The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
Rob, you knew he couldn't stay away.
Thanks for chiming in Adam, good to see you making the rounds a little.
Took a little time to work on the Duster on Sunday and got some of the interior back in. Carpet is mostly back in but man, I did a horrible job trimming it the first time. Seriously, the whole thing is jacked up. Thankfully most of the crooked or uneven parts are covered up by various things but it still bothers me knowing how poor of a job I did. Had to cut some oddly shaped holes to fit it around the bars on the floor but that part came out OK I guess.
Nest time I'll swallow my DIY pride and get this type of stuff done by someone more proficient at it than me.
Note the OE plastic splash guards still in place where the rear door panels go. A little brittle though. Trunk divider is a little flimsy but still intact too.
Unfortunately, painting the roll bar also yielded less than stellar results. I used POR15 so it wouldn't rust or chip but it's definitely not like paint. I used a foam brush and went around the bars with mostly even strokes hoping they would blend. At first you couldn't see the them but when I went to go touch up some areas I missed, it got splotchy, like it had already started to dry and the very top layer was getting peeled up. Was hoping the second coat would cover it up but no dice, nice and splotchy again. Turned out kinda like a hammertone finish. It's not horrible, mostly depends how the light reflects off it. At least it ain't gonna rust. Maybe I can cover it up somehow.
Note uneven reflection from flash on front down bar... splotchy.
Ordered a headliner from Year One, it's on it's way. Wish I didn't have to mess with that but it was torn all the way across, right above the back window. It was being held together with safety pins and would flap around like crazy with the windows open. It pretty much disintegrated when I took it out. Not looking forward to fighting with that thing, I can tell it's going to be a *****. Not real interested in having the windows taken out but that would sure make life easier.
To get the headliner out, the rear sail panels have to come out. The roll bar main hoop is close to the panels, it was really hard to get the front mounting screws out. I basically had to spin them out with vice grips. Might try to put those back in with some sort of modern panel push lock type thing if I can. Wrestling them out of the space between the main hoop and window beat them up pretty good. Plus, the passenger side got a little roasted by the TIG welder. Might have to see if I can get them cleaned up or find another set. The shop that put the bar in told me to leave them in but I kinda wish I hadn't.
Great. Just great.
Tungsten Inert Gas roasted my sail panel.
In other news, spent some more bucks this week and finally ordered a fiberglass hood from AAR. I figured it would be a good idea to try and offset some of the added weight of the roll bar and it's always best to take weight out of the front of the car. I went for the lift-off type so the hinges are coming out. Sprung for a tall, dual snorkel scoop as well. I'll be honest, I've always wanted a car with a hood scoop. I would have liked to have the scoop molded in to the hood but it adds significantly to the price of an already expensive part and can delay delivery for a long time. It's OK, makes it less of a commitment. I can eyeball it and decide whether I want to go through with it.
4 1/2" dual snorkel scoop.
Now to decide on hood pins. I'll probably just go with Moroso aluminum ones. The chrome ones rust and I don't completely trust those expensive Quick Latches. Too modern looking anyway. Keep it simple.
On a side note, weather sure is frustrating here in the North East. It's beautiful one day and absolutely miserable the next. Hard to keep momentum going when it's cold and wet out. I've lived here my entire life too and it still drives me nuts. Depressing.
More to come.
Rob, you knew he couldn't stay away.
Thanks for chiming in Adam, good to see you making the rounds a little.
Took a little time to work on the Duster on Sunday and got some of the interior back in. Carpet is mostly back in but man, I did a horrible job trimming it the first time. Seriously, the whole thing is jacked up. Thankfully most of the crooked or uneven parts are covered up by various things but it still bothers me knowing how poor of a job I did. Had to cut some oddly shaped holes to fit it around the bars on the floor but that part came out OK I guess.
Nest time I'll swallow my DIY pride and get this type of stuff done by someone more proficient at it than me.
Note the OE plastic splash guards still in place where the rear door panels go. A little brittle though. Trunk divider is a little flimsy but still intact too.
Unfortunately, painting the roll bar also yielded less than stellar results. I used POR15 so it wouldn't rust or chip but it's definitely not like paint. I used a foam brush and went around the bars with mostly even strokes hoping they would blend. At first you couldn't see the them but when I went to go touch up some areas I missed, it got splotchy, like it had already started to dry and the very top layer was getting peeled up. Was hoping the second coat would cover it up but no dice, nice and splotchy again. Turned out kinda like a hammertone finish. It's not horrible, mostly depends how the light reflects off it. At least it ain't gonna rust. Maybe I can cover it up somehow.
Note uneven reflection from flash on front down bar... splotchy.
Ordered a headliner from Year One, it's on it's way. Wish I didn't have to mess with that but it was torn all the way across, right above the back window. It was being held together with safety pins and would flap around like crazy with the windows open. It pretty much disintegrated when I took it out. Not looking forward to fighting with that thing, I can tell it's going to be a *****. Not real interested in having the windows taken out but that would sure make life easier.
To get the headliner out, the rear sail panels have to come out. The roll bar main hoop is close to the panels, it was really hard to get the front mounting screws out. I basically had to spin them out with vice grips. Might try to put those back in with some sort of modern panel push lock type thing if I can. Wrestling them out of the space between the main hoop and window beat them up pretty good. Plus, the passenger side got a little roasted by the TIG welder. Might have to see if I can get them cleaned up or find another set. The shop that put the bar in told me to leave them in but I kinda wish I hadn't.
Great. Just great.
Tungsten Inert Gas roasted my sail panel.
In other news, spent some more bucks this week and finally ordered a fiberglass hood from AAR. I figured it would be a good idea to try and offset some of the added weight of the roll bar and it's always best to take weight out of the front of the car. I went for the lift-off type so the hinges are coming out. Sprung for a tall, dual snorkel scoop as well. I'll be honest, I've always wanted a car with a hood scoop. I would have liked to have the scoop molded in to the hood but it adds significantly to the price of an already expensive part and can delay delivery for a long time. It's OK, makes it less of a commitment. I can eyeball it and decide whether I want to go through with it.
4 1/2" dual snorkel scoop.
Now to decide on hood pins. I'll probably just go with Moroso aluminum ones. The chrome ones rust and I don't completely trust those expensive Quick Latches. Too modern looking anyway. Keep it simple.
On a side note, weather sure is frustrating here in the North East. It's beautiful one day and absolutely miserable the next. Hard to keep momentum going when it's cold and wet out. I've lived here my entire life too and it still drives me nuts. Depressing.
More to come.
