the"Busted knuckle duster"
So I started working on the duster again this week. We had a small issue with the 6.1 Hemi I was planning on using. So while I save up the cash to build it right I found a good 5.7 to use for now. here are some pics of it, and it's donor.
Here it is all cleaned up. I swapped over a few of the 6.1 parts ( Intake ,coils ,valve covers). I will get it disassembled paint the block ,covers ,and intake. Then we can put on the new oil pan, and all the conversion parts to fit it in the duster. (gonna be running the nag1 with the sound german engineering tcu setup)
With the drivetrain well in hand I figured I would get the patchwork, and panel replacement done. the only parts needing replacement were the trunk floor, and the the lower rear quarters. I started by cutting the main section of the floor out first. Here is what we started with
Below is after getting all the spot welds cut out, and the flanges cleaned ,straightened ,and ready for welding in the new floor. I also had to replace the passenger side of the trunk floor as well ,so we cut that, and the lower quarter out while we where at it. Spent a little extra time to remove the spray on sound proofing, and wire wheeled off any surface rust ,loose paint ,and seam sealer. Then I coated the inside of the frame rails with kbs rust coating since we cant get in there later.
While the floor was out I took the opportunity to make a few necessary modifications to the QA1 6 link. The Moser rear end we are using (even though it is a stock replacement for the original) has a larger housing than stock. this caused a few problems. I had to clearance the pan hard bar, move one of the tubes that goes behind the pumpkin about an inch, and make some spacers to lower the sway bar mounts so it would clear under the housing. I will post some pics of that later.
Now its time to put it all together. We will leave that till tomorrow. Man that's a big hole!
So I started working on the duster again this week. We had a small issue with the 6.1 Hemi I was planning on using. So while I save up the cash to build it right I found a good 5.7 to use for now. here are some pics of it, and it's donor.
Here it is all cleaned up. I swapped over a few of the 6.1 parts ( Intake ,coils ,valve covers). I will get it disassembled paint the block ,covers ,and intake. Then we can put on the new oil pan, and all the conversion parts to fit it in the duster. (gonna be running the nag1 with the sound german engineering tcu setup)
With the drivetrain well in hand I figured I would get the patchwork, and panel replacement done. the only parts needing replacement were the trunk floor, and the the lower rear quarters. I started by cutting the main section of the floor out first. Here is what we started with
Below is after getting all the spot welds cut out, and the flanges cleaned ,straightened ,and ready for welding in the new floor. I also had to replace the passenger side of the trunk floor as well ,so we cut that, and the lower quarter out while we where at it. Spent a little extra time to remove the spray on sound proofing, and wire wheeled off any surface rust ,loose paint ,and seam sealer. Then I coated the inside of the frame rails with kbs rust coating since we cant get in there later.
While the floor was out I took the opportunity to make a few necessary modifications to the QA1 6 link. The Moser rear end we are using (even though it is a stock replacement for the original) has a larger housing than stock. this caused a few problems. I had to clearance the pan hard bar, move one of the tubes that goes behind the pumpkin about an inch, and make some spacers to lower the sway bar mounts so it would clear under the housing. I will post some pics of that later.
Now its time to put it all together. We will leave that till tomorrow. Man that's a big hole!
