Finally Bought a Duster!

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Painted the wheels, popped on some hubcaps, turned the front tires around, and borrowed the 245/60s I had laying around. It made a world of difference. Also while I was swapping tires I noticed that the wheels were staggered. The rear ones were an inch wider, and to my knowledge they're the factory wheels but there's no telling. Has anyone seen this before?

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thedartsport said:
Painted the wheels, popped on some hubcaps, turned the front tires around, and borrowed the 245/60s I had laying around. It made a world of difference. Also while I was swapping tires I noticed that the wheels were staggered. The rear ones were an inch wider, and to my knowledge they're the factory wheels but there's no telling. Has anyone seen this before?

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Looking good! Have fun!
 
The wheels were never staggered as built by MaMopar. Someone swapped them in. Most slanty cars got 4 1/2" wide wheels. V8 cars often had 5" to 5 1/2" wide wheels.
Dusters, Demons and Dart Sports need wider wheels out back to fill out the wheelwell.
Nice score on the car.
 
Great find and it's a blue sky day when a member locates a gem like this, Congratulations :thumbsup:
 
Kern Dog said:
The wheels were never staggered as built by MaMopar. Someone swapped them in. Most slanty cars got 4 1/2" wide wheels. V8 cars often had 5" to 5 1/2" wide wheels.
Dusters, Demons and Dart Sports need wider wheels out back to fill out the wheelwell.
Nice score on the car.
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That's what I was thinking, but the strange thing is the previous owner ran the same size tire all the way around. Maybe he thought it would look cooler! It sure helped getting those tires to fit though.
 
i like it. id give it a comet scrub and buff it out. i bet it will look half way decent
 
thedartsport said:
Just bought this 1973 Gold Duster, and it's perfect (to me at least). I was driving around one day back in the summer of 2015 when I noticed this car in someone's back yard. I stopped in, went up to the older gentleman standing in the front yard and asked, "Is it for sale?" He smiled and kindly replied, "Thank you but no."
My heart was a little broken since I've wanted another car this body style after selling my first car: a 1974 Dart Sport. Fast forward to this past Friday. We stop in and get to talking with the owner. We later found out his wife has owned the car since 1975 when her father bought it for her. It laid dormant since 2006, and thankfully for me they decided it was time for the Duster to turn a new leaf in life. A deal was struck, hands shook, and this gem of a Duster became mine. Saturday was the first official day of ownership, and I could not be happier. As soon as the car came home I started looking over everything in detail. It's a slant six auto with AC and power steering. The paint was redone about 20 or so years ago, so it's not that great, but it probably helped keep the car with as little as rust as it did. The seats have been previously reupholstered so they're still fairly nice. With a fresh battery I drove the Duster for a short trip. The carburetor has a dead spot in it, so it'll need a rebuild. One of the tires has a flat spot, but this car can cruise! I didn't go over 50 mph, but the transmission shifts great, everything is smooth and runs as it should. I've been sick ever since selling my Sport, and this Duster is the perfect replacement to remind me of it. Not sure what I'll be doing with it other than basic maintenance and some cosmetic enhancements, but I'm ready for the road ahead. Thanks for reading!

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Good for you ... it looks great !
 
So Coker Tire puts on a Cruise in every year at their factory. There they have a swap meet for vendors, but they also sell overstock/returned wheels and tires (for super cheap!) from the previous year. We brought home 11 wheels including a set of 15x7 small bolt steel wheels. I don't think these were ever produced by the factory, but they sure did help the stance on the Duster! I moved the 245/60/14s that were on the rear to the front, and added a set of 275/60/15s to the rear. These were just some we had laying around I threw together for a test fit, so I'll pick up some Radial T/As to match in the near future. I am in love with how much the wheel well got filled up with these tires! Definitely cheaper and safer than buying adapters to make some big bolt pattern wheels fit.
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Hey! Looks like my carnonky a lot nicer!
LMAO!
I can exactly see what wheel you have on there but I am doing a regular factory steelie with the dog dishes. I do also want a trim ring.

I'll have to review the "What fits" thread as I want to get in as much meat as possible on the car, fore and aft.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Hey! Looks like my carnonky a lot nicer!
LMAO!
I can exactly see what wheel you have on there but I am doing a regular factory steelie with the dog dishes. I do also want a trim ring.

I'll have to review the "What fits" thread as I want to get in as much meat as possible on the car, fore and aft.
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These still have surprisingly more room than I expected. They don't touch anywhere front or rear even when I drove it. They're probably about as big as you can go though as far as height. I'm thinking about getting a wider wheel for the rear eventually, but I'll probably have to pick it up an inch or so to be sure it doesn't rub.
 
thedartsport said:
These still have surprisingly more room than I expected. They don't touch anywhere front or rear even when I drove it. They're probably about as big as you can go though as far as height. I'm thinking about getting a wider wheel for the rear eventually, but I'll probably have to pick it up an inch or so to be sure it doesn't rub.
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Sure looks nice!
 
The only drawback to the 15" wheels you have is that they are heavy. They look nice and are very tough!
Glad to see that you are doing well with the car. :thumbsup:
 
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