. the roof
3. engine bay
4. interior

[Bob T]

Pretty good condition after all that time outside, sure cleans up nice.And a manual   
Man, if anything had been out in the weather here for 10years, it would be. absolutely shot and ready for the crusher

[TruckDriver]

Pretty good condition after all that time outside, sure cleans up nice.And a manual   
Man, if anything had been out in the weather here for 10years, it would be. absolutely shot and ready for the crusher

I totally agree. Nice car!

[472 R/T SE]

Awful nice of ya' to put a roof over it's head. 

That's a nice lookin' little A body.  Now if it was up here for 10 years it'd be covered in moss & the trunk would prolly be toast.  Surprised the dash pad isn't cracked all up.

[hemi68charger]

Awful nice of ya' to put a roof over it's head. 

That's a nice lookin' little A body.  Now if it was up here for 10 years it'd be covered in moss & the trunk would prolly be toast.  Surprised the dash pad isn't cracked all up.

You should see the dash, it looks melted.. The vinyl isn't cracker at all, but the foam under it is falling,, gravity won... 

[41husk]

Thanks for the pics.  I am realy leaning towards purchasing a 71 Duster.  Those pics makes me want it a bit more

[69bronzeT5]

Niceeeee

[tan top]

nice looking duster    & a 4 speed

sounds like a good road trip   

[Silver R/T]

looks like good car to save

[Ghoste]

The satellite pics are a nice touch.  Is that the original color for the carpet?

[chargergirl]

10 years ... dang! Looks good and I would think the dash would be toast.

[hemi68charger]

The satellite pics are a nice touch.  Is that the original color for the carpet?

The carpet is originally black. The things that look like floor mats are really the original carpet that hasn't been faded by the Sun.. It was the weirdest thing I've seen in a long time. I pulled the floor mats to see if there was a lot of mold, corrosion or water damage from the leaking windshield. When I lifted it, there was the perfect outline of the floor mat.. The driver's side is the same...  Doesn't look it in the pictures, but the dash is toast.. The complete middle of the dash is drooping downward.....

nice looking duster    & a 4 speed

sounds like a good road trip   

I bet he wishes it was a 4-speed, but it's the not-so-common 3-speed manual. A lot of cars were ordered that way to skirt around the ever increasing insurance rates on performance cars. A car with a 4-speed manual usually defaulted into a higher rate bracket...