my '72 Duster
(I planned on doing a ton of pics as I went, but I was so disheartened by the condition of the car when we started, that I skipped the majority of that process- didn't want reminders lol)
This is what she used to look like back 10+ years ago:
built 340, kitted 727 w/2500 stall, 4.10 SG. Originally a 318 car, a guy I know built it in about 1980 (the red paint that was on it when I bought it was applied that year. Poor thing even already needed rust repair at that point (driver's inner fender, lower quarters on both sides from what I found working on it now). I even found a receipt for radial T/As from '77 with the owners manual from when my buddy bought tires for it.
I parked it about 10 years ago- the motor had started to rattle (thought it was a spun bearing- my brother pulled it apart a year or so ago and couldn't see anything wrong). Also, it wouldn't hold a wheel alignment. Not really serious reasons, but it was also time for a change.
This year I decided it was time for another Duster (and my Scamp is a bunch of parts being held together by rust lol)- couldn't find anything decent (and close), so pulled the old girl out of the weeds and went at it.
Here are a few pics from August 21:
By now we have a 360 in it (deciding what the final power plant will be- rebuild the 340 maybe, or my brother has a 416 kit he says he wants to build for it[-o<) with my 727 (but not the converter of course). About this time I spot a kink in the k-member...now we know why it had wheel alignment problems (the guy I bought it from wasn't used to power- put the pass. corner into a pole. Bought a fender from my brother way back when, but they didn't fix the underlying issues. We didn't notice how deep it went until now). Out comes the engine and tranny again, and we tear into one of my brother's parts car for another. Change that out, and we're back on track.
(I planned on doing a ton of pics as I went, but I was so disheartened by the condition of the car when we started, that I skipped the majority of that process- didn't want reminders lol)
This is what she used to look like back 10+ years ago:
built 340, kitted 727 w/2500 stall, 4.10 SG. Originally a 318 car, a guy I know built it in about 1980 (the red paint that was on it when I bought it was applied that year. Poor thing even already needed rust repair at that point (driver's inner fender, lower quarters on both sides from what I found working on it now). I even found a receipt for radial T/As from '77 with the owners manual from when my buddy bought tires for it.
I parked it about 10 years ago- the motor had started to rattle (thought it was a spun bearing- my brother pulled it apart a year or so ago and couldn't see anything wrong). Also, it wouldn't hold a wheel alignment. Not really serious reasons, but it was also time for a change.
This year I decided it was time for another Duster (and my Scamp is a bunch of parts being held together by rust lol)- couldn't find anything decent (and close), so pulled the old girl out of the weeds and went at it.
Here are a few pics from August 21:
By now we have a 360 in it (deciding what the final power plant will be- rebuild the 340 maybe, or my brother has a 416 kit he says he wants to build for it[-o<) with my 727 (but not the converter of course). About this time I spot a kink in the k-member...now we know why it had wheel alignment problems (the guy I bought it from wasn't used to power- put the pass. corner into a pole. Bought a fender from my brother way back when, but they didn't fix the underlying issues. We didn't notice how deep it went until now). Out comes the engine and tranny again, and we tear into one of my brother's parts car for another. Change that out, and we're back on track.
