My Duster Adventures

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75slant6 said:
For post number :sith: 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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looks like you got a good plan..318 car? without a fender tag? better off imo to have some fun with it..cost to restore stock is prolly higher than to retromod it..the magnum is good choice..

:happy1:
 
Yea David, I believe the car was originally a 318 Twister but with ought the fender tag or build sheet I can't prove it was a twister... Has all the parts to be one tho!
 
Well, got me a 904 from Geof (cosgig) at the Nats so now I need to scrounge up a flex plate, flex plate to crank bolts, bell housing bolts and a trans crossmember and bolts and I can put the trans in!
 
Got the rearend buttoned up tonight and fill with fluid! It's finally sittin on its own suspension for the first time in a few months! Just need to change the freeze plugs in the back of the block and install the trans and I can fire it up again!! Gonna be awesome hearing it rumble again! Needa get me an auto column (or manually shift it by reaching through the hole in the floor... Lol)

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I ended up buying a floor shifter to put in the car, its a Mr. Gasket Daytona part #7668. Looks ALOT like a 4 speed!

Anywho, I rolled the Duster outside today and rinsed out the rear freeze plug holes and pushed it back in the shop. Tmrw night I'm hopin to get the holes all cleaned up and get the plugs put in and who knows, if I'm feeling ambitious I might just start puttin the trans in!

Here's a pic I took of the car outside. I just realized tonight that this is the first time the Duster has been on Kentucky soil!!

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Great progress I think a media blaster is in your future.
Good luck
 
Yea I'm gonna have to do something. Ideally I'd acid dip it then epoxy primer dip it. Maybe someday. For now I'm gonna get it running and driving then just get it as rust free as I can and get a driver quality paint job on it and just enjoy this one then when I do my 71 I'll make that one all pretty and then someday I'll redo the 72 once it has too many paint chips, dents, etc.
 
Really proud of you Caleb, you're certainly making good decisions and great progress!! It does look at home on that Kentucky bluegrass don't it!!! Geof
 
Thanks a lot Geof! Yea it looks pretty good settin outside!! Hopefully by next week I'll be able to back it out n drive it in on its own power!! We'll see! :D
 
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And tonight I got the trans in!!! :thumbsup: first time there's been a transmission in this car in years!! I still need to fill the trans, install the driveshaft, change the engine oil and filter, refill the cooling system, drop in a battery and it should fire up!! Then I need to install the shifter and kickdown, finish the brakes and fuel system and I should be able to drive it! Only short distances due to the terrible tires but still!!
 
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RichardJ916 said:
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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Where did you get those rims?!!!
 
Got the starter installed, change the engine oil and put the driveshaft in last night. Drive shaft is about 2-3" short so I'm gonna have to see about gettin another one. Still need to do something about the transmission cooler lines (don't have any) then put fluid in the trans and I think I should be able to start it again!! Then a few more things b4 I can see if it'll move herself.

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Yea the tank doesn't have any obvious rust through but I have vinegar in it and had it set up on end and it leaked so something's goin on there. The inside of the tank is just pretty nasty.
 
The last few month have been VERY unproductive... A few days after I got the trans put in I went out to the shop only to find that I had a trans fluid leak that puked quite a bit of the fluid on the floor. I suspected the gear selector shaft seal so I pulled the valve body and replaced the seal and decided to get my buddy to weld a drain plug in my pan while it was off. Well the car sat for a few weeks without a pan till Tuesday night. I put the pan on and put in the fluid that I had on hand (will need more then) and put some antifreeze in the radiator and started the car a few times and was trying to get the timing dialed in.

Well tonight I went out and there was no trans fluid on the floor!!! :cheers: but then I found something a really didn't like... Apparently I didn't put near enough antifreeze in cause the engine was frozen!! Not frozen solid but still slushy enough that I had to run the space heater awhile to get it to drain!! I doubt it hurt the block but it did put a hole (or several) in the radiator and popped out a freeze plug on the passenger side behind the header!!:banghead:

So now the engine is coming out!! I'm planning on doing a MPFI 5.9 magnum eventually but I want to wait till I get a truck to use as a donor so I have everything I'll need. I do have a 5.9 with all the accessories main harness and pcm but for now I think I'm either gonna pull the 318 and go through it and put in new bearings, gaskets, freeze plugs and degree the cam and try to figure out the specs or im thinkin bout just getting the crosswind intake and putting in my 5.9 with a carb and running that till I get a donor truck. I'm open to opinions on which way to go but I'm sorta leaning toward the 5.9.

Anyway, that's where I'm at currently...
 
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Dang dude that sucks hang in there... 5.9 Magnum swap is well worth it but your other (318?) block might still be good hang on to that. Usually even higher mileage Magnums have good ring seal because of the EFI. Factory cams aren't bad but you can't run an old mechanical fuel pump with them.

Lots more I could say but you can read about it here:
http://www.magnumswap.com/

-Khalid
 
Hey thanks Khalid, yea I plan on keeping the 318 and goin through it eventually and may use it in my 71 Duster then. Check out the link in my signature for my "Mopar Nationals or Bust" endeavor! I'll be updating my engine progress in more detail in that thread. Tuesday night I got the 5.9 on the engine stand and got the pan off and the bores look GREAT!! Can still easily see crosshatching!! The out side of the engine is terrible tho! Nearly every seal and gasket must've leaked oil at sometime!! Lol

Thanks for the link as well, Ive read through magnumswap.com a few times now. As far as the fuel pump I'm debating if I wanna buy the cam about adapter from Mancini to be able to run the mechanical pump or else spend a little more time and money and put in an intank pump. Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there...
 
I think I'm just gonna buy the cam snout since I'm using the LA timing cover and have a new mechanical fuel pump. Eventually I'll probably modify my tank for an intank pump that can be readily bought at any parts store.
 
Well ladies and gents, it's been quit awhile since I've updated my build. For those of you that were following my thread "Mopar nationals or bust" well, I busted.... Since then we've temporarily moved into dads basement and are helping them with their chicken house till our chicken houses are up and going.

Anyway, a few days ago I got the engine finished painted other than the fan and the carb/air cleaner are just sitting on the engine for now. Here's pics of that.

Oh, just reading through the comments here and saw I never updated on my gas tank, I found a used tank and new 3/8 sending unit and a good filler tube grommet in CO for $25. Had my bro ship it to me for $40 and now I have a good tank. Also bought new 3/8s fuel lines a few weeks back.

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