My Duster Adventures

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75slant6

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For post number 1000 I thought I'd share a pic of my 72 Duster. I bought it January 25th and got a long ways to go but I'm getting things done very little by very little lol! any questions or comments welcome! :D enjoy!!

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My 1st car was a '72 Duster so I have a weakness for them. The 70-72 Dusters are among my favorite mopars. I had another 72 and a 70 some years later and now I regret selling them. Maybe someday I will get another one...... Good luck with your project! :)
 
My first car was a 75 Scamp. Sold it little over a year ago. Had it for 3 years but never really got it to driver status. Planning to change that with the Duster!!
 
Congrats on post 1000 Caleb! Can't wait to see your progress with the Duster. Take whatever time you need to get her right and she'll turn out sweet.....:thumleft:.
 
I agree take your time and things will turn out great. I got mine about 4 years ago and I am still finding parts to make it look better. I look and look through different forums and other reading matterial to find out what others are doing then I find parts. It's the little things that make it all worth it, keeps us posted with lots of pictures.

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As the tortoise one said..."slow and steady wins the race"!!! If you take it a little at a time, you'll be able to conquer much more ground than if you completely dive in IMO! Too many people rip apart their entire cars the get lost in the sea of different projects that lie before them! By taking it one assembly at a time, those smaller milestones are more easily accomplished and put behind you as you work towards your goal of Duster enjoyment!

Always remember that your Duster is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed!! Good luck as always on your progress, make so you enjoy the ride!! Geof
 
A little at a time and enjoy the build and every minute you get to working on it
Yes cosgig nailed it here :cheers: and I must say that is a great ride (MoPar) you have there :thumleft::thumleft:
 
Richard, your Duster is real close to what mine will look like!! 2 differences I see right now is I'll put on black stipes and different wheels! When I was looking for a Duster I was debating whether I wanted to go triple black or b5, black stripes n white interior... But when I found my Duster and the guy told me it was originally b5 the car made up my mind!! I believe the car was a Twister do to it being a 318 car with the scoops and sharktooth grill but I can't be sure as there's no fender tag and I have yet to find a build sheet...
 
A little at a time and enjoy the build and every minute you get to working on it
Yes cosgig nailed it here :cheers: and I must say that is a great ride (MoPar) you have there :thumleft::thumleft:

Geof (cosgig) has been a HUGE help and a great friend through all this!! I never met him or talked to him but through one of my WIW threads he Pm'd some really good advice which led me to pass on the car I'd been looking at and altimately lead me to my Duster!! He's helped me out with parts and TONS of GREAT advice and guidance!!! Truly a great friend!!! Thanks Geof!! Home to meet you at the NATS!!
 
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Well Geof, you sorta nailed it! It's been SLOOOWWWW and not so steady..... I hooked up a vacuum gauge tonight and finally got the timing and idle screws dialed in better. I ordered a tach today so when that comes I'll be able to tune it even more.

Oh, and talk about a budget build!! Since I don't have much extra scratch right now I went to the pull a part and got a coil, plugs and wires for it!! Lol. I know new plugs and wires would be ideal but since the valiant I got everything from was last register last year I figured the ignition stuff HAD to be better than the 20+ year old stuff in my Duster!
 
Slight set back the other day, I read up on tuning up an engine and went out, hooked up a vacuum gauge and finally got the thing tuned enough to idle on its own. I had the engine running for probably 20 minutes or so which is longer than I've ever had it running!! :cheers: temp was under 180, oil pressure was around 35-40. I was just messin around with it some, tryin to get more vacuum at idle n such then I sat in the car and the oil pressure was about 25 I happened to look through the shifter hole and saw a fair sized puddle of oil under the car!! I jumped out n looked underneath and oil was dripping pretty fast! I quick turned the car off and investigated... Turns out because of the engine tilting back due to not having a transmission in it the oil filter was rubbing the frame rail and rubbed a hole in it... I believe I caught in plenty of time but getting the trans installed has definitely moved up the priorities list!! Lol
 
Btw, the highest I got my vacuum was about 7" at idle, any suggestions on how to get that up? I realize y'all can only help me to a certain extent without cam specs and such but the only thing I KNOW about this engine is it has a torker II intake and a 650 edelbrock carb. It definitely doesn't have the factory cam but I ain't got a clue what the specs are, if its stock bore or not or any of that.
 
Ok so my plans for the drivetrain may change thanks to 2 super generous friends!!

I was talking to Geof about what I gotta do to get the 5 speed in and he offered me a 904 and converter to get it goin/rolling for now, so I'll be pickin those up at the nats. That got me thinkin about maybe if I like it well enough I might run an auto (still really like the idea of 5 gears and OD tho...)

And just today a new found friend (sold some explorer wheels to him monday, first time i ever met him or know of him) by the name of Grant stopped by and GAVE me a 5.9 magnum complete with an uncut harness, ECM and all the accessories!!! Also gave me a metal cutting chop saw since he bought a new one last night! Said the brushes are goin out but that's a cheap enough fix!

He also said he'll mini tub my car, build me subframe connectors and help with body work!! He's a certified mechanic, certified welder and does tire work! He has a shop at his house complete with lifts, welders, metal working tools, etc. and said once I'm ready for metal replacement we can take it over there and do everything there!!

Heck, he even saw my 2 heifers and said he'll bring his BULL over for me to use! super nice guy!
 
I agree take your time and things will turn out great. I got mine about 4 years ago and I am still finding parts to make it look better. I look and look through different forums and other reading matterial to find out what others are doing then I find parts. It's the little things that make it all worth it, keeps us posted with lots of pictures.

Nice car! What a beautiful color.
 
looks like a good project! check this bad boy I found in a yard that has been close for over 20 years! Still good right?! lol

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looks like a good project! check this bad boy I found in a yard that has been close for over 20 years! Still good right?! lol
I think you should swoop that up, Would make a great 'winter' project for you ,.... lol After seeing your scamp I think you can fix anything! great job. And great progress on your duster 75slantsix
 
I think you should swoop that up, Would make a great 'winter' project for you ,.... lol After seeing your scamp I think you can fix anything! great job. And great progress on your duster 75slantsix

If I bring home anymore projects home my wife is going to string me up! :violent1: thanks hoping to have the car be a roller before winter comes!
 
Lol!! I'm "sorta" in the same boat as you sal! There's a clean 73 Duster bout 30 minutes away that I've been workin on the bride about... She wants a 73-76 Duster but says she doesn't need one for a few more years, I'm trying to convince her that she needs one sooner than she thinks!! lol! It was a running driving slant car till the oil pump went, they want $2500 for it.
 
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