My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head
Ok, so for several years now I've been talking about a T56 swap. And for the last few years I've had a T56 Magnum collecting dust in my shop while I used my Duster as my daily driver. And I collected all the parts I thought I would need, and then a few more, so it would be a pretty smooth deal. Of course it wasn't, but that's how it works. Anyway, I did the swap a few months and about 1,300 miles ago and just haven't gotten around to writing any of it up.
Before I get started, I'd like to thank @Tjfly4pay at ToddRonn Restorations, his crossmember was great and one of the reasons I finally decided to just get this thing done. And @goldduster318 for some of the technical advice once I got rolling with the swap and hit a few snags, because there are always snags. And my buddy Bryce, who actually installed the crossmember in his car first and gave me a hand with the install on mine.
So here we go. I started with my '74 Duster, previously converted from an auto to an 833 4-speed. I covered everything with FatMat when I did that, which was fun to remove.
I only attached the tunnel with sheet metal screws though, because I wanted access. So this went quick
This part, not so much. Lots of heat gun and scraping.
And then I drilled the spot welds to get at the original crossmember.
Ok, so for several years now I've been talking about a T56 swap. And for the last few years I've had a T56 Magnum collecting dust in my shop while I used my Duster as my daily driver. And I collected all the parts I thought I would need, and then a few more, so it would be a pretty smooth deal. Of course it wasn't, but that's how it works. Anyway, I did the swap a few months and about 1,300 miles ago and just haven't gotten around to writing any of it up.
Before I get started, I'd like to thank @Tjfly4pay at ToddRonn Restorations, his crossmember was great and one of the reasons I finally decided to just get this thing done. And @goldduster318 for some of the technical advice once I got rolling with the swap and hit a few snags, because there are always snags. And my buddy Bryce, who actually installed the crossmember in his car first and gave me a hand with the install on mine.
So here we go. I started with my '74 Duster, previously converted from an auto to an 833 4-speed. I covered everything with FatMat when I did that, which was fun to remove.
I only attached the tunnel with sheet metal screws though, because I wanted access. So this went quick
This part, not so much. Lots of heat gun and scraping.
And then I drilled the spot welds to get at the original crossmember.
