Finally getting to it!!! 1970 Duster 340

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FJRdoc

FJRdoc

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
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Location
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Hi Gang
I posted on FABO many moons ago about my FE5 1970 Duster 340. This car has been in my family since 1975 when my brother got it as his first car. I later "inherited" it in 1979 when I turned 16.
The car has taken a back seat in my life over the years until Dec when I got it out of storage and over to my house. I have been stripping it down to a bare shell in order to send it over to my paint and body man.
Sunday, my brother, a friend and I dropped the engine, tranny and k-member to finish it off. I have to say that the event went off without a hitch!!! It wouldn't have been possible without the dollies that "crackedback" made for me.
I have photo documented the entire tear down process but don't have time to update the restoration process on a regular basis. I'll try to keep you all posted as time goes on.
Hopefully this link will get you to the video.

 
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Very, very nice! FE5 340 in family since '75!!!! Love the FE5/non vinyl top, tell us more.....interior color, bench or bucket, 4spd or auto?????
I'll be watching your progress.
 
Thanks. It is a black bench seat interior with auto on the column. The car is pretty bare bones. Numbers matching drive train.Options include power steering, manual disc brakes, am radio and 3.55 sure grip. It was originally side stripe delete with molding but I added the stripes in high school. I scrounged a split bench with armrest frame from a junkyard 30 years ago. I will be putting it in for an upgrade. Other than that, the car will be put back to original condition
 
Sounds great! Save your original bench if you have room to store it. I'm sure i'm speaking for most people on this site......if/when you find some old pics of the car back in the day post them. Everyone likes to see the old days!! If you don't have a scanner for those old paper pics I found that taking a digital pic of it works nice. You can even take a pic of a small section of the paper and it makes it like your magnifying it! Just fill the whole viewer with the paper pic and focus. Looking forward to progress and old pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Wow! The twin to that car is what made me love Dusters. My best friend in high school had one identical to yours in 1974, and it's only by the grace of God that we didn't get killed in it! I bought a lime green 70 Duster in late 74. Best of luck with your resto. It looks like your car is in pretty nice shape to start with. :prayer:
 
I don't have many pictures of the car back in the day. I'll see what I can dig up in my files over the weekend. Here are some pics of what it looked like before disassembly.


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Thats awesome!! I'm glad to see your progress. Can't wait to see more. If you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me. Keep up the great work and post progress as you can!
 
That looks like a nice storage area and line up of cars! Wish I had that space!!!
 
Unfortunately, I don't own the space. It was a chicken house in a previous life whiich was converted to car storage.
 
If you are looking to restore it to factory condition, I have a 70 thumbwheel style radio I'll give you. I never checked to see if it still works when I took it out but I can do that.
 
Thanks for the offer but I have the original thumbwheel. I also have an original 1969 AM/FM thumbwheel that I thought about putting in. I might just sell off the original AM/FM and use the money for parts and have the AM converted and upgraded.
 
FJRdoc said:
Thanks for the offer but I have the original thumbwheel. I also have an original 1969 AM/FM thumbwheel that I thought about putting in. I might just sell off the original AM/FM and use the money for parts and have the AM converted and upgraded.
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Ok - good luck with your project.
 
I worked on cleaning up the 8 3/4 the other day. I'm trying to make out the inspection marks on the back. Thought I would ask my fellow FABO members for their opinions. I think I see a circle with a "+" and a circle with an "A".
Also, I see that there is engine overspray on the left motor mount. I know that engines and K-members were painted separately. I'm not sure why I would find this. The car has a numbers matching drivetrain.

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My body guy called me to tell me that my car is back from the blaster. I will be going to his place Sat to look over the shell. He was very happy about the condition of the car. Here's a couple pics he sent me. I will be taking more photos on Sat to share on FABO. I'm so excited!!!!
I've been doing component resto at home. Currently working on getting the differential housing ready for paint. I'll post more pics of my progress as I get the time.

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Great car!!!! You dont see too many 70 Duster 340s from the factory in FE5 Rallye Red. Keep us posted with lots of pictures and good luck with the resto!
 
There were just a couple of pinholes on drivers floorboard. I was happy that there weren't any "surprises" after the old girl got naked. This car brings back fond memories of my younger days and wrenching with my brother and father. I've accumulated lots of parts over the years. It's exciting to work on getting her ready for the road. My wife wants to take a cross country trip in her after the resto is done. I will try to post pics and progress regularly.
 
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