1973 B3 Duster

[NukeBass]

Hello everyone. I am posting pictures of my restoration. Due to my lack of skills and space (mainly skills), I am not doing this work myself and have outsourced it to All Classics Restorations. The shop isn't far from me and the owner is doing his best to help me stay in budget (within reason).

My father bought this car back in 73 with 6000 miles on it. It is a B3 Twister car with a 225/904 auto and originally white interior. It served as the family car for many years before being replaced. It sat around a while and Dad did a little bit of work to it, had the seats recovered in black, the car repainted by my uncle (his 2nd paint job. He also put gloss black on the hood instead of flat) and it wound up being the car I drove until I got out of college. My initial plans were always to restore this one back to original condition and eventually getting another car to have a larger motor.


As time went on, I realized that this would probably be the only muscle car I would ever own, so, after discussions with my father, I have decided to get the car restored, but with a new drive train. I am getting a 340 put in and a new Keisler TKO 500 5 speed transmission (increasing the budget a little bit).

At this point, the body has been primered and sanded and hopefully color will go on it soon. The shop owner's only real concern is painting the hood since he said you get one chance to paint the flat black. He's thinking of seing if it can be done as a stripe, so we'll see how that turns out.

The top picture is how the car started out last year and the last three pictures are what it looks like now.

I'll post updates as they come along. I'm not sure how fast they'll be since the shop is a small shop and currently has four cars being worked, but as long as the work is good, I can wait.

[LH23H2R]

I've seen but a small handful of '73 Twisters (none in person) , and of those I've seen , none of them retained their original-style paint scheme . Why ? I don't know .

TB3 looks incredible on the '73 models. The second car I bought was a '73
( VL29G3B375353 ) in TB3 with black interior .

The reason why your bodyman said that the flat black is a "one-shot deal" is because of its composition and finish : it's Organasol black , which is a rough-finish lacquer ; it's nearly impossible to sand !. The factory actually painted the Organasol black first , then laid down the body colour ; a template was used .

Good call on the 340 / 5 speed swap !
Personally , I'd like to see that 340 painted "1972 Blue" ; but , that's your call .

What kind of brakes does it have ? Archaic drums all-around ? Hold-over small bolt 4 piston discs ? Premium single piston brakes ?

Finally , what differential does it have ; 8.25" (10 bolt service cover) ? If so , you'll be okay with it , but I'd do something about upping the gear if its final drive is presently 3.21 or (numerically) lower ; 3.55 would be a good balance with the overdrive gear 5 speed .

Keep us updated !

[AdamR]

Very cool car. Not sure why they are so worried about the hood though.

[72bluNblu]

Nice looking Duster!

Sounds like an awesome build. Really like the paint scheme on the hood.

The organasol is a one shot deal, if you have to sand it ends up being smooth, which doesn't look right. But, because it is a rough finish paint its more forgiving too, so it really shouldn't be an issue. If the shop is worth their salt and they're not 100% on it, they should buy some extra paint and practice. Cost of doing business.

[NukeBass]

The more I think about it, the more I am considering telling him to just paint the hood right or outsource it to someone who can. I'll see how the stripe idea works out, but I don't know if it is possible to do the scoops that way.

The car has disk brakes in the front and drums in the rear. I'm not sure about size, though. It has what came on it in 73.

The shop found a 3.23 limited slip (I think that's right?) 8 1/4 axle from another A body for the back since it currently has the smaller slant six rear axle.

The shop also wants me to get my wheels widened, which I've thought about, and probably will pass on. If I redo the wheels at all, I think it will be better to just get new wheels, even if it bumps up the budget, so the original ralleys aren't changed. Do any of you guys have problems running a 340 on the original 14 inch ralleys? I figure it's something I'll probably start with and then, if I have problems with it, I'll look into getting newer wheels. I just like the look of the original wheels and would like to keep them (even if I have to find the 15" version).

I can't wait until it is done!!!!!

[AdamR]

14" Rallyes on mine with 215-70-14s. Biggest issue with 14s is finding tires.

[NukeBass]

Originally Posted by AdamR

14" Rallyes on mine with 215-70-14s. Biggest issue with 14s is finding tires.

That's what I'm seeing since I started looking. The best selection looks to be with BF Goodrich TAs. My father worked for Kelly Springfield/Goodyear for 30 years, so I may get disowned if I buy those!

[NukeBass]

The person rebuilding my motor sent some pictures yesterday and said he is getting close to assembly. He still has a few more little pieces to buy and then it is on to all of the external parts (fuel/water pumps, carburetor, ignition, headers, etc.)

He said the motor has been blueprinted and all of the tolerances tightened up. The news I liked is that I should be able to get good longevity out of the motor with the machining work that has been done and the parts that are going to be used in assembly. This will be good for me since I plan on driving it a lot when it is done and don't want to worry about getting another motor in the near future.

[SpeedracerX]

Originally Posted by AdamR

14" Rallyes on mine with 215-70-14s. Biggest issue with 14s is finding tires.

Amen to that!!! Which is why I will be switching to 15" wheels in the not so distant future.. I did manage to find 235-60-14's for the rear of my Dart at Pep Boys...

[pettybludart]

Cool build,you won,t regret adding the 340.Here,s my 73 Dart Sport 340,4 speed with 14,s on front and 15,s on rear.Good luck.

[NukeBass]

I got some pictures from the shop this week and there is paint!! I'm going to try to go see it on Friday.

[AdamR]

Looking good !

[NukeBass]

More pictures. The engine compartment is painted and there is undercoating. The next phase is to install the motor and transmission and all of the stuff that will make it go. Last comes the interior and all of the exterior trim pieces.

TTI headers and exhaust come tomorrow!

[NukeBass]

Here are some more photos. The shop is taking longer than I had initially hoped, but I've enjoyed the garage space. I think about all that is left now is assembly. The shop is now waiting on the motor so that the drivetrain can be installed. The last word on that was that the guy building the motor broke into a water channel while enlarging the valves or something. Apparently the 73 340/360 castings were thinner than previous years and he didn't realize that until it was too late. No big deal to me since I get new heads

The brake and fuel lines are run and the hydraulic clutch for the TKO is mostly setup and ready to go. The radio is a RetroSounds radio and looks pretty good, I think. The tubes in the firewall are for the new air conditioner and I'm really excited about that.

[NukeBass]

Rest of the pictures (had to resize these)

[tqfastfish]

where did you get your radio?

[NukeBass]

I got the radio from Classic Industries. It is a RetroSounds Dart One, I think, and is only listed for the 67-68 Dart. I'm pretty sure it fits all of the two post A-bodies, though. You can also get them from Crutchfield or directly from RetroSounds.

[unknownsnake]

I like this build. Super nice looking car

[scatpacker]

Man I like this car. Had one in this colour, black interior when I was in my teens. Ordered it from the factory 340 4-speed. I'm subscribed.

[NukeBass]

The shop posted some pictures on its facebook page and here they are. It looks like a car again.

[SlimPikins]

Very cool build, keep the pics coming.

[tqfastfish]

X2^^