Judge Mills' 1971 Plymouth Duster

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it's in.... well, all the big stuff, anyway... I have some V6 Mustang wheels on there just to have a roller...

I need to find my camera! It's M.I.A.!

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I ended up using 3" Afco's from Summit....The 3.25 are hard to find and spendy.....Don't remember the length? I think I ended up looking up the length for A bodies with 8 3/4 rear ends and getting those ones....
 
Time to get started on the front suspension. I figured I might as well tear the fenders off while I'm at it!

A spark plug socket and an old fender bolt last behind fell to the ground when I removed the fender! Nice find. I wonder what I'll find behind the driver's side tomorrow?

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It's been 3 months, and I have hardly touched the car. Having a 4 month old daughter, wage cutbacks and life in general haven't left me much time or money to work on it.

Today I decided to remove the headliner and aftermarket sunroof. I remember seeing the little cartoon on the PB Blaster can showing it dissolve a Styrofoam cup. I saw some sort of foam adhesive was holding the glass in. I sprayed it, let it sit 10 minutes, and it softened right up! You can see some kind of black adhesive was actually used. Glad I got that ugly thing out.

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Took the front drums/upper A arms off last night. Anticipating a 73'+ disc swap soon, pending a deal with a fellow member. I need to clean up stuff down there, but should be a straightforward swap. I was hoping to buy all new parts, but those kits are just too spendy for me right now. Going this route, I can upgrade the upper control arms at a later date.
 

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Still waiting on the front Discs. In the meantime, I focused my attention to the rear discs. Ordered new pads, rotors, and hoses from Summit and Rock Auto. Painted the old calipers. Coming along!

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are u goin to weld a piece of metal over sun roof up? the car would look so much better without a sun roof.
 
mopar7172 said:
are u goin to weld a piece of metal over sun roof up? the car would look so much better without a sun roof.
Click to expand...

Yep. I saw a few years ago someone on here posted a thread where they welded a piece underneath and smoothed a thin layer of filler over the top, and it looked perfect. That sunroof alone almost made me get rid of the car until I saw that thread.
 
Looks like I haven't updated this thread in a long time! I did aquire that disc brake swap from a member here, and I have been working on it VERY slowly. Tomorrow I will be installing these offset bushings.
 

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Thanks to some instructions autoxcuda has posted a few times, I started installing my offset bushings today. Might have the control arms in this week. Then I'll be installing the upper ball joints. Check back in a year, I have no guarantees on how fast i work :)
 

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You can see in this thread the debacle I had with the Raybestos offset bushings:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=206123

Long story short, buy the Moog's!

Looks like I will need to buy the upper ball joint removal tool. I tried the vise trick; it was a no go.

KYB front shocks are on the way.

Here are the offset Moog's installed, and the before & after of the lower ball joints:
 

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Judge Mills said:
Yep. I saw a few years ago someone on here posted a thread where they welded a piece underneath and smoothed a thin layer of filler over the top, and it looked perfect. That sunroof alone almost made me get rid of the car until I saw that thread.
Click to expand...

My Dart probably. Go easy on the heat the roof will warp real fast.
 

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Hey Judge I took my new upper ball joints and uca over to Raymond Steve's front end they have the equipment to remove and replace the new one for 15.00 or 20.00 bucks
Moe
 
Adam, it is your car I saw! Thanks for the pics again.

Moe, thanks for the tip! Good excuse to go to Dennis Company while I am down there. What street is the shop on?
 
Judge Mills said:
Adam, it is your car I saw! Thanks for the pics again.

Moe, thanks for the tip! Good excuse to go to Dennis Company while I am down there. What street is the shop on?
Click to expand...

2nd right past the bridge next too the state patrol office across the street from the card lock gas station
Moe
 
I'm pretty sure the Great Pyramids were built faster than this. Here' the latest:

For now, just to get the car rolling, I"ll not be using brand new rotors or bearings. I just repacked the bearings and put in new wheel seals. At this point, I finally have a roller again! I found out though that the Mustang wheels I have don't fit the front hubs. D'oh.
 

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