Rocker's 1973 Duster "Clara"

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Wow Chris you really got that trunk cleaned up nicely and with no damage to the paint underneath. What a great B-Day present to get
Just make sure when setting up the garage you leave space to work on the car.
 
I'm back... It has been quite a crazy year so far. After the car came back from the body shop, I put her in the garage and covered her up. Work has been busier than ever, I got a new daily driver (99 BMW) that quickly became project #3, Added a light bar and some other goodies to my KIA (project #2), got a beer fridge (damn cool), my wife had surgery (her ankle collapsed), and I now have two 4th graders (quit f$%king growing already). The car sat from September of last year, until about a month ago. Time to work on her has become a little more scarce these days, but I hope the pictures will show that I am using my time wisely. A pic at the body shop....sanding.
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Another one, right before she came home...only to be neglected for 10 months.
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This is how she looked when I went in to rescue her from my own garage. I let happen the one thing I swore to not do... Bury my car in crap.#-o
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More updates to come today.
 
Glad you are back on it! It is ALOT of work and anyone who has not attempted a project like this has no idea! Keep at it!
 
My lil dude wanted to help me get the project going again. Together we started by adding seam sealer to the 4 speed hump (inside and out), and also replaced any spots that were damaged or missing throughout the car. After the sealer was dry, we then spent a few hours cleaning all remnants from the body shop out of the car....Sand, dust, dead moth, etc.

My son is ready to rock!
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Seam sealer drying pics (exciting I know). I started off by taping the lines, but ended up pulling most of it and using one side as a guideline. We had fun making it look "factory".
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Blasted the rear bumpstops real quick to get my resto motivation going...It worked as you will see in the next post.
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Chris,

Glad you are back at it after a hiatus! I know every time I see you up at Grand I ask how it is going, so now that there are updates I can quit asking!

Shane
 
During my downtime, I had researched how to pull apart and inspect the transmission. I felt confident I could pull it apart, but knew it would take me some time. I admit I got lazy and wanted results sooner, so I had a friend who has pulled these things apart for fun, help me go through it. Beyond a synchro ring, new speedo gear, and new seals/gaskets throughout, the thing was in great shape. I need to give a big thank you to my buddy Mike Juve for ALL of his help with this! :thumbrig:
I ordered a slew of parts from Brewers that I just did not have (nor wanted to hunt down and restore), such as shifter rods, brackets, hardware, etc. While waiting for all of this to come in, I had the bell housing cleaned up and inspected for cracks. While m y son was doing homework the other day I found I had a few minutes, so not being able to leave well enough alone, I tried my hand at mimicking the overspray on the bell housing. I am about halfway done with restoring the Transmission cross member, so I will post pics later with that and all the bells and whistles attached. My son wants to do most of the assembly work, so this should be fun!

Before.
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My first look inside, then after teardown.
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My speedo gear got eaten!
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After.
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My crown jewel! Again I got lazy and bought it restored. I budgeted for one to restore, but got a great price on this so I couldn’t say no!
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While waiting for parts to arrive, I got ancy and pulled the pedal assembly apart. I blasted all of the parts and am in the process of painting them. I have also ordered replacement pedal pads, and a clutch stop bumper. This brings me to where I am at now. I sprayed the clutch pedal this morning before work, and will give it a second coat when I get home.

Teardown. The semi-gloss paint on everything is not my thing.
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Painting parts. You’ll see the cross member bolts in the background.
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I'll update more as soo as I have pics!
 
So are you going to assemble the car before the final paint job?
 
Hey Sireland. I am planning to assemble it after paint. The car leaves to be painted in November. I am trying to do as many things as possible in the meantime to keep me busy. Bigger items like the rear end I am planning to do once the car goes for paint. That way I will have a ton of room in the garage.
 
Good luck, I still have alot of welding left to do on my duster.
Both inner fenders, radiator support, put two 1/4 panels on, and one rocker panel.
Most likely will finish the stuff under the hood first, paint the engine compartment, install motor / trans this winter.
 
Thanks man! My goal is to prep all of these completed components so once the car comes back, I can drop it down onto the engine/trans/K frame combo as we roll it back into the garage.
 
A little more to update...

I got the clutch pedal assembly together. I still need to install the clutch safety switch, but for the most part it is done.

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Now the fun stuff. I installed the shift linkage which was pleasantly easy to do. I just read the service manually thoroughly first. It shifts through the gear perfectly...Feels awesome just sitting on the bench, so I can only imagine what it will be like in the car!

Parts prep.
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Finished.
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I think front suspension is next...as well as "buttoning up" a few small parts on everything I have restored so far. The car is schedule to leave for paint in about a month or so from now!
 
Love how you have integrated your family into the build. Wish I could be so lucky. The hand print idea was awesome. Glad you have stuck with it. It looks great.
 
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