74 Duster Project

[Duster360LA]

I am a fairly new member and have been impressed with the projects that have been posted, so I thought I might share my in-progress 1974 Duster project. I retired in 2023 and had been looking for a project car and always been a Mopar fan. I had a 1970 Challenger in college and looked at E bodies, but they were either insanely priced or wrecks. I came across a '74 Duster just a few hours away and went to take a look. The car was solid, with a previous owner putting a bit of work (and $) into in. It was a 318, 3-on-the-floor car, but the engine was blown and tranny was in pieces. The upside was that it came with recovered bucket seats, new carpet and headliner, converted to Year One front discs and had a rear disc conversion kit to go on the Dana 60 that was installed. The Dana had new Moser axles (I swapped the 4.10s for 3.55s) and the front end had been rebuilt with Hotchkis suspension parts. There was a new wiring harness as well. Extra glass and new Goodrich 70's and new rims. It was a bargain for $3,500.

That was a year ago and I've stripped the car, had some rust repair done on the driver side roof rail and a few other small fixes. I elected to put in a stiffer core support when metal work was being done. Got it back home to start a lot of sanding and filling over the hot Texas summer. I love this car and decided it was my karma when my next door (I live out in the country) neighbor came to look at it one day and said "I used to have a Duster and still have some old parts in the barn if you want them." An hour later he showed up with two extra doors, a trunk lid, a center consol, a Go Wing and a set of aluminum louvers for the rear window. He was just happy to get them out of his barn!

Fast forward: The body and paint are completed and wiring pretty much done. I have a Flaming River tilt wheel steering column to be put in and then I will be close to getting a moderately-built 360 put in - backed by a Tremec TKX 5-speed. The goal is to build a reasonably-performing car that I can drive cross country to car shows and swap meets when I am finished.

 

[barbee6043]

That is a great build! Keep us up to date with all progress if you will.

 

[missing linc]

Good score fore the $, and it looks great in what appears to be B5 blue. Your engine/trans/differential gearing combination should make for a great all around car. Good performance, easy highway cruising, decent fuel economy, and very reliable. Keep up the good work!

 

[QWKSLVR]

Got a good deal definitely. Is that the hood you are going to use, because that looks like a 1970-1972 hood. You would need the correct grille and bumper for sure.
Bobby

 

[CFD244]

That looks like a home run right there

 

[Duster360LA]

Thanks for spotting that QWKSLVR - the grill, bumper and fenders were all off the car when I got it, so we'll see how it all comes together. Wouldn't hurt my feeling to have a 70-72 front end look. I did get two grills for it (along with headlight buckets). And the color is B5, which was the color of my '70 Challenger.

 

[QWKSLVR]

Sending you a message

 

[Clelan]

Those aluminum window louvres are a score. They are super rare these days. Congratulations on the parts score! That's a super nice color choice too!

Cley

 

[Duster360LA]

Thanks! I figured they weren't common, but didn't realize how rare they were. Posting a few more shots of the cleaned up and powder coated dana, the 360 and a little work I did on the power brake cylinder to blend it in to the engine compartment.

 

[JDMopar]

Great job so far! It looks like you were able to find a 5.9 Magnum block to build your motor. If it runs as good as it looks, you'll be thankful for having PS...lol. Are you going to run headers? If so, bolt them up to the motor to check clearances on the block before you put the motor in the car. Some headers will hit the motor mount pads that were used for the mid mounted motor mounts required in trucks and vans. You can just grind those down until they clear the header tubes and touch up the paint. You should be able to buy brand new spool mount type motor mounts at Rock Auto to bolt the motor right in your Duster.

Congrats on retirement! I retired on 4-1-23. I used to make fun of the old guys who retired from work, when they would say " I have no idea how I ever had time to work!" Now I get it, lol. Busier than I've ever been.

 

[Duster360LA]

Thanks - totally agree about retirement! After a bit of reading and thinking about the many cross-country miles I will drive, I am ready to pull the trigger on some TTI shorties to avoid any ground clearance issues (especially since I am about 3/4 mile from a paved road). And I appreciate the heads up on the motor mount fit with headers. The 5.9 has LA heads, a moderate cam and 9.75 compression. I have a Sniper 2 EFI and it's companion ignition system ready to drop on.

 

[v8dve]

Looking great !

I that an Autometer Dash? Was it already with the car or are you installing?


My car was originally B5 before a previous owner changed. I'd like it back to B5 at some point.....

 

[Duster360LA]

Thanks, it is an Autometer dash that I installed - the original gauge cluster was a total mess!

 

[Duster360LA]

Just a few updates. New FR tilt wheel column is in and steering wheel. New sway bar in and all the front suspension completed. Proportioning valve in. Getting close to dropping the engine and tranny in.

 

[Clelan]

Got it one step closer to running! Motor is back where it's supposed to be.

Cley

 

[Duster360LA]

Some updates: I have the engine and Tremec in the Duster and we wrestled the front and rear windows in. Still a lot of finishing work to be done.

 

[Duster360LA]

A few updates as I plod along. Doing underhood wiring (my least favorite work) and near the end of that. Had to order a new power steering box, so I got the smaller Borgson unit, which will require a cooler. Got to top of the louvers positioned and in, but still have to fabricate the lower fasteners that go on the glass.

Big issues with having enough space for the driver's side adapter tube from my TTI shorties. The stock clutch fork blocked the tube, so I am going to try a shorter clutch fork and modified zbar to get the clearance I need. Fingers crossed.

 

[Duster360LA]

Posting a few updates. Halfway through my switchover to the hydraulic clutch. I like the under dash Malwood unit, but it took a bit of work (and trimming) to get it in. Still need to pull my TKX to get the new bearing in.
Sniper and Hyperspark are wired up and fans are in, just need to clean up a few things and I should be ready for engine startup in a few weeks.

 

[Duster360LA]

Small note - it's really cool when you run into an issue and the fix you come up with works/looks better than what you started with. In this case, when I was installing the polished aluminum trim ring on my new steering wheel, the hex key slipped out and scratched the trim ring (right at the very top, making sure I would constantly see it). I tried wet sanding and polishing it out, but just couldn't get it to look the same. I then had an idea to use the touch up B5 spray paint to just paint the ring to match my car color. I love the result! Never would have happened it I didn't goof up...

 

[jfauth]

Some updates: I have the engine and Tremec in the Duster and we wrestled the front and rear windows in. Still a lot of finishing work to be done.

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looks amazing!

 

[Duster360LA]

Thanks - coming up on 2 years on this. Will post more pictures next week.

 

[Duster360LA]

Heading down the home stretch on my Duster. Louvers fastened down, interior done, doors on, brakes & E-brake completed and completed my engine run-in with only a couple minor coolant leaks. Have a local Veterans Day car show on Nov. 8 and I told my Marine nephews I would have the car in that show for them.

 

[Duster360LA]

Things moving pretty quickly, just need to mount bumper & grill on body work. Waiting on some new cat whiskers sweeps (outer) and the interior will be done.

 

[Duster360LA]

Big day! Went to my first car show with the Duster - a local Veterans Day event. Met a lot of friendly gearheads and was the only Duster there.
Still have to work on body gaps, lining up doors/widows and putting on decals. Car ran really strong on the first road trip and stayed cool on a fairly hot day.
Couldn't have asked for a better day! Thanks to all of the FABO members who provided advice, help and found parts/suppliers for my project!

 

[Duster360LA]

Put stripes on today and helped really set the car off. I know the stripe with the Duster graphic isn't period correct with the 360 tag, but it was just too cool to pass up!