Ethan Allen
eallen23
Hey,
I have a 1975 Plymouth Duster with a 225 slant 6 auto (well, for now at least). For some context, it's been in the family since 75' when my great-grandma bought it for 3k. It has recently been passed down to me. I am in the process of getting it to a drivable state. I rebuilt the carburetor, am getting ready to rebuild/ repair the brake wheel cylinders, and am in the process of restoring the instrument panel/ gauge cluster. A relative who had the car before me hooked up the battery backward and I am lead to believe that he shorted the gauge cluster. I have acquired a new gauge cluster from an earlier duster (looks to be between a 70' and 73' ish). I have taken both apart and sanded the housing I am going to use with some 220 grit sandpaper. My next step will be to clean up some of the lenses and repair some cracks & missing parts with glue and epoxy. After that, I plan to put on some flexible plastic primer and then some high heat engine paint as @72bluNblu did. Then finish it off with some silver acrylic paint and a custom walnut veneer insert. I know I may not be doing things the easiest way, but this is the way I have chosen. I am trying to do this without spending a whole ton of money though.
A couple of questions I had are:
- Does anyone see any obvious flaws with my plans so far?
- Does anyone know which parts could have been damaged from being shorted and/ or how to test them to see if they are good without re-assembling the cluster and putting it back in the car?
Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this. Also, I can provide pictures of all parts if anyone has questions.
Thank you for the input.
I have a 1975 Plymouth Duster with a 225 slant 6 auto (well, for now at least). For some context, it's been in the family since 75' when my great-grandma bought it for 3k. It has recently been passed down to me. I am in the process of getting it to a drivable state. I rebuilt the carburetor, am getting ready to rebuild/ repair the brake wheel cylinders, and am in the process of restoring the instrument panel/ gauge cluster. A relative who had the car before me hooked up the battery backward and I am lead to believe that he shorted the gauge cluster. I have acquired a new gauge cluster from an earlier duster (looks to be between a 70' and 73' ish). I have taken both apart and sanded the housing I am going to use with some 220 grit sandpaper. My next step will be to clean up some of the lenses and repair some cracks & missing parts with glue and epoxy. After that, I plan to put on some flexible plastic primer and then some high heat engine paint as @72bluNblu did. Then finish it off with some silver acrylic paint and a custom walnut veneer insert. I know I may not be doing things the easiest way, but this is the way I have chosen. I am trying to do this without spending a whole ton of money though.
A couple of questions I had are:
- Does anyone see any obvious flaws with my plans so far?
- Does anyone know which parts could have been damaged from being shorted and/ or how to test them to see if they are good without re-assembling the cluster and putting it back in the car?
Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this. Also, I can provide pictures of all parts if anyone has questions.
Thank you for the input.