My buddy at a local tow company told me about a 2 door dart that's been sitting abandoned for the last 3 months off of one of the lesser developed sections of a main drag through town. I checked it out today and she's a 1974 2 door Dodge Dart, with SBP 9" front drums.... The orange sticker on the windsheild said it was supposed to be towed to impound two days ago, but no one has picked it up yet....

I left a note with my phone number saying I'd be interested in some parts off the car (much better than them getting $40 to crush it...)....

Things that made me wish I could haul it off and 'crate it up' in the middle of the night are:

nice dash cluster
95% grille
no dents front fenders
new radiator
'B' code 198 /6 still installed under the hood (the engine is nice and clean and 'blue' so someone must've rebuilt it or detailed it recently....)

hope the acquiring tow company gives me a call when it clears impound, offer them a small amount of $$$ to get it off their hands, the 198 rods if not bent would probably pay for the worth of the car.....(and the other components would be icing on the cake...)


'Aaarrrghhh matey....pull the flatbed up over there and load 'er up 'fer salvage....'

-D.Idiot

Blaaauuurggh, ye swabs!

I'd be interested in just the front drum spindles (and maybe UCAs) if you end up parting out the car.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Wish I could find someone with a truck to just hook it and tow it out of town then either my buddy's company would get it, or we could do like the original movie and just chop it up....


jeez...I'll hope for getting the call....keep your fingers crossed.

-D.Idiot

I thought the last year for sbp was 1972?

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70valiant, that is only true if the car had disk brakes. If it had 9" drums all around sbp was used in A bodies all the way to their extinction in 76 or so.

How common are 9" brakes compared to 10" brakes on 72 and up drum brake cars? I've been passing by many 73 and up dusters falsly thinking they couldn't have 9" drums now I'm bummed.

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I remember my brother's 76 Feather Duster he had in the 80's while I was in high school. It was the last year of the A bodies and it had sbp 9 inch brakes! (It was my brothers car but guess who had to do any and all of the work on it, even though I didn't even have a drivers license yet?? I wanted that car SOOOO Bad!)

Feather Dusters built before January 1976 could have the drum brakes, but all built after that were mandated by federal law to have disks. I bought one new back then, and because it was built in February it had the disks.
By the way it got 32 MPG average when it was new, but because of the gearing was real slow off the line.
Bob D

Yep, I've seen 'em up to 1975 in junkyards with 9" finned front drums and SBP....Quite a few guys in my area have talked about the first Feather Duster's off the assembly line actually came equipped with 9" SBP drums front and an A-230 floor shift 3 speed manual box.

But yeah, you could have SBP only with the 9" drum option through the 1976 model year (then mandatory disks after 1-1-76 per the factory).


The goofy thought that ran through my head when I looked at this car was, would the 1973+ SBP 7 1/4" rear axle be more desireable for someone with an SBP early car (hard to find bearings, etc...) if they had to swap in another replacement?

-D.Idiot

Huh? 1975 and 1976 A-body cars came with 10" front drums, not 9". The 9's were on the rear axle. I'm almost certain this applies to 1974 model year too.

My Feather that I bought for parts has LBP disc and an automatic.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I wish I had a picture of the 1975 SBP 9" drum Gold Duster that I cut the front end off of at the junkyard, it might have been an early make (like August of 1974), but last year that yard closed it's gates and crushed all it's inventory......I really just should have bought it for $300 and stripped the car (it actually ran good, the hood just was dented, and had a nice white interior and FE5 red exterior....but I just needed the fenders and part of the bathtub..)

If I spot another I'll be sure to take apic and steal the data plate...

-D.Idiot